2nd Generation
by Fallen Angel Codester
Summary: Nashi Dragneel has a lot too live up to, but she doesn't have to worry about that all that much. Almost twenty years have past, and now new foes want a shot against Fairy Tail. Rated M for heavy content in later chapters
1. Introduction

**So before you start reading my story, this is something you have to know. When I finalized a lot of the major plot points for this story, Tartarus had just ended in the manga. Anything huge that contradicts a decision I've made cannot be changed. So please, if anything in this story contradicts canon, keep that in mind. This story was started with completed Tartarus, pre-Alvarez in mind.**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi was having a bad day before she got to the guild, and even then she knew it would go downhill anyway, after all, most of the younger members of Fairy Tail always laughed at her for not knowing how to use her magic very well. It wasn't her fault her scum bag father left before she was even born. She sighed at the thought. Her father, the famous Salamander of Fairy Tail, had run off before she got to know him what so ever. Not that she cared anyway. From what Gray and the others told her, her father was an irrational, arrogant asshole who couldn't hold a civilized conversation for the life of him. Her mother always tried to tell her that they were joking, but she didn't really listen.

Speaking of her mother, she had woken Nashi up about an hour ago, but Nashi couldn't stop pondering what the others would bully her about today. Maybe it would be how she could barely produce embers despite being "Natsu Dragneel's" daughter, or maybe how she, despite that, was crap with her moms celestial keys. _Who knows_ she wondered. She heard her door open and her mothers head appeared in the door frame.

"Why aren't you up yet?" She asked, standing in the doorway. Nashi shrugged under her covers. "Well get up, we gotta get to the guild." Nashi managed to clamor out of bed and stagger to go get dressed, the dead weight of her insecurities as heavy as a rock. She absentmindedly brushed her pink locks, deep in thought. The pink hair of hers was another burden from her father, a trait they both shared. Mom had always told her their tempers and patience for nonsense were similar as well, and that she didn't like either. She wished she could some how distance herself from her fathers legacy, but that seemed as far fetched as her winning the Grand Magic Games for Fairy Tail. _Like that'll ever happen. _she growled to herself. She dragged her feet out into the kitchen were her mother, Lucy, was already gone. She sighed as she left the house and walked alongside the river in the direction of the guild house.

"Why the long face, Nashi?" The passing boatmen asked.

"No particular reason" She lied.

"Well, cheer up, it's a beautiful day!"

"Yeah Yeah" She rounded the corner towards the guild house and sighed. She remembered how happy she'd been when she first got her guild mark. Now she considered more of a red blemish on the back of her left hand than anything. Don't get her wrong, Nashi had a few Friends in Fairy Tail. There was Drake, Kinana's son. Almost as if it was a cruel joke, Drake was a dragon slayer as well, but, unlike her, Drake could use his quite effectively. He said his father had taught him up until he was 8, then vanished. Perhaps that's was what the two had bonded over, the similar reasoning of never/barely knowing your father. Then there were most of the adults in the guild, they were rather kind and accepting, unlike their children. Elise, Gajeel and Levy's daughter, who was also a dragon slayer, but her father actually existed in her life. 'Black steel' Gajeel had trained his daughter well, and , honestly, She really didn't think Elise considered her a friend anymore. For the past few years, Elise had been rather cold and unloving, to the point where she would often times join in on teasing her. She had a few friends who were currently on the road, Like Gray and Juvia's daughter, Erza's son, and Master Laxus and Mira's son.

"Is it me, or did the temperature in here go up?" a voice asked. Nashi looked to her left to find Drake standing there, grinning widely.

"That isn't funny" She replied wearily. Drake frowned.

"Who pissed in your corn flakes?" He demanded, as if he seriously thought some one had.

"I didn't sleep well" She murmured. Drake sighed as he followed her to a table.

"You never sleep well" He said, watching her with careful eyes. "Who said something this time? Was it Rocky? Samuel?" Elise?" She shook her head.

"It's nothing" Nashi cursed herself immediately for shifting uncomfortably.

" I heard that" He said frankly, glaring at her. "I'll beat them up, seriously"

" I know you will" Nashi said with a small grin. "But I'll never make more friends if you keep beating everyone up for me" Drake smirked and leaned back.

"Yeah, but I hate seeing you walk in every morning looking like you'd rather be picking up horse crap. Your my best friend, I hate seeing you like this. Remember when we were kids and you actually smiled?" She grinned at his attempted at a joke. "Yeah, like that"

"Don't you have work to do?" I demanded. Drake sighed.

"Nah, I've already payed this months rent. The daughter of that last client had a crush on me, and insisted her father double my pay. I'm good for a while" I nodded, honestly not paying much attention at all. Drake frowned again.

"Look, if your magical capacity is what's keeping you up, I could train you. I'm a dragon slayer too." I turned to face him irritably.

" Your element is poison" I said sternly. " Mine is fire. You can't train me to use magic I can't use."

"I can try" I sighed. Just as Drake was about to say something else, Romeo ran in.

"Mails here" He said. Everyone flocked him to see if they had any letters.

"Got one here for you, Gray. Looks like it's from your little girl" I saw Gray take it from Romeo and eagerly open it. He smiled.

" Looks like she's on her way home!" He proclaimed, Only really Juvia, Drake, and I heard him.

"Got one for you Erza. Say, that handwriting looks familiar..." Erza glared at Romeo who smirked. I wonder who was writing to Erza, Simon wasn't really known to do that unless he was in trouble, which, still, rarely happened. Everyone broke away when they realized the last letter wasn't for them.

"Got one for you Lucy... Holy shit Lucy I got one for you!" Everyone turned as my mother got up to meet Romeo in the middle of the Hall. Everyone was dead silent, even the small children. I saw my mothers eyes widen when she opened it.

" Who's it from?" Levy asked. She got up and peered over Mom's shoulder. Her eyes widened as well.

"Holy fuck..." Levy whispered, just barely audible. She turned to Gajeel, who understood immediately.

"Gihi, so old flame face is comin' home huh?" He laughed. _Flame Face...? _Gray laughed.

" Well, well, isn't this a surprise. Never though we'd get that letter"

"Yes" Erza agreed. "Surely this is a good sign." Whispers flew around, so many Nashi couldn't keep track. The only thing she heard was one word , one word that had haunted her for years

_Salamander_


	2. The Salamander

Nashi would be lying if she said the guild hall was quiet the next two weeks. People could not shut up about the letter that Her mother had received. Salamander this, Natsu that, it was all she could hear. Not that she paid much attention. She was living every day hoping she wouldn't come to the guild and find her father there. The very thought of him being there terrified her to the core. She ,despite hating him enough for a normal person to become murderous, it scared her to think she had no idea what she would say to him. A lot of angry, rude, and abrasive things crossed her mind, but none seemed to appealing. She was also more worried about what he would do. Would he try and integrate himself into her life like nothing happened. Nashi shuddered as she buried her mouth into the scarf wrapped around her neck. She'd had the scarf as long as she could remember. Her mother had given it to her when she was barely a year old, telling her it had once belonged to someone very close to her. Nashi had never really questioned the scarfs original ownership, but she had always assumed it had been her grandfathers. He had passed away a few years before Nashi had been born, and she had always wondered what it would be like to have a rich grandparent to spoil her, but Nashi left it be. The scarf had always held a certain warmth that Nashi couldn't really explain. This thing, one way or another, made her feel better just by being around her neck. It seemed to be the one thing the others never teased her about either. Nashi sighed as she swirled the fabric around her hand absentmindedly.

"Nashi!" She turned to find Master Laxus standing behind her. Master had always been kind to her, but she had to admit, he couldn't hold a conversation very well.

"Master" She replied.

"Why is it every time I see you you look so depressed? Is it the others again?" Nashi nodded. For some reason or another, she had told Laxus about the bullies, but not her own mother. Maybe because she knew the master would keep it a secret, unlike her mother who would confront the perpetrators. "What did they tell you this time?" She waited until he had sat down next to her. She felt the hair on her forearm, little as there may be, stand up on end. Master, being a lightening Dragon Slayer, usually had that effect on people.

"They said that I'd never amount to anything, and that I was a disgrace to my fathers good name." Laxus sighed.

"I wish you'd tell me who it was doing it" He replied, leaning back. "I teach 'em a lesson"

"I'm sure you would, Gramps" He growled.

"I wish you guys would stop calling me that. I'm only 41". (**A/N: Laxus is 23 canonically, and this is 18 years into the future. 41) **Nashi laughed.

"But your the Master. Comes with the the position."

"Yeah, I suppose. You hear all this talk about your dad?" Nashi tensed.

"I haven't really been paying that much attention to it honestly."

"Maybe you should. People have been saying it's really him this time" This time. Nashi giggled inwardly at the thought. There had been several cases were Mom had received notes and letters, all heralding my fathers return. None of which came true. Nashi hoped that was the case this time as well.

"I don't know about that" Before Master Laxus could say anything else, the door of the guild flew off. Everyone looked towards the door. Nashi heart leaped into her throat as she watched the door with wide eyes.

She felt even more terrified when at least 40 armed men she didn't recognize walked in.

"So," He said gruffly, laughing as he shouldered his rifle. "This is Fairy Tail?"

"Doesn't look like much to me" Another grinned evilly. Nashi noted how everyone in the guild was calm. A few were smiling. The leader strode in as if he was a member. He examined a few people before he walked passed Lisanna. He smirked.

"Say, your pretty hot for an older woman." Lisanna had a smirk on her face. "I wouldn't touch me if I were you"

"Oh, and why's that?"

"Because you won't enjoy what'll happen to you" He burst out laughing.

"You tryin' to tell me that your some kinda super Wizard or somethin'? Gimme a break!" Lisanna joined in the laughter.

"I'm not saying I am, but you may not want to face one of other members. He's pretty tough"

"Oh yeah?" Where is this scumbag?" Just as the words left his mouth, the other men behind moved in. They dispersed, grabbing random people and threatening them. Lisanna sighed.

"I warned you" As if one cue, the few remaining members of the bandits at the door were blown away by a huge explosion. A man stood silhouetted against the door.

"I come back" A voice growled "after 18 years. "And I find you scumbags trashing my guild. Now I'm pissed off."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" The man laughed as he stepped into the guild hall. Nashi's eyes widened.

The man had her hair color, and similar facial features. He radiated raw magic, and before long, fire enveloped his body.

"Unimportant, what matters is your about to get your asses handed back to you on a plate. Ready?" All of the men backed up their leader, easily a 40 to 1 fight. Nashi didn't care how great people said he was, there was literally no way this about to go their way. Pink hair laughed.

"You really think these guys'll stop me? Let's go!" Before any of the bandits could respond accordingly, and the fireball launched himself at them, scattering them everywhere. He flew this way and that, attacking every single one of them. Nashi found herself having trouble keeping up with them. No one could even come close to him. He busied himself by beating a bandit into the ground senselessly when one snuck up behind him, sword in position to kill him.

"Look out!" Nashi heard herself scream. The Salamander turned just in time to grab the blade, and melted it. He grinned.

"Nice try" a quick punch to the face ended that sneak attack. All the bandits were scrambling towards the exit, desperately trying to get away. He turned with a laugh.

"What kind of monster are you?" Their leader demanded. He laughed again.

"Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's resident bad ass"

"Men take aim!" All the bandits took aim with their magic rifles, but before the could, the remaining embers from his fight in the guild swirled around Natsu, being sucked in by something.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" a gout of flames at least 30 feet tall erupted from his mouth, completely engulfing the members of the clan. They wee completely gone. Only a scorch mark on the ground near the door was left of them. The guild was silent, as Natsu straightened up and grinned.

"Jeez, can't you idiots do anything on your own?" Everyone laughed, except Nashi.

"Well, obviously we knew you'd come steal the spotlight again Natsu" Gray stated, with a welcoming smile.

"Damn right!" He agreed. "Say, where's Luce? I haven't seen her yet!"

"...Natsu?" Everyone turned to find Lucy standing in the doorway, eyes wide.

**I'd like to apologize for that abysmal fight sequence, but I really wanted to bring Natsu back in that way.**


	3. She's yours, bud

Nashi had a lot of different emotions running through her as she watched her Mother walk slowly towards her father. Rage, Sadness, for some reason happiness, and another emotion she wasn't entirely comfortable with. Her mother, however, seemed to be too shocked for words. She was slowly advancing through the hall, people carved a path for her. Natsu seemed unfazed, he was grinning widely.

"Hey Luce! It's been a while!" 'Luce's ' mouth hung open.

"It's you..." She breathed. "It's really you..."

"Yep!" Lucy tackled him with a suffocating hug, wrapping her legs around his midsection. He coughed. "Good... to see... you to..." She let go and slugged him in the arm.

"Don't you EVER leave for that long again. Do you even know how worried I was?"

"I wasn't gone for that long"

"Your sense of time is garbage, Natsu" A adorable voice said. A blue cat with wings flew up next to him, and my mothers eyes lit up.

"Happy!" The small cat was crushed with a hug from Lucy.

"Lusshhhiii! Let go, your squishing me!" Lucy laughed.

"So Happy's back too?" Pantherlily and Carla flew up next to him and greeted him.

"Oi! Salamander!" Natsu turned as Gajeel stepped forward. Nashi noted that Elise was cowering behind her father. Nashi had never seen Elise so nervous, she couldn't really understand why.

"Gajeel! It' good even to see you! How are you and Levy?" He asked suggestively. Gajeel simply stepped out of the way so Her father could see Elise. Natsu's eyes widened. "Woah woah! Is that your daughter?" He got up right in Elise's face, who looked terrified.

"Yeah, that's Elise!" Levy spoke up. Natsu laughed.

"She looks just like you guys!"

"I-it's good to meet you, Mr. Salamander" Nashi felt like laughing out loud at how nervous she was. Nashi knew Elise respected her father greatly, but this was a bit much.

"Mr. Salamander, huh?" He chuckled. "I like the sound of that!" Elise shied back into the crowd.

"Man, all the younger members are all grown up... oh! speaking of which." He whirled and faced Erza. " I met Your kid on the road."

"You saw Simon?" Erza asked incredulously. "Where?"

"We saw each other at a bar in Hargeon, but he was headed the opposite way. He said it was gonna take him a few weeks to go and collect his reward and come back, maybe even a few months if there is another stage to his job, but he told me to tell you that he's alright" Erza sighed.

"Thank goodness"

"Hi, Natsu!" Kinana said, stepping forward. Natsu turned to her.

"Hey, look at you Kinana! all grown up I see!"

"I could say the same to you, old man"

"So I heard you have a son?"

"That I do. Drake!" Drake stepped forward.

"Hey, Mr. Dragneel" He said formally. The look on Natsu's face was weird.

"Say" He finally murmured. "I recognize you..." Kinana met his gaze, and he nodded. "Anyway, good to meet you." Master Laxus left Nashi's side to go and speak to him.

"Natsu" He said. Natsu grinned.

"Hey Laxus! What's up? Say, speaking of Laxus, where's Gramps?" There was an eerie silence as Laxus sighed.

"Gramps is dead, Natsu" His eyes widened.

"Wha-wha?" Nashi's mother nodded.

"He died ten years ago. heart failure. Laxus is Master now." Nashi noted that her father seemed relatively upset by that.

"Damn, and I wasn't even here for it. Fuck!" He shouted. "Well, good to greet the new Master, I suppose, but..." He sighed in defeat as Mom rubbed his chest comfortingly. "Where's Damien?" Laxus shrugged.

"Hell if I know. He left on that decade quest a while ago... six years?"

"Damn, he must be having difficulty. Has he tried summoning...?"

"No, he promised he'd never use that Demon soul again" Damien had inherited his mothers adaptability for takeover magic, except he called his Demon souls. From stories I had been told, Damien tried summoning one of the most powerful Demon souls he had and had completely trashed Magnolia... and killed his little sister in a frenzy of power and rage. Lucy had always Nashi hold sad and ironic that was, that Mira's son had lost control of his takeover and killed his little sister, just like Elfman thought he had so many years ago. Nashi vaguely remembered Damien's little sister, Stephanie. It mad her sad thinking about it. "He only uses basic demon soul, not... that thing" Nashi noted how Master avoided saying the demons name, as if afraid it would appear out of nowhere and kill everyone.

"You mean Xisplate?" Natsu said, without thinking. Everyone flinched, even Nashi felt a bit scared. Laxus sighed hopelessly.

'Anyway, Lucy, don't you think it's about time you...?" Laxus coughed and gestured in Nashi's direction. She felt her stomach turn into a rock. Her mother met her terrified gaze.

"Oh right," She giggled. "How silly of me. Nashi! Come over here" Nashi stepped back farther into the crowd, but she felt someone push me forward. she turned angrily to find Drake standing there, a stupid smirk plastered on his face. She sighed as she stepped forward, doing her best to hide her face in the scarf.

"Who's this?" Her father demanded. "I like her style though. I mean, just look at that scarf!" Nashi stopped dead in her tracks and glared at her scarf, as if it had just told her it was pregnant. _Your his scarf aren't you?! She thought angrily. _She stopped glaring at it and looked up to meet her fathers gaze. It was warm and friendly, a look she wasn't eager to return.

"Say," He finally spoke up. "You look a lot like Lucy" Nashi buried her head in her scarf again. She was waiting for her mother to tell him. " Luce, is this girl your cousin or something?" Mother sighed.

"Natsu this is Nashi, she's your..."

"Nice to meet you Nashi! I'm Natsu! But I'm sure everyone's already told you a million stories about how awesome I am! So what magic do you use? Wait, look at those canines! Your a dragon slayer, aren't you?!" Nashi wasn't prepared for her fathers over excited attitude. She nodded weakly. "Awesome! What element?"

"Fire, Natsu" Erza spoke up. He grinned even wider.

"Just like me! That's so cool! We'll have to train together sometime! What generation are you?" Nashi was unsure as how to answer that question. Luckily, all the adults seemed to be as well.

"What generation would Nashi?" Gray asked.

"Juvia thinks it's maybe a new generation, a fourth generation of dragon slayers" Juvia spoke up.

"Fourth, what special thing does fourth have?"

"Natsu" Mom spoke up. Nashi looked down, waiting. "She's a new generation because she's the daughter of another dragon slayer." Natsu eyes widened.

"Really? Who's is she?" Mom swallowed hard. The guild all leaned forward together. Mom sighed and met Dad's gaze.

"She's your daughter, Natsu"

**OOOOHHHH cliffhanger! Oh, and the art for this story isn't really how I picture Nashi,(AKA she were the scarf as a scarf not a bra) but, if it helps you picture her later on, all the better.**


	4. Nashi and Elise

Shock didn't really convey what Nashi saw on her fathers face upon hearing that. His mouth hung open, and his eyes were so wide you could've fit a bowling ball in them. She waited impatiently for something, anything. Even denial at this point would've been better than silence.

"Your... my daughter?" He finally asked, voice so quiet Nashi was glad she had dragon slayer ears to hear him with.

"Yep" She replied quietly, seeing her father almost flinch as she spoke. He turned to Mom disbelievingly, who nodded silently and met my gaze. I was still being silent.

"I- I don't... what?" Mom turned back him.

"The night before you left, Natsu, remember?" Natsu thought long and hard finally being able to replay the nights events in his mind. Now he realized.

"But...But..." He choked. Gajeel groaned.

"You fucked Lucy and knocked her up Salamander, is that blunt enough for you?" He yelled, and was immediately scolded by Levy. Nashi knew her father was watching her.

"That's... that's my..." He seemed at a loss for a comprehensible sentence, but he took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Sorry I didn't recognize you and first Nashi, I don't know how I didn't see it up until now." I didn't say anything, too angry for words. "What's wrong, are you shy?"

"No" She spoke up. It was the first time in a while Nashi had heard her voice, completely free of depression and worry. But hearing it filled with rage wasn't all to nice either. "I'm not a fucking mute"

"I didn't say that" Dad said carefully, as if trying not to push any of her buttons. Unfortunately, they'd been pushed a while ago.

"Nashi," Her mother warned. "Don't be mad at him, he had no idea he got me pregnant."

"Yeah, and if I'd been told, I would've come back" Nashi clenched her fists.

"Then why didn't you?" Nashi hissed, so enraged she could barely think straight.

"I... I had a job to do..."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Nashi shouted, glaring up at her father. Other members of the guild may have feared him, but Nashi wasn't. "Your trying to tell me, that after 16 long, lonely, years, you didn't once want to come back?" Her father glowered at her, and Nashi tried to fight off the feeling she was about to get burned.

"Of course I wanted to come back" He scowled. "More than anything, but I had a job, and I don't just abandon a job because I'm lonely."

"Then try imaging how I feel," Nashi replied, feeling the tears stinging her eyes. "I was a little, fatherless girl, who couldn't use her magic and was so hopelessly lost in her fathers shadow of greatness." Natsu's face softened a bit. " I spent years fighting peoples remarks that I was useless for years. I fought off the bullies, the assholes, trying to convince myself that my daddy would come home one day and shut them all up. But he never did. I had to fend for myself, and eventually, I couldn't do it anymore. I took their insults, I took their beatings and their emotional abuse. I took it for years. Eventually I dragged one of the only friends I've ever had down with me, and I lost another because she realized how useless I was." I made a point to make eye contact with Elise, how looked down at the ground. The tears were flowing now. I looked back at my father, who was staring at the ground, fists clenched. "I've spent my entire life being given reason to hate you, and you expect to walk in here and have me except you?! No, not now, not ever. For all I care, you can fuck right back off to wherever you were, because frankly, I don't consider you my father any more than Elise considers me a friend. I wake up every morning wishing I hadn't. I walk to the guild slowly because I know when I get here I'll be emotional abused. I live every day hoping it's my last, all because you were never there" She wiped her face angrily, trying not to start wailing. She'd never told anyone that, and now everyone knew. She could hear a few members of the guild crying as well. Her mother had tears streaming down her face as well, hands cupped over her mouth. Nashi sighed shakily. She looked up, feeling another wave of tears coming. "I don't know what you expected me to say, but I hope your happy you got to see Mom again." Nashi turned on her heel and walked out, noting everyone crying or wiping their eye. Even Rocky and Sammy, who were the worst of the bullies, had tears in their eyes as they noticed her watching them. Sammy opened his mouth, as if to say something. Nashi walked away before he could, right out of the guild.

* * *

Nashi had herself curled up into a ball as she overlooked the valley in front of her. She always came here when she was really upset, and she didn't have any intention to leave anytime soon. She couldn't show her face at the guild ever again. They'd all treat her like some kind of specialty case, and she didn't want that.

"I thought I might find you here" Nashi turned to find the daughter of the iron dragon slayer standing behind her.

"What do you want, Elise?" She couldn't possibly imagine what she wanted. Although she and Elise used to be the best of friends, she had started joining in on teasing and bullying her. Although not as far as others took it, Elise was often in the company of those who were responsible for the worse of it.

"I came to talk to you, obviously." She stood next to Nashi. there was silence between them before Elise sighed. "We used to come here when we were little, remember that?"

"Yeah, after we got in trouble for breaking your moms glass figurines." Elise chuckled.

"She was gonna kill me for that one."

"I was the one that did it, remember?"

"I didn't want you to take the blame for it. We were friends."

"Were" I replied, burying my head in my knees." We aren't anymore." Elise sighed and sat down next to me. I noted that her brown eyes were ringed with tears. She'd been crying.

"I came to apologize" She finally spoke. "Your little speech today made me realize I've been horrible to you" I waited quietly for her to continue, letting the words sink in. " I've been absolutely horrible to you" I turned to look at her warily. She looked far away.

"Elise..."

"I understand if you don't forgive me, but I had to tell you. I can't believe I used to say those things to you. I so so-" Nashi collapsed into Elise arms, and started wailing. Elise slowly wrapped her arms around her. "What are you doing?" she asked. Nashi sobbed loudly.

"I just need someone" She replied shakily, feeling so completely useless and weak. "Someone to tell me it's gonna be okay"

"Pull yourself together" Elise said, sounding a little pissed off. "Your better than this. Your father doesn't deserve to know you."

"You * Hic* never did know what to say when someone gets emotional with you" Elise chuckled and pulled Nashi closer, rubbing her arms comfortingly.

"Pull yourself together Nashi"

"I'm trying" There was a serene silence as Nashi continued crying into the arms of her former/ returned best friend.

"Sometimes I wonder" Nashi managed, wiping the tears from her face.

" About what?" Elise asked, looking down at her.

"If anyone would care if I disappeared and never came back. If I was dead." Elise hugged her tighter.

"Don't say that kinda shit. Your an amazing person. Don't let that dickhead Rocky or his butt buddy Sammy tell you otherwise. and if they do..." Elise grinned darkly. "They'll have me to deal with" Nashi grinned weakly as a fresh wave of tears washed over her, this time of happiness that she had her friend back.

"Thanks, Elise"

"No problem. After everything I've done, the least I can do is let you cry a freaking ocean into my shirt" Nashi laughed quietly.

"Shut up ,Elise"

**I kinda feel like Elise wasn't as introduced as she should've been, seeing as she's a main character. Hopefully this was good enough.**


	5. Thoughts

Nashi knew it was a stupid idea to have Elise boost her up to her second floor window, but, hell, she wasn't going through the front door. If she knew her mother, she'd wait up all freaking night for her, and that wasn't something she was willing to face right now. Nashi managed to grab the windowsill.

"God damn" Elise grumbled. "Can you lose a little weight?" Nashi purposely kicked her in the face. "Damn it..." She managed to pull herself into the window, and looked back down at her.

"Got it"

"Well, if that's all you need, I'm gonna go home now" Nashi smiled at her.

"Thanks Elise"

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't think you can use me as a pillow all the time" Nashi rolled her eyes and shut the window behind her. She'd decided to take the window in because she had a bad feeling that her parents were waiting for her in the kitchen. This way, no one would know that she'd gotten in. Nashi heard a man sigh.

"It isn't your fault, Natsu" She heard her mother say. " She's just unsure how to handle this."

"That's an understatement if I've heard one" He replied. Nashi cracked her door open a fraction and peered out. Her guess had been correct. She could just barely see her parents in the kitchen.

"I never told you about her. It's my fault if it's anyone's"

"No, because you were there while she was growing up. I never was."

"Natsu, it's not like she hates you"

"Were you even listening to her back at the guild?" He asked, glaring at Mom. "She wants absolutely nothing to do with me"

"She didn't mean that, she's just angry." Her father stormed off. Nashi's heart dropped when she saw her mother walking towards her door. She quietly flung herself into bed and wrapped herself in her sheets. Better to be found 'asleep' than eavesdropping. She heard the door open, and slammed her eyes shut. She heard her mother gasp in surprise.

"Natsu! Natsu! Come here!"

"What?" She heard her fathers footsteps approach and stop near the door. "Wait, she's...?"

"How did we not see her?" Nashi almost smiled to herself in her sleep. Her parents had already checked here in her room, but were dense enough think that she'd been here the whole time. She heard her parents enter her room and stand in the direction she was facing.

" God she's beautiful..." She heard her father say. It tugged at her heartstrings.

"She looks just like you" Mothers cracking voice said. Her father laughed.

"That's your face, Lucy" They were silent for a moment, and Nashi strained to hear if they were saying anything.

"She's been crying," Dad said warily. She heard her mother grunt in agreement.

"Poor thing probably cried herself to sleep." they were silent again, before she felt her mother sit on her bed and brush the stray hair out of Nashi's face.

"Nashi... please forgive your father.. it's not his fault." Nashi let a stray tear escape her eyes, even though she thought she'd cried herself empty earlier.

"let her sleep, Lucy, she need to rest"

" Yeah, okay.." Her parents left her room, and Nashi lay there and stared at her roof, hoping maybe someone would come out it and help her, before falling fast asleep.

* * *

Nashi woke up around noon, she could tell it was late. She groaned and dragged herself out of bed and to her mirror, scanning her appearance. Her pink hair was sticking out at odd angles, and she had tear stains the size of waterfalls under her ringed eyes.

"God, I'm ugly" She said out loud. She made for her bathroom ( Yes she had her own) and jumped in the shower, losing herself in thought. Elise and her had a very extensive talk about her father the night before. Elise was absolutely convinced she should forgive him, but Nashi was too good at holding grudges. Elise said at least a million times that her father had no idea she even existed up until 24 hours ago, and that he shouldn't be held accountable for things he didn't even know were his fault. Nashi sighed as she stepped out of the shower and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her damp hair had cascaded over her face, hiding her right eye from the mirror. She sighed. It wasn't that her body type was undesirable, but years of being called ugly and useless kind of effects your image of yourself. Nashi walked back into her room and shifted through her drawer for something to wear. She finally settled on a black vest that she zipped up, and black jeans. Examining her face one last time in the mirror, she wrapped her scarf back around her neck and walked out into the kitchen.

"Morning," Her father said. " Sleep well?" Nashi's eyes widened as she watched him. He looked comfortable enough, lounging in the chair.

"W- what are you doing still here? I's like noon"

"I could say the same thing to you young lady" She flinched.

"You can't tell me what to do"

"I never said I could, I said I could ask you the same question" They watched each other for a moment, before he laughed.

"You look good today" Nashi blushed. No one ever told her that. "You were in the shower for a while" Nashi glanced at the clock on the wall. She'd been in the shower for a least an hour.

"Sorry" She murmured, moving to leave.

"Your mother said we can't leave until we sort out your daddy issues" He called after her. she froze.

"Is he here to stop me?" Nashi called back.

"No, but she had Aquarius and Loke guard the door. And I'm pretty sure she was Sagittarius watching from the rooftops. We can't leave yet" Nashi looked out the window and was greeted by the familiar face of the leader of the 12 zodiacs. He shooed her to go back inside. Scowling, she stomped back inside and sat in a chair opposite her father. The sound of a ticking clock was the only sound that pierced the awkward silence.

"Stop scowling, it makes you look terrible" Her father said finally.

"I always look terrible" She replied. "I'm ugly"

"Who told you that?"

" Everyone my age at the guild, minus Drake and Elise" There was more silence. Nashi wanted to hide somewhere dark.

"So your mother tells me you have a problem with magic." Nashi winced. Damn it mom.

"Yeah, I can't use it. The most I can do it produce a few embers"

"Show me" Nashi raised her left hand and focused. Flames licked around her open palm before dissipating. She growled. "That was more than embers" He pointed out.

"Regardless, it's still all I can do. I'm useless"

"Stop talking down on yourself like that" He growled. Nashi looked up to find her father giving her a look that terrified her. " Whatever those scumbags at the guild say, it isn't true. You aren't useless. Your not ugly. Who ever told you that doesn't know what their talking about." Nashi felt a little good hearing her fathers praise.

"Well, if I can't use magic, what use am I?" He stood up.

"Come on, we're leaving"

"But you said that..." He glared at her, and she got up to follow him. When he opened the door, Loke watched him.

"Your not supposed to leave" He spoke up.

"We're leaving, whether or not you like it" Loke grinned.

"Oh, I see. Alright, but it'll be your ass not mine" Loke disappeared, along with Aquarius in the water.

"Where are we going?" Nashi asked, as she had to take 2 steps to keep up with her father gigantic strides. He didn't respond. "Hello? Earth to Dad? Where are we going?"

"We're going to train you" He finally spoke. He turned to Nashi, grinning widely. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Nashi really didn't have a problem with that


	6. Training

**Just thought I'd say this now and get it out of the way, but, coming from an author who's inspiration stems from them, I would appreciate a review every now and again. Not much, just if you liked it, what you did like, what you didn't, etc. Just tell me your thoughts so that I don't drop this story out of lack of inspiration. Thanks!**

Nashi wasn't entirely sure were they were going, but it seemed her father had something in mind. He strode through the forest with her in pursuit, wondering what her first test would be like. She, as she was sure her father was aware of, couldn't do very much, so hopefully this training would boost her power level a bit. Nothing much, just being able to produce a self sustaining flame when she wanted. She was tossed out of her train of thought when she bumped into her father, who had stopped in his tracks.

"We're here" He announced. Nashi looked around. She saw nothing but a pond in the clearing and a few deer around the edges on the other side, watching her and her dad.

"We are where?" Nashi asked.

"The site of your first test, sweetheart" Before Nashi could retort, She felt her father pick her up by the scruff of her neck, and toss her head first into the water. She struggled to surface, and spit water out of her mouth when she did.

"What the hell?! What kind of training is this?"

"The first and foremost part of your training is building up your internal flame. Without it, you'll constantly have to work at starting it before anything, which could prove detrimental. So, I want you to make the water boiling hot. Without using your hands, feet, whatever. Make the water good enough to cook food in." Nashi glared at her father.

"How in the hell am I supposed to do that? And what the hell do you mean internal flame?" He sighed.

"Your internal flame is the fire inside of you. The basic training I can give you is to make it go nonstop, and to do that, this is a good way to light it."

"But HOW?"

"What makes you angry? What makes your blood boil?" Nashi thought it over for a moment.

"The people who make fun of me" She finally spoke. He nodded.

"Now imagine how great it would feel to punch them all in the face." Nashi grinned devilishly as she imagined herself punching Rocky right in his stupid smirk. How amazing it would feel to call him ugly and useless. To stomp his confidence into the ground because he DEFINITELY deserved it. Nashi hadn't been paying attention to her surrounding until she heard a bubble pop. Her eyes snapped open and she looked down to find the water below her bubbling.

" I did it!" She shouted happily. Her stomach felt especially warm. Her dad laughed.

"Great job! Now, do the entire pond" Nashi grin faded as she scanned her surroundings. The pond as at least 50 feet wide.

"How am I supposed to do that?" She turned back to find her father walking away. "And where do you think your going?!" He laughed at her anger.

"Just keep getting angry" He called back. "Heat up the entire pond. I'll be back in an hour to begin your next training. Maybe I'll buy lunch for us too" Nashi growled.

"You piss me off pretty good too," Nashi thought darkly as she imagined herself punching her dad in the face too.

* * *

Nashi had successfully managed to turn the entire pond into a sauna. The water stayed boiling long after she stopped trying and had stripped to use it too relax. It was incredibly peaceful out here. Nashi wished her father never came back.

"I'm back!" She heard him call. Nashi quickly grabbed her clothes from the edge of the pool and threw them over herself as her dad appeared in the clearing. "And I see you managed! Great job!" Nashi wished that she would stopp getting a knot in her stomach when her dad praised her, but she felt happy nonetheless.

"It was pretty difficult for a first test" She said as she climbed out to greet him. He shrugged.

"If you that was hard, you should give up now"

"Not a chance!" Nashi was surprised at her own determination. Dad laughed.

"By the way, I brought lunch" He tossed her what looked like a torch.

"What the hell do I do with this?" Nashi demanded. Dad brought out matches, and used them to light all six torches on fire.

"Eat it" He replied. As if it were nothing, he stuck the lit torch into his mouth. Nashi gaped.

"I don't think I'm supposed to eat a fucking torch, Dad" He shrugged indifferently.

"It won't even burn. Try it" Nashi stared at the torch in her hand, before caving and cramming it into her mouth. It didn't hurt at all. In fact, it sorta tasted good. Nashi sucked on it like a lollipop until she felt the fire disappear down her throat. Her Dad had a retort before she even asked.

"It's how we fire dragon slayers power up." He said, eating another. "If we eat flames, it restores our power. And if fills up pretty good too!" He laughed as he patted his stomach.

"Then why did you bring matches? Couldn't you have lit them on fire with your own magic?"

"We can't eat our own flames. If we could, I'd never need anyone's help" He shrugged. "But that's just how it is" When they finished the torches, Father stood up and offered her a hand. She took it without thinking and felt warmth spread from his hand to hers. Nashi cursed inwardly. She could feel herself leaning towards forgiving him, but she wasn't sure about him yet.

"What's the next portion of training?" She asked as they walked away.

"Working on your endurance and martial arts skills" He replied. "Since you'll tire out faster without mastery of your internal flame, it'll be easier to train you to do this first. But I gotta warn you..." He grinned as he turned to her. "This is were it gets physically strenuous." Nashi grinned back, a grin of complete determination.

"Let's do it"

* * *

Nashi was regretting agreeing to this endurance and martial arts training, mainly because it resulted in her running 5 miles though the forest to warm up, followed by another 3 hours of her Dad slamming her into the ground and teaching her hand to hand combat. Nashi was muddy, she was bruised, beaten, exhausted, and bleeding a little. Her father had picked her up to carry her home. She, without meaning to, leaned into the warmth that was his chest to ease her pain.

"I told you it would get difficult" He said quietly, sounding like he felt bad. Nashi coughed.

"And I told you I didn't care. I'm fine, I can walk on my own"

"Let me be fatherly a little, would ya?" Nashi smirked as they reached home. "Now, we need to be able to explain to your mother. She told me I couldn't train you because your 'frail'. I'm gonna say I brought you on a job with me, okay?"

"We weren't even supposed to leave the house, and your gonna drop that bomb on her? This'll end well"

"I know, but the more you try to think of a plan, the worse it ends up. I'm just gonna wing it" Nashi sighed as he entered the house. The lights were on, which was already a bad sign.

"We're so dead" I hissed as we entered, and I saw my mother sitting there, impatience written on her features.

"Oh my god, Nashi! What the hell happened to you?!"

"I'm fine," I managed, pouring on the small, in pain voice.

"No you aren't! What the hell happened, Natsu?"

"I brought her on a job with me" Nashi winced as the look on her mothers face darkened.

"You... what?" Nashi looked up to find her Father at a loss for words against her mother. Then, she got a absolutely horrible idea.

"He used me as bait" She whimpered, giving her mother puppy dog eyes. Nashi almost laughed when her fathers grip on her arms tightened. She deserved that.

"Nashi..." Her mother spoke slowly. "Why don't you go and clean yourself up. Take a long shower, whatever you need, alright?" I nodded as my father put me down and I, not purposefully to get him in even more trouble, limped towards my room. After my shower, I could hear the yelling.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU HONESTLY THINK WOULD HAPPEN!?" Nashi winced. Her mother was a demon straight from hell when she got like this. Nashi felt bad for putting her father in that position.

"I... just thought..."

"NO, YOU CLEARLY DIDN'T THINK AT ALL! USING YOUR OWN DAUGHTER AS BAIT?! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! GET THE HELL IN THERE AND APOLOGIZE! YOUR SLEEPING ON THE COUCH TONIGHT!"

"No, anything but the couch!" He shouted. Nashi giggled as her door opened and shut, her father now inside. He turned slowly, glaring at her.

"I hate you" He said frankly. I pouted.

"Ah, come off it _ daddy, _I was just playing along"

"Did you have to pour it on so thick?" He sighed. "In any event, I'm making sure you never come home in that shape again, she was throwing knives at me." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry I used you as bait" He called loudly. "It was completely stupid decision on my part"

"Damn right is was" Nashi replied, grinning widely. Nashi didn't think she'd ever smiled as much as she had today. Her father sighed at the sound of Mom walking down the hall. He turned to leave.

"Training every day" He said. "I'll wake you up early tomorrow, okay? Rest up"

"Goodnight" Nashi called without thinking, blushing when her father turned around in shock, then he grinned.

"Good night sweetheart"


	7. So Happy

**This chapter is going to have a time skip, mainly because I wasn't interested in writing down 3-4 months of training. I also have to address the two characters I said would be returning soon. Simon obviously had more to do, and we can assume that Gray's daughter (Who I am cleverly keeping unnamed) is almost back. All according to plan ;)**

The next 3 months Nashi went through the most grueling training program she'd ever seen. Her father woke her up at 4:30 every morning and threw her in the river, making it boil. After a while, Nashi noticed she no longer had to try and heat it up. It just happened. After that, she started training her attacks, finally being able to produce a decent flame around her hands and feet. a few more strenuous weeks and she could envelop her whole body in fire. Not only that, but she could also, finally, hold her own fighting her father hand to hand, having, once, pushed him back. She could also run, jump, and climb so much more effectively after all that endurance training. The only thing she was currently needed assistance with was roaring. Her father almost seemed to be avoiding it. Every time she asked about it, he changed the subject. Not that Nashi minded, he'd done so much already, but she kind of wanted to know.

"Nashi, get up!" Nashi groaned and pulled the covers over her head. She been up until 3 in the morning trying to roar on her own, she didn't want to get up. However, she knew it wouldn't be in her best interest to stay in bed, so she rolled out of bed. She crawled to her mirror and pulled herself up, staring at herself. She had noticeable muscle tone on her upper arms, and she noticed a strange thing on her face. A smile. Nashi wasn't accustomed to seeing those on her face. She picked up her vest and through it on, not bothering to zip it up. After all her training, she wasn't afraid to show as much skin. That, and her flat stomach had a little bit of her abs showing. Nashi had gone from thinking she was disgusting to being quite proud of her appearance. She walked out into the kitchen to find her mother there. She smiled at her.

"Morning, Nashi. Sleep well?" Nashi yawned in response.

"No" Nashi rested her head on her hand as she sat down. She was so exhausted. Not only had she stayed up way to late, but she used so much magic trying to only get a few embers out of her mouth. That was back now, but she was still too tired. "Can you make me some coffee or something, Mom? I'm exhausted."

"Sure, gimme a minute" Nashi yawned again, trying to keep her eyes open. She heard the coffee get placed in front of her.

"Nashi, can I ask you something?"

"Sure" There a moment of silence between them.

"You seem... different, lately. Has something happened?" Nashi wasn't sure how to respond to that. Somehow, She and her father had kept this all a secret, which was pretty impressive, considering that she'd come home once with bits a debris in her hair.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"I haven't ever seen you this happy in a long time. You haven't smiled so much in..." There was a silence akin to being deep in thought. "I just want to know whats happened that's making you so happy"

"Nothing" More silence.

"There's a boy isn't there?" Nashi felt sick.

"What?!" Mom grinned evilly.

"Don't play stupid. You've met someone, haven't you?" Nashi tried to keep the blush from her cheeks. It wasn't true,but the thought of her being with someone made her feel uncomfortable.

"No! When could I have done that?" Mom laughed.

"I don't know, but it's obvious you've got someone the brain. Who is it?"

"I don't have a boyfriend, Mom. Seriously."

"What ever you say, Nashi" Nashi growled. She didn't have a boyfriend, and it pissed her off that her mom thought she did. What guy would be interested in her? Not with the standing at the guild she had. Nope, not a chance. Although, she wouldn't be opposed to the idea...

"I'm back!" Nashi's train of thought was interrupted when her father came back, Happy trailing over his shoulder. Happy landed in front of Nashi.

"Morning Nashi!" He said. "You look tired"  
"She was probably up with her boyfriend" Her mother said sneakily.

"What boyfriend!?" Her father shouted.

"No boyfriend! She's making shit up!"

"Sure I am!" Mom laughed back.

"She's in looooooooove!" Happy shouted. Nashi swatted him into a wall. She knew her father was burning holes into her head. This had turned so south so fast. Dad sighed.

"At any rate, I have a surprise for you, Nashi"

"What is it?"

"You'll see" Nashi watched her father grin at her. She didn't like how shady he looked, but she couldn't do anything about it. After they had eaten, Nashi followed her father out and towards the guild. She balanced on the edge of the walkway near the river as they walked.

"Careful, Nashi" The boatmen called. "You don't wanna fall in!"

"I got it!" Nashi called back.

"It's good to see you smiling, Nashi! You look so much happier nowadays!"

"Thanks!" Nashi turned to smile at them, at she almost fell in. Dad laughed.

"I find it hard to believe that you were depressed before I came back. I don't really see you being so sad all the time." Nashi huffed and looked away.

"Don't think it's cause you came back, or anything" He chuckled.

"No? Then is it because I taught you so well?"

"You'd make a better slave driver than anything."

"But you still learn fast. You managed to fight me back. That's impressive."

"Couldn't possibly be because I'm your daughter." Their small talk didn't derail Nashi's thoughts as to what this surprise could be. She didn't have any idea what i could be, but she was excited and worried at the same time. She had to know.

"So, what's this surprise?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you"

"But I want to know"

"When we get there" She grumbled about stupid surprises. When they got to the guild hall, Her father cleared her throat.

"Rocky! Sammy! Get over here!" Nashi felt her stomach drop. Why the hell was he calling them. She met Drake and Elise's gaze, trying to gauge if they knew what was happening. They both shook their heads. Damn. Both Rocky and Sammy walked over, glaring at me. Apparently my episode months before hadn't had much impact on them.

"What is it, Mr. Dragneel?" Rocky asked. He clapped me on the back.

"You guys are gonna fight my daughter!" I paled.

"WHAT!?"

**shorter then I would've liked, but I'll save the fighting for next next chapter.**


	8. Nashi vs Rocky and Sammy

Nashi wanted to smack her father for dropping this bomb on her. She dragged him to the side.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"He grinned

"Surprise!" Nashi face palmed.

"This is a terrible surprise! I'm gonna get my ass kicked!" He laughed.

"You can hold your own against me. They'll be no contest"

"You don't try as hard as you can! They will! Not to mention no one in the guild can stop Rocky's hammer arms..." Rocky's signature was coating his arms with rocks and punching people to death.

"I don't, but that's because if I did, I'd have killed you a long time ago. You'll do fine" Nashi sighed as her father pushed back towards the battlefield. Rocky grinned. The whole guild had gathered in the backyard and looked out the windows.

"Your dad must believe in you something fierce to pit you against me and Sam. I'll take you out, so that Sam over there won't have too do anything" He cracked his knuckles. Nashi grinned.

"You think your so big and tough, don't you? How about I take you down a peg or two?" Rocky burst out laughing.

"You? Take me down? Ms. I can't use magic? Nice joke" Nashi shrugged indifferently. If only Rocky knew...

"Ready?"

"Rock Pillar!" Nashi felt the ground underneath shift slightly. She jumped back in time to dodge the first pillar. She, thankfully, felt her feet connect with the pillar raised behind her. With, she pushed off of it and landed on her feet.

"That the best you can do?" She mocked. Rocky snorted.

"So you learned some acrobatics, I'm supposed to be impressed?" He clapped his hands together, and a brown magic seal appeared. " Rock pillar!" The pillars rose again, this time around him. He grabbed them and flung them at Nashi. Nashi ducked and dove, easily dodging all of Rocky's pillars. She grabbed the last one and flung it back at him. It cracked around his hand. "Nice try, Dragneel. I must admit, your reaction time is far above what I expected. But your not gonna beat me by dodging all the time"

"Who said that's all I planned on?" He growled. A bunch of little rocks lifted from the ground and circled him.

"Rock Barrage!" At least 30 rocks flung in Nashi direction. She jumped high into the air, the rocks missing and hitting the rock face behind her. She landed gracefully, and felt pressure around her legs. Nashi started to panic when she looked down and saw her feet trapped in a rock trap. Rocky laughed.

"Too bad, Nashi, but now your mine" Nashi met her father gaze worriedly. He looked completely calm. Not any reassuring motion or anything. Rocky laughed. "Rock Hammer Arms" Nashi turned fearfully as rocks enveloped Rocky's arms, coating them in a 2 foot layer of earth. He advanced slowly, taking his sweet time.

_What do I do!? What now!?_

"I honestly expected more, Nashi" He laughed as he got closer. "But, then again, we are talking about Nashi 'Failure' Dragneel" Nashi growled, trying to fight her way towards him, but her feet wouldn't budge. "Let's see how much uglier you are when I smash your face in!" Rocky's raised his right arm.

_What do I do?!_

"Time to go, Dragneel!" Rocky struck, and my vision faded. I could see no more.

* * *

The first thing she heard was people murmuring.

"How did she..."

"No ones ever done that..."

"Rocky's attack..." Nashi looked up. No, she wasn't dead or severely deformed. Rocky's earthen fist had stopped inches from her face. Nashi saw her hand wrapped around it.

She'd managed to grab his fist. The look on Rocky's face made Nashi swell up in confidence.

"How... how did you... you can't be that strong..." Nashi grinned darkly at Rocky as she, with a surprising amount of ease, forced Rocky's arm back. She could tell Rocky was pushing as hard as he could. He was using his other arm to push it. Nashi applied a bit of force, and heard a satisfying crack.

"Is she..."

"She is..."

Nashi broke Rocky's rock arm. He stared at it in shock and backed up. Nashi felt the rock around her feet disappear. She looked down to find it had melted away thanks to her fire.

"Nashi's fire..."

"She using magic?"

"How can that be?" Nashi laughed at Rocky.

"What wrong, Rocky? Cat got your tongue!"

"You... you just used..."

"Yep. Now, I think I've let you have your fun." Nashi propelled herself into the air using fire and a fireball formed in her hands.

"Brilliant flame of the Fire Dragon!" She let the fireball go and it exploded on the battlefield. She landed and waited for the smoke to clear.

"Go Nashi!" Nashi heard Drake yell.

"Kick his ass!" Elise shouted. When the dust cleared, it was apparent that Rocky had blocked it. A shelter of earth had formed around him. It disappeared, revealing Rocky's shocked face.

"Where did you learn to do this shit?!" Nashi laughed as she advanced, flame enveloping her body.

"It's called running 5 miles every day" She growled as she launched her offensive. Rocky was being forced back to block her oncoming barrage of fists and feet. "It's called being beaten into the ground every day to learn how to fight. It's called Being thrown into frigid water to learn how heat yourself up." She swept Rocky off his feet and he landed on his back. She straddled him and started feeding him punches.

"Nashi what the..."

"It's called being sick and tired of over ten years of bullying. It's called having so much self hatred you want to die. It's called inspiration!" Nashi grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and picked him up. "I guess I have you to thank, Rocky. Without you being such a huge prick, I never would have had the drive to learn" She uppercut him, forming a fireball on her knuckles as she did, sending Rocky into orbit. It was a moment or two before he landed, completely unconscious.

"Where did she learn too do that..."

"Maybe it was Natsu..."

"Is that where's she been for 3 months? Training?"

"That was awesome, Nashi!" Drake yelled.

"Got his ass!" Elise cheered. Nashi heard her father laugh.

"Your up, Sammy boy!" He pushed Sammy forward, who gulped nervously.

"Nashi... I never meant those things I said... Rocky made me... He threatened me..."

"Shut you trap, and get the fuck over here" Nashi growled. Sammy gulped. He took position away from Nashi. Nashi launched herself at him, and he raised his hand, the fire around Nashi hand disappeared, and the fire used to propel herself towards him disappeared as well, causing her to faceplant.

"I use negation magic" Sammy said as she climbed to her feet. "No fireballs for you"

"Great plan, Sammy just one problem"

"What?" Nashi raised her fist.

"I don't need magic to kick your ass" He gulped again. Nashi launched herself again, doing so many flips and kicks and punches she started to get dizzy. Sammy must have felt at least 10 times worse. Nashi felt her muscles screaming in refusal. She was forcing herself to do much. Although she trained her acrobatics well, she only had so much in her before she got fatigued. She stopped with one punch, which knocked Sammy down on top of Rocky, both unconscious. The guild started cheering. Nashi felt herself get picked up. She looked down to find Drake and Elise picking her up and walking towards everyone else. She saw her father smiling, and giving her a thumbs up. Everyone was chanting her sweet praise. They carried her back into the guild.

"Nashi?" Nashi soaring heart was brought down to earth at the sight of her mother standing in the doorway of the guild.

_Shit_

**Cliffhanger! Don't forget to leave a review!**


	9. Returning friend

The guild went dead silent as Nashi`s mother stepped inside, watching everyone. Nashi Just wanted everyone to put her down.

"What's going on?" She asked. The guild was still silent.

"It was Nashi" Drake finally spoke up. "She just kicked some ass" Everyone mumbled in agreement, and Nashi wanted to hide in a hole.

"She what now?"

"Yeah" Elise agreed. "Rocky and Sammy didn't stand a 's gotten so good with her magic!"

"But... Nashi can't use magic..." Nashi looked at her father pointedly, or rather, gave him a desperate _help me! _glare. He sighed.

"Hey Lucy" He said, stepping forward. "Remember when I said Nashi and I were just getting to know each other?"

* * *

Nashi sat with her hands glued to her knees as people came up and congratulated her left, right, and center. She was flanked by Drake and Elise, and her parents were seated on the other side of the table. Dad had gone into detail of the training regime, telling her how Nashi had adapted quite well to all his challenges. Nashi could tell her mother had not stopped staring at her, and it unnerved her.

"Nashi" Nashi jerked her head up at the mention of her name. She met Mother's gaze. "Is what your father said true?" Nashi nodded.

"Yeah"

"Show me" Nashi lifted her left hand and it burst into flames. She kept her eyes on Mother, who's face was dimly illuminated by the flame. She sighed.

"I don't see why you didn't tell me" My father sweat dropped.

"Maybe because you told me not too"

"And although you did anyway, you did a good job." She met Nashi's gaze. "And I must say, I've never seen her so happy and in shape. Not that she was out of it in the first place." Nashi didn't feel like her mother was praising her, and it worried her how calm she seemed.

"So your not mad, then?" Father asked carefully.

"No, I'm pissed off you lied to me." Nashi laughed awkwardly as her father cowered. As the two of them walked away, Drake and Elise took their seats, both grinning.

"I agree with what your mom said" Drake said. "Your were amazing"

"Yeah, you were" Elise agreed. "I mean, you did as good as I would, and I've been training with my dad for years" Nashi remembered all the training she'd witnessed with the Redfox family. Elise's dad wasn't much better of a 'teacher' then her own , but Elise was good.

"I honestly didn't try that hard" Nashi told them.

"Really? Even when you stopped his hammer arm?" Drake asked. Nashi shrugged. Rocky couldn't have been that strong if she, without trying and only 3 and a half months of training, had stopped his ace in the hole with one hand. Or maybe her Father really was that good...

"Guys, can I ask you something?" Both of them watched me questioningly. " How strong do you guys feel my dad is?" Elise snorted.

"Is that a serious question?" Elise asked, chuckling. "He's a frigging monster" Drake nodded.

"Yeah, mans a legend. The fact that he is not only your father, but that he trained you, means your potential ability is through the roof. You just haven't reached it yet" Nashi could hear her friends, but she really didn't believe them. Despite seeing the truth in their words, she didn't think she'd ever reach her fathers level. She wasn't THAT good. She relaxed a little bit as people stopped congratulating her. She Rocky and Sammy walk in and glare at her, but she smirked back. She wasn't afraid of them anymore.

* * *

Nashi was just looking out her bedroom window when she heard her door open. She turned to find her mother standing there, a solemn look on her face.

"Can I talk to you for a second, Nashi?"

"Yeah. what's on your mind?" Mother sighed.

"I just wanted to make sure you have control of that magic your fathers been teaching you"

"I'm not sure I understand"

"Can you control it?"

"Yeah, of course"

"Good" More silence. Nashi felt slightly uncomfortable. "It's like I don't know how to talk to you anymore. I'm used to submissive, depressed Nashi. I'll have to adjust." Nashi chuckled.

"You won't ever have to see her anymore" Mother smiled at Nashi.

"Good to know. I hated her anyway" They both laughed. Nashi felt human, which was a new for her. Normally she felt so out of place she couldn't hold a conversation, but she felt as if she could say or do anything. Her door opened again to reveal her father.

"If you two ladies could keep it down," He said, sounding slightly angry. " Gray and I are trying to watch the Pandemonium finals, and your being way too loud"

"Make us be quiet" Mother countered, a grin on her face.

"So be it"

* * *

The cloaked figure continued trekking towards the city.

_Magnolia... my home..._

They falter for a moment, their right leg giving out on them. They yelp in pain, a vaguely feminine sound. She clenches her teeth. She knows the wound is only minor, but it makes walking such a pain. The main reason it had taken her so long to return in the first place was her inability to walk very far.

_I'm so close... no, I must attend to the wound, it may reopen... I can't have that... I shall return to the guild in the morning. _She sat herself down and blew her black hair out of her face, blue eyes watching the shining city carefully. She only hoped that no one would notice her wound, she hoped to keep a secret until she resolved the matter

_Of course, I'll need Drake and Elise... _Her thoughts drifted to her pink haired friend. Hopefully, Nashi had been okay this past year or so. Nashi had been depressed terribly when she'd been leaving, and she hoped it had gotten better.

_Ow fuck... _The young women gritted her teeth as blood seeped from her leg wound. This was a problem. She needed as much help as she could muster. _I doubt that Damien or Simon are back, they always push themselves so hard... _She winced as she washed the bandage with her water magic and dried it with ice. A helpful wound concealing combination, as she'd learned. She reapplied the wet bandage and sighed. This rock was as comfortable as any. Her black cloak billowed out from behind her, the blue Fairy Tail insignia dead center of the back.

Ultear Fullbuster looked up at the sky wistfully. Maybe she'd get some ice cream tomorrow as well. It had been a while since she'd had ice cream. Ultear leaned back and closed her eyes, allowing the famiiliar scent of home drift her off too sleep.

**Sorry if this chapter sucked but it was spur of the moment. Review!**


	10. Ultear's wound

Ultear wandered through the streets of Magnolia, offering smiles to the citizens who greeted her.

" Good to see you, Ul!"

"You, too!"

"how did your job go?"

"Was a little difficult, but nothing that I couldn't handle."

"You seem a little tired."

"I am, so, if you'll excuse me..." People carved a path for her. She knew full well she wasn't the most respected mage in Fairy Tail, but the people all knew her. She inhaled happily, smelling the fresh bread and smell of fruit in the baskets. Ultear was incredibly happy to be home. She took a step forward and immediately regretted it due too her injury. She faltered slightly, letting her smile turn into a grimace. She knew as soon as she'd actually been cut something was wrong, seeing as her ability to turn her body into water was always activated in a fight. But that sword had carved right through her, and she hadn't been at all ready.

"Ultear! My goodness look at you!" Ultear turned to find Ayaka-san, a florist, smiling at her.

"Hello Ayaka-san! It's been a while!"

"My goodness, you look like such a woman already! I'm sure your parents will be happy to see you! As with all the others"

"How have the others been, anyway? Heard anything?"

"Well, if you didn't know already, THE Natsu Dragneel has returned" This certainly was news to Ultear. She had vague memories of Nashi's father, pink hair and a big smile. She'd been almost a year old when he left.

"That's amazing! How's... Nashi been taking it?" Ultear knew every citizen knew about Nashi. She was surprised to see Ayaka-san smile even wider.

"Nashi been taking it amazingly, as a matter of fact. I've never seen that girl smile before, and she's always doing it every time I see her!" Ultear smiled at the thought. Even she, who had taken on a big sister role with Nashi, had barely seen her smile. She'd always been so unhappy.

"I guess I'll know when I see her!"

"Oh tell her I said hello, darling!" Ultear waved to Ayaka-san as she walked away.

_Nashi smiling... _Ultear found it hard to believe, as awful as that sounded. Nashi barely ever smiled, and when she did she only smiled to get Ultear off her back about it. Ultear shrugged. She'd see soon enough. As she walked past the cafe, she heard two men talking.

"Yeah, from what I heard, she completely thrashed 'em too..."

"I just can't imagine that innocent little girl fighting like her dad... It's just mind boggling to think about"

"Nashi's certainly becoming of age..." Ultear froze at the sound of Nashi's name. She walked up too them.

"You two" She spoke up, garnering their attention. And, just her luck, they were admirers of hers.

"Ultear-sama!" They both chimed irritatingly. Ultear tried not to slap them.

"What was that about Nashi?"

"You haven't heard? Apparently she beat the shit out of poor Rocky and Sammy..." Ultear's eyes widened.

"How did she manage that?" One leaned forward.

"I'll tell ya for a kiss" He leaned forward even more, and Ultear froze his head solid. She turned to glare at the other, and he grinned sheepishly.

"Apparently, and it may or may not be true, but apparently she used magic"

"Impossible" Ultear replied. "Nashi can't use magic, surely you know that"

"That's what I was sayin', but apparently her pops been trainin' her!" Those two never stood a chance!" Ultear had almost forgotten about Natsu. Surely that would answer that question. She started to walk away. "Hey! You forgot to unfreeze my friend!"

"I don't ever recall saying that I would"

* * *

Nashi knew it was a long day when she had to judge a burping contest between Drake and Elise. Neither could currently get anything to come up, and it was irritating her she'd agreed in the first place.

" Guys, I'll be honest" She said as she stood up. "I really could care less about this"

"Sit down and wait!" Elise commanded, pointing back at Nashi's chair. The other girl seemed to be preparing a burp, and when it came out, it came out sounding more like a girly screech than anything. Drake burst out laughing, as did Nashi. "Stop laughing! I thought it was a good one!"

"I'm gonna give it too Drake, just because that sucked!"

"Dammit, Nashi, come on! You know I'm way be-" Elise was cut off as the door to the guild hall flew open, a figure silhouetted against the light of the outside. Dark hair hung down from the pulled up hood, and Nashi watched them enter. They stood in the doorway for a moment before a chuckle was heard. A female chuckle.

"What, no banner? No jazz band? No giant display that says 'Congrats Ultear, you did the job!" The hood was thrown back, and Nashi gasped. Ultear stood beneath it, grinning widely. "I'm a tad disappointed." Nashi was thrown out of her daze at the sight of Ultear being tackled by an emotional Juvia.

"Ultear! Mommy was so worried! worried that you were hurt because you took so long getting home!" Ultear sighed and patted her mothers head.

"I'm okay, don't worry. And stop calling yourself Mommy, it's weird." Ultear stood up, and then Nashi noticed it. The way Ultear carried herself.

"She's cradling her leg" She spoke quietly, only so that the other could hear her.

"I know, I heard her" Drake replied. "She's wounded, badly"

"How badly?" Elise murmured.

" Bad enough to make her hide it from everyone, so it must be pretty bad." Nashi could only nod in agreement.

"Well, let's not be rude, and go say hi, or something" Nashi led her friends over to Ultear. Ul smiled as they approached.

"Hey Nashi, it's been a while!" Nashi smiled back at her

"Yeah, it sure has!" Nashi noted how shocked Ultear looked. "What's wrong Ul?" She smirked.

"I guess the rumors I heard in town were true. You can smile" Nashi blushed a little. "So I guess that means you can use magic now, too?" Nashi nodded as she lit her hand aflame, much too the unnecessary delight of her friend. "That's so awesome! I'm proud of you!"

"Yeah, don't say hi, or anything" Drake said loudly behind Nashi. "Elise and I aren't here, whatever"

"Hi Drake, Elise. You guys look so grown up!"

"It's only been a year, Ul. Calm down" Elise spoke up. Ultear grinned darkly.

"And yet you've managed to gain a half a cup size, congrats!" Elise hid her chest and blushed, much to Ultear's delight.

"Bout time you got back, sweetie" Gray said as he walked forward and tore Juvia off her daughter. "Write home sometimes, would ya? You have no idea of the amount of sleepless nights because of your mother over here..."

"Gray-sama! It was her first S-class mission! Mommy was worried about her little girl!"

"What did I just say, Mom?" Ultear demanded. "No Mommy, just Mom or Juvia works fine" The guild dispersed as The Fullbusters reunited. Nashi noted the slight limp Ultear had.

"We'll ask later" Drake said. "Let her family have her for right now" Nashi followed the other two back to their table. It was a few minutes into a heated discussion about the upcoming Grand Magic Games when Ultear squeezed onto the bench next to Nashi.

"I got away from my mom" She said with a grin. "Apprently her clingy-ness never went away, it just transferred departments." Ultear laughed at her own joke, and stopped when she realized no one was laughing. "What's wrong with you guys?"

"We know about your leg" Elise said, breaking the silence created by the bad joke. Ultear's features darkened considerably.

"Should of figured that" Ultear sat out a little bit and showed us the bloody wrappings around her leg. "I was slashed by a sword. pretty bad."

"Why don't you go to Wendy then?" Drake asked. "She'll fix you up"

"It isn't that bad. I'm not dying, or anything" She unwrapped it a little and applied a little water with an outstretched hand, cleaning the wound.

"Why wasn't your body all water like normally?" Nashi inquired.

"That's why I need all of you guys to help me with something" Ultear swung her leg back under the table and looked at all of them quietly. "Tomorrow night, sneak out and meet me by the gate, and we'll leave."

"Woah, woah" Drake said. "Where in the hell are we going?"

"Not now, where so many people can hear us" Ultear hissed. "Tomorrow night, the gate. Be there" Then she dissipated into a puddle and disappeared.

"I hate it when she does that" Nashi sighed.

**Review! Please!**


	11. The journey

**So, I`m back again! I just figured I`d say this now, but daily updates will not be a constants. I now that may be upsetting, but when I run low on the drive to update, I just can`t handle one or two chapters a day. It won`t work. Sorry!**

Nashi found it rather impressive how well Ultear hid the wound from everyone. No one else seemed none the wiser that she was hurt, but then again, Ultear's mother so worried about her when she coughed, so Nashi could understand the secrecy. What she and the others couldn't understand, however, was why Ultear needed their help. Ultear, as much as she tried to deny, was a very powerful wizard. S-class. She wasn't on par with Simon, or god forbid, Damien, but she was amazing. The fact that she needed help worried Nashi a little. Whatever she had run into, was clearly a big problem. Of course, Nashi could've known if she could find a way to sneak out. Her parents figured that they'd stay up all night and talk. Nashi was just trying to escape. Sighing, she opened her window and perched on the windowsill. If she had to jump out the window, she would. Neither parent would find it appropriate for her to leave at 11 at night. Nashi landed gracefully and started walking in the direction of the gate, wondering how much shit she was going to get in for leaving so late, and for something dangerous no less. Nashi had been contemplating getting a room at Fairy Hills, purely for a little more privacy. It wasn't like she had none at home, but she could've done this a lot easier if she was at Fairy Hills. Levy was the headmistress, and she would've thought nothing of it. Especially since her daughter and Ultear would've left with her. Nashi buried her face into her scarf as a fierce wind battered her.

"About time you got here" Nashi heard Elise said as she rounded the corner towards the gate. Everyone else was already assembled, waiting for her. " Have trouble getting away, did you?"

"I had to jump out the window, but I managed." Ultear laughed.

"That's all you had to do? I knew it was a mistake to stay at my parents place for a little bit. Mom wouldn't let me leave."

"In any case" Drake interrupted. "Can we know why you dragged us out here?" Ultear sighed.

"Once we get on the road"

"Where are we going?" Elise asked. Ultear responded by leaving, and they had no choice but to follow her. Nashi couldn't get back in the window without someone helping her, and she doubted anyone would. As they rounded a hill and left Magnolia behind, Ultear tuned to face everyone.

"I need you guys to help me in taking out the last branch of the bandit clan from the job I took."

"You didn't take 'em all out?" Drake inquired. Ultear gestured to her leg.

"It would've been a bad idea to do that, seeing as the guy that did that to me is there. That being said, I wouldn't feel very confident about going in alone. And god forbid my mother found out I was hurt."

"So you needed us to complete your job for you?" Elise asked.

"The job was too take out the west branches, which I did. This is personal." No one said anything, partially because Nashi was thinking. Why was this such a big deal to Ultear? It wasn't like she'd bumbled the job or anything. "That and I only learned about this secret part of the clan recently."

"So ,what's the name of this clan anyway?" Nashi asked. " I mean, not like it matters."

"The Enchanted Blades" Ultear responded. "Which makes sense, seeing as the sword that cut me must've had something on it to cut through me regardless" That made sense to Nashi. If it managed to slash Ultear while her body was water, it had to be enchanted.

"So, where is this clan located?" Drake asked, yawning.

"All the way across Fiore" Nashi sweat dropped.

"We better get going, then"

* * *

They arrived in a small town two weeks later. Nashi had hoped they've been home by now. She and the others often spent their long hours on the road joking about what the guild thought happened to them. Nashi would've thought they would panic a little, seeing as they had all disappeared without a trace. Drake joked they'd send people looking for them. Ultear kept saying her mother would flood the guild hall with tears. Elise said her dad wouldn't worry, but her mother probably would. Nashi felt bad thinking about the lack of evidence they'd left for their families. Of course, she'd been more worried recently about eating. Ultear, in her infinite wisdom, hadn't brought much in terms of supplies for the road. She'd brought a tent for them, that was about it.

"We're here!" Elise shouted happily. Drake collapsed.

"So... Hungry..." Nashi could understand his fatigue. The most she'd eaten today was a few berries and a small raccoon they'd caught. She, in her rush to eat, had charbroiled it, only making it edible for her. It hadn't tasted that good anyway. Ultear sighed and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Can we find a restaurant first?" She moaned. "I'm so hungry seeing Nashi eat that raccoon."

"I apologized her turning it into a rock" Nashi hissed. "It isn't my fault you guys couldn't eat it"

"It kind of is, actually" Elise growled. "And it looked pretty tasty too" Nashi sighed as she followed Ultear through town, before they found a small restaurant, and went in too sit down. A cute waitress walked up too them.

"What can I get for you?" She asked sweetly. Nashi sighed instantly when she felt Drake's inner male activate.

"Depends " He asked. "Are you on the menu?" She giggled.

"I'm not sure you can say that while in the company of three girls" Ultear chuckled.

"Yeah, _Drakey_, what gives?" She asked sweetly. Drake sighed. Nashi turned too the waitress.

"How about everything?" Nashi asked hopefully. She grinned as she wrote the word down.

"You folks must be hungry." She said. "Speaking of which, we don't get many visitors here. How far have you traveled?"

"From Magnolia" Elise responded. "We're her on a job" The waitress' eyes widened.

"Are... you people in a guild?" She asked slowly. Drake looked confused.

"Yeah, we're in Fairy Tail" He answered, lifting up his sleeve to show her his dark purple guild mark.

"Are you here to save us from those bandits?" She whispered, so that the others in the restaurant couldn't hear her. Nashi nodded slowly.

"Most likely" She replied. She smiled gratefully.

"Then this is all on the house. My gratitude in advance for your help!" She sped away, probably too get all our food ready.

"That was kind of her" Ultear noted.

"Those dicks must be causing problems" Drake added. "Maybe we better hurry up" Elise brandished her fork at him.

"AFTER we eat. I'm am not waiting, I'm starving"

"Agreed" Ultear said. "We will eat and get some rest, then deal with them" Nashi noted the intense glare Ultear was giving the window. She and the others still hadn't figured out why Ultear was so angry about this guy who wounded her. (Which was another reason they'd taken so long getting here, was her leg giving out several times). Nashi could understand payback, but Ultear was acting like this man had killed someone right in front of her. Nashi wouldn't pry.

* * *

It took them half an hour to figure out the sleeping arrangements at the hotel. No one wanted Drake to sleep with them, and he finally gave up one the two beds and slept on a chair in the corner of the room. Elise got one bed, while Nashi and Ultear shared the other, which she didn't mind. Everyone was drifting off to sleep, except Nashi, who couldn't get comfortable. That was when she heard Ultear mumbling.

"No... no...I'm sorry..." Nashi turned to find Ultear twisting and turning. "I... I couldn't protect her... I'm sorry..." Nashi watched as she started sweating. What was she talking about? couldn't protect who? Nashi turned to find Drake propped in his chair, watching her. He nodded. He'd heard it too.

_What exactly just happened?_


	12. Intrusion

The next morning went rather slow, seeing as no one was keen about getting out of there comfortable bed. Well, except for Drake, but he'd slept in the chair, so he had an excuse.

"Five more minutes!" Elise shouted angrily.

"How about you just get up?" Ultear tried. "Because you're getting on my nerves." Elise mumbled an incoherent insult directed at Ultear, who was so tired she just ignored her. No one spoke during breakfast. They were all too tense about what was going down today. Ultear already knew were the bandits were located, and they were going there immediately. Nashi, however, knew there was no way anyone was more nervous than she was. She`d never had to fight someone who was trying to kill her, seeing as she'd never been on any jobs. Ultear was an S-class, and both Drake and Elise had been on multiple jobs. All she'd done was train and beat up two guild members. She wasn't so sure she could handle it. After eating, which Nashi didn't do much of due too being too nervous, They headed out in the direction of the cave the bandits were located in.

"Are you sure they're in there?" Elise asked as they approached the cave, and Ultear nodded.

"I'm more than certain." She replied. "I've tripled checked that they're secret base is behind that waterfall. Pretty extensive, so we'll have to be quite.

"I can use my sound magic to help us sneak around" Drake reminded us. "I'll make sure we aren't caught." Nashi nodded quietly. She wasn't so worried anymore, hearing her friends being so confident. They approached the cave, and that's when Nashi finally realized they'd approached it the wrong way. The cave was way above them, just barely visible behind the waterfall.

"Why did we approach this way again?" She asked, turning to find Ultear gracefully diving into the water.

"My mother's a water wizard, remember?" Ultear asked, as a bubble of water formed around her. "I'll lift us through the waterfall up, towards the cave" Nashi and the others jumped into the water, and landed in the water sphere. Ultear started raising them up through the crashing water. It was quite a sight so see, rising through the water and seeing it crash around the sphere. They reached the top and Nashi passed through the water, landing lightly on the edge of the cave.

"There isn't a foothold outside" She warned. "Watch your step" The other jumped out of the sphere and landed softly, and Nashi looked wearily down the dark cave. There were no torches or anything, and it went down rather steeply. Nashi lit her hand on fire and held it in front of her as they progressed down the cave. The others followed her, careful not to dislodge any rocks that would make anyone below aware of our presence. Nashi could practically hear Drake concentrating his sound magic to find anyone.

"Anything?" Elise asked him. He shook his head.

"It doesn't seem like there's anything in here..." He trailed off as his ears twitched. " 3 guys, burly, guarding what feels like a door." Nashi froze and peeked around the corner. about 50 meters ahead, Drake's prediction was on point. Three guards stood near the steel door, which was emblazoned with glowing crossed blades with what looked like lacrimas glowing in the hilt.

"The mark of the Enchanted blades" Ultear hissed. "they're in there"

"Well, how do we get passed these chumps?" Elise demanded.

"They are all men" Drake said, pointedly watching them. Nashi felt sick.

"No" They all said defensively.

"Think about it" Drake replied. "They're probably pretty lonely. If one of you strips and wanders over there saying your lost, they'll come over here and we can knock 'em out and take they're uniforms.

"He's got a point" Ultear grumbled angrily.

"But who's gonna go?" Elise asked. Ultear formed three icicles.

" Whoever picks the short one goes" Nashi wrapped her hand around one and pulled it from Ultear's grasp, sighing in relief at the size. Ultear pulled one and it was moderately sized. Elise was sweating as she picked out the last one. It was slightly shorter than Ultear's.

"Shit..." She said.

* * *

Elise cowered in her underwear, with Drake tuned the other way. Ultear made him.

"So what do I do?" She hissed, already pissed off enough.

"Walk out there, get there attention, and run back here'' Nashi replied. "Simple."

"This is anything but that" Elise replied. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the open.

"Hey!" The guard shouted. "Your not supposed to be here!" Nashi heard Elise giggle.

"I'm sorry ,but I was running from the man who kidnapped me and I ran in here. Please, help me!"

"Come on, man, she needs our _help_" The way the other man said help made Nashi shiver. Way too creepy.

"Well" Elise said. "Why don't you big boys come over here and help me?" Nashi heard them approaching, and Elise hid behind the three of them. The men turned the corner, and their creepy grins faded instantaneously.

"Peekaboo" Drake laughed as they knocked them unconscious

* * *

"This uniform is uncomfortable as shit" Drake growled as he shifted uncomfortably. Nashi could agree with that. Whoever was in charge of these bandits needed to get their men better uniforms. Ultear sighed as she continued smearing blood from her wound all over her body. They had decided Ultear would act as their prisoner as they attempted to ind this man she was after.

"You guys just have too look the part" Ultear replied, wiping blood on her cheek. "Just ask around for the boss, they'll direct you to him if you say who I am" Nashi hoisted her up and Elise grabbed her other arm. Drake pressed one of the unconscious bandits hand against the lacrima, and it opened loudly. They walked in, and were approached immediately.

"Your guard isn't over, ye fuckin' idiots" One hissed. "The boss is gonna kill ya fer this" Nashi heard Drake snort at their speech, and tried not to do so herself.

"We found this bitch tryna' sneak in" Elise replied, pushing Ultear forward. " Says she here fer the boss. State yer name, ya whore" Nashi was taken aback by Elise's ability to act. Her slurring didn't even sound forced.

"Ultear Fullbuster" Ultear growled, blowing her bangs out of her face. They gasped.

"You guys caught the Fullbuster kid?" One whispered.

"She's been tearin' apart our operation all over the place! Take her to the boss immediately, we'll cover your shift!" Elise nodded and they proceeded.

" I'm a bitch and a whore" Ultear said wistfully. Elise rolled her eyes.

"I was putting on a show for them"

"No shit, that was incredible." Drake replied. They walked up a flight of stairs towards a gold plated door.

"He's right behind that door" Ultear whispered, bloody murder clearly her intent. Nashi knocked on the door, and it opened.

"Enter" They did so, and it shut behind them. The room was quiet for a moment, and then the lights spurred to life. A bald man sat behind the desk.

"Ultear Fullbuster" He said, voice booming. "So you've finally been caught"

"Trying to kill you" She hissed in response. He laughed again. He stood and face them. Nashi was greeted by a face covered in tattoos and his teeth were something else.

"Why? Because I ran that town into the ground?" Ultear growled, and Nashi felt their cuffs around her wrists freezing.

"You killed all those people, you killed children!" He shrugged, and Nashi felt sick. The fact that he seemed so indifferent was really what shocked her the most.

"I did so to teach you a lesson. Using those people as cover as you attacked our outposts, you are something else"

"I wasn't using them for bait, they took me in and helped me! Her family helped me..." Ultear grew silent. "I won't forgive yo... not for her... not for Keiko..." Nashi didn't know who that was, but the man boomed in laughter again.

"That stupid little girl, oh, I enjoyed killing her. screamed bloody murder, too" Nashi and Elise couldn't hold her, Ultear flung herself at him, but he laughed as he disappeared.

"Nice try, Ultear, but you and your little friends will have to wait"

"Why's that?" Ultear demanded.

"Maybe because you have to deal with all my associates first?" Nashi saw Drake glance back, and his eyes widened.

"They're all coming for us" The mans laughter boomed throughout the office again.

"That's the best the Enchanted Blades have to offer. Of course, if you really want to kill me..." A secret passage opened up behind the desk. "Come and get me, Fullbuster" Elise moaned as she, Drake, and Nashi ripped off the uniform.

"Now what do we do?" Drake demanded. Ultear was storming towards the open passage.

"Nashi, come with me" She said angrily. "Drake, Elise, I trust you guys can take care of the lesser?" Drake nodded.

"Yeah, we got them. You guys be careful" Elise agreed as she cracked her knuckles.

"Don't you guys go messing up. I'd hate to go back without you guys" Nashi followed Ultear into the passage, as she heard the sounds of combat behind her


	13. Keiko

" Slash of the Poison Dragon!" Drake watched as another bandit was sent flying. He skillfully weaved in and out of their magic gun shots.

"Fist of the Poison Dragon!" Another set went flying. "That's 34 for me, Elise! You keeping up?"

"Iron Dragon Club!" He heard her shout somewhere to his left, then she laughed. "Are you kidding me, Drake? I just got 45!"

"Like hell you did!" Drake roared at an incoming group, causing them to scatter in fear. After his first roar sent the three he hit into a comatose state of near death, they decided to avoid it. A few flanked him, and he launched himself into the air.

"Poison Dragon's Spiral Jaw!" Poison collected around his feet as he landed, sending the bandits flying everywhere. "44!" He backed up and felt himself back to back with Elise.

"These guys are total pushovers" She stated, yawning. "Their boss can't be all that"

"No I think he's all talk" Drake replied. Elise roared.

"52!" Catch up now, bud!"

"Poison Dragon's Scales!" The dark red scales launched out and exploded. "I'm not that far behind!"

* * *

Nashi could hear the explosions long after she and Ultear descended into the darkness. She kept the flame on her hands going, and Ultear was completely silent. Nashi couldn't help but wonder what the boss had been referring too. He'd said something about a town, but Nashi knew nothing about that. She wanted to know, but felt like that would be asking to much. More explosions.

"I hope Drake and Elise are okay" She said to Ultear, who remained quiet. "I mean, there was a lot of guys out there"

"They'll be fine" Ultear responded. "They're tough" More silence. Nashi wished she could find the words to ask about Keiko. "I know you have something on your mind, tell me" Nashi jerked back slightly at Ultear's harsh words, but sighed.

" I just wanted to know about Keiko. You seemed... so uncharacteristically angry" Ultear sighed.

"It all started when I began my job..."

* * *

_Flashback_

_Ultear wandered into the town quietly, trying not to draw to much attention to herself, failing immensely. People turned to look at her as she walked through the small town towards the mayors office. He'd been the one to send the job request, so she'd go to see him. She arrived at the office and walked towards the front desk._

_"Ultear from Fairy Tail, here to see the mayor." She smiled dryly._

_"He'll see you know" She replied. Ultear strode into the office, and noted the small man sitting at the desk._

_"Greetings mages from Fair... " He seemed confused. "Just one of you?" Ultear should have been ready for this._

_"I'm all they sent, but I'll be enough" He sighed._

_"If you say so..." He turned to face the window. "In any account, I'm sure you've read the form." Ultear nodded._

_"Yes. I'm to take out the branches of a bandit guild attacking you. I'm to report back to you with the seven different branches flags for the reward." He nodded._

_"You seem well informed. I do hope you succeed. The other mages from other guilds, were... less successful." Ultear didn't need an explanation. They'd died. All she had to know. "But your guild must have immense trust in you to send you alone" Ultear smiled wistfully as she thought back to her mother begging her to bring someone with her._

_"Yes sir, I believe so" He turned back to face her with a small smile on his face._

_"I will contact the family you'll be staying with during your time here" Ultear's brow furrowed._

_"...Pardon, sir?" She asked, scratching her head._

_"You will be staying with a family in town as cover. You can come back whenever you please, but don't ever put them in any kind of danger." Ultear had absolutely no intention of staying here, but she appreciated the offer all the same. _

_"I shall go and see them immediately." She said quietly, turning around after he gave her the address._

* * *

"That was Keiko's family?" Nashi asked as they continued through the darkness. The explosions sounds had died off, but that didn't worry Nashi. Ultear nodded.

"Yeah, and I got them killed."

* * *

_Ultear sighed as she knocked on the door and waited. These Mr and Mrs. Green sure were kind to agree to take her in. The door was answered by a girl no older than 5._

_"Who are you?" She asked sweetly. Ultear smiled a bit._

_" My name is Ultear, are your parents home?"_

_"Mommy, Daddy! There's a pretty girl here to see you!" Ultear blushed slightly as she walked inside, being greeted by the parents._

_"You must be the wizard the mayor hired." Mrs. Green said warmly. "It's a pleasure to give you somewhere to lay your head at night."_

_"I won't be around much" Ultear replied, lifting her bag up a little. "I'll be out on the job most of the time. I do appreciate your kindness regardless"_

_"Of course, dear" Mrs. Green replied. "Just tell me if there's anything you need."_

_"Actually" Ultear said, digging around in her bag, pulling out a sealed letter. "If you could mail this to my guild if I never come back, I'd appreciate it" Their smiles faded as they took the letter with a shaky hand. "Your also welcome to sell any of my belongings I leave behind,My family won't mind"_

_"Why wouldn't you ever come back?" Keiko asked quietly. Ultear smiled down at her. _

_"My job is dangerous, I could get seriously injured" Keiko grabbed her hand and dragged her down the hall._

_"You have to come to the tea party first though! My dollies wanted to meet you!"_

* * *

Nashi smiled at the thought of a over hyper active little girl. She could see why Ul had been to attached to her.

"She sounds like a little angel" Nashi commented. Ultear sighed.

"Yeah, well, I suppose she was , even if she was more than a handful at times. But she always wanted to hear about my adventures when I got back from taking a branch out..." Nashi watched as Ultear visibly saddened.

"If you don't want to talk about this, then we can..."

"No," Ultear snapped suddenly. "I needed to tell someone about this sooner or later, might as well do it now."

"But your crying" Nashi watched as Ultear raised a hand and wiped off the tears, glaring at them as if they were the reason Keiko was gone. "Seriously, Ul, if you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. I won't pry" Ultear shook her head sternly.

"No, I going to tell you. I can finally get if off my chest"

* * *

_Ultear stumbled back to the Green's house, cradling her arm. This wouldn't look good. Why had she refused to leave before she was sure all of those guys were defeated? That explosive lacrima trap had gotten her good. Her arm was raw and bloody, with a little bone visible. She thanked all the gods she could think of that the heat from the explosion had fused her skin closed. She stumbled through the door and was greeted by the Greens themselves._

_"Welcome back Ul..." Their eyes widened at Ultear's wound. _

_"What happened to you?!" Mr. Green shouted._

_"Are you okay, Ultear-nee?" Keiko asked worriedly._

_"Just a little burned." She replied weakly. They dragged her into the kitchen and brought out a mysterious looking paste. "What the hell is that?" She asked._

_"It'a paste made from various plants in the area." Mrs. Green explained as she applied it. "It'll help you heal." Ultear winced as it burned a little, but that may have been her raw flesh. She watched as her arm started to glow and the burns started to fade, eventually just leaving a small scar in place of the wound.  
_

_"That's a lot like Wendy's healing magic" Ultear commented, rubbing her now uninjured arm_

_"Who's Wendy?" Keiko asked._

_"A friend of mine back at the guild who can use sky magic" She replied, facing the child. Her eyes lit up._

_"You mean Wendy Marvell?! Wendy from the dragon's of Fairy Tail!? That's awesome!" Ultear knew of the moniker given to Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy, seeing as they, after so long, were practically the faces of Dragon Slaying Magic. "Could you get me her autograph? The others too!" Ultear laughed at the girls enthusiasm._

_"I could get you Gajeel's and Wendy's, but I can't get you Natsu's, sorry"_

_"Why not?' Keiko pouted._

_"Because he hasn't been at the guild since I was a baby. No one know where he is" That didn't seem to lighten Keiko's mood whatsoever, and Ultear ruffled her hair playfully. "I'll see what I can do, alright?"_

_"Thanks, Ultear-nee!" Keiko ran off and Ultear smiled._

_"She thinks the world of you, you know" Ultear turned to her parents surprisingly. _

_"Huh?"_

_"She always talks about you, wondering when you'll come home." Ultear smiled quietly and looked away. It was going to break Keiko's heart when she had to go home, but... At least she'd be safe from these fucking bandits._

* * *

"That was the last time I ever saw them alive" Ultear said as she lifted her arm from under her cloak to show Nashi the scar. Nashi watched as Ul traced a finger down the long mark on her arm.

"That's sad" Nashi said, wishing she could be a bit more empathetic, but she had know idea what that felt like.

"The next branch I was to take out was the last one, headed by the bastard we're trying to find, Zindo" Nashi waited for her to continue, but Ultear sighed as Nashi noticed her limp. How long had her leg been hurting her? "He got my leg pretty good, as you and the others noticed, but... He escaped..."

* * *

_Ultear could see the smoke a mile away, and her heart was a stone as she saw the burning buildings. How could she have let this happen? That bastard Zindo... How had he manged to cut her leg? Maybe she'd have been able to be here had she not had to wrap and attend to her wound every five seconds..._

_"Keiko?! Mrs. Green? Mr. Green? Anyone?" Ultear wandered through the town, putting out the flames, searching desperately for anyone. All she saw however, were burnt bodies. It made her sick to think that a human could purposefully do this._

_"Anyone?! Is anyone alive?!" Ultear's leg pounded in pain, she should've stopped for longer, but she had no time. She'd find a healer on her way back to Magnolia. She turned down the next street to find the town hall practically untouched, a magic barrier protecting it._

_"Mayor-san? Anyone, answer me!" The door cracked open, and Ultear saw the terrified face of the mayor._

_"Ultear..." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you are unharmed."_

_"I wouldn't say unharmed." Ultear growled, limping towards him. The surviving civilians filed out and into the wreckage, searching for family, belongings, anything that survived the blaze. "What the hell happened?"_

_"Oh it was terrible," The mayor replied. "These men came and started attacking, looking for you. 'Ultear, where's the assholes who helped Ultear?' No one would tell them ,and they started torching buildings, starting with the Greens..." Ultear felt tears stinging her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ultear ,but they were all inside..." Ultear ran towards their house, ignoring the pain shooting through her system._

_no.. please god no... it's my fault if their..._

_Ultear reached the house and slammed her body into the door, breaking in down rather effectively. She ran around, coughing, until she found the master bedroom._

_and three burnt bodies curled up on the remains of a bed._

_Ultear's started crying, then sobs escaped her. These people had taken her in and given her medical aid if she was hurt... and she had abandoned them... to die._

_"I'm so sorry... This is my fault..." She manged to croak out as she heard the mayor approach behind her._

_"Don't preach nonsense, Ultear. These men came while you were out doing your job, they attacked like cowards."_

_"But if I hadn't been so bad at my job, he wouldn't have escaped... he wouldn't have done this..." Ultear trailed off._

_"You know who did this?" Ultear nodded, the flow of tears not stopping._

_"He's the one who wounded me. He slowed me down on my way to get here. They weren't looking for me, they knew where I was. They came to kill you all..."  
_

* * *

They died because of me" Ultear finished, wiping her face in a vain attempt to stop crying. Nashi looked around the chamber they'd reached while walking through the tunnel. The flowing water making the silence seem less awkward.

"Don't say shit like that, Ul" Nashi managed. "You did everything you could, you had no idea they'd attack the village. Ultear looked up at Nashi, and Nashi felt terrible seeing her friend like this.

"The people said they could hear Keiko screaming for me while the house burned to the ground" Nashi felt as if a knife and punctured her heart.

"Why the hell would they tell you that?!" Nashi demanded. "That's horrible."

"Perhaps because It's her fault that little girl perished." They turned to find Zindo standing on a balcony, smiling. "After all, Ultear's the only reason we attacked that town"


	14. Nashi vs Zindo

**Seeing as I have the day off, I thought I'd take the chance to update today. I also figured I'd take the chance to describe these characters, seeing as they're OC's, descriptions would help,wouldn't they?**

**Nashi**

**she's the cover art, just use that**

**Drake**

**He's got his dad's hair color and skin tone (Cobra, in case you couldn't figure it out yet). His hair his flatter than Cobra's, and he's got a similar white trenchcoat.**

**Ultear**

**I named here that for several different reasons. One, I wanted to have some characters named in honor of people, hence her name. That and I picture her like pre time skip Ultear, Mostly the one on the boat with Meredy after Tenrou Island, seeing as she's looks so much better there.**

**Elise**

**Probably the hardest to picture, seeing as her parents are polar opposites in practically every manner. She has piercings in her ears, her dad's hair color and style, although a bit more smooth, She's got Levy's eyes, and, yeah. I don't know :)**

**Simon.**

**Practically a cut and copy of Jellal, with red hair and no face tattoo .Just in a black jacket and jeans. Uses both parents magic effectively.**

**Damien**

**Laxus without a scar and less spiky hair, while it's white Like Mira. Uses takeover.**

* * *

Drake panted as he wandered back to Elise, who was sitting on the steps next to entrance, panting as well.

"Those guys don't give up" He complained as he sat next to her, and she smirked.

"Well, it was 300 to one, maybe they thought they had the advantage" She replied, wiping her sweaty face with one hand. They panted in silence, observing the carnage from their fight. From the near dead thanks to his poison, or the severely beaten thanks to Elise, lay strewn everywhere, either groaning or quiet as a dead body.

"I hope Nashi and Ul are okay" He said, breaking the silence.

"I'm sure they are" Elise replied, rubbing her arms. "I mean, it's Ul and Nashi we're talking about here"

* * *

Nashi dodged another volley of swords that had appeared out of nowhere. Ultear appeared beside her from a puddle.

"His magic is similar to Erza and Simon" She spoke and Zindo laughed. "He's summoning those blades with requip "

"Smart one over here" Zindo laughed, launching another volley. Nashi could tell the swords had some form of incantation on them from the lacrima in there hilts. she ran from the swords and threw a fireball at him ,but he deflected it easily. _I can't hit him_. "Try as you might, fire wizard, you're not going to hit me"

"Why not?"

"I am above such petty spells doing damage to me." Nashi couldn't stand how cocky this guy was, it was like he thought he was a god. Ultear launched icicles at him, but he deflected those as well. "If this is the best you ladies can do, I'm a bit disappointed."

"If you weren't such a bitch and let us attack you, this wouldn't be so one sided." Ultear growled. He laughed.

"But what would the fun in that be?" Ultear turned to look at Nashi, as if trying to convey some kind of message. Nashi shrugged, she had no idea. The next sword volley gave them an excuse to huddle up.

"Distract him" She hissed, sounding pissed off.

"How the hell do I do that?" Nashi replied, equally as pissed off.

"I don't know, attack him! I have an idea" With that, Ultear disappeared into the water surrounding the chamber, leaving Nashi to fight on her own. She stood and faced Zindo.

"You know" She said innocently, " You talk all this shit about not being able to get hit, yet you can't hit me" He growled and attacked again, missing. "Jeez you aim is terrible."

"Stop moving then, wench!" He yelled, irritation evident in his voice. More swords attacked Nashi, but she dodged them all easily. If this was what Ultear wanted her to do, she could do that. She looked up to find the water behind Zindo rising, creating Ultear's features as it went.

"Ice Make Hammer!" The hammer slammed down on Zindo's head, and he growled in frustration as he whirled around and slashed at Ultear, but she dissipated just in time. He ran the sword through the water in rage, and screamed something about sneak attacking whores. Ultear crawled out of the water next to Nashi, clutching her chest.

"Ultear, are you okay?!" Nashi ran to her friends aid, and saw the dripping blood. The sword had managed to connect. Ultear coughed.

"That bastard, what kind of sword is that?" She struggled to stand, but fell back, clutching her bloody chest.

"Ultear stop, your hurt" Nashi said shakily. Now she had to face this guy on her own. Zindo laughed.

"Have you forgotten my swords negate bodily protection magic, Ultear? Just because your body was water doesn't mean I can't hit you!" Ultear was groaning quietly, clutching her wound. Nashi stepped in front of her confidently. Zindo hummed in confusion.

"Oh, what's this? The fire wizard wishes to fight me one on one? Impressive." Nashi gulped.

"Nashi, don't." Ultear croaked. "He's too powerful... you can't handle him... Don't get yourself killed for me..." Ultear's voice was shaky. Nashi could smell the fear rolling off of her in waves.

"I got it" Nashi said, not feeling the least bit nervous. _Your father was never afraid, even the face of impossible odds..._ Nashi heard her mothers voice in her head. _Why of all things to inherit from him was it that?_ She wondered. Zindo yawned.

"I think it's about time I wrapped this up, after all.." He was interrupted as Nashi's fireball made contact with him, causing him to stumble off of the balcony into the chamber. He growled. "Stupid girl, do you not realize you don't have a chance?"

"Fairy Tail wizards don't give up" Nashi found herself saying. "They fight until they can't anymore." Nashi's body ignited. "That's why Ultear tracked you down. That's why she's willing to die if it means you go too. But, she's not going anywhere"

"Nice speech" He laughed. "Are you ready, Wizard from Fairy Tail? You've managed to get my attention" His hand glowed white. "Besides requip and telekinesis for these swords, I am a master of Impact magic" Nashi had heard of Impact magic. It dealt a lot of damage should the caster's hand make contact with their opponent.

"If your trying to scare me, it isn't working" Nashi said casually. "Fist of fire dra..."

"Impact Palm!" Nashi's attack was interrupted when Zindo's hand made contact with her Collarbone, sending her flying into the wall. She heard him chuckling.

"My, my, this little firefly is a Dragon Slayer? I never would've guessed" Nashi collapsed to her knees, coughing. That really hurt. She felt Zindo pick her up by her neck. She glared down at him defiantly.

"Put her down" Ultear croaked out, before entering a coughing fit. Zindo laughed as he flung Nashi this was and that, all around the chamber. Nashi was helpless to stop him. She couldn't catch a breather, his onslaught was relentless. She crawled out of the debris and collapsed, coughing up blood. Zindo chuckled again.

"If this is the power of the dragons, it shocks me that only Dragon Slayer magic can hurt them. Then again, perhaps your just useless" The word pierced Nashi like a blade.

"What..." She croaked, struggling to stand. "Did you just call me?" Zindo laughed.

"I said your useless. How you think your magic could ever kill a Dragon is beyond me. I've never seen such an incompetent piece of trash in my life" Nash clenched her fist angrily as he laughed. _useless... trash... _"In any event, ladies, I think it's time we ended this little game." Swords appeared all around him. " And I think I'll start with you, Ultear. Your friend may be incompetent, but she's got fire. I like that" Nashi watched as the swords targeted Ultear. who looked solemn, almost peaceful.

"No..." Nashi whispered. "NO..." She heard them launch.

"NO!" Nashi screamed, feeling incredibly light headed. The room had begun to shudder. Nashi opened her eyes and found out why.

Fire had erupted from her mouth and met the swords on their way to Ultear. She closed her mouth, and the fire disappeared, leaving nothing but melted pools of metal. Both Zindo and Ultear stared at her in shock.

"Nashi... how...?" Ultear began, before the pain cut her off. Zindo chuckled darkly.

"My, my. It would appear she still thinks she can take me out herself. Well, no matter..." Nashi cut him off by flying across the room, coated in flames, and grabbed him by his neck.

"What the hell did you call me?" Nashi hissed, voice so low she sounded completely murderous.

"Huh?"

"What the hell did you call me?!" Nashi shouted, the flames around her glowing even brighter.

"I said you were useless, is that's what your asking about..." Nashi growled.

_"What makes you angry? What makes your blood boil?" _Nashi had a flash back to her father training her on the first day.

_"The people who make fun of me" She replied._

_"Now imagine how great it would feel to punch them all in the face."_

Nashi's fist connected, sending Zindo flying across the room.

"You've made me angry!" Nashi shouted at him as he crawled out of the debris. "Now you get a taste of what those assholes got. Payback." Nashi launched herself at him.

* * *

Everyone was silent at the guild as they waited impatiently. Natsu paced back and forth, staring at the communication lacrima for a moment, before he continued pacing.

"He'll call any minute now" Erza told him flatly. He ignored her.

"He should've an hour ago" Levy pointed out. They were all waiting for him to call back, and he seemed completely unwilling. Natsu was against sending him, but their was no one else to send who wouldn't kill them for doing this.

"What the hell does Ultear think she's playing at, anyway?" Gray demanded. "Getting the others involved in her own problems..."

"Juvia is worried about their welfare." Juvia stated quietly. "Juvia hopes they are okay" No one else got a chance to speak when the lacrima sprang to life, revealing the face of a young scarlet haired man.

" About time, Simon" Gajeel grumbled.

"My apologies, Mr. Redfox, I only got this thing working a few seconds ago." Simon replied.

"Have you found them yet?" Lucy asked hopefully.

"No," Simon replied. "But I did find this" He turned the lacrima towards the open plains, were their was a giant scorch mark in the middle. "I have reason to assume they've been this way"

"Well hurry up and find them, then head west and catch the train from there back here. It'll only take 17 hours." Kinana growled. Simon nodded.

"I'll find them ,don't worry about it"

* * *

Simon sighed as he turned the lacrima off and looked towards the small town in the distance. He'd been rather unsure how far they'd gone in this direction, but, using Meteor, he'd gotten here rather quickly. He'd thought it would've been better for his own sanity that he withheld his proximity from their parents. They called him at least every 3 hours, and it was irritating him to no end. He'd find Nashi and the rest, drag them home, and that was that. He honestly didn't know why he'd agreed to this. He'd gotten home a week and a half ago and they immediately told him to go and find the 'runaways.' He'd been against going on the road again, but his Meteor spell made the trip much less irritating. Walking quietly towards the town, he found himself feeling sorry for the others. They were gonna get it when they got back.


	15. Victory

**I'm just saying, we have almost 40 followers and 14 reviews as I write this, we can do a bit better ;)**

**God, I sound like a review whore...**

Ultear watched with wide eyes as Nashi not only attacked Zindo incredibly fast, but he was getting beaten back. Every time he attempted Impact Magic, Nashi's arc of attack would change. he attempted to grab her several times, but he would retreat due to the immense heat rolling off of Nashi in waves.

_Is this how strong she's always been?_

The sword Zindo cut her with had gotten her with had gotten her good. The gash reached from her left shoulder to her right thigh. It wasn't that deep, but it still hurt to do anything but lay there and watch as the little girl she'd always defended from everyone beat the living shit out of the man she'd lost twice too. She hadn't had the privilege of seeing her fight Rocky and Sammy, but she could imagine why the rumors had spread so fast, Nashi was amazing. She kicked him across the room, and he flew through the wall. Swords flew out in response, all of which burned up and melted when they got to close. Zindo crawled out the wall with a smirk on his face.

"My blood hasn't burned like this for a long time. Your something else, kid" Nashi growled like an animal in response. "Unfortunately for you, I have one more trick up my sleeve." Ultear wondered what this was until she felt herself getting picked up and she was placed down in front of Zindo, and he grabbed her by the neck. "Attack me now, Dragon Slayer, and we'll see if I or your friend dies from the hit first." Nashi glowered at him over Ultear's shoulder. Ultear's wound burned like a bitch, but she could endure it for now. Ultear watched as Nashi's flame started to die out.

"What are you doing?!" She shouted. " I don't care if you hit me, take this bastard out!" Zindo chuckled.

"Looks like she doesn't trust herself enough." Ultear got an idea. It was beyond dangerous, but she had to try.

"Nashi" She spoke. Nashi looked up at the sound of her voice, and Ultear pointed to her stomach.

"Are you sure?" Nashi asked lowly. Ultear nodded. Nashi's flame reappeared, and she charged.

"W- what are you doing!?" Zindo shouted. "Your going to kill your friend!" Ultear chuckled.

"Have you forgot Zindo?" She asked cheekily, coughing against his arm. " My body can turn into water" Before he had a chance to retort, Ultear focused all the energy she had into her stomach, and she felt Nashi's fist enter her and got right out the other side, connecting with Zindo, sending him flying into the wall. Ultear then dissipated into the water surrounding them. It would be easier for Nashi to fight him without her in the way.

* * *

Nashi watched as Zindo crawled out of the wall, growling.

"This is bullshit" He said, standing up straight. "Your just a punk bitch, and your beating me?!" Nashi chuckled.

"I'm not just some punk bitch" She said confidently. "I'm Nashi Dragneel" Zindo's eyes widened.

"Dragneel? Damn kid, you could of said that earlier." He rubbed his stomach where her fist had connected. "I didn't know I was dealing with Natsu's kid"

"You know my dad?" Nashi demanded.

"Are there people who don't?" He replied. "Your dad's a fucking legend, no wonder your beating me" Nashi replied by launching another attack, but he parried it. Nashi felt her power waning. Despite all the training she'd done, she'd never kept up a flame for this long. She needed something to eat... Nashi wasn't prepared for when his palm connected with her thigh and she was sent flying sideways.

"Damn it.." She groaned, regaining her footing. He laughed.

"That fire's more like a bunch of embers kid. Running out of steam?" Nashi didn't reply, saving her energy for the fight. This guy kept getting back up. they'd practically destroyed the entire room, and he'd still gotten up every time. She didn't have much left to hit him with. She was preparing another assault when Zindo beat her too it, connecting with multiple attacks. She flew backwards through another wall, and into something that groaned when she hit it. She turned back to see a huge lacrima there, and it was sparking dangerously. She heard Zindo laugh.

"Oh, that sucks kid. That lacrima there we were gonna use to blow up a small village not far from here" Nashi's mind wandered to the small village they'd stayed at the night before, and it pissed her off that he said that. "See ya, kid. I'll send your daddy his scarf back." Before nashi could get up, the lacrima exploded, engulfing her in smoke.

* * *

Drake didn't need amazing hearing to tell him shit just went down.

"I hope there okay" Elise murmured, as the various members of the clan ran past them, away from the explosion and the collapsing roof.

"Shall we go and pay them a visit?" Drake asked, grinning at her, a grin which she eagerly returned. They ran towards the passageway Nashi and Ultear had disappeared into, and found in blocked with rocks from the explosion.

"Now what do we do?" Elise shouted, over the rocks cascading down from the roof. "This place is gonna collapse on our heads! We gotta get out right now!"

"We can't just leave them!" Drake shouted back.

"Well, you find a way to get in there, but I'm getting out of here" She said frankly.

"So your gonna abandon them ,after everything that's happened?" Drake shot back as she turned to leave, then froze.

"There's a difference between abandoning someone and realizing your own life is at risk if you stay. We're all gonna die if we don't get out NOW!" Drake winced as he glanced back at the rocks, struggling to hear anything. Nothing but the collapsing base. Sighing, he turned and followed Elise as they ran

_Get out of there Nashi, Ultear... this guy ain't worth your lives, not matter what he did._

* * *

Ultear watched fearfully as the explosion caused rocks to fall from the ceiling, which revealed the afternoon sun. Nashi hand't reappeared out of the raging inferno caused by the explosion, and Zindo's laughter made it even worse.

"Idiot girl" He murmured, "Trying to take me on herself..." He was interrupted by a strange sound. The fire started to disappear, as if being sucked into a black hole.

"What the..." Ultear began, voice bubbly due to being one with the water around her. Nashi appeared in the smoke, laughing.

"That tasted amazing" She commented, as she strode out of the fire and grinned, much to Zindo's despair.

"How in the hell did you...?" Zindo began, but he was cut off as Nashi, at a speed Ultear hadn't seen before, rushed towards him and grabbed him by his shirt, setting him and his shirt on fire.

"I'm a fire Dragon Slayer" Nashi growled, lifting the bigger man higher as he screamed from being ignited a moment before. "Fire powers me up. You'd think you've known that, seeing as you know my father"

"You little bitch"Zindo growled somewhere in the inferno Nashi was holding. "Just wait until I get my hands on you..."

"You think your in the position to threaten me!?" Nashi shouted, as the inferno raged even harder. "I think it's time I ended this." Before he could respond, Nashi tossed Zindo up into the air, and prepared herself.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Ultear watched in complete disbelief as fire erupted from Nashi's mouth a second time and Zindo disappeared into it, blasting an even bigger hole into the roof.

When the fire eventually died, Zindo was gone, propelled out of the chamber like it was nothing. Nashi stood amid the rubble and collapsing rooftop, panting. Ultear exited the water and ran to her friends side as she collapsed.

"Nashi, are you okay?" She asked desperately. No response, Nashi was completely out cold. _Now I just need to get the hell out of here... _Ultear picked Nashi up and turned to find the entryway was gone under the rubble. Now they had now exit. _Shit, did I come all this way just to die here?! _That's when she felt the sun's rays on her back. She looked up to find birds flying overhead. The roof was gone... If she could just summon enough strength to propel herself and Nashi out of here, they'd be safe. She focused as hard as she could, collecting the water from all around the room and used to to lift herself up slightly. The falling rocks started to break the floor around her, revealing a deep drop to the bottom. _I'm out of time!_ Using everything she had left, Ultear launched Nashi and herself out into the open air, and towards the pool of water outside. They landed softly thanks to Ultear, who had the water rush up to meet them, before she saw black spots in her vision. She dragged herself and Nashi out of the water and she stared up and the sky.

_There Keiko, that would've made an incredible story... _and she blacked out

* * *

When Nashi woke up she could smell the open air, not the dank cave smell from before. She remembered roaring Zindo into oblivion, but that was it. She sat up slowly and looked around. From the looks of the location, she was back outside the cave. She turned to find Ultear laying down next to her, staring up at the sky.

"Did we do it?" She croaked, voice hoarse. All Ultear did was nod. There was silence.

"Keiko would've loved that story"Nashi looked over at Ultear.

"Huh?"

"I used to tell Keiko all the stories from the branches I took out. She would've loved that one" More silence, before Ultear stood up and offered Nashi a hand. "Come on, let's get the hell out of here." Which reminded Nashi...

"Did you see Drake or Elise?" Nashi asked, watching Ultear, who shrugged.

"I didn't see them ,but I doubt they were stupid enough not to leave when shit hit the proverbial fan back there" Nashi nodded in agreement. They wandered back in silence, and Nashi tried hard not to ask if the gash across Ultear's chest hurt. It clearly did, but Nashi didn't want to say anything. They finally saw the lights of the town, and stumbled in to see people applauding them.

"Guess they heard what happened" Ultear mumbled. Nashi nodded silently, too tired for words. They reached the inn and climbed the stairs too their room. The door was slightly ajar, and Nashi shared a confused look with Ultear before she slowly opened it.

To find both Drake and Elise cowering at a mans feet. The man had red hair that was all too recognizable.

"Shit" Ultear grumbled. Simon turned to face them quietly.

"Oh good, you guys are back"

**God, that seemed so rushed as I wrote it, I hope is doesn't seem that way, but this only the beginning! Review!**


	16. Letting Go

Nashi didn't particularly like what happened when they got home. Instead, she choose to forget it even happened. After a swift hug and a slap on the back of the head, her parents, mainly her mother, telling her how she had acted irresponsibly, and how she could've gotten killed, blah blah blah. Nashi was grateful Ultear hadn't spoken up about her fighting Zindo one on one, because that would have ended poorly. She was grateful, however, that her dad seemed more proud of her than angry. Although he did his best too look pissed off in front of her mother, he ruffled her hair and told her to watch herself once she left. Things went back to normal after that. Well, as normal as they could get after all that had happened. With Ultear and Simon back, Nashi's life was a lot more interesting. She found herself going out with her friends more often and not moping around so much. That, obviously, made her mother happy, seeing as her mother was used to her being depressed all the time. Although she was a lot happier nowadays, Nashi knew one thing still irritated her.

Her privacy.

It seemed ever since her father had come back, the house was too full for it's own good. Nashi could never find a moment of peace, and it was pissing her off when she found Happy digging through her stuff, or her father joining him. It was moments like this when Nashi considered moving into Fairy Hills, but that would require working for rent, which required effort.

Which she didn't want to do.

Her mother called it typical teenage laziness. Nashi preferred to call it selective activity. Of course, she really wanted to start going on jobs, so maybe moving out wasn't such a bad idea after all. Nashi decided she'd check it out.

* * *

Nashi wandered up to Fairy Hills, wondering if this was a good idea. She was certain her dad wouldn't mind all that much, but her mom was a little too protective. She always said it was because her own parents always had to schedule time and attention to her, but that didn't mean she had to baby Nashi when she was almost 17.

almost.

Nashi entered the dorms and looked around. She'd always liked the quietness of the dorms, which was the opposite of her house whenever Dad was around. Nashi was admiring pictures on the wall when she heard someone walk up behind her. She turned to find Levy standing there smiling at her.

"Hi Nashi" Levy greeted with a smile on her face. "If your here for Ultear or Elise, they left for the guild a while ago"

"Actually" Nashi replied, turning to face her. "I came to check the place out. Was thinking of moving out" Levy's grin widened.

"Ah, your Dad getting too be too much for you?"

"I found him and Happy digging around in my underwear drawer yesterday" Levy snorted at Nashi's comment.

"Of course you did. Well, we have a few rooms, if your interested." Nashi nodded, following Levy up the stairs. they walked down the hallway, and stopped at a door and opened it.

"This is our lowest floor room" Levy began, opening the door. Nashi entered the room and immediately knew it was bigger than her room. The bed was stationed across the room near the window, and there was a desk stationed next to it, with a dresser and a closet on the other side of the room. The carpet was red, which Nashi took to. " Ultear and Elise are down the hall as well, so you'll have friends close by. What do you think?" Nashi loved it, but it was a matter of if she could convince her parents to let her move out or not.

" I just don't know if my parents would let me" She replied, turning to Levy.

"Just tell them your moving into Fairy Hills, how hard can that be?"

"Do you know my mom, Levy?" Nashi asked. "She still treats me like a kid" Levy hummed for a moment, deep in thought.

"Well," She began. "Why don't you try it out? I'll tell Lucy your thinking about moving here and I'll give you a trial period of a few days."

"That sounds nice, I suppose." Nashi said, running her hands on the soft fabric of the bed. She really did want to move here.

* * *

Nashi knew she was going to get a responsibility talk when her mother got home. It was just a matter of when. She was sitting in her room juggling fireballs when her Dad walked in.

"Hey, kid. I heard you want to move out?" Nashi dropped a fireball down her throat and choked.

"Wh *cough* at?" Nashi managed. Her father grinned.

"You heard me. Is it true?"

"Well yeah" Nashi waited for him to say something. He sighed and smiled at her.

"You want me to help you pack or...?" Nashi hadn't been expecting that.

"Your, not gonna try and talk me out of it or anything?" She inquired. He shrugged.

"You've already made it clear my input means nothing to you, why bother?" He began tossing her clothes in a bag. "Besides, it's just up the hill from the guild, what's the big deal?" Nashi was relieved one parent saw it that way, she just hoped he could convince her mother without her getting any responsibility talk or anything. God, she hated those. That was when she heard the front door open, and sweat dropped.

"Shit" She murmured. Her Father laughed.

"I got it" He threw the bag of clothes at her, and walked out of her room. Nashi couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"Natsu, is Nashi in there?" She heard her mother ask.

"She's packing, why?"

"And your not talking her out of it because...?"

"...Because I don't see the big deal?" He tried. Mother sighed.

"It isn't a big deal, but I need to give her some responsibility talk." Oh God no. Thankfully, Nashi's father had her back.

"Over what, rent? She can handle herself just fine"

"You don't know that Natsu"

"I trained her, I think I can tell" Silence followed her father's statement. Nashi waited anxiously. Her mother sighed.

"Fine, I'll leave her alone" Nashi sighed inwardly and walked over to continue packing. Later on, when she had finally gotten all her stuff, and issued her father the task of carrying it, they all walked over to Fairy Hills. Nashi didn't know why she was so excited. It was just a room that was worth 100,000 jewel a month. Nashi panicked a little inside at the large number, before trying to calm down. It wasn't that much. Then she remembered her own mother had trouble with a 70,000 rent way back when. She was so screwed. When they reached Fairy hills, Levy was waiting for them.

"I see you got convinced, eh Lu-chan?" Mother was silent. Nashi hoped it was accepting silence. Nashi waited for her Father to lug her stuff up the flight of stairs and into her room, and she threw herself onto her bed. She turned to see all three adults still standing there.

"Well, thanks for the help in lugging my stuff over, but you can go now" Father nodded immediately, turned on his heel, and left with Happy. Levy winked at her.

"Rents due and the end of next month Nashi, remember!"

"I will, I will" Levy patted Mother on the back and walked away. That left Nashi and her Mother standing in silence. Nashi sighed.

"Did you need something Mom?"

"Nothing in particular" More awkward silence. Nashi couldn't find anything to say. "It's just... I don't want you to move out"

"I'm literally within jogging distance of the guild, Mom"

"I know, I know, it's just..." Mother sighed. "Next thing I know you'll be disappearing for weeks at a time like your Father." Ah, Nashi could tell why her mother wouldn't leave. She was having trouble letting go.

"Well, it's not like you can't come visit" Nashi replied. "That and you must've known I'd grow up eventually" Mother nodded.

"I know, I just wasn't ready." Her mother turned around slowly, and walked away. "If you ever can't pay the rent, you room won't be full of anything."

"Thanks mom"

* * *

The next morning Nashi stood in front of the request board, quietly comtemplating what job to take.

"Hm, exterminate some monsters... deliver this package..." Nashi had never done this before, she didn't know what to do or what job to take. She needed one that would pay well, obviously, but none really struck her fancy. She sure as hell wasn't going to end up like Nab, just standing in front of the board waiting for the quote: "Right job for Me". Nashi groaned inwardly as Drake walked up next to her.

"Looking for a job?" He asked with a grin.

"Yeah" She replied. "But I don't know which one to pick" Drake ran his hand across the board, and picked a random job.

"This one"

"Why that one?"

"No real reason" Nashi grabbed the flyer from his hand and looked at it. It was one for exterminating some beasts terrorizing a town. 45,000 jewel for it.

"I don't know..." She began, and was cut off by Drake grabbing her wrist and pulling her away from the board.

"Don't be Nab" He stated. "Take the job and I'll find Elise, Ul, and Simon, and we'll go" Nashi didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

"I'm going myself" She said flatly as she was now infront of all her friends.

"Going where, exactly?" Simon inquired.

"On her first job" Drake replied. Ultear made a weird face.

"Ah, babies first job!" She squealed, which irked Nashi. "Want us to come with you?"

"Not really..." Nashi replied quietly as everyone stood up.

"What your forgetting is we're a team." Elise said flatly. "You're not going without us, not after that crazy adventure with those bandits" Nashi looked pointedly at Simon.

"Even you?" She inquired. Simon shrugged.

"Sure, why not? An easy job will help me unwind." Nashi followed her friends out the door.

"Nashi?" Nashi turned to find her Mother watching her.

"Yeah?" There was silence. "Mom, the others are waiting for me." Father put a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled weakly.

"Just be careful" She finally spoke. Nashi grinned and nodded, chasing the others down the road, hollering at them to wait up.

* * *

Lucy watched Nashi go sadly. Natsu rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

"She's growing up, Luce. Let her go" Lucy sighed.

"I know she is. But it's just so damn hard." Happy landed on her lap.

"Nashi's gonna grow up to be just like Natsu, Lucy!" He told her straight up. Lucy snorted.

"If she's grows up to be as brash and ignorant as her father, I think I've failed as a parent"

"Hey!" Natsu shouted indignantly.

**Nice and filler. I can't jump right into the next arc, we gotta space it out. Review!**


	17. Guild Wizard Day

Nashi sighed as she leaned against the railing as her friends examined the job board. Although she loved doing jobs with them, she had to admit it was a bit tiring. Especially when you had to split the reward five ways. Nashi had gotten nine thousand jewel for the last job. The reward was 45,000.

"We could do this one" Drake stated, taking a poster off the board. "Delivering a package through a bandit infested part of the road."

"boring" Elise rang. "We should do this one for getting rid of a curse."

"We don't know how to do that" Simon rolled his eyes. Nashi sighed again.

"How about we take a break?" She asked. No one listened to her, and she groaned. They were all jobaholics, as far as Nashi was concerned. Not they'd gone on lots, but Nashi was tired. She was considering on walking away to nap somewhere when Ultear squealed.

"This one, this one!" Nashi, as with the others, moved to look. Nashi almost threw up.

"Showing up at a magic day for kids?" Simon read. "Sorry Ul, but I'd rather go on a date with Mami"

"Who's Mami?" Nashi asked Elise. Elise snickered.

"Some chick in Blue Pegasus who's got the hots for Simon. Her dad's the master too. Ichi... something, I don't know" Nashi found that interesting. Perhaps this Mami girl was clingy, like Juvia. Drake rolled his eyes.

"There is no way in hell I'm doing a job that requires magic and kids. Do you not know how badly those two elements mix, Ul?" He stood next to Simon. "No go"

"But it's 200,000 jewel for every wizard that shows up!" Ultear complained, brandishing the poster at them. Nashi could practically see the Jewel sign pop up in both their eyes.

"Alright ladies, pack your shit. Simon and I'll see you at the train station." With that, both Drake and Simon left.

"That was quick" Elise commented. Ultear giggled.

"Those two will do any job for the right price." She said. "Like that time Simon actually did agree on a date with Mami when she offered him half a million jewel"

"That's a bit excessive" Nashi noted. "Is she that desperate?"

"No" Ultear replied as they walked out of the guild. "She's a rather attractive girl, and a nice person, with guys practically being shaken off her as she sways her hips, but she's obsessed with Simon" Nashi wondered what it would be like to be that attracted to someone. She couldn't see herself paying out half a million for a date. Then again, she'd never had half a million jewel...

* * *

Nashi groaned in unison with Elise and Drake as the train hit a bump in the tracks. She and Elise were propped up on either side of Drake, using his shoulder for support, while Drake leaned as far back into the seat as he possibly could.

"I didn't realize we had three motion sick teammates" Simon noted, sliding onto Ultear's seat opposite them.

"It's a side effect of Dragon Slayer magic, apparently." Ultear replied. "Intense motion sickness"

"I prefer to call it hell" Elise groaned.

"Are we there yet?" Nashi managed, burying her face in Drake coat, trying to suppress her lunch.

"The train ride is a few hours" Simon replied. " We've been on the train for only half an hour" All three moaned at once.

"I hate my life" Drake moaned, slowly swallowing vomit as he did.

"Why didn't we walk?!" Elise shouted, half in pain, half in anxiety. "I wouldn't have been subjected too this!"

"It's more than a few days walking" Ultear said, turning to look out the window at the passing countryside. " Motion sickness aside, I can't wait to get there! I'm so excited!"

"Don't be," Simon replied, looking down. " I looked into this school that offered the job"

"And?" Drake coughed.

"It's a school for behaviorally challenged kids" Simon replied. " basically a school for kids who can't control themselves."

"Surely they can't be that bad" Ultear quipped, glaring at the side of Simon's head.

"Five kids have been arrested in 3 days" Simon told her, which caused Ultear to narrow her eyes, sigh in defeat, and turned back too the window"

"So not worth the 200,000 each" Elise moaned.

* * *

When the train made it to the station, The three dragon slayers were the first out, praising being back on solid ground.

"If you guys are done embarrassing yourself in public." Simon stated, stepping out after them, gesturing too the strange stares they were receiving.

"Yeah, we really should get there" Ultear agreed, picking Nashi up onto her feet, who blushed profusely upon realizing they were being stared at. As they walked through town, Nashi contemplated what they were going to be doing when they got there. She hoped they could fight some of the older students. Even if Nashi wasn't as violent as she'd heard her father was, she still loved to kick some ass. When they got to the school, you could barely tell it was a school. It looked more like a prison. Bars on the windows, guards at the doors.

"I hate this already" Elise grumbled. Nashi couldn't help but agree. She had a bad feeling that she was going to see a side of youth she hadn't experienced.

"You the Fairy Tail guys?" The doorman asked.

"Yeah, that's us!" Ultear agreed happily.

"My sincerest condolences" He replied, opening up the door. " I hope they're paying you a lot for this"

"Wait, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Drake demanded as they entered and the door shut behind them. "All for backing out now, raise your hand" Everyone but Ultear raised their hands. Ultear sighed.

"What about the reward?" She asked.

"Screw that!" Nashi retorted, thinking back too the somber look on the doorman's face. "I am not getting payed anything to stand in front of a group of prisoners and talk too them!"

"I agree with Nashi" Simon stated, crossing his arms. "No amount of money is worth what we're about to go through" Drake and Elise nodded in agreement. Ultear visibly darkened.

"Don't make me drag you there" She warned. They all groaned as a stern looking woman walked up to them. She was all matching checkered clothing.

"Hello" She spoke with a posh accent. "I assume you are the wizards from Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah that's us!" Ultear said happily. Nashi noticed the headmistress glaring at her.

"What?" Nashi demanded. The headmistress stuck her nose in the air.

"Zip up your vest, you look like a whore off the street." Nashi's eyes widened and her anger burned. She ripped her vest off and threw it at the Headmistress. She stood proudly in only her sports bra.

"Make me, bitch" She retorted. She had her vest thrown back at her as Elise snorted. The Headmistress turn to Ultear.

"I assume you are the leader of this little troupe?" Ultear paled a bit.

"Uh, yeah, my name is Ultear"

"My name is Ms. Midori..."

"Not surprised it isn't Mrs.." Drake murmured, which caused Nashi to snicker.

"...and I am the Headmistress. I will show you too the class you will be addressing" She then turned to Nashi. "I only told you to zip your vest up for your own good" Nashi made a point to zip it up. She didn't know what that meant, but she could only assume there were some perverts. They passed a bunch of mages wandering the opposite way. One bore the mark Quatro Cerberus.

"You guys here for Guild Wizard day?" He asked.

"Um, yeah" Nashi replied. She was more than surprised when he placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Good luck kid, you'll need it" He and his guildmates then proceeded the walk away. Nashi turned to Elise.

"I want to go home" She whimpered. Elise shrugged.

"Can't do nothing about it now. Ul's in charge" Nashi knew she was right, but the other wizards warning had terrified her. Just what was waiting for them in that classroom? When they reached their class, they found the teacher smoking outside it, with a worried expression on her face. She turned to face them.

"I can't to it anymore, Ms. Midori, they're out of control" She wailed.

"The wizards are here" Ms. Midori replied. "Go to the break room." Nashi saw Drake' ears twitch slightly as the teacher passed them.

"There's a storehouse worth of liquor in the break room" He whispered to her. Nashi wasn't surprised. The Headmistress guided them into the classroom, which was full of the must stupidly dressed delinquents she'd ever seen. They all quieted down when Ms. Midori entered.

"All right you insufferable urchins" She hissed. "These are your wizards for Guild Wizard day. Go easy on them" Nashi wanted to know what the hell that was supposed to mean, but she stayed quiet. "Now, one of you step up and tell us what your magic is" Drake sighed.

"I'll go first" Nashi watched as her brave friend stepped out of the line they were in. " My name is Drake. Just, Drake. I'm a poison dragon slayer"

"Poison?" Some kid in the first row said while smirking. "That's lame" Nashi smirked as Drake made a face halfway between anger and delight.

"Oh yeah kid?" Drake said, leaning in real close to him. "It that what you think? My poison is so deadly that one touch can completely numb any part of you I touch. Want to try me?" The kid responded by spitting it Drake's face. Drake's retort consisted of slugging the kid in the face, which sent him flying into the back wall. Nashi and Elise tried to restrain him. "You want to go, you little shit! I'll kill you!"

"Drake!" Nashi scolded. "Control yourself!" Drake pouted and crossed his arms.

"He started it"

"I cath't feel my facth!" The kid shouted from the back, holding the left side of his mouth.

"There's more where that came from, asshole!" Drake shouted back.

"Drake!" Nashi shouted again. A girl snickered.

"Listen to your girlfriend, man" She said, while chewing gum. Nashi turned to glare at her.

"I'm not his girlfriend"

"Whatever" Nashi felt herself burning up, trying to constrain the flames.

"I'm sweating, Nashi" Simon scowled. "Calm down" Simon's words knocked a little sense back into Nashi, and she backed down. Simon stepped forward, obviously going next. Nashi wasn't ready for what followed.

"Listen up shitheads!" Simon shouted. "My name is Simon Scarlet, remember that!"

"Sir, yes sir!' They all shouted, most sitting up straight. Nashi was impressed.

"Now," Simon continued. "My friends and I came here today to talk to the disgrace of the human gene pool about magic, which I am okay with doing. But I will not take any disrespect towards me and my friends, is that clear?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Scarlet, sir!"

"Good. Now, I use requip and heavenly body magic. Any of you uneducated idiots know what those are?" A girl in the back raised her hand. "Yeah?"

"Requip is using your magic to summon armor and weapons from your magical inventory. Heavenly body magic is using the power of the stars in your attacks Mr. Scarlet, sir!" Nashi was having trouble not laughing at the respect Simon had commanded. He had these kids scared shitless. It was hilarious.

"Well looks like one of you knows something! Nothing impressive, but something!" Simon shouted. "That's all I have to say. Have I enlightened you assholes?"

"Yes sir!" Nashi couldn't help but giggle as Simon stepped back.

"You could've held back a little _Erza"_ Elise said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Simon shrugged. Ultear stepped forward.

"Sorry for my friend, he's a little excitable." She said happily. Simon shook his head.

"Nope," He said," I just hate every single one of them." Simon pretended to launch himself forward, which caused the class to flinch. Simon chuckled and fist bumped Drake. Ultear glared at them.

"In any event" Ultear continued. " I'm Ultear, and I use ice make and water magic. Anyone here know magic?" Almost everyone raised their hand. "Good, now someone attack me" A boy in the back didn't hesitate. He launched earthen spears at Ultear, and, as the class gasped, they passed right through her. "Exactly. I can also use ice to make whatever I want, that isn't alive of course. Alive ice make is a different class altogether." She stepped back looked pointedly at Elise and Nashi, who both gulped. Elise stepped forward.

"Iron Dragon Slayer" She said, allowing her arm to transform into a sword, then proceeded to casually swing in near their heads. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Not really." A girl near the back noted. " And you look so thug, you should come here." Elise shrugged.

"Sorry, biker chick, but unlike you, apparently, my parents actually love me" Elise's words had obviously cut deep, and Nashi saw her pierced friend grin as she stepped back. Nashi sighed and stepped forward.

"Nashi Dragneel" She said, as she watched all the kids eyes widen. " That's all I have to say"

"Your the salamander's little pride and joy aren't you?" Girl chewing gum demanded. Nashi met her glare with an equally venomous one.

"So what?"

"Your dad ain't all that, so you can't be" Nashi lit her whole body on fire, and flipped her desk over.

"Don't talk shit about my dad in front of me, bitch" Nashi glowered, watching the girl start to panic. "And never talk shit about my abilities" Nashi smacked her, which left a burn, and turned around, seeing all her friends grinning, while the headmistress looked ready to murder her if anything.

"Well," Ms. Midori began. " Anyone want to fight the wizards, to see if they're all talk?" Somehow, Nashi felt like this was her way of telling them they'd taken it too far.

"Yeah" Numb face said angrily. "I got a bone to pick wif poithin guy over there" Drake grinned, showing his massive canines.

"Bring it, asshole. Nashi and Elise can't hold me back this time" Nashi knew this would end badly.


	18. Drake's speech

Nashi stood outside with everyone else. She was just waiting for this to be over with. She had a bad feeling their pay was getting deducted for their over the top actions, so sitting here and waiting for Drake to kick that guys ass made it even worse. She just wanted to go home. Not only that, but on the way out, she felt more than one hand connect with her ass, and it took all she had not to turn around and castrate someone. She stood next to Ultear as The kid with the numb face stood opposite from Drake. He snickered.

"Now that I'm able to fight back, this'll be an easy victory." He laughed. Drake didn't respond. Nashi decided she'd call the other guy Numb, just because of what Drake had done to him only a few minutes. Numb snickered.

"Just so you know, I use speed magic." He told Drake confidently. "So, the odds of your dragon slaying magic keeping up are unlikely." Before Drake could say anything, Numb disappeared from view. He reappeared behind Drake, and threw a punch. Drake cocked his head to the left, and elbowed Numb in the face. Numb looked shocked.

"How did you know..." He hissed angrily. Drake remained stoic.

"I can hear you" He said quietly, so low that Nashi strained to hear him herself. Numb launched another attack, swinging multiple times, but Drake dodged all of them, and elbowed him in the stomach.

"God Damn" Numb growled. "Why can't I hit you?" Nashi saw Drake's ears twitch slightly.

"I already told you," Drake replied. "I can hear everything" Nashi knew Numb probably wasn't smart enough to know what that meant, but Nashi could tell Drake had his sound magic flaring on all four cylinders.

"What the hell does that even mean?" Drake rolled his eyes.

"It means I can tell everything your going to do. I can be ready to block a punch from the right before your brain tells your arm to throw it." Nashi didn't need sound magic to know that shocked him. Nashi had never gone toe to toe with Drake but she felt like her friend was out of her league mainly because Nashi over thought everything in combat. It made her slightly upset to think she was the weakest of the five of them. It was obvious, but it still upset her. She watched as Numb began to attack again, this time Drake grabbed his fist, and dark red poison oozed from his hand. Numb jerked back angrily.

"Did you forget I was a dragon slayer too?" Drake asked with a small smirk.

"I'm the most powerful wizard here" He growled. "Does that make you the most powerful in Fairy Tail?" Nashi, including the others, burst into laughter.

"Drake?" Ultear managed. "You've got to be kidding me!" Simon was clutching his gut from laughing so hard.

"Compared to some wizards we got, Drake's a pushover!" Elise shouted. Drake looked a little miffed.

"Thanks guys" He growled. "Your hilarious." Nashi couldn't help but chuckle. It was laughable to see Drake trying to upset her father,let alone Erza or even Laxus. Nashi could notice the change in the crowds demeanor. As if seeing how powerful one of them truly was, which was enough to best the best with ease, must've stirred them up.

"Just hurry up and end this, so we can go home!" Nashi shouted at Drake. His response was blocking an oncoming attack, and punching him in the face.

"You know" Drake murmured. "You aren't half bad, I'm just to good. Why are you stuck in here?" Numb snorted.

"Why? Because the system looks down on people like me. I had to steal here and there to make ends meet so I could pay to feed my little sisters, so that we wouldn't lose the house our scumbags parents left us." Nashi frowned. That sounded like a decent reason. "After a while, they got sick of arresting me and threw me in here, and moved my sisters to an orphanage."

"And do you think being stuck in here is really helping you or your sisters?" Drake's question seemed to have stumped him. "I heard that. Your wondering if I know what I'm talking about. Coming from a guild that has a foundation built on broken families helping one another, I know what I'm talking about" Drake let the poison in his hand dissipate.

"What the hell do you mean?" Numb demanded. Drake sighed.

"I mean, do you really think being locked up in here will help you get that money you need...Jackson?" Jackson flinched at the sound of his name. "I know for a fact that Lamia Scale is really close to here. Why not join up? You can bank on jobs, and make a new family." Nashi was impressed with the mature manner Drake was handling this with. He was more known for punching, not talking. " I mean, I'm not telling you too do anything, but if you did, it would be easier to do and get your sisters back than being an asshat." The crowd seemed to be mumbling similar things. Drake had really connected with them.

* * *

After Jackson conceded defeat and the team collected their pay ( Which, surprisingly enough, wasn't docked. Nashi thought it was because Drake had inspired them), they headed back to the train station, much to the 60% of the teams distaste.

"I gotta say" Ultear said as the three dragon slayers dragged their feet. "You really touched those kids on an emotional level back there"

"Wah?" Drake asked, lifting his head.

"I mean you really inspired them. It was touching" Ultear smiled warmly at Drake, who shrugged.

"I was just trying to confuse him so I could win, honestly" Ultear face palmed. Simon snickered.

"In any case, I believe your little inspirational battle talk got us our full pay for that, seeing as we all went a little overboard." He said, checking through his pay, counting it.

"Agreed," Elise muttered. "But's that's probably because Ultear wouldn't let us back out" Ultear laughed.

"You can't seriously think that was that bad, we even got a huge chunk of cash" Ultear giggled. Nashi couldn't help but agree with that. The money was nice to have. Nashi didn't however, like the fact that they had to ride the train back now. She'd eaten recently, too.

"Do we really have to get on that thing?" Nashi pleaded, Ultear dragging her by the arm.

"Unless you want to spend days walking back" Ultear replied, continuing to drag her. Nashi hated her life.

* * *

Nashi had never been happier to get off that damn train. She swore she'd never step foot on one again.

She knew she was lying to herself, but still.

As her and the others wandered back to the guild, Nashi wondered what she was going to do with her money. She'd never had so much spending money. She could probably just keep it for rent. Or rub in her mothers face, she could do that too.

"So what kind of job do you guys want to do now?" Drake asked. Nashi gaped.

"Can we take a break?" Nashi demanded, glaring at her best friend, who shrugged. Elise snickered.

"Is working so hard tiring you out Nashi?" She asked, too of which Nashi nodded. Nashi was not going on another job for at least a week. When they returned, her friends dispersed to see their families, so Nashi figured she'd do the same. She saw her parents sitting near the side, Their backs to her. As she approached, she heard them talking.

"Are you really sure that's the best idea, Natsu?" Her Mother asked, looking at him. He shrugged.

"I don't see why you think it's such a big deal, she'll think it's awesome."

"Somehow, I doubt that, Natsu. Nashi wasn't exactly keen on the idea before?"

"What the hell do you mean 'Before?'"

"Natsu, you know I didn't mean it like that..."

"Whatever..."

"What are you guys talking about?" Nashi asked happily, thrusting herself between mother smiled at her.

"Back already Nashi?" She asked. Nashi nodded. "You wouldn't be having trouble with money would you?" Nashi didn't like the tone her Mother used. She pulled the wad of 200,000 jewel out of her pocket and started playing with it.

'I wouldn't say that" She said, blowing a raspberry at her mother as her father burst into laughter. "I would say I'm already doing a hell of a lot better than you did"

"Quiet Nashi" Her Mother warned. "Or I'll ground you"

"You can't ground me!" Nashi complained. "I've already moved out! What are you going to do, tell Levy not to let me leave or something?"

"Maybe" Nashi fumed quietly, before growing curious.

"What were you guys talking about a second ago?" She asked, looking at the two of them. Her father turned to her.

"We were talking about..." He was cut off as a hand flew over his mouth, which belonged to his wife. She glared at him for a moment, before he sighed. "Nothing, sweetheart. Nothing at all" Nashi knew very well that wasn't the truth at all, but she would have to deal with that for now. When she turned around, she saw Simon and Elise looking at the request board, and she figured it was time to go.

"I'd love to stay and chat with you guys" She said, standing up quickly. "But I've got jobaholics to avoid for a little bit"

"What do you mean?" Her Mother asked before she saw two of her daughters teammates at the request board, which made her laugh. Nashi snuck out of the guild hall, running frantically towards her dorm.

**I am completely aware this chapter was terrible, but, I'll have to deal with that, I couldn't think of a better way to update. I'll take this time to also address the holidays. Due to them, I can only update once and a while, so don't expect much come next week onward. I'll do my best, but people will always be in my house, so I doubt I'll be able to get anything done. I hope you all enjoy your holidays! Leave a review telling me how bad the chapter was!(Not really, I'll cry myself to sleep)**


	19. Caught

**This'll be the new arc. It`s quite a serious one, too.**

Nashi knew she was in for a hell of a job when she was forced to lay stomach down in the mud tracking a group of dark guild members through a forest. Drake was in front of her, listening intently to make sure they weren't caught. Elise was crouched behind her, her damp black hair obscuring her eyes. Ultear and Simon had chosen not to come. Ultear had a fever and Simon had twisted his ankle so they had decided three of them would be good enough. Nashi, however, wasn't very happy. Partly because every time she tried to breath she inhaled mud.

"This sucks" She grumbled, propping her head up on one arm. "Can't we just rush out there and take them out?" Drake shook his head.

"Not our job." He replied. "We're supposed to track them back to their HQ, and then map out the perimeter so that the city guard can deal with it"

"Besides" Elise continued, sighing." Their in a dark guild from what we know, they won't play fair"

"All the better"Nashi replied grinning. "I need to punch someone ugly." Neither responded. Drake motioned for them to follow, and so they did. Nashi crawled forward a bit and saw the members they were tracking setting up camp for the night. "Seriously?" She hissed. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

"Wait it out" Elise replied, sounding murderous. "But there is no way in hell I'm waiting them out in the mud and the rain into morning when they move." Nashi turned to find Elise carving a path through the branches. Nashi followed her happily.

"Where are you two going?" Drake demanded. Nashi snorted.

"To find a way to get out of the rain," She replied. "Is that alright with the master tracker, or not?" Drake huffed, crossed his arms, and followed them.

* * *

They manged to find a relatively dry place to sleep, which required Nashi warming it up to be even remotely inhabitable. There was no dry logs to make a fire with, so Nashi and Elise compromised and lit her iron on fire in the fire pit they'd created. It was a hell of a lot warmer than log fires, but required a lot more attention. They all sat don around it when Drake's stomach growled.

"I'm hungry," He complained.

"Take some of that food you packed out" Elise replied. Drake glared at her.

"There isn't any left, Elise. You ate it all, remember?" Elise blushed and chuckled, rubbing her neck. Nashi sighed, thinking back to finding Elise cramming all their packed food in her mouth.

"And Ul isn't here to cook something, either" Nashi reminded them, drawing stick figures in the dirt with her finger. "So that's out of the question."

"Yeah," Elise agreed. "If I want a raccoon turned into a rock, I'll come ask you" Drake chuckled as Nashi glared at Elise.

"And if I want soup that tastes like a raccoon shit it out I'll come find you" Drake laughed even harder as Elise brandished a finger at Nashi

"That was one time," She replied, anger written all over her features.

"You have the cooking capacity of an iron worker," Nashi retorted. "Which doesn't surprise me"

"And you have one comparable to that of a toddler making a mud pie" Elise replied. The two girls glared at each other for a moment before Drake stepped in between them.

"Can we settle on the fact your both shit with cooking?" He asked hopefully. Both of them stood down ,but not before giving each other a rude gesture. Although Nashi enjoyed Elise's company, she had to admit she was hard to get along with. She turned to Drake.

"Picking anything up on the dark guild radar?" She asked. Drake listened for a moment, then burst into laughter. "What the hell is so funny?"

"One of them just made a hilarious joke!" He hissed through grabbing his ribs. Upon finding both of his companions watching him like he had a screw loose, he coughed and straightened. "It's kinda a guy joke, so..."

"So it's most likely about a girls ass they saw in town today" Elise said matter of factly. Drake's face wasn't a clear indication, but Elise must've been close. Nashi shivered and roared quietly at the iron blocks, reheating them. This wasn't exactly the stake out she'd imagined, but work was work, and judging by what the townsfolk said these guys were guilty of, Nashi was happy to do them in. Harassment, stealing, destruction of property terrorism, the list went on. Their job, she reminded herself, wasn't to do the doing in. They were to find their headquarters, map it out, and return with enough information for the guard to do it. It was a decent pay to, which would come around to roughly 80,000 each. Nashi just wished she'd get to punch someone in the face.

* * *

The following morning Nashi woke up to find both her friends with frost gathering on their faces, and heated them up as fast as she could. Nashi was okay do to fire kinda being her thing, and her friends seemed incredibly grateful for the warmth. When they were all ready to go, Drake headed west of were they'd been originally, saying they'd already moved and were almost to their destination. Nashi followed close behind, anticipating when Drake was going to stop abruptly ad they'd all fall over like dominoes. She was ready for when it happened, Elise wasn't. The second generation iron dragon slayer smacked into Nashi, who was sent directly into Drake, knocking them all over.

"What the hell are you two doing?' Drake demanded. They both grinned, hoping he'd overlook that little fuck up. "Were here, and if I were you two, I'd avoid risking revealing us again." They both nodded and crawled up on either side of him, observing the guild hall. It was a big, black, imposing building. Above the doorway was what looked like a bird carrying something. Nashi didn't recognize that guild mark, but she got a bad feeling from it, like she was supposed too know what guild this was.

"Anyone recognize that guild mark?" She asked, pointing to it. Both of the others shook their heads.

"I don't recognize that" Elise replied.

"Neither do I" Drake added. He dug around in his pockets for a minute before bringing out pieces of paper and handing it to Nashi and Elise. "We're going to split up and map this place out, got it?"

"Shoot up a flare in case you in trouble." Elise said. "Or just roar, and we'll come running" Nashi nodded, and watched as the others split up, so she decided to go left. It took her a long time to find something worth writing down. In the back of the guild hall their was a tall, imposing machine, with some sort of barrel on the end She didn't know what it was, but it looked noteworthy. She continued to map out what she could, but she was a terrible drawer. The big machine looked more like a ice cream cone. The guild hall was more akin to a muffin than a building. Nashi sighed. She hoped Elise and Drake could come up with a better drawing so that she could torch hers. She was about move on when she overheard two men talking.

"...The boss seems pretty pissed about it too" One said facing his guild mate. "I just hope he doesn't take it out on us again"

"Let's also hope the others in the alliance take notes too." His friend snickered. 'Then the Balam Alliance will be a name to be feared once again" Nashi's stomach dropped. She'd heard of the Balam Alliance. 20 years ago it had been three very powerful dark guilds who ruled over all the others; Oracion Seis, Grimoire Heart, and Tartarus. But from what she'd heard, they'd all been dissolved, with the remaining members of the Oracion Seis no longer ' a problem'. Was this guild a part of that alliance? This was a problem beyond a pay check. She had to tell the others quickly. If this guild was apart of the Balam Alliance... This was going to get very ugly, very fast. She stood up and was preparing to run away to find the other when her foot slipped, causing her to tumble down in front of the dark guild members.

"What the hell...?" She heard one ask. She smiled sheepishly as she stood up. "Hey hey check out that guild mark!" Nashi looked down and realized what they meant. She was a Fairy.

"Get her!" Nashi jumped back, avoiding their combined attempt to capture her. First, she shot a roar into the air, alarming her friends she was in danger.

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack! Iron Fist! Roar!" Nashi whipped this way and that, fighting off the various member who attempted to grab her. "Man is this all you guys got? No wonder Fairy Tail destroyed the Balam Alliance one!" She laughed as someone started clapping. She turned to find the members creating a lane. 5 men and one women were walking towards here. The one in the middle laughed.

"Well, well, a Fairy in our midst. To what do we owe the honor?" Nashi didn't reply, feeling like a snarky comeback would get her killed. These people were radiating raw energy. "Well it matters not. I suppose you can be the first too feel the alliances power"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nashi demanded. "And what's stopping me from kicking your ass?" The older man laughed again and snapped his fingers. two people were brought forward, with bags on their heads, and the bags were lifted.

Drake and Elise shied back from the sunlight and continued to struggle.

"If you value your fellow fairies lives," He continued. "You'll do well to not make a move." Nashi growled.

"Sorry, Nashi" Drake hissed. "They caught me when I went to help Elise" Nashi lowered her fists and sighed in defeat. The old man purred in satisfaction.

"Fairies that know their place" He said with a smirk of satisfaction plastered om his aging face. He turned to the white haired women with angelic clothes on to his right. "Angel! Take her and her friends too the cells"

"Yeah, whatever" Angel agreed, stepping towards Nashi. "Hands behind your back, _fairy, _don't make me repeat myself" Nashi did as she was told, and Angel grabbed her arms and rove a knee into her back, making her walk forward.

"Bitch" Nashi murmured. Nashi felt Angel rest her head on her shoulder.

"If you value your life" Angel whispered in a deathly low tone. "You will do exactly what I say, when I say it, got it?" Nashi was confused.

"What?" She hissed back. She could practically hear Angel rolling her eyes as they entered the guild hall.

"Shut up and listen to every word I say, or you'll end up rotting in these cells." Angel said, growling under her breath.

"Why? Don't you want me dead?" Nashi asked. Angel sighed.

"Every time Jellal sends me undercover I swear..."

**And scene! What did you guys think? Let me know!**


	20. Apocalypse

**Are you guys enjoying your holidays? I hope so!**

Nashi stumbled into the cell as Angel pushed her in. She heard the door lock and she turned to find Angel with her head in her hand.

"Every time..."Angel murmured.

"Who the hell are you, exactly?" Nashi demanded. Angel sighed, before turning to face her.

"You can just call me Angel." Nashi didn't know what to think of Angel. On one hand, she seemed like a very pretty forty something year old woman. On the other, she was the enemy, and that meant she wasn't to be trusted.

"Why the hell did you warn me and tell me to listen to you?" Nashi asked. Angel turned and walked over too the table on the far end of the room, picking up what looked like a pair of handcuffs.

"Because the last thing I need right now is mages from Fairy Tail screwing this up." Angel turned to face her, smiling. "You look a lot like you dad."

"You know my dad?" Angel chuckled.

"If by know you mean I held him hostage while he was motion sick on a raft, than yeah, I do" That didn't exactly give Nashi the answers she was looking for.

"I'm so confused" She groaned as Angel entered the cell and cuffed her hands, turning the cuffs on so that the red lacrima on top glowed. "Are you on my side or not?" Angel lifted up her shirt. At first , Nashi didn't understand, but when she looked at Angels stomach, a guild mark sat there. It looked similar to a person wearing a a witches hat.

"I'm in Crime Sorciere" Angel whispered, lowering her shirt as Drake and Elise were thrown in the cell be two of the guild underlings. "I'm not actually with these idiots." Drake and Elise sat up as Angel left and grabbed two others sets of handcuffs, then returned. "I'll make sure you three don't die in here."

"What the hell is this bitch talking about?" Elise demanded as Angel cuffed both her and Drake.

"Long story short," Angel replied, cuffing Drake. "I'm on your side, Crime Sorciere, all that" She turned to face Drake, and her eyes widened.

"What?" Drake asked, rubbing his wrists.

"Um... nothing... it's just, you remind me of him" Angel replied, standing up to leave, her face paler than a ghost. Nashi didn't know what she was talking about, but when she turned to Drake, his ears were twitching, and his eyes widened.

"Why can't I hear you...?" He hissed under his breath. Angel giggled.

"Spending almost twenty years with your father can get a bit troublesome, so I took it upon myself too learn how to block him out." Nashi felt surprised by that one, so she understood that Drake was practically shaking.

"Drake..." Elise said warily, seeing their friend close to the breaking point. Drake often got like that when his father was mentioned. Nashi knew Drake didn't hate his father, but hearing about him or being in the vicinity of someone who knew him usually set him off.

"What do you mean?" Drake demanded. Angel faced him.

I said I work with your dad. What part of that was unclear too you?"

"My dad's in this guild too?"

"No, he's in Crime Sorciere"

"Isn't that the guild that Jellal runs?" Elise interrupted. Angel nodded.

"Yeah. and he sent me undercover with these idiots so that I could figure out a way to take them out, but thanks to you guys, my job just got a whole lot harder." Nashi would've apologized if she wasn't still so confused. It was entirely possible that Angel was lying, but why would she? Nashi heard someone walking down the stairs towards them.

"Someones coming." Angel nodded, then, unexpectedly, punched Nashi in the face. "What the hell Angel?!"

"Just trust me!" Angel hissed as the door opened, and Angel drove her knee into Nashi's stomach. Nashi fell down entering a coughing fit.

"Nashi!" Drake shouted, worry apparent in his voice. Angel let out a bone chilling laugh.

"What's wrong little Fairy?" She hissed. "Have a broken your wings?" Nashi couldn't respond she was in too much pain. She hadn't been ready for getting the air knocked out of her lungs. The man who had entered cackled.

"Angel, having fun with our friends?" Angel joined him in laughing.

"Just letting them know their scum under my boot." There was silence. Drake had his hand on Nashi's arm, almost protectively.

"Well, boss wants us all in the meeting hall. Important business"

"Alright, I'll go up when I'm done here." The other man left, and Angel knelt down in front of Nashi.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked worriedly. "I didn't mean to hit you so hard" Nashi punched Angel back, and she jerked back. "I deserved that"

"Yeah," Nashi agreed, sitting up. "You did"

"I only did it so that he wouldn't suspect anything. If I was down here and not attacking you, I'd be suspicious" There was silence for a moment, then Angel stood too leave.

"Are you going to get us out of here or not?" Elise demanded.

"I can't just bust you out right now. I need to wait until I'm certain you won't get caught sneaking out." Angel smiled weakly. "I hope, that for your sake, you all have a high tolerance for pain."

"Wait, what?" Drake asked, but it was too late. Angel slammed the door and walked away.

"This is my fault," Elise hissed. "If I'd been more careful, I wouldn't have been seen. I got us trapped in here"

"Shit happens" Drake replied. "We'll make the most of it."

"Yeah," Nashi agreed. "I mean, it could be worse.

* * *

It got worse. A few hours after Angel left, a member of the guild, one with dark blue hair and a sly smile, told them too strip. Nashi realized too late that he was giving them rags to wear instead of their clothes. The rags were terrible protection against the cold air in the prison, and Nashi and Elise's anger at having to strip in front of Drake, got them whipped, opening up a bunch of wounds on their arms and backs. Nashi hated her life already. She hoped Angel could work a way to get them out fast, she had a bad feeling that it would get worse. For protesting having to strip they got the shitty blankets taken away, meaning they had to sleep on the cold floor without any. They huddled together as best they could. Nashi may have been unable to use her magic due too the cuffs, but she was still the warmest one. More than once during their week of being locked up did she fall asleep with both her friends clinging too her. It was nice to be of some use. The food was just as bad. Often all they got, when Angel couldn't smuggle an actual meal down, which in itself was rare for her to get more than one meal down, they only got scraps off of the actual food fed too the guild. The most Nashi had eaten at once since being locked up was a few apples and liquor that tasted like they filtered it through the dirt and took all the actual good tasting ingredients out. They were, however, lucky. They hadn't really been tortured since day one, which was one reason to be happy.

"I want a shower," Elise moaned. Nashi couldn't help but agree. She hadn't showered in over a week, and her hair clung to her head like a helmet. Neither of the others were any better. Drake's stomach growled.

"I could use a decent meal, too" Drake said, drawing on he wall with the dirt one his hands. Nashi remained quiet, seeing no reason to complain. Angel had told them several times she was working on a way to get them out, but it required her to be rather sneaky and suspicious in order to plan it out. Nashi hoped she'd finalize it soon. Just as Nashi's stomach growled, the door opened, and Angel stood there, her face grim.

"Nashi," She said, and Nashi looked up. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Nashi asked, confused. She hadn't left the cell in the span of time they'd been caught, so this was unusual. Angel's frown deepened.

"Just come with me" Nashi stood up ad followed Angel out of the prison. The air got less dank and disgusting as they got higher up, and Angel grabbed her roughly and led her through the guild hall, where the other members jeered at her.

"She's gonna get it now..."

"Apocalypse is gonna rip her apart..."

"What are they talking about?" Nashi whispered to Angel. Angel didn't speak, which worried Nashi. She had a bad feeling about this. She was lead down another flight of stairs, and shoved into a dark room.

"I'm so sorry" Angel whispered. Nashi looked around. the dark room, until a green glowing magic seal next to her arm illuminated the room. Nashi gasped as she felt pain circulate through where the magic seal was, and they appeared all over her body. Nashi screamed as her magic felt like it was on fire erupting through her veins and body like an bomb. She collapsed, panting. Someone chuckled.

"Lots of magic," A deep voice boomed. "This'll be fun"

"W-who are are you?" Nashi managed. She saw a pair of boots walk up to her, and she gulped nervously.

"My name is Apocalypse," He boomed again. "And I'm your interrogator."

**How about I get some reviews for a late Christmas present, I'd love that!**


	21. Elise

Nashi collapsed, her body screaming in protest at her attempt to breath. She couldn't move she could barely breath. Apocalypse laughed.

"Ready to talk? Or should I continue?" He asked. Nashi could only lay still, not able to respond. She heard the door open.

"God damn it, Apocalypse!" She heard Angel yell. "What did master tell you about nearly killing them?"

"Got to carried away, Sor, don't take it so personally." Angel growled.

"Don't call me Sor. Just wait until the master hears you nearly killed her, then you'll get it."

"Just bring me the next one" Apocalypse replied sounding agitated. Nashi felt Angel pick her up gently. Nashi's head lolled uselessly. She had never been in so much pain. It was as if someone had liquidized fire and injected into Nashi veins. Now normally that wouldn't have been a problem but this was different. Angel whisked her away back too the prison.

"I'm so sorry kid." Angel whispered. "I didn't know he'd go all out like that, he rarely does." Nashi could only cough in response, but even that sounded weak and pathetic . "It'll only get worse from here so hold on" Nashi felt the dank smell of the prison re-enter her head, and she heard a prison door open, and she was lain down on the floor gently.

"Nashi!" Elise shouted, shock apparent in her tone.

"What did you do too her?!" Drake hissed. Angel sighed.

"Don't get too fired up kid. Your next" Angel replied staring at him.

"Next for what?"

"Interrogation." With that, Drake got up to follow Angel out of the cell. Elise propped Nashi's head up in her lap. Nashi felt a wooden cup touch her bottom lip.

"Come on, Nashi" Elise murmured. "Drink this, clear your throat" Nashi did her best to tilt her head, which allowed the tasteless liquid to enter her mouth. She managed to swallow all of it, and she entered a coughing fit. "What happened to you?"

"Interrogation" Nashi replied, doing her best to sound sarcastic but it came out more like she was losing her voice from all the screaming which wouldn't surprise her. Elise stared at her.

"Drake could hear you screaming" She said. "I thought he was going to tear Angel apart when she brought you back."

"What do you mean? Our magic's negated." Nashi coughed and attempted to sit up, her back screaming in protest.

"Same way your bodies warm down here," Elise shrugged. " It isn't a attacking magic so it still works. That look on his face..." Elise shivered and Nashi guessed it wasn't from the cold in the cell. "He looked completely murderous. He told me he was going to rip Angel's stomach out and feed it to her" What scared Nashi the most was that she could tell Drake hadn't been kidding. He had been completely prepared to kill because of what happened to her.

"He's just protective of me" Nashi managed propping herself up on the wall. Elise gave her a confused look.

"Protective?"

"Ever since we were kids and I was getting picked on he was always there to tell the others kids too go to hell. He's not used to not having to look out for me all the time." Elise nodded. It was a while before Drake reappeared with Angel. He looked a little better off then Nashi, but he still collapsed into the cell, and Elise stood up knowing it was her turn. When they left, Drake and Nashi sat, in painful silence.

"So" Drake coughed turning his head on the ground to look at her. "Was it bad for you too?" Nashi managed a smile.

"Yeah," She replied. " He kept screaming questions at me, but I couldn't hear him clearly." Drake spat blood out of his mouth.

"He was asking about our mission, and where the others were"

"Others?" Nashi asked confused. Drake shrugged.

"I don't know, he kept asking where our backup was, but I told him I had no idea what I was talking about" Drake struggled to his knees, and crawled over next to Nashi. "I think they think we were scouting them out for a battle, not just a job" Nashi vaguely remembered the job they'd taken. She wished Ul, and Simon where here, she missed them terribly. That and her parents and everyone else. Nashi wondered what they thought happened too them. No doubt they'd investigated when they hadn't returned, but Nashi had little hope they'd found this guild house. They trekked pretty deep into the woods so finding them was about as likely as getting a shower.

Unlikely, that is.

* * *

Another week passed and Nashi had completely accepted she was going to die in that cell. They're meals had gotten worse, and the torture more severe. Nashi had been hug upside down for two hours and beaten with a steel rod. She'd had her ankle broken and she'd been attacked by wild dogs while tied to a chair. Nashi was done. She sat in her cell eating her pathetic meals waiting for the Grim Reaper to take her away. That or an actual angel to tow her to the heavens above because she couldn't fight back anymore. She had been lying down in the corner of the cell when she heard the door open. Nashi assumed it was Angel taking one of them to Apocalypse, so she ignored it and tried to get to sleep. She knew it was different, however, when she heard deeper voices mumbling and chuckling.

'So which one do ya want?" One voice asked. Another chuckled.

"I don't know, they both seem so tender."

"What the hell do you guys want?" Drake demanded.

"Nothin' to do with you, Fairy" One snarled. "We just wanna take one of your attractive friends here to... talk" Nashi felt her stomach churn. She knew perfectly well by talk they meant something completely different. Nashi curled into a ball trying to seem insignificant. She didn't want to be chosen but she'd feel terrible if Elise was chosen instead.

"How about the one with pink hair?" Nashi almost burst into tears. First starvation and torture, now _this? _She heard the cell door open and they proceeded inside.

"Stay away from here" Drake threatened. They laughed and she heard Drake get kicked in the face.

"And what are you going to do, stop us?" They got closer but Nashi felt a small, feminine hand be placed on her leg.

"No," Elise growled. "Take me, she needs to rest" Elise had been tortured the least, so she looked pretty good. Nashi wanted to scream in protest, but elected to stay quiet. One man chuckled.

"Oh, so now you wanna protect your friend? Fine, you'll do" Nashi heard Elise get grabbed, rather inappropriately, and dragged away.

I'm sorry Elise" Nashi murmured. "But it was you or me"

"I'm going to kill every last one of them" Drake replied. "Every last one"

About ten or so minutes later, Nashi saw Drake's demeanor change considerably. He looked brooding and angry, staring at the wall. He was clenching and unclenching his fists, doing his best to stay calm.

"What is it?" Nashi asked through a mouthful of stale bread. Drake turned to her, so much rage written on his face it could've made a book.

"I can hear it," He replied. "The things they're doing to her" He turned back to glare at the wall. "Just wait until I cut that off and feed it too you, you assclown..." Nashi's bread tasted like dread, or rather, blood from her chapped lips cracking. Just what had she avoided by pretending to be asleep? Now she hoped Elise would be returned to them in relative safety.

After another 20 minutes, the door to the prison opened, and Elise reappeared, and Nashi wanted to throw up. The rags they'd been forced to wear had rips everywhere, and she was doing her best to clutch them around her naked body. She was thrown into the cell with fits of laughter and another pair of rags to change into.

"She was good enough, I suppose" A man chuckled in the darkness. "Just wait until next time, pinkie, you'll get your share" Then they left, and Elise curled into a ball, clutching her spare rags. Drake crawled over to her.

"Elise...?" He asked, reaching out to touch his friends shoulder but she jerked away at the touch.

"Don't touch me!" Elise screamed. "Stop touching me!" She crawled into the corner and curled into a ball, doing her best to seem insignificant. Nashi could smell the fear, among other things, which made her angry. Drake turned to her.

"We have to get out of here" He said. Nashi nodded, feeling a fire of determination build inside of her.

"Every last one," She replied. "Will know what it means to fuck with Fairy Tail"

**Really, really, dark, I know. I wasn't expecting it to sound so bad it words, but it does. I avoiding saying what happened, obviously, but hopefully you guys can piece it together. Review!**


	22. Take me instead

Ultear sighed as she and Simon walked back into the guild, heads down. They'd just spent a week looking for Nashi, Elise, and Drake, but they'd found nothing. It was as if they'd disappeared off the face of the planet. The townsfolk hadn't seen them since they'd stayed at the hotel in their town 2 weeks ago, and no sign of them even existed outside of town. They found their belongings in their hotel room, but that was it. They saw heads turn when they entered.

"Nothing?" Kinana asked wearily. Simon shook his head.

"Nothing" He replied, driving his fist into the open door. "Not a damn sign of them" Ultear sighed, staring at the floor, partially mad at herself for not being with them because of her damn fever. Maybe if she'd been there, things would've been different. They'd toyed with them being sent to Edolas, but apparently without magic in said world, it was impossible. Ultear looked up to face everybody.

"The people in the town said that they'd seen them when they arrived, but after they left one morning, they never returned." She reported. Her news was obviously not good news, because no one seemed any better after hearing it.

"How could they have just disappeared?" Gajeel demanded. " Salamander and I went to look too. Their smell was so faint it was like they were there years ago." Natsu only nodded in agreement.

"No random note or anything?" Lucy asked, and Ultear shook her head. "I don't get it. How were their tracks covered to well to the point were Natsu and Gajeel couldn't sniff them out?"

"I have a bad feeling their in trouble" Levy spoke up, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. Ultear couldn't help but mentally agree. It wasn't like the three of them to just disappear without any warning whatsoever.

"they're tough" Simon assured, trying his best to raise their spirits. "If they are in trouble, I'm sure they won't give up"

* * *

Nashi was prepared to give up. Another beating the following day had knocked the fire right out of her. Drake was insisting Angel was close to finding a way to get them out, but Nashi didn't care anymore. Elise hadn't spoken since she'd been taken away. She spent all her time curled up in a ball eating whatever shitty provisions they were given. Nashi felt terrible. Whatever she'd gone through was because Nashi had shied away, pretending to be weak and asleep. She and Drake both were in much better condition then her, but it didn't change that Nashi was losing strength every day. She'd neglected to tell her friends, but more rather than less she found herself at a loss for the energy to eat and chew, soon it was to lift her hands to her mouth to eat at all. Drake helped her as much as he could. but that wasn't much. Angel showed up less and less, to the point where Nashi was positive Angel had been a figment of her imagination. Why would anyone here want to help them? That was, until, Angel appeared outside their cell.

"Are you guys okay?" She whispered. Nashi regarded her quietly, hoping her silence proved enough of a statement of their condition. Angel sighed.

"I hope your still trying to get us out," Drake told her flatly, a dead look to his eyes. Angel nodded.

"I'm close, I just need a little more time. I promise I won't let you guys die in here" Nashi wanted to laugh, but it would've cause her way too much pain. Nashi knew why Angel was here, and it was more than just reassuring them. Nashi began to stand, faltering slightly as she did. Angel gave her a look that said sorry more times than she could count. Nashi leaned heavily on Angel as they went towards Apocalypse's 'interrogation room', or, as Nashi referred to it as, his torture chamber. Angel opened the door, and Nashi stumbled in. Apocalypse laughed.

"Back again, little Fairy?" He asked. Nashi grinned.

"I just love your face so much" She croaked. "I find it hard to stay away" Apocalypse chuckled.

"You flatter me,"

"Don't get used to it"

* * *

Nashi panted as she limped towards the wall and leaned against it. a green magic seal appeared on her stomach, sending waves of pain through her system.

"Your Rupture magic is off point today, Apocalypse" She boasted, trying to look tough, but knew she was failing. "Something wrong?" Apocalypse just smirked,

"Boss told me he couldn't have you weaklings dying, so he told me to let up a little bit, but don't worry, I'll still make sure your in a lot of pain." Nashi was about to retort when the door opened and Angel appeared.

"Times up" She said in a monotone. Nashi limped over too her and Angel pushed her roughly out the door. Nashi was practically being carried by Angel back to her cell, who didn't grumble in protest having to do so. Nashi collapsed into the cell and Angel sighed.

"Alright, Elise, it's your turn." There was no response, no sound of Elise getting up to go be tortured. Nashi looked towards her friends, who was still curled up into a ball. Nashi was unsure if she was awake or not, but Nashi didn't have the heart to check. "Elise, c'mon, I can't cover for you, I understand it's difficult, but..."

"Don't make her go" Drake spoke up from his corner of the cell. "She's not okay"

"None of you are" Angel replied. "Like it or not, she has too..." Nashi grabbed Angel's ankle, and looked up at her.

"She. Can't." Nashi growled, staring the older woman right in the eyes.

"Why not?"

"Take me instead"

"Huh?" Nashi gave Angel a look of pure determination.

"Elise needs time to recover from what happened. Take me in her place." Angel shook her head.

"Apocalypse will kill you, he was ordered to torture her the most this time, for whatever reason. He won't discriminate if you show up there instead of her." Nashi cast a glance over to the iron dragon slayer, and decided.

"You're taking me or none of us." Nashi said coldly, standing up so tall and proud she was surprised not to feel any pain. Angel shook her head sadly, and She escorted Nashi out of the cell.

"Nashi..." Nashi turned to find Drake watching her, a weary expression plastered on his face.

"Don't worry, Drake, I'll be fine. Make sure Elise makes it for me okay? Just in case?" Drake looked like he was about to protest, but made a somber face and nodded.

"I will," He replied. Just...just in case."

* * *

It was another hour or so before Angel brought Nashi back, and Drake felt awful just looking at her. She looked fine a first glance, but under the rags she had open wounds, bruises of all different colors, and a rib or two that look out of place. Angel looked guilty.

"Why did I let her do that?" She hissed. "Apocalypse could've killed her"

"Elise would've killed herself, that's why" Drake replied. Angel gave him a look.

"What happened to her anyway? Did she have a mental breakdown or what? She hasn't moved since I took Nashi away"

"She...she was..." Drake told her. He told Angel everything he'd heard the night it happened, and he watched Angel's face contort from attentive to shock to rage. She turn on her heel and went for the door of the prison.

"Angel?" Drake called out, but he was ignored. The door slammed, and he heard Angel stomp up the stairs. He had a bad feeling that however had done this to Elise was about to get it.

* * *

Angel could take the guilt from escorting them to torture, but not this. She hadn't expected what Drake had told her, but she couldn't just sit this one out. She barged into Apocalypse's room. He turned to look at her, confused.

"What is it, Sor?"

"I need you to come with me" Angel replied, giving the younger man a look that said he'd do well not to argue with her presently. He followed Angel out and there was silence between them.

"What the hell is this about, Sor?" Angel turned to look at him.

"Someone asshole has disobeyed our master, and we're gonna find out who"

**Not as long as I would've liked, but I'll make do. Review!**


	23. Escape

Angel practically burst the door of the masters office down and stormed in. He looked up at her, confused.

"Angel? What can I do..."

"We have a problem." Angel interrupted, glaring at him, Apocalypse close behind her. He gave her a curious look.

"What is it?" Angel crossed her arms, feeling her rage building.

"No one except the six have permission to the prisoners cells, correct?"

"that is correct"

"Well, someone was in there" This caused the master to become quiet and broody. Angel knew he placed treason at the top of his list of things never to do as a member of Phantom Dove.

"Are you sure, Angel?"

"One of them was raped." The word cast an eerie silence in the office.

"What the hell are you talking about, Angel?" Apocalypse demanded.

"someone took advantage of the raven haired girl," Angel replied. "And I think we all know one of the six wouldn't do that" The master nodded quietly, deep in thought. "I don't plan on taking this sitting down. Not only is it treason, but what they did to her is beyond sensible, or even understandable "

"I agree" Apocalypse spoke up. "I mean, I'm all for torture, but..." He shook his head. "There's a line you don't cross" Angel waited impatiently as the master thought it over.

"If you don't take action," Angel began. "I will. I can guarantee whoever violated her will not have the proper assets to do it again"

"Your gonna cut his dick off?" Apocalypse asked, sounding lightly confused. Angel flinched at the blatant way he said it. The master remained quiet.

"I see what you mean," He finally spoke. "Although the deflowering of that girl is not my highest priority, I will not stand for treason. I told the guild not to even approach them unless they are one of the six, correct?" Angel and Apocalypse nodded. They'd been there, they heard it. "I will seek out who did this momentarily. Apocalypse, I want you to accompany me. Not only to find out who did it, but too... how did you put the punishment, Angel?"

"His assets?" Angel asked, hoping that was the correct answer. Master grinned darkly, and Angel almost felt bad for whoever did violate Elise, right until she remembered what he was guilty of.

"Yes, his assets. Apocalypse, I would like you too find the most painful way to dispose of them, preferably one that keeps him awake throughout" Angel felt her stomach turn as Apocalypse grinned darkly.

"With honor, Master" Apocalypse replied, bowing slightly. "Shall I use number sixty-five?" Angel didn't know what that meant, but it made the master chuckle.

"Ah, the nutcracker, correct? Yes, I do believe that will do, fetch your hammer. Perhaps you should retrieve you finest bone saw as well, after all, he did commit treason." The master said as he chuckled, wrapping an arm around Apocalypse's shoulders as they turned to leave. He paused.

"Oh, and Angel dear," He spoke up, turning to face Angel again, who stood up straighter. "Block the exits. I'd hate it if one of those treasonous bastards made an escape while I addressed the others."

_Escape._

The word rang clear as day in Angel's mind. This was her chance to get them out. The whole guild would be busy in the meeting hall, she could sneak them out without anyone being aware of it. Now she even had an excuse, shutting off the exits.

_Perfect._

Angel flashed one of her perfect smiles at the master.

"Of course, master. No one will be able to get in or out until you find our treasonous culprit." Master nodded, and proceeded to leave the office, leaving Angel with her own thoughts.

_I won't let anyone leave alright,_ Angel thought, a smile growing on her face. _But that's because they'll have escaped before I blocked the exits. Convenient, wasn't it, Master Jose?_

* * *

Drake was terribly lonely. Both girls were in the cell with him mind you, they weren't talking though. Elise for obvious reasons, and Nashi hadn't woken up from taking Elise's torture session the day before. Drake sighed as he picked around the food on his plate. It was one of those days were the food sucked more than usual. Drake fondly remembered the one time during week one Angel had managed to sneak down a small chicken. That had been the best they'd all eaten since. Drake cast a worried glance towards his dark haired comrade, who was currently sitting with her knees up to her face, not even touching her food. Drake felt good she'd gone from total seclusion from him and Nashi, too sitting up relatively close to him. He hoped she was okay mentally, yet he had a terrible feeling she wasn't. She hadn't spoke since she screamed at him, and he could understand why.

"Elise," He spoke up, garnering no response. " You should eat, try to get yourself filled up. I'm against it, but we could take Nashi's portion and split it. I don't feel like she's waking up soon" Elise stared into the distance, and Drake couldn't tell if she'd even heard him. He sighed again, and cast another glance, this time at the unconscious body across from him. Nashi's bruises, all colored like a rainbow, plastered all over her frail figure. She looked peaceful enough, but Drake knew she must've been in a lot of pain. They all were.

Elise coughed, and Drake felt a little sad he was so happy she'd emitted a sound. His sound magic allowed him to hear him breath and her heart beat, but hearing a sound others could too made him happy.

"Elise," He started again, softer this time. " Can you check on Nashi? I'm worried that she hasn't woken up yet" He still got no response, and Drake was preparing to give up himself when Elise shuffled as quietly as she could manage over to Nashi, and looked down at her, worry in her eyes. Drake watched as Elise put a hand on Nashi's forehead, and jerked back, widening her eyes. He hurried towards Drake, and pulled him towards her. "What?" , Drake asked, "Is she okay?"

Elise said nothing as she grabbed his hand (Drake made a mental note as to her shaking) and placed it on Nashi's forehead. Drake felt his own eyes widen.

Nashi was freezing.

This worried him greatly. Nashi's internal flame had kept her warm, but she was as cold as death, and twice as stiff. Drake looked over carefully at Elise.

"Do you think she...?" He trailed off, not wanting Elise to spill more tears over Nashi. Drake listened intently for something, anything. He couldn't hear anything, not even a heart beat.

_Thump Thump *Exhale*_

Drake let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. She was alive.

_Thump...Thump *Exhale*_

Drake felt dread overtake him. Nashi's heartbeat was unsteady, she was fighting to stay alive as he sat there, not able to do a thing.

"We have to get out of here" He said, turning to look at Elise. "Nashi won't survive another few days, let alone a week or more." Elise gestured around and shook her head. "I'm not a mind reader, Elise. Talk to me" Drake watched as Elise gave him a look of despair and shook her head again.

"Alright, well if you won't talk this could be a problem." Drake thought for a moment. Thought. That was it! He turned to Elise. "Just think it" He told her. "I can hear it" There was a silence before Drake felt his heart soar as Elise's voice echoed in his head.

_Does Angel have a plan yet? _She asked. Drake stopped himself before he looked too excited.

"I don't know, she hasn't exactly said anything"

_Is she legit or no?_

"I don't ask her yourself"

_ I can't... oh you bastard _Elise slugged him in the arm, and Drake noted the slightly playful look in her eyes. He wasn't gonna start tickling her, or anything though. That'd be weird.

"In any case, what do we do about Nashi?" Drake asked, rubbing where she punched him.

_I don't know, try and feed her something, that'd help her stay alive, right?_

It was better than nothing, so Drake picked up Nashi's drink and poured a little into Nashi's throat. She didn't even cough or anything, she just swallowed it. He then picked up her bread and slightly opened her mouth, sliding the bread in. Nashi chewed slightly, before Drake heard her swallow it, and smiled weakly.

"At least she can eat" He said, turning to Elise, to see her already watching him.

_So, now what? _Drake was about to respond when the door too the prison opened. They both turned, and Angel swiftly unlocked the door, and walked in, carrying a bag. She threw it front of them, and Drake peered inside. His white trench coat stared back at him.

"Get dressed, and lets get going" She ordered.

* * *

Drake would've been happier to have his clothes back if the dirt, blood, and sweat covering his body didn't make his shirt stick to him. He could tell Elise was suffering from the same problem. Drake glanced down at Nashi. Elise had volunteered to dress her, and she looked as if she'd struggled too do so. Her vest and jeans were ruffled and not really done up right. He could fix it later. He turned to Angel who was keeping watch.

"Did you complete your plan?" He asked, sounding way better than before.

"More like improvised a completely new one" She replied, turning to face them. "The whole guild will be distracted for a good while, and I'm using my job too lock down the exits as my excuse to smuggle you out." Drake didn't need to ask what the lock down was for, he heard what Angel didn't tell him. Something about the guys who'd taken Elise away and a nutcracker, but he didn't need to know. Carefully picking Nashi up and wrapping her arms as tightly as he could around his neck, he shifted, getting a better grip on her legs as she leaned against his back, breathing quietly. He and Elise followed Angel up the stairs. It was a strange feeling walking up the stairs fully dressed and not being pushed by Angel. Angel strode through the empty halls of the building, but Drake and Elise stuck to sneaking. Angel could walk freely around, they could not. They waited by a door as Angel went inside, and then reappeared with a small box, handing it too Elise.

"Food and water" She told her, taping the top of the box once. "There's also directions through a secret path towards a town in the west. It's the long way back, but It'll be a safer route than the town you came from, seeing as the guild will check there first"

"Makes sense" Drake replied. Angel pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and gave it to Elise, along with a small vial. She placed them in her other hand.

"That's the route I was referring too." Angel said. "The vials for you, Elise. It's antidepressants."

_I don't need these _Elise hissed.

"Yeah, you do" Drake replied, glad Angel had thought of that. Angel ushered them through the next doorway and Drake felt a breeze- the first breeze he'd felt in weeks. The front door was right in front of them. Angel stopped.

"There you go," Angel replied. "When you get to Watercliff town, ask around for Meredy. She'll help you get home, she's a friend." Drake smiled at her wearily as Elise opened the door.

"Thank you Angel, for everything." Angel grinned.

"Don't thank me yet kid, your not at home drinking booze with your friends yet. Oh, and Drake?"

"Yeah?" Drake began to walk out the door, and Angel began to shut it, watching him with a smile.

"Call me Sorano, that's my name"

Drake smiled as the door to the guild shut and he followed Elise, disappearing into the darkness of the forest too the west. Whoever this Meredy was, hopefully she could help.

_Hold on Nashi, we'll get you home as fast as we can. _

Drake couldn't agree with Elise any more.


	24. Meredy

Drake was pretty sure they'd taken a wrong turn, and seeing as Elise wouldn't talk, he heard her own worry clear as day. Sorano didn't say how long it would take, but It shouldn't have taken them all day. They had taken refuge inside a small cave when it started to rain. Now it was more like a torrential downpour, and they were stuck in a dark cave with no fire.

"This sucks," Drake mumbled. "At least the cell was dry"

_Barely _ He heard Elise think next to him, or rather, 7 feet away from him. He could understand her discomfort about him. She had been deflowered, after all. Now she was alone with a guy. Whether or not it was someone she'd known for most of her life seemed irrelevant. _At least the cave doesn't smell like death _She did have a point, the cave smelled a lot like the open air, probably due too how small it was. Drake absentmindedly played with the directions in his hand. He was pretty sure this was the right way, but by secret route Sorano must've meant wasn't really a path, it was just walk through the brush for insert hours here until you reach a town on the edge of a waterfall, nothing really saying _ This way!_

"Is Nashi getting any better?" He asked, trying to keep some form of conversation going. Elise put her hand on Nashi's forehead.

_ Barely any warmer_ She thought back, _Hows her heart beat? _ Drake listened for a moment before he found it. A very faint, unsteady sound. It pained him to hear it struggling so much.

"It's unsteady," He replied, staring at the cave floor. "We need to get there as fast as we can and find Meredy"

_ Is it just me, or does her name sound really familiar? _ Drake rolled through years of Jellal's visits, trying to remember if she was ever mentioned, but he couldn't find anything, but that was probably because he was tired.

"I don't know, I'm too tired to remember. I'm sure she was mentioned once or twice. Hell, she may have even visited." Silence fell on them once again. Drake hated the silence. It wasn't that he didn't have anything to say to Elise, it was just that she was so despondent lately, he really didn't think that anything he had in mind would garner a reaction.

_Do you have any idea what Meredy looks like? _Elise's thoughts jerked him out of his own.

"I don't know, Angel said to ask around. She might be concealing herself for protection. I just hope she's knows what she's talking about"

_ Me too. _ Nashi coughed, which silenced Drake and Elise's thoughts. Nashi didn't wake or even shift in her slumber, and Drake wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

_Should we just keep going? I mean, it's not like either of us are going to be able to sleep at all. That and I'm sure the dark guild's noticed we've escaped. _Drake hadn't thought of that. They had been gone for a few hours and Drake wasn't sure if how long that meeting would last, but 8 hours seemed a little long. Than again, Angel had seemed pretty confident they wouldn't get caught, so maybe it would be that long.

"Are you sure you want to walk through the rain? I mean, we really shouldn't risk getting sick"

_So we don't want to get a cold while Nashi is knocking on deaths door? Pick her up and lets go, Drake. We need to get out of here. _Drake could see the logic in that. Sighing in defeat, he picked up Nashi and followed Elise out into the night.

* * *

Drake had to admit, Watercliff town was a nice little place. A small town with a few buildings here and there, dotting the bank of the river leading to the waterfall. He and Elise stumbled in, the night before and the morning after had been rather difficult. No, neither of them got a cold or anything, but they'd trudged right through the night. Drake was exhausted, and he could tell Elise was as well. That and he'd heard a search party a few miles behind them at around midnight. They'd gone the wrong way a few minute later, but it still gave them both the reason that they needed to keep going.

"Where would she be?" Drake asked aloud, trying to ignore the looks he got from the townsfolk regarding the unconscious girl draped across his back.

_I don't_ know...*Yawn*_ Maybe at the inn? _ Drake saw that as the best option, that and a bed would be nice, he hadn't seen one in weeks. Elise held the door open and he trudged in. His back was killing him. Nashi didn't weigh all that much, but he'd been carrying her for at least twelve hours. His body was about to give out on him. They walked over too the counter, and the bartender gave them a look that said he was curious, but wasn't about to intrude.

"What can I get'cha?" He asked, leaning forward. Drake had to do the talking, so he uncomfortably shuffled on is feet to get a better grip of Nashi before opening his mouth.

"A woman named Meredy, has she passed through here?" The man gave him a strange look.

"Who wants to know?" He asked gruffly, cleaning out a cup.

"A friend sent us too find her." He replied, watching the strange look the man gave him. Drake was too exhausted to try and hear what he was thinking, it was using everything he had too hear Elise when he had too. The man nodded slowly.

"Right, she's in the back room." He jabbed his finger at the room behind him, and Drake put his defenses up. This seemed rather sketchy, but he was too tired too argue. He followed Elise into the room, and the door shut behind them.

_Shit. _Elise murmured. The light flicked on, and in the corner of the room, the bartender sat, tied up, unconscious.

"What the hell?" Drake asked aloud. The door opened, and the same man tied up walked in and shook his head.

"Honestly, could you have been any more obvious?" He asked, a hand on his hip. Drake was thoroughly confused.

"Huh?" Was all he could manage. The bartender sighed, and waved his hand. He was enveloped in a golden light, and when in faded, in the place of the bartender, a woman stood, her pink hair flowing over her blue cloak. She, instead of the bartenders grimace, wore a warm smile.

"I'm Meredy, and you really need to learn how to be less obvious, I swear half the bar heard you." Drake didn't know if he was supposed to apologize. "So Angel told me only the bare necessities, but long story short, you guys need some help getting home?"

"Y..yeah" Drake managed, dropping to one knee, his legs finally using up the rest of his energy.

_Are you okay?_ He heard Elise think.

"I'm in pretty bad shape, Elise. That and I'm pretty hungry" Meredy sighed, and walked up too him, and grabbed his wrist. It started to glow, and a small bracelet of magic, with a heart design, appeared on his wrist. All of the sudden, he started to feel much better. Meredy did the same too Elise, and waited quietly.

"What is this?" Drake asked, his voice suddenly very clear and loud, not raspy and weak.

"It's called a sensory link" Meredy replied, as she walked too the other side of the room and started throwing things everywhere, looking for something. "It shares the conditions of the people linked too it. Well, that's the version I used, anyway." Drake noted how she faltered slightly on her way back too them, carrying a bag.

"Did you... link Elise and I too you?" He asked. She nodded.

"It's not a very effective way of healing, mainly because it only works as long as I'm not receiving too much pain from you, which is why I can't cast one one your friend there" She jabbed her thumb at Nashi. "I don't think you want your help getting home in a coma." Drake saw the sense in that.

"Now what?" He asked, able to carry himself and Nashi much better now. Meredy grinned brightly and began too walk towards the door. She turned back too him and grinned even wider.

"Now we begin to go home. Oh, and if your anything like Erik, then your about to hate me." Erik. The name seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. No matter. He and Elise followed Meredy out and his curiosity got the better of him.

"Why will I hate you?" He asked wearily, turning to look at her as they strode through town. She laughed.

"Because we have to ride a train back!" She giggled. Drake paled.

_Mavis help me... _ Elise groaned mentally behind him.

**I love Meredy so much, and I tried my best too make her kind of childish and serious at the same time. Remember to leave a review!**


	25. Caught up in the past

"Table for four" Meredy told the waiter.

"Oh course, madam. Right this way" Drake and Elise followed Meredy and the waiter towards the table. Drake couldn't believe that Meredy hadn't thought of a better plan than just waltzing into a fancy restaurant with an unconscious teen, but Drake did his best to ignore the stares he was getting for carrying her. Of course, as soon as Meredy flashed a bunch of jewel at the waiter, he was more than courteous to them. They sat down and Drake placed Nashi down gently, who just leaned back gently and continued to sleep. At least, that's what Drake liked to think of it as. Thinking about her on deaths door while Meredy treated them to a five star meal kind of irritated him, but he chose to think of it as sleeping regardless. Meredy seemed way to upbeat, and Drake found it slightly off putting.

"So just what the hell where you guys doing where Angel was undercover anyway?" Meredy asked beside him, and Drake sighed.

"We were doing a job when we were caught, and they captured us and kept us prisoner." Meredy was silent for a moment. She leaned in close to him.

"When I used a sensory link on you guys," She began quietly. "I felt a lot of pain around here..." Drake felt a little lightheaded as he saw Meredy wave her hand around her lower half. "Was your friend over there...?"

"Yeah, she was." Drake replied. Meredy's demeanor didn't change at all, which confused Drake further. How could she remain so upbeat and all smiles with the knowledge Drake had confirmed for her? It didn't make any sense. Drake quickly lost interest in that, however, when a lobster was placed in front of him. Drake, and Elise, began devouring their food, as Meredy watched, slightly amused. Drake had never been so happy to just devour food like this, and he was too hungry too care.

"So I take it I'm taking you guys too Fairy Tail?" Meredy asked, playing with her own portion. Drake eyed it ravenously, and Meredy pushed it towards him.

"How'd you know?" He asked, beginning to stuff Meredy's food into his mouth as well.

"Well, your friend over there is obviously Gajeel's kid, and I'd have to be stupid not to recognize a Dragneel when I saw her... " Meredy trialed off and eyed him. "And I knew Erik had a kid, but I never put two and two together and realized it was with Kinana." Drake felt like slapping himself as he realized who Erik was. His FATHER was Erik, he just didn't realize it. He'd dwell on it later, but right now, he had food to eat.

"So the train station is here?" Drake asked, trying to fight down his fear of said transportation. Meredy nodded.

"It doesn't go all the way too Magnolia, but it goes pretty far."

_I already feel like throwing up. _Drake heard Elise think from the other side of the table. It was relatively strange hearing what she wanted too say as she chewed her meal, without sounding as if she had food in her mouth.

"I can't wait too see how bad you are with transportation," Meredy said with a grin. "Your dad is terrible. I remember once we were tracking these dark wizards in the west and we had to board a train, and I swear he was going to die if he stayed on it any longer then he had too." Meredy broke out in a fit of laughter, and Drake tried his best to chuckle with her. He didn't really find it that funny, especially since he could understand his fathers discomfort.

"What's my dad like, anyway?" Drake asked, breaking Meredy's laughing fit with his question. Meredy made a face that made Drake realize she was thinking.

"He's a stick in the mud," She replied. "I remember once I asked him to help me set up a surprise party for Jellal's birthday, and he straight up refused, said it was childish I'd even asked. The others were completely willing to help me though. Richard especially."

"What does he look like?" Drake inquired. He knew it must've sounded pathetic, but he hadn't seen his father since he was eight, and all he remembered was a white coat, dark red hair, and a venomous smirk. (Hehe, he was so punny.)

"He looks a lot like you, actually." Meredy replied. "His hair spikes up though, and his eyes aren't purple." Drake tried to see it, but it didn't visualize. He sighed in defeat, and stared out the window. He could see, in it's reflection, Elise feeding Nashi, which barely worked at all, seeing as Nashi's head was tilted back and it wouldn't go down, and Meredy was watching with a bemused smile. He sighed again. He could still see the last time he'd seen his father, clear as day, as if it had been yesterday.

* * *

_He'd just spent all day hanging out with Nashi, Elise, Ultear and Simon. He was in high spirits after watching Ul and Simon pretend too fight. Eve if it wasn't real, it still excited him. He told them both flat out when they got older, he'd beat them both, and they agreed. He came home and found his mother crying._

_"What's wrong, mom?" He asked worriedly. She looked up._

_"It's... it' nothing. It's just... your father got an emergency call from Jellal. He has to leave." Drake remembered his stomach turned so much he felt as if he was on a train._

_Drake sprinted as fast as he could after his father, tears streaming down his face. He had to catch him, he couldn't leave without saying goodbye!_

_"Dad!" Drake shouted as loud as he could, and h saw his father turn, flashing his signature smirk._

_"What the hell are you doing, kid?" He demanded, as Drake flung himself at him, crying intensely._

_"You can't just leave without saying goodbye! You can't leave at all! Tell Jellal you can't make it!" He cried, grabbing at his fathers cloak, hearing him chuckle._

_"Jellal doesn't work that way kid. He needs me, I can't just not show up. He was kind enough to let me stay as long as I did."_

_"Tell him your staying! He'll understand, he has a son!"_

_"And he's never around, is he?" Drake was stunned into silence, he hadn't thought of it like that. Jellal was barely around for Simon, but Simon didn't particularly like his father either._

_"But Simon doesn't even like his Dad! I do!"_

_"Isn't that because Jellal was never around?" Drake's father had gotten him again. He felt his father push him off and go to eye level with him. "Listen up kid. I need to go, that can't change. But I promise I'll come back. When you need me and there's no other hope, I'll come back, and then you'll see me again, got it?"_

_"What does that even mean, dad?" Drake asked, feeling a fresh wave of tears breaching his eyes._

_"Stop crying, it's not like it's the end of the world." He scolded. "Your a Fairy Tail wizard. You've got your friends and Kinana, don't you? Well, they're your family just as much as I am, and when you grow up, you better defend my honor and beat the Salamanders kid, got it?" Drake sniffled._

_"Got it" His father chuckled again._

_"Besides, how could you ever hate me? I'm too lovable."_

_"In your dreams, dad" Hugging Drake one last time, he grinned a him, stood back up, and proceeded to continued walking away._

* * *

That had been the last time Drake had seen him at all.

_When I need him the most, and there's other hope... so where the hell are you, Dad?_

"Drake," Meredy spoke, interrupting his thoughts. He jerked up, looking around like a lost child at a supermarket.

"Yeah, what? What happened?" He inquired, watching the girls look at each others strangely.

"Are you okay?" Meredy asked. "You were staring out that window for at least 25 minutes." Drake tried to hide the red from his face at the comment. Had she been trying to speak to him? He'd been too lost in the past to hear her, which was pretty big for a sound mage like him.

"Sorry, just thinking about getting home"

_Are you gonna finish that? _Elise questioned pointing towards the plate of food in front of him. He shook his head, and she grabbed it and began to eat it hungrily.

"Speaking of home" Meredy said. "As soon as you finish that, we'll get on the way too the train station, alright? You guys can try and catch some sleep on the train, if your not too busy throwing all this food up Drake paled.

"You fed us for your own amusement, didn't you?" He demanded. Meredy giggled.

"Partially, but mainly to get some food in you in general."

Drake wanted to strangle her for that.


	26. The Return

**Remember to leave a review, guys! It's inspiring! I don't want to abandon this story.**

Drake groaned as the train lurched too the side. Elise was doing an amazing job and remaining quiet, although her face was completely pale. Meredy chuckled.

"Trouble?" She asked sweetly.

"Go to hell" Drake replied, clutching his stomach, feeling his dinner swirling like it was in a whirlpool. Meredy huffed.

"Is this how you normally treat people who save your life?"

"If they enjoy watching me in pain, than yes" Meredy laughed, and Elise doubled over, grabbing her knees in vain.

"Will we... *Urp* ...get home soon?" Drake whispered, grabbing Nashi's knee so that he wouldn't hurt himself. Of course, it occurred to him he was grabbing her knee rather tightly.

"I don't know, maybe in a few hours?" Meredy replied, grinning cheekily. Drake glared at her. "Sorry, not funny." Drake turned to watch the passing countryside, wondering how dramatic there entry into the guild would think. Meredy would probably kick the door in, and they'd follow, looking like battle-worn heroes. he chuckled internally. Not at all. He and Elise would probably hobble in as Meredy did her best to explain what had happened. Drake hoped they hadn't worried anyone all too much. Then again, they kind of had disappeared without a trace, so maybe they were a little more than worried. Drake shrugged to himself, wondering how weird it would be being back. It sounded strange, but after two weeks, Drake wasn't sure he wanted to be very lively. This whole experience had changed him, and he knew for a fact it wasn't for the better. He knew for a fact that his mother wouldn't let go of him for at least a few hours, which, surprisingly, he didn't mind at all, actually. He missed her more terribly than he realized. He shrugged it off, pushed the lobster back down from his throat, and tried to drift off too sleep.

* * *

Ultear just played with her breakfast, not really paying attention whatsoever to whatever Simon was talking about. Usually she listened to him politely, but she was too worried about Nashi and the others. They'd been gone much too long, and others were getting desperate, her included.

"Ul, are you even listening to me?" Simon asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"Not in the slightest," Ultear replied, turning to face him. "Sorry." They watched each other for a moment.

"Are you okay?" Ultear felt her heart beat pick up. She'd always found Simon attractive, but the concerned look on his face made her blush.

"I'm just worried about Nashi and the others." She replied, continuing to pick at her food. "I'm worried their hurt. or worse"

"Don't think like that" He said. "They're tough, they'll be fine." Ultear wanted to believe him, but it was unusual, even for them.

"But what if they are hurt?" Ultear asked, turning back to face him. He grinned and ruffled her hair.

"We kick the ass of whoever did it to them" He said. Ultear smiled weakly. Somehow, she knew that was exactly what they would do, too.

"Ultear, Simon" Ultear turned to find Master Laxus standing behind them.

"Master" Simon said.

"Gramps'' Ultear grinned as he winced.

"Have you two made any progress in locating the others?" He asked. Simon sighed.

"None. I didn't see anything when I looked into the forest. I turned back when it got dark, so maybe they went farther in." Ultear nodded in agreement. She and Simon had gone to check again yesterday, but, once again had found nothing. Master Laxus shook his head angrily.

"Damn, where'd they go?" He asked. Ultear looked down. Knowing Gramps was worried made her even more anxious. He was rarely worried about anyone from the guild.

Outwardly worried, that is.

Ultear was about to suggest something, when the hall doors flew open. A pink haired woman walked in, and for a split second, Ultear thought it was Nashi. The woman smirked.

"What, I get no welcome, or anything?" She asked, grinning. Ultear watched her dad stand up.

"Meredy? What are you doing here?" He asked. Meredy grinned even wider.

"I was just returning your..." Meredy turned around and looked confused. "Where's they go?" She asked, looking around.

"Where'd who go?" Erza asked, confused. Meredy began to tap her foot impatiently.

"Hey, come on!" She shouted out the door. "I made a big deal of coming in, the least you could is be behind me, you know!" Ultear was about to ask, when a figure appeared in the door. Ultear gasped.

Elise wandered in behind Ultear, but it didn't take a genius to figure out Elise wasn't okay. She looked battered and bruised, her foot looked awkward, and she had a dead look to her eyes. lifeless, one could say.

"Elise!" Ultear heard Levy shout happily. Elise didn't even respond, she just stared straight ahead. then, as if before anyone could even ask, Drake stumbled in, looking just as bad if not worse. He also had a pair of legs jutting out from his midsection.

Nashi's legs.

Ultear knew immediatedly out of the three, Nashi was the worst off, mainly because She was unconscious on Drake's back with a huge yellow bruise on her face. Everyone gathered around.

"Wendy!" Gramps shouted. The Sky Maiden rushed forward, ready to heal. Drake shifted so he was carrying Nashi bridal style, but their was nothing romantic about it. Nashi was completely limp and unmoving, the bruises, cuts, and broken bones apparent to all. Ultear felt like she was going to cry.

"What the hell happened to you three?" Natsu demanded, stepping forward. Drake stared at him, the same dead look to his eyes, and he slowing, and shakily, offered Nastu his daughters limp body, which he unsteadily took. It was a rush of people and unanswered questions as the three were rushed into the infirmary.

* * *

Ultear watched quietly with the rest of the guild as Wendy inspected the three of them, her hands glowing and muttering incantations. Drake and Elise were sitting up in their beds, looking much better than the pinkette. It seemed like a millennium before Wendy leaned back and sighed.

"She'll live" She reported, and the guild let out a collective sigh of relief.

"What happened to her?" Ultear heard Lucy ask sadly. Wendy sighed.

"I don't know, but this poor girl went through hell and back. She wouldn't have survived another day" That made everyone a little sour, Ultear could tell. "Broken bones, deep wounds, bruises of all different colors... what the hell happened?" Everyone turned as one to stare at Drake and Elise, who were sitting up and completely conscious. Elise was curled up into a ball, staring into nothing, and Drake was rubbing his wrists. Ultear could see that they were cut from something, almost like handcuffs.

"Phantom Dove" Meredy spoke up. Everyone turned to look at the Crime Sociere wizard, who blushed at the attention she garnered by saying that.

"What?" Gajeel asked.

"Phantom Dove, one of the dark guilds that formed the New Balam Alliance." The silence was extremely unsettling. Ultear had heard of the Balam Alliance, the three most powerful dark guilds.

"What do they have to do with this?" Levy asked curiously.

"That was the dark guild that their job was bound too, and they got captured." Meredy explained. It didn't answer any more questions then it solved.

"And they did this to them?" Natsu demanded, is voice deathly low. He was sitting next to Nashi, gripping her hand gently. Meredy nodded.

"They wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Sorano" Meredy said. "She was undercover for Jellal, and she got them out before anything too bad happened" Somehow, Ultear felt like Meredy was saying that just to cover up something bigger, but she didn't feel like asking.

"We're going to get them" Natsu replied, a deep growling sound escaping him ,which chilled Ultear. "All of them, for this"

"We don't even know where they are Natsu" Ultear's dad told him. "We'd be wasting time and energy looking for..."

"Deep in the forest" Drake spoke up, and his voice made Ultear sad. It was so devoid of what made Drake Drake. smugness, a little cockiness, and humor, all gone, replaced with a void of emptiness. "East of Watercliff town" Natsu stood.

"Back in a few days" He growled, striding towards the door, before being stopped by Lucy, who looked terrible. Her makeup was running, and she had tears streaming down her face.

"Natsu, don't" She whispered.

"Lucy, I'm going to..."

"You left once when she needed you, Natsu! Your not doing it again!"

"She wasn't even born last time!" Ultear jumped a little bit when Lucy slapped him, creating a huge sound. Natsu sighed. "Sorry, I'm not thinking clearly"

"Obviously" The conversation as too what to do continued, and Ultear felt someone tap her. She turned to find Wendy there, motioning for her to follow. She did so, and she and Simon followed her out of the infirmary back to the main guild hall.

"What is it Wendy?" Simon asked. Wendy sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"I didn't tell Natsu-san and Gajeel-san the extent of what happened, but I figured I'd tell you guys, seeing as your their friends.

"Why not tell them?" Ultear questioned.

"Because they'd fly into a rage if I said anything, and Natsu-san doesn't need to worry any more than he already is, Kinana-san too" Wendy was silent for a moment, then turned back too them. "Drake-san is the best of the three, although that isn't saying much. They've been tortured, that's much is obvious."

"Great to hear" Simon muttered sarcastically. Wendy ignored him.

"Nashi, obviously, was about to die, and I'm dead serious. I don't what they did to her, but it almost ended her. If they had been, and I'm not kidding, a few hours later than they were, she would've died." Ultear tried not too feel overwhelmed by that. A few hours from now, had they not made, the girl she considered her little sister would've been gone.

"What about Elise?" She asked weakly. Wendy sighed. That wasn't a good sign.

"Elise, well, I don't really know who to put this. She's definitely worse off than Drake, but she was... um..." Ultear's eyes widened as Wendy resorted to childish hand motions to tell them what happened.

"Mavis..." She breathed, as Simon glared at the ground. Wendy nodded. "I can see why you didn't mention it, Wendy" Ultear told her. "If you did, nothing would've stopped them"

"I know, that's why I didn't" Wendy went back to the infirmary to treat them, and Ultear stood still ,trying to process what just happened. She slowly looked up and watched the infirmary door.

_If only I'd been there... God, I'm sorry Elise... I'm so fucking sorry..._

**_Remember to leave a review!_**


	27. Old Friends

Natsu would've been as worried as his wife if he didn't have complete faith in the Sky Maiden. Every time Natsu entered the infirmary, Wendy was in the middle of treating Nashi. Natsu, however was more worried about Lucy. She hadn't left the infirmary since Nashi had returned and it made Natsu worried she wasn't eating or sleeping enough. He didn't know where she was showering though. He thought she would've looked awful ,but her complexion never changed. Just a mask of worry. He'd tried to get her to leave, but she never moved a muscle. Natsu sighed as he left the infirmary in defeat. She just refused to move.

"Get me a beer, Mira" Natsu growled as he sat at the bar. Mira nodded.

"Nothing stronger, Natsu?" She asked politely. he thought for a moment.

"On second thought, get me a bottle of vodka" Mira smiled sweetly at him and nodded. As she left to get the vodka, it left Natsu with his thoughts. Now, before you get the wrong idea, Natsu was worried about his daughter. How could he not be? He'd never loved anything as much as he did her. But, he did trust Wendy to help her. Wendy had evolved a lot since he'd left 16 years ago ,and it was good to know Nashi was in the best of hands medically possible. Natsu took the bottle Mira sat in front of him, took the cork out, and drank a quarter before he set it down. When he heard someone sit down next to him, he turned to find Gajeel sitting there.

"Get me what the Salamanders got" He grumbled towards Mira, who know both men were in too bad a mood to be argued with about being polite. when he received his own bottle, they sat in angered silence. "So," Gajeel finally poke up, taking a swig. "We're gonna kick the ass of whoever did this, right?" Natsu snorted.

"What do you think?" Natsu retorted. "I going to find whoever hurt my daughter and kick his ass. He'll regret it then." Gajeel nodded.

"I can't wait to get my hands on them either." He smiled viciously. "Gihhi, makes me chuckle just thinking about the broken bones." Natsu nodded in agreement. He was just about finished with the bottle, but Natsu had pumped so much alcohol into his system as a part of Fairy Tail this bottle was barely enough for a buzz, which may have sounded crazy, but Cana could drink a whole barrel and only get a buzz. Natsu was about to turn around a drill the bottle across the room when he came face to face with Laxus. He seemed slightly amused.

"Something you were gonna do, Natsu?" He asked, a bemused look on his face. Natsu laughed quietly.

"Nah, nothing" He set the bottle back down. "Something you needed, Laxus? Gajeel and I were in the middle of discussing a plot for payback" Laxus sughed.

"Yes, and I need you to come with me. We'll get Erza too."

"Where are we going?" Natsu asked. He couldn't imagine where Laxus was taking him. Laxus smiled again.

"You and Gajeel were discussing payback, yeah? I called for backup" Natsu felt his eyes widened.

"Backup? You mean you called..."

"I did"

* * *

Natsu soon found himself on Laxus' left flank, waiting for their backup. Erza was too his right, and Laxus stood between them. With nothing better too do, Natsu started to look around lazily. It happened after he found a weird mark on the back of Laxus' neck, and realizing Erza was shorter then both him and Laxus by about a head or two, in Laxus' case. a glowing, glittery blue dot appeared in the sky. Natsu grinned. He couldn't wait to here that good old voice again. It got closer, and Natsu heard it.

"Yes, meeeehhnnnn" The voice boomed. "The parfum of old friends is strong here! The parfum of love, meeeeehhhnnn!" Natsu grinned as Erza sighed.

"Why, of all guilds, you called him?" She demanded, watching Laxus.

"Because Blue Pegasus and Fairy Tail are old allies. Plus, I love watching you squirm." Laxus replied.

"Come on Erza," Natsu told her. "Lighten up, your a married women, he'll leave you alone"

"Natsu," She said wearily. "You were at my wedding. He tried to kiss me, and convince Jellal to trade places with him"

"Where is my honey?" The voice boomed again, which made Natsu laugh. "The parfum of forbidden love!" Erza sighed, and Natsu watched as a sparkling, ginger haired figure swan dived off the bow of the Christina. Natsu wasn't expecting the graceful maneuver he performed in mid air, but he didn't know why he thought it would prevent Ichiya from face planting into the concrete. "Meeehhhnnn!" He shouted in pain. Natsu laughed and Laxus pressed his mouth into a thin line to prevent from doing so as well. Erza just rubbed the bridge of her nose irritably. The Trimens, and three others Natsu didn't recognize, descended in Ren's air magic.

"Every time we visit, Ichiya-senpai, I swear" Hibiki grinned.

"He's just excited to visit our old friends" Eve agreed heartily.

"Can't imagine why, they aren't all that..." Ren muttered. They landed as Ichiya gathered himself together.

"Laxus-kun" We came as fast as we can." Ichiya turned to Natsu, and his grin grew. "Natsu-kun, it is good to see you, old friend. The parfum of friendship, meeehhhnnn!" Natsu shook his head with a chuckle.

"You haven't changed a bit Ichiya." He told him, and Ichiya nodded.

"Or you, my friend" He then turned to Erza, and Natsu tensed in anticipation, as did Laxus. The Trimens just chuckled. "My honey," He drawled, his voice turning sappy. "It is wonderful to see you again. I however, will not intrude. You are, after all, married. As am I" Erza sighed in relief, and the Trimens stepped forward.

"Natsu, You look good" Hibiki complimented, stepping forward. Natsu had always like Hibiki a bit more than the other two, mainly because Ren was stoney and Eve was a bit weird.

"You two, old man" Natsu grinned, poking fun at the little gray hair Hibiki had. Hibiki turned around.

"I suppose you haven't met our kids yet, huh?" the one that looked like Hibiki stepped forward. "This is Ken" The teenager nodded at Natsu.

"It an honor to meet you, Mr. Dragneel" The other two introduced themselves as well. Ren's son was Taro, and Eve's was Akio.

"Speaking of meeting Natsu," Erza spoke up. "Where's Mami?' As if to answer her, the door to the Christina opened, and a figure stood silhouetted against the light from inside.

"I am here, meeehhhnnn" Natsu stifled a laugh as the second generation Trimens gathered up to bow to her. A girl that looked almost exactly like Ichiya strode out, albeit she was taller. Natsu had to admit, she was very attractive. She had hair Ichiya's color that went down to the middle of her back. She had any mans preferred body type, and a supermodel smile plastered on her face. She walked up next to her father. "Father, I have arrived." She spoke.

"Indeed you have, Mami-sama" Ichiya replied. "I would like you to Natsu-kun, your fathers dear friend from the old days." Old days. Natsu remembered them fondly. Really he just remembered seeing Erza toss Ichiya left and right a lot, but fond memories none of the less. Mami turned to him in shock.

"You are the Natsu-san in which my father speaks?" She asked incredulously. Natsu nodded curtly. Before he could say anything, Mami was kneeling at his feet. "I am honored to be in your presence, Natsu-san"

"You... too" He replied. He marveled how similar she was too Ichiya. Same random posing, same group of religiously devoted Trimens, and Same attitude. It definitely cheered him up. Laxus decided to speak up.

"Ichiya, did you hear from Jura or Sting? I contacted them as well." Laxus asked. Ichiya turned to Laxus, brandishing finger pistols.

"Meeehhhnnn. I received word from Jura-san an hour before arrival, he shall join us shortly."

"And Sting?" Erza asked.

"He said he was very busy, but could do his best to send someone in his absence in case he cannot. The parfum of a great leader!" Natsu had to agree. Sting had really turned Sabertooth around since he'd left, from what he'd heard. Well, he'd seen Sting a few years ago, more like 9, actually. He was doing amazingly, especially now that he'd married Yukino. Natsu remembered how awkward he'd made it for them on that day. Good times.

"Was there no response from Mermaid Heel?" Natsu asked curiously, remembering the guild full of vixens. Laxus shook his head.

"Kagura said she couldn't spare anyone, but she hopes us well all the same." Natsu wondered who Jura would be with .Lyon was obvious, probably Sherry too. Toby and Yuka? Hell if he knew.

"ah, their you all are" Natsu turned to find a man with a white beard, flanked by another with white hair and a dark pink haired woman. Jura, Lyon, and Sherry, obviously. They walked up too them and grinned.

"Hey old man!" Natsu said, grinning. "Long time no see!" Jura chuckled.

"Good to see you too, Natsu" Jura replied. "I trust you are well?"

"I've been better" Natsu replied, letting his grin turn into a grimace. Jura nodded.

"Indeed. These are dark times, as Laxus told us what happened."

"Yeah," Lyon agreed. "Something about more dark guilds?" Natsu nodded.

"Well, we'll have to give them a big welcome!" Sherry smiled. "As in, beat them up. Oh, there's my little boy!" She rushed towards Taro, who groaned upon impact.

"Seriously, mom, not in front of Natsu-san!" He groaned. Sherry giggled.

"Oh come off it. Natsu's a parent too, he understands. Right Natsu?" Natsu just nodded, which gave Sherry an excuse to smother her son.

"Speaking of Nashi," Jura spoke up. "How is she?"

"Better" Natsu replied. "She still hasn't woken up though." Jura sighed.

"Then we must act with haste. I trust she'd prefer this be over when she wakes." Natsu agreed with speed, but for a other reason. Mainly just wanting to hurt whoever did this. He watched as a white haired girl appeared from behind Lyon, followed by a recognizable Sky God slayer.

"I told you mom," The white haired girl groaned. "I'm not asking her for you. Your friends with Wendy, do it yourself." Chelia groaned.

"Oh, come off it Winter," Chelia reprimanded. "Just ask her!"

"No!" Winter replied.

"Please!" Winter sighed.

"Maybe"

"Yes, thank you!" Natsu coughed, interrupting them. Chelia grinned at the sight of him.

"Natsu, so good to see you again!" Chelia told him, grinning widely.

"Likewise" Natsu said, recalling Sherry's bubbly cousin. Chelia looked between Natsu and Winter for a moment before she face palmed.

"Oh man, how silly of me! Winter this is Natsu, he's bad ass" Natsu chuckled.

"Nice to meet you" Winter replied. Natsu nodded at her as well.

"No word from Sting?" Lyon asked, breaking up the pleasantries. Laxus shook his head quietly.

"Nothing. I assume he couldn't make it" He replied. Jura nodded, stroking his beard.

"I've seen him recently." Jura said. "He was up to his neck in paperwork, and it wasn't getting any better. He's probably just swamped, I doubt he even got a chance to tell Yukino" Natsu could understand that, which was why he was glad Laxus had a kid, because he a had a bad feeling he'd be master next otherwise.

"Alright, let's go and figure something out" Eve said. "If the Balam Alliance is back, so are the Allied Forces." Natsu trailed after everyone back to the guild house, wondering who would dare step in front of this many amazing wizards?

_A dark guild, that's who._

**I loved writing Ichiya. So much fun. Oh, and I feel the need to apologize about LyonxChelia. After Juvia and Sherry were taken, I had no one else to put him with, and I always get the vibe Chelia likes him anyway ;) Leave a review!**


	28. Worried

Drake knew something was up when the elite from a few other guilds showed up, but he elected to ignore it. He could hear whatever they where talking about anyway. They all bunched into the masters small office, and Drake listened in.

_"meeehhhnnn" _He heard Ichiya say. "What is the plan?" Plan for what?

"Attack, right from the front" Lyon asked hopefully. He heard Jura shake his head.

"Lyon, that'd be a stupid idea, Lyon." The master of Lamia Scale stated. "They'd be heavily defended. We're not talking about bandits here" Lyon murmured agreement, and there was silence. Or rather, people interrupted his listening.

"Hey guys!" Winter said cheerfully. Drake liked Winter, even if she was his ex-girlfriend, but that was a story for another time. It had been a mutual breakup, so they remained friends. He, however, didn't respond. Ultear, however did.

"Winter! It's so good to see you!" She jumped up, hugging the other girl. Ultear and Winter had always been close friends. "How have you been?"

"I've been great! Hey, is Nashi okay?" She asked worriedly. Simon slowly shook his head.

"She keeps getting closer to dying everyday, Wendy's doing her best, but there's isn't much she hasn't healed yet." Winter sighed.

"Poor girl" Winter then took notice of Drake, and sat down next to him, her eyes shining with worry. "And how are you, Drake?" Drake grunted in response, but she squeezed his hand. "Come on, you can tell me" Muttering about pushy ex's, Drake pulled his shirt off, revealing the wounds scattered across his back and chest. Winter traced a cold finger across them, making Drake shiver slightly.

"There," Drake said. Winter wrapped him in a one armed hug.

"Poor thing," She said, with a grin. "Want a kiss?" Drake snorted.

"Not from you, your terrible at it"

"I'm not terrible! You just taste sour!"

"Not surprising," Ultear said. "You were probably tasting poison." Winter pretending to look horrified. Drake had missed his friends from other guilds, but he could guess who Simon was dreading to see if Ichiya was here. Fortunately, She found them, flanked by her three idiots. She ran over.

"meeehhhnnn" Mami shouted. "The parfum of friendship! I have missed you all!" Ultear, even , grinned.

"Hey Mami? How are you?"

"Meeehhhnnn, I am fine. I was most displeased to hear of my friends capture by the enemy." Mami met Drake's eyes. "The parfum of apologies, Drake."

"It's fine, Mami." Drake replied. "I'm okay"

"No, you aren't" Winter replied. She slapped him on the back, and he flinched visibly. "You should've seen it Mami. There's barely any skin that isn't scarred."

"Speaking of scarred," Simon spoke up, which made Mami swoon, and the Trimens face palmed. "Where's Elise, she hasn't come in yet"

"Can't imagine why," Ultear agreed. "You'd figure she'd want to be around people instead of alone."

_I can imagine why, _Drake thought. He knew perfectly well why Elise wasn't here.

"I hope she's okay," Taro spoke up. "I can't imagine what you guys went through, Drake,"

"No, you really can't," Drake replied. "I'd prefer if we stopped talking about it, alright?"

"Fair enough," Akio told him.

* * *

After forty minutes of catching up, Drake decided he wanted to listen in on the meeting going on in the masters office again. He listened, and found what he was looking for.

"I don't care how we do it" Natsu growled. "I'm killing who did this to Nashi" Drake felt the same way, Apocalypse was going to die.

"Natsu, calm" Jura spoke. "We need a level head when we put this plan to action."

"I am level headed! What would you do?" Jura didn't respond, and Erza sighed.

"So, this is seriously what we're going with?"

"Yep" Sherry said. "Just one problem, we don't know where they are" Drake stood up abruptly, and walked towards the office.

"Where are you going, Drake?" Ultear called. He ignored her. He kicked the door too the office open, and all the adults stared at him.

"Not now, Drake." Master Laxus said. "We're busy..."

"I know where it is" He interrupted. Everyone stared at him.

"What?" Hibiki asked.

"I know where their guild hall is" He replied. Everyone remained silent.

"Drake, your hurt." Erza said. "There is no way your..."

"Than let me lead you there, at least." Drake said, getting angrier by the minute. He wanted to help.

"Your not coming," Lyon said. "End of story."

"Hold on now, meeehhhnnn" Ichiya said, standing up on the desk. "This young man is willing to lead us too are destination if it means vengeance. The parfum of a good friend!"

"Agreed." Jura said. "He wants to lead us there, let him. If he can fight, he can. This young man has a fire in him, I can sense it."

"Thanks you Jura-san, Ichiya-san" He spoke politely. Laxus sighed.

"Fine,but you'll see to your mother, not me"Drake growled under his breath. He knew perfectly well Laxus knew his mother was like a demon when it came too his welfare.

"Fine, I'll talk you her."

* * *

"No" Drake growled as his mother applied the disinfectant, although more at her answer. He felt the needle enter his back and sew up the wound that had reopened.

"Why not?" He asked through gritted teeth. She sighed.

"Because your not well"

"I'm fine"

"You split open your back walking over here!" Drake couldn't argue that point. Several of his back wounds had reopened. His mother was in the process of closing them up.

"I won't be doing any fighting, I'm just leading everyone there."

"My point still stands." Drake sighed, flinching slightly as the thread burned his infected wounds.

"I know you're worried and all, but this is ridiculous. I'm not going to barge in there demanding they show me who did those things to Elise..." Drake trailed off, realizing what he'd just said. He'd only told Meredy what had happened.

"Who did what to Elise?" Drake didn't respond. His mother concerned face appeared in front of him. "Drake? What did they do?" Drake stared back at her, before looking away.

"Doesn't matter. Point is, I'm leading them there, weather or not you want me too."

"God,you are just like your father"

"I'm nothing like him"

"How so?"

"I don't abandon my loved ones" They had another staring contest before she rubbed the bridge of her nose, slightly irritated.

"Drake, I already told you he left..."

"Because Jellal needed him, yeah yeah yeah. You've run that river dry" Her next comment was interrupted by the communication lacrima buzzing. She turned to answer it, and Drake threw his shirt back over his back, feeling his shirt snag on the wires in his back. His mother returned, looking confused, "Who was it?" Drake asked.

"Levy, it was about Elise" Drake was silent. "She's been in the shower for over six hours. Apparently she's herself in and the water hasn't stopped running since she walked in. They don't know what to do."

"And?" Drake asked, waiting for what this had to do with him.

"They want you to try and talk to her, they say maybe you can get through to her because you were there with her" Drake grabbed his coat, feeling worried. He had a bad feeling about this. Worse case scenario was suicide, but Drake didn't think Elise was that depressed.

* * *

Drake knocked on the Redfox door, waiting patiently. Gajeel answered the door.

"So Shrimp got a hold of ya, huh?" He asked gruffly. Drake nodded. "Alright, come on" Drake followed Gajeel stalked through the house, and Drake followed him. They walked up a flight of stairs, and Drake caught sight of Levy sitting, completely out of ideas, on the floor outside the door. Drake could hear the shower running. Levy got up when she saw him approaching.

"Oh, thank god you came!" She said desperately. "Elise has been in there all day, she won't say a word!"

"You didn't have Gajeel break the door down?" Drake asked.

"I figured I'd ask you first, that was the final plan" Drake nodded, and turned to look at the door.

"Elise?" He called out worriedly. "Are you in there?" Silence. Drake listened intently, but all he could hear was Levy's heartbeat going a million miles an hour and the shower running. "Elise? Come on girl don't make me break the door down." More silence.

"Elise, please!" Levy cried. "Let us help you!"

_I'm in here. _Drake felt terrible hearing Elise's voice. She sounded more unhappy than she'd ever been, but at least he knew she was alive.

"Are you okay?" Drake called, ignoring Levy's look of shock.

_I'm alright, just having a shower. _Drake sighed.

"You've been in there for six hours." He told her. Silence. Drake sighed.

"Is she okay?" Levy asked.

"Define okay" Drake replied, watching Levy carefully. "Can I go in there?" Levy's face contorted.

"She's in the shower" Levy said defensively. Drake chuckled.

"I've seen your daughter naked before, she's really bad at closing her door when she changes." Drake ignored the looks he received. Drake drove his shoulder into the door. It gave easily, and he walked in, with Gajeel and Levy watching. Elise was sitting smack in the middle of the shower, completely naked, staring into the distance curled into a ball. Drake sighed. "Elise?" No response. He walked over and turned the water off, but she didn't move. He snapped his fingers, nothing.

"Elise?" Levy tried. Still nothing. She just sat there, curled into a ball. Drake stepped into the shower,, pulled his coat off, and wrapped in around her shoulders. He sat down next to her, right in a puddle, and remained silent. No one spoke for a moment. Drake turned to her.

"I'm going to lead everyone back to Phantom Dove" He told her. No response, not even in her head. Drake didn't dare listen, he was afraid of what he'd hear. "We're... gonna get all of them. You hear me?" Still no response. "I'm going to make sure whoever hurt you... WON'T make it out alive, not after that" Elise still didn't respond, and Drake sighed. He was about to get up and leave when Elise rested her head on his shoulder.

_Don't leave, please. _He heard. _I'm scared when I'm alone. _He turned to her.

"Your parents were worried about you" He said flatly.

_I know, but I can't speak to them, not after what happened._

"Elise, you can't just..."

_Go through what happened to me and then you'll understand. _Drake didn't have a response to that, so he remained quiet. They just sat in the wet shower for a moment, before Elise stood up. _Thanks for coming, I feel better. _ Before he could say anything, she got out of the tub and walked away.

"You still have my coat" Drake called out, but she ignored him. She strode right past her parents, and down the other hall. Drake decided he should probably go, so he got up to leave. He was stopped at the door.

"What happened to her?" Gajeel demanded. Drake would normally be intimidated by the older dragon slayer, but he knew it would be bad for everyone's health if he said a word, not just his.

"You'd kill someone if I told you" Drake replied. He began to leave when he felt the smaller figure grab his wrist.

"Drake, please tell us," Levy whispered. "I want to help her."

"You want to help her?" Drake asked. "Go see Doranbolt and get her memory erased, as soon as possible. Tell her Nashi and I got captured, she wasn't with us, whatever you have to do" Drake met Levy's tearful gaze. "Because believe me, She'll never speak again if you don't" Levy watched him carefully before releasing him. He looked at Gajeel. "I'll take my leave, then. Keep an eye on her" Then he left. As he stalked through town, rage and worry for his friend all he could think about.

_Sorry Mom, but I'm going to have to kick some ass too._

**Remember to leave a review! Hope you enjoyed!**


	29. The battle begins

**I want to use this authors note to thank MythologyFairyFan, mainly because you're the only one reviewing the newest chapters :) oh, and Loli-chwan I appreciate it. Enjoy!**

Ultear realized Drake only knew his way through the forest because he was following a trail of blood. She trailed behind the poison dragon slayer quietly, watching him mutter to himself. She couldn't begin to understand what he was going through. Nashi was on deaths door, and Elise was losing her mind. He was the only one left. She was beside Winter, who was equally as worried.

"Are we sure he's okay?" Winter whispered to Ultear. "I mean, those wounds he showed me... they were bad." Ultear knew perfectly well how bad Drake's wounds were, she'd made him show her first. But Drake had reassured them he was only their guide, he wouldn't be doing any of the fighting. The little group consisted of Ultear, Winter, Simon, Master Laxus, Ichiya and Jura, both Trimen groups and Mami, Lyon, Sherry, Natsu, Gajeel, Erza, Ultear's mom and dad, and Meredy. Chelia had stayed behind to help Wendy with Nashi, and Lucy and Levy stayed behind for obvious reasons. They were quite the imposing group, but maybe that was the aura Natsu and Gajeel were giving off. It made Ultear shiver thinking about what they were going to do. She remembered Winter had asked her a question.

"I'm sure he's not as okay as he's letting on," Ultear said sadly. "But there's no way Drake's going to let us know if he's too hurt to continue on." Winter nodded. Ultear heard the rest of the group collectively yawn.

"Are we there yet?" Lyon asked, earning a reprimanding look from Jura.

"Were not far from a cave we used as cover when we escaped." Drake informed them. "We can rest there for the night." Ultear wondered how the camp out would go if they were staying in a cave. All of them being friends didn't deter Ultear from the awkward silence she was sure would befall the cave once they got there.

Meeehhhnnn" Ichiya said. "Is there anyone to be wary of from the enemy, Drake-kun?" Drake nodded.

"They have six elite, and their master," Drake said.

"Kind of like the Oracion Seis, then" Ren said. Drake nodded.

"One of them, Apocalypse, he's the torturer" Natsu growled.

"So he's the one were after" He demanded, which earned another nod.

"Another one is with us," Drake said. "Angel ,I think you guys know her?" Erza nodded.

"She helped you escape and is working undercover for Jellal?" Meredy nodded, confirming the story. "Then maybe she can use our fight to help us take them out"

"She probably has what she needed now, anyway" Meredy stated. "She's probably looking for an excuse to slip away"

"We'll give her one," Ultear's dad replied. Ultear agreed. It was a few more hours before they reached the cave, and by then it was dark out. Ultear noticed a puddle of blood in the center of the cave, and it made her sad. She didn't know whose blood it was, but she didn't need too. Everyone chose a corner of the cave to sulk in and Natsu lit a fire. The silence was killing her.

"So," She spoke up, "What's the plan again?"

"We rush in and kill everyone" Natsu replied, murder clearly his intent. Master Laxus sighed.

"That was your plan, Natsu." He said flatly. "The actual plan is the find a way to sneak in and destroy them from the inside."

"That's so lame though" Lyon complained.

"Agreed." Her Father said. "I'd rather bust the front door down and demand to know who's in charge." Ultear agreed with her father, she was too antsy for a sneak attack. Master Jura shook his head.

"No, we don't know what their capable of yet," He informed them. "Until he are certain they aren't a threat, we can't risk it"

"Their a guild in the new Balam Alliance, correct?" Ken spoke up. "By that logic, we should already be prepared for a risky fight.

"meeehhhnnn," Ichiya spoke up. "We must be certain they do not know of our presence here. A sneak attack is the best option. the parfum of confusion is our best ally right now against the enemy."

"Sneak?" Drake asked. "Impossible. The guild hall is in a valley. Only way to sneak in would be the front door anyway."

"Alright, so we bust the front door down and knock some heads, and then leave when were done" Gajeel said with a viscous grin. "Gihihi, I'm getting excited already." Jura sighed.

"We are not going to launch a frontal attack." He stated. "We will sneak in or we turn around right now" Natsu stood up and glared at Jura.

"You want to leave? Fine, go ahead and leave, but I'm going to find whoever hurt my daughter, and give him my regards." Gajeel nodded in agreement.

"Can we argue about this in the morning?" Winter asked, sounding slightly worried. "We can't bicker about stuff like this, anyway"

"Agreed" Ultear said. "We'll find a way, I guarantee that." That seemed the quiet everyone down, which relieved Ultear.

"Everyone try to rest" Simon said. "We'll need our strength. for tomorrow,"

"I agree with my honey" Mami spoke up. "We need the parfum of good sleep for tomorrows events."

"I am **_not _**your honey" Simon replied. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Ultear, along with everyone else, was crouched on a ledge, looking at the guild hall with anguish. The building itself pissed Ultear off. Looking at it remained her of when Drake, Elise and Nash had returned, looking undead, as if not returning kept them form restful death.

"Alright, now what?" Her mother asked. "Juvia wishes to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Agreed" Laxus grumbled. Lyon observed the valley.

"I don't see a way in, unfortunately." a small smile graced his face. "Guess we'll just have too break down the front door and demand they give up."

"I hate to agree with such a horrible battle plan," Jura said. "But I don't see another way in"

"You said there were just six big guys to worry about, minus Angel ,right?" Ultear asked Drake, who nodded. Ultear noted how he looked rather sickly seeing the building again.

"Apocalypse is who you want to look out for," He said quietly.

"Why's that?" Erza asked.

"Rapture magic." Drake replied. "He could kill you before you get close to him." Gajeel laughed.

"Rapture, huh?" He snickered. "I've got more than one of it's users defeated under my belt.

"Juvia as well" Ultear's mother agreed. "Juvia remembers Guttman well" Ultear had heard the whole key story, but she hadn't made the connection to what rapture was until then.

"He's dangerous, then" Eve said. Drake nodded.

"I don't know much about the other 4, I don't recall seeing them for more than a few minutes. I can assume they're dangerous, though."

"Alright," Master Laxus said. "Here's what we'll do..." Laxus was interrupted by Natsu, who stormed past him towards the ledge. Ultear felt her stomach drop. "Natsu, don't...!"

"Listen up you assholes!" Natsu shouted across the valley. "I'm Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail, and today you'll learn what happens to people who fuck with my family!

"Natsu!" Erza shouted. "Don't you dare..."

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Ultear watched in awe as a gout of fire erupted from Natsu's mouth, rushing towards the building and exploded against it.

"Mavis, Natsu!" Ultear's father shouted. "Are you trying to be a huge jackass or does in come naturally?!" Natsu didn't respond, he and Gajeel had already jumped into the valley and rushing forward.

"Come on, everyone" Master Laxus muttered. "Before they get themselves killed." Ultear doubted either of those too could get themselves killed. She ran along with everyone else towards the guild hall, where it's members were filing out, shouting angrily. Ultear noted how pale they were, as if they hadn't seen the sunlight since joining.

"What the hell do you want?" One shouted.

"Just who do you guys think you are?!"

"Wait, those guys are Fairies!" Ultear couldn't help but grin as they noticed who they were. Natsu was standing in front of everyone else.

"Nashi Dragneel"He growled. The guild looked confused.

"Who?"

"Why are they saying random names?" Ultear saw Natsu's fists tighten.

"Of course you assholes didn't even ask her name. " He launched himself forward. "Next time when you take prisoners, remember who your fucking with! Because you're fucking with the one guild you don't fuck with! FAIRY TAIL!"

Everyone mimicked his battle cry and charged forward.


	30. Eoin

Ultear lost track of what was going on as soon as the fighting started. She took out someone here and there, but she could barely see anyone else. She heard the occasional "Meeehhhnnn!" and dragon attacks, but that was about it. Next thing she knew, she was standing in the empty battlefield in front of the guild hall, completely barren of the enemy. She saw Natsu and Gajeel storming inside, so she fell in line with Simon and Winter as they stormed inside. One man stood there, smiling. He didn't look like anything special.

"I'm totally going to take you all out" He grinned. "And then I'll get promoted!" No one said anything, probably because no one was afraid of him. He was about to attack, when something attacked him from behind. He fell to the ground, revealing his white haired attacker. "Angel?" He asked. "What the hell are you...?" He was cut off when Angel kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

"Took you guys long enough" She said, turning to them. No one said anything at first.

"Sorano!" Meredy shouted happily, surging forward. The pinkette connected with her friend, sending them to the ground.

"Get off me, Meredy!" Sorano shouted. Meredy did as she was told, but didn't stop smiling. Sorano got up and brushed herself off. "Anyway, as I was saying," She began, walking towards them. "It took those guys long enough to bring back up"

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Natsu asked, causing everyone to face palm.

"Natsu, it's me" She said irritably. "Angel"

"Ohhh, that crazy bitch in the Oracion Seis, okay, I know you now" Angel looked beyond words, but she just sighed.

"So, I've been told you can help us?" Master Laxus stepped forward. Angel nodded.

"I'm sure you want to take everyone out, which I know how to do" Angel pointed to the six doors lining the hallway. "Each of these doors leads to one of the six, and the big door up there leads to the Master,"

"One door is yours, correct?" Jura asked, which earned a nod.

"Yeah. Now if I know Natsu better than he knows me, which isn't hard, you'll be looking for Apocalypse. He's that way" She said, pointing towards a dark green door on the far right. Natsu and Gajeel stormed towards without a second word and opened it, walking inside. " Lennix is that blue door over there. He uses Impact Magic" Ultear flinched. She had bad memories of people who used that.

"Juvia and I'll take that one" Ultear heard her father say. Angel nodded, looking indifferent.

"Quintus is over there" She said, pointing towards a black door. "He uses darkness manipulation magic."

"Call it" Lyon said, Sherry nodding her head.

"I'll go with you," Erza told them ,and Lyon nodded appreciatively.

"Ramin uses mist magic" Angel told them, pointing towards a white door.

"Meeehhhnnn. we shall take that one," Ichiya said, looking towards his daughter and both Trimen groups.

"That leaves Eoin" Angel said, pointing towards the purple door. "He uses shadow magic, so be careful"

"Guess that leaves us," Winter said, elbowing Ultear.

"Agreed," Simon said. "Winter, Ultear, and I will take him."

"I wish to accompany my honey," Mami complained. "I request a change in targets" Ultear felt Simon pushing her towards the door.

"Quickly," He hissed. "Before someone lets her come with us" Ultear couldn't help but chuckle.

* * *

The passageway went for a long time. Ultear found herself complaining about how big it was.

"Stop complaining," Winter said, sighing. "We get there when we get there,"

"It's so big though!" Ultear complained, "My feet are killing me!"

"My are too," Simon said. "But now isn't the time to be complaining." Ultear sighed, trailing slightly behind. She looked up as they approached a chamber, which she assumed was their destination. It was arather dark inside it, but she didn't see anyone inside.

"Did we take a wrong turn or something?"Winter asked.

"There were no turns to take." Simon replied, a sword appearing his hands. "Tread carefully, he could be anywhere" Simon's caution was well deserved, as Ultear felt something connect with her back, sending her face first into the ground.

"Ultear, are you okay?" Winter asked.

"He pushed me..." Ultear grumbled. A deep laugh resounded throughout the chamber.

"Indeed I did, girl. But you will learn you place is down there soon enough." A figure materialized in the center of the chamber. He had hair as black as midnight, and eyes to match. He wore a black tunic with a white moon in the center. He grinned.

"Fairies, my my was it enjoyable seeing you destroy the underlings." Eoin said with a grin. "But I'm afraid your rampage ends here."

"You watched that?" Simon demanded. Eoin nodded.

"Those pathetic wizards were purely a means of cover, should we be discovered. And now that you've been tired out dealing with them ,it is my turn"

"Come and get us, then" Simon replied. Eoin, disappeared, and Simon flew back into the wall.

"Simon!" Ultear shouted worriedly.

"Be careful! He's using the shadows as cover!" Simon shouted, climbing out of the debris in his black emperor armor. Ultear had her guard up, but she, too, felt him attack her, sending her flying into Simon.

"Sorry" She said weakly. Simon nodded understandingly.

"Ice make: Eagle!" Winter shouted. The eagles flew around the small chamber, but none landed a hit. Winter collapsed as if she'd been hit in the gut. "This bastard," She hissed. "I can't hit him."

"One does not attack the shadows." Eoin's voice replied. "Shadow claw!" Winters shirt was clawed and a huge bleeding mark appeared on her back. She shouted out in pain.

"How are we supposed to hit this guy!?" Simon demanded, slashing randomly at the shadows, hoping maybe he'd connect with something. Ultear wished she could answer him, but she had no idea. Her body was already water, but he seemed to realize this, and avoided attacking her to reveal his position. Winter was confused as well, and she attacked at any sound near her. Simon flew into the wall again, climbing out, making a face. "This is ridiculous," He growled. "How the hell are we supposed to hit this guy?"

"You won't get an answer asking the question twice" Ultear replied, slamming her ice hammer into the wall where the shadow rippled. "He's not trying to hurt us, he's playing with us"

"Very astute observation, girl" Eoin boomed. "I'm just waiting until the master is ready to destroy your little friends. I have no intention to kill you"

"Seems we're very different, then." Winter muttered, which got her another slash on her arm. Winter was clearly receiving the most of the attacks.

"Don't you have any armor for this?" Ultear asked Simon, who shook his head.

"No, and I can't think of any heavenly body magic that would help either." He replied.

"Can't we just light the chamber up?" Winter asked, massaging her new wound. "I mean, it's not like darkness works in light" That earned her another slash, this time on the leg.

"This is gonna get bad." Ultear murmured.

* * *

Drake didn't enjoy having to stay back with Laxus and Jura, in fact he hated it. Why the hell was he even in the building if he wasn't allowed to do anything? Now he had two of the most powerful wizards watching him to make sure he didn't sneak through one of those doors, and he wasn't keen on getting lightening or rocks to the the face.

"I wonder how everyone's doing" Master Laxus asked to neither Drake or Jura in particular. Drake shrugged.

"I heard Ultear's group start fighting a little wile ago, seems their having a rough time." Drake replied. Jura nodded.

"We should've had someone older go with them ,their not as powerful as their parents, any of them." Jura said.

"It'll be a learning experience," Laxus replied. "Plus, We have to stay here in case the master rears his ugly head. That and we can keep an eye on Drake" Drake pretended as id this amused him.

"Like I'd run away on my own." He joked, smiling weakly at his master, who shrugged. "Last time I did that I got captured and tortured."

"Be that as it may," Master Laxus replied. "I told Kinana I'd keep an eye on you, and I'm not keen to angering her." Drake could see the logic in that, his mother could be scary when she wanted to, looking almost viper-like. An explosion racked the room.

"That doesn't sound good" Jura said quietly, and Drake stood up, panic overtaking him.

"Ul's in trouble" He whispered.

* * *

Ultear collapsed to the ground, pain washing over her.

"Ul!" Simon shouted. She couldn't respond, she couldn't find the words. Eoin sighed.

"if you guys planned on losing so easily, he least you could do was beg for your lives." He told them ,making Ultear shake with rage. "No matter, I guess I'll just have to end this." The shadows started forming in his hands.

"Anyone, can you move?" Ultear managed.

"No," Winter hissed. "My legs are trapped.

"Barely," Simon growled. "Not enough time to stop him though." The ball of energy in Eoin's hands continued to grow, humming quietly. Ultear saw no way out, she was dead.

"Sorry, girl ,but your heroic little venture ends here." Eoin said matter of factly. "Bye!" The energy left his hands, and Ultear flinched waiting for the worst.

Nothing happened.

Ultear opened her eyes, and noticed something. She wasn't dead. In fact, the blast had been deflected to the side. A solitary figure stood in front of her, wearing a dark cloak.

"You guys start a war with a dark guild," The familiar voice boomed. "And you don't even invite me. I'm disappointed." Ultear felt relief wash over her as he stood up straight, revealing his shaggy white mane.

"Damien!"

**Ohhhh, character reveal! Leave a review!**


	31. Damien vs Eoin

Gray noticed Juvia stop abruptly during their walk through the tunnel, and he turned to face her.

"Something wrong?" He asked. Juvia scrunched up her face.

"Juvia gets the feeling that Ultear-sama is in trouble." Juvia replied, which made Gray slightly tense. He worried about his daughter, but not even half as much as Juvia did. "Juvia thinks we should go help her" Gray sighed.

"You do realize you smother her, right?" Gray asked tentatively. Juvia turned to face him, looking slightly irritated.

"It isn't smothering for Juvia to worry about her daughter, Gray" Gray still wasn't accustomed to hearing her say his name without an honorific, even after all these years.

"She'll be fine." Gray told his wife. "She has Simon and Winter with her, and they're more than capable. Have faith in her"

"Juvia does have faith in her" Juvia replied. "Juvia is just worried." Gray sighed.

"Me too,"

* * *

Ultear watched as Damien stood up straight, his black cloak still flowing from the breeze he'd created by busting in the roof. He chuckled.

"You look good, Ul" He said. "You doing something new with your hair?" Ultear laughed quietly.

"Maybe" She replied. Damien laughed. _He's so... different. _Ultear, as with everyone else, hadn't seen Damien since he was twelve, but the man was recognizable none of the less. He was 18 now.

"How'd you get here?" Simon asked somewhere behind Ultear. Damien turned to smirk at them. Ultear took note of the scar across his left eye. That hadn't changed.

"What, your worried I'm here?" He demanded. "That hurts, Simon."

"I'm glad your here" Winter called out.

"Winter! Been too long girl." Damien replied. Eoin sighed.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded, which made Damien sigh.

"Who am I?" Damien asked. "I figured everyone already knew. Damien Dreyar."

"Never heard of you"

"You won't have too. My defeated opponents don't usually remember my name, anyway." Ultear had never seen Damien fight, he'd always been uptight about his magic after his little sister died. Him causing it might have been the problem. Eoin charged up another blast.

'Alright, _Damien Dreyar_, let's see you stop this!" The beam charged up ten times bigger than it had been before, and charged straight towards Damien, who was engulfed in the darkness.

"Damien!" Simon shouted. His figure wasn't visible through the pitch black. Eoin laughed, right until the beam exploded in place. The figure that stood in Damien's place was not Damien.

Or rather, it was, but he was different. Damien's usually shaggy mane was standing straight up. he had a reptilian tail. The armor he was wearing was blood red and had spiked shoulders. He had black horns jutting out of his head. When he opened his eyes, Ultear shivered. Instead of the calming white she usually saw, she saw a piercing red.

"Takeover, huh?" Eoin asked curiously. "And It appears Demons are your thing. interesting opponent to be sure." Damien didn't reply, he just stared straight ahead. Eoin disappeared into the darkness. "Let's see you fight what you can't see, kid!" Damien stood solitary until he suddenly looked to the right and threw a punch at the wall, completely demolishing it. When his hand reappeared, it was clasped onto Eoin's collar.

"How did he do that?" Winter hissed. Ultear wished she knew, but Damien was on another level completely. Damien threw Eoin at the wall, and they collided, destroying it entirely. Eoin disappeared once again, but Damien took flight, quite literally, by spreading his wings and tackling the wall, once again reappearing dragging Eoin. Damien threw him straight up and raised his left hand. Ultear watched in shock as a beam of purple energy erupted from his hand. It was at least thirty feet across. Eoin, reappeared behind Damien, looking battered.

"That power," Eoin hissed. "Just what the hell are you?!" Damien whirled and caught him by the throat.

"I'm a Fairy Tail wizard," Damien's demonic voice whispered. "Not only that , but one who's dear friends have been tortured, beaten, and left to die in a rotting cell. Now, you see what happens." Damien threw Eoin up once more, raising his hand again. "Soul Extinctor!" A blast erupted from Damien's hand, at least 3 times wider than the previous. Ultear felt her face heating up from the pure magical energy being exuded in front of her.

"Holy fuck" She whispered. As the blast faded, Damien stood still, once again with flat hair and a black cloak.

Eoin did not reappear. Damien sighed as he kicked the rubble of his foot.

"Pathetic," He mumbled. "How can you call yourself an elite when you got thrashed so easily? It's beyond my understanding." Ultear couldn't believe it. All three of them, Simon included, couldn't beat Eoin. Damien did it without breaking a sweat. Just how powerful was he? _He is a Dreyar. _Ultear reminded herself. Damien came from a long line of bad asses. Except Ivan, but nobody talked about him. Damien offered her a hand, and she took it, unsteadily standing up.

"That was incredible." She told him as he helped Winter and Simon up as well. Damien shrugged.

"It's a gift" He replied casually, as if he hadn't just eradicated somebody. Simon stared at him with an eyebrow raised.

"I still want to know how you found us" Simon replied. "I mean, we had no idea you were even on your way back." Damien sighed as he sat down on a peice of the wall he'd thrown Eoin through earlier.

"Well," He began. "I get back to the guild, all ready to drink and celebrate my return, and I get there, and nobodies around. and I'm like 'what the fuck?!'. So I asked Lucy, who was there, and said everyone was gone to go kick a dark guilds ass, so I'm like 'shit, sign me up! She told where you guys went and I just looked around, and found this guild hall. I heard you guys in trouble, so I decided to drop in." Ultear grinned. Damien had always been so such like his mother. Upbeat, happy, and a joker. He could be like Laxus too, but that was rare.

Unless he was fighting, in which case he was a madman. Winter chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad you did, we we're about to be done for." She told him. Damien nodded, suddenly growing serious.

"What happened to Nashi?" He asked in a deathly low tone. There was silence.

"Why do you think we're here?" Simon replied. Damien nodded slowly, before he got up and made towards the door that led them there. They all followed, obviously. What better things did they have to do?

* * *

Gray and Juvia had finally reached a chamber, and it was rather bland. Just a white room, and no windows or anything.

"Juvia is unimpressed." He heard Juvia say. "Juvia was expecting more."

"Than perhaps I am the entertainment you seek, rain woman" Gray looked overhead to see a man standing on a balcony, watching them wearily.

"Lennix, I presume?"

* * *

Drake looked up as the figures approached, and turned to find Ultear's group returning. looking completely battered. What he wasn't expecting, was Damien walking out behind them.

"Damien?" Laxus asked. Damien nodded towards his father.

"Hey, pops, what with starting wars without me?" He asked with a grin, which made Drake chuckle. Same old Damien. Drake noted he had debris in his hair. _He must've helped them out. _Drake thought.

"Did you guys handle Eoin?" Jura asked. Ultear sighed, nudging Damien.

"Let's just say he isn't a problem anymore" She told Jura, who nodded. An explosion racked the guildhall again, and Drake perked up.

"Gray and Juvia" He spoke up. "And it appears Lennix doesn't play around.

"Are they okay?" Ultear asked worriedly.

"They sure as hell won't be after that"

**Little shorter than I would've liked, but still, bit by bit, right? Remember to leave a review!**


	32. A Cryptic Warning

Nashi wished she could wake up already. She'd been unconscious for about a week at that point.,and she was certain she'd already lost her mind. She often found herself talking to no one in particular, arguing with the wall, and, most often of all, spacing out and drooling. Nashi groaned as she flung herself back, trying to hurt herself. She'd learned early on that she couldn't hurt herself in her own head, so she made it a point to try, if for nothing more than to entertain herself.

"Nashi..." Nashi turned to the transparent part of the wall, which she assumed was her eyelid, and saw her mother crying. It would've teared Nashi up if she wasn't completely out of ways to cry, mainly because her mother often called out to her in the infirmary.

"Hey, Mom," Nashi replied, although she knew she wasn't heard. "How are you doing?"

"...Just wake up, sweetie, we all miss you..."

"Yeah, I miss me too"

"...Wendy and Chelia have done all they can, it's up to you..."

"I know that, but I can't." Her mother sniffled, and Nashi groaned. She knew she was upset her mother was upset, but she couldn't bring herself to cry. "You should hit me on the head Mom, maybe that'll wake me up"

"Are you trying, sweetie?"

"What do you think?"

"Your friends have gone to Phantom Dove" Nashi's felt her eyes widen. What? "Laxus took some of us and others from other guilds, and went to fight them. I only hope everyone is okay..."

"Yeah, me too" Nashi agreed. "But I would've liked to go with them." Nashi next rude comment was interrupted by a figure entering the infirmary.

"Nashi!" Nashi felt surprised to hear that. Elise ran into the infirmary and watched her friend with worry. Elise turned to Nashi's mother. "How is she?" She asked.

"Alright, I guess." Nashi's mother replied. "She's still in a coma though." Elise sighed.

"I can't believe those idiots went by themselves..." She growled. "Why didn't they take me?" Nashi was happy she wasn't the only one confused. Her mother seemed confused as well.

"Yeah," Her mother agreed unsteadily, "They should've waited for you, I think" As Nashi was about to question the last 3 weeks of her life, Levy walked in behind her daughter.

"Elise" She spoke. "Why don't you go and get something to eat? I need to speak to Lucy, alone" Elise nodded, gave Nashi one more worried glance,before she left. Levy sighed.

"Took her to see Doranbolt, huh?" Her mother asked, watching Levy carefully. Levy nodded.

"Drake said I should," She said unsteadily. "I don't know why I listened, but that look he gave me..." Levy shivered. "I've never been more swayed to do something in my life, not even when Gajeel proposed." Nashi wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a joke or not. Her mother sighed.

"I know. Elise was the worst off. She was so..." Her mother trailed off. Levy nodded silently, before they both turned back to face Nashi.

"How is she?" Levy asked.

"Better," Her mother replied. "Chelia and Wendy did all they could, they say it's just until she wakes up from the trauma." Levy nodded, and patted Nashi's mother on the back.

"I can begin to understand what your going through." Levy said. "Elise may have been traumatized, but at least she wasn't almost dead." There was no response. Nashi could understand that. "I hope the others are okay" Nashi's mother chuckled.

"We're talking Fairy Tail," Her mother replied, which made Levy chuckle. "I doubt they were strategic at all."

Nashi agreed.

* * *

Gray growled as he climbed out of the wall and watched Lennix with careful eyes. Juvia appeared beside him.

"Ultear-sama warned Juvia about Impact magic," She told him. "We can't get close to him, which means he can hit us." Gray nodded.

"Impact is a very dangerous magic," He agreed. "It's damage output is insane. He need to distract him." Juvia nodded. "How do we do that?"

"Juvia doesn't know" She replied. "Perhaps we can talk to him?" Gray doubted it. Lennix chuckled.

"You two are all the entertainment I need." He replied. "Very interesting people"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gray demanded. Lennix observed him for a minute.

"Father," He listed. "Often irritated by the clingy mother of the child. Daughter, I suppose? You usually play second fiddle to the bigger hero, someone more powerful. How close was that?" Gray knew he was shocked. Everything Lennix had said was on the mark. Lennix turned to Juvia. "Mother," He said. "Often overprotective even if said daughter can handle herself. Speaks in third person." Juvia gasped.

"How are you doing that?" Gray demanded. Lennix smiled.

"I observe." He replied. "I'm often told I'm great at parties."

"Juvia is sure you are" Juvia mumbled. Gray didn't know if his observant opponent had caught it, but he saw Juvia clench her fists. Lennix stayed immobile.

"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray shouted. The lances flew straight towards Lennix, but his palm grew white, and the lances shattered as soon as he touched them. Gray growled. How the hell were they supposed to get this guy if he could just deflect everything?

* * *

Mami was getting sick and tired of hitting her friends. She growled in frustration as her parfum powered fist connected with Ken's face. She apologized profusely and turned, trying to find Ramin amid the mist. This was ridiculous. His magic just made it next to impossible to hit anything but her own friends. She flipped her hair out of her eyes.

"Meeehhhnnn," She hissed. "The parfum of irritation. How do we hit him?" Ken shrugged, rubbing his cheek where Mami had punched him.

"I can't find any hints as to where he is," Eve growled. "How are we supposed to beat him?"

"Meeehhhnnn" Mami's father agreed. "Our enemy uses the parfum of confusion. He intends to let us beat each other." Ramin laughed, but Mami couldn't pinpoint a location in the mist.

"Anything on mist magic, Hibiki?" Ren asked. Hibiki shrugged.

"Depends if you wanted useful information" He replied. "It's mainly misdirection magic, barely any offensive ability"

"So we gotta find him, then," Akio concluded, launching a blizzard to his left. Ramin appeared to Mami's left, appearing only long enough to kick her in the side, sending her too the ground.

"Ah, I'm going to kill him!" Mami shouted angrily, temporarily breaking her usual parfum and men talk, actually sounding like a normal girl. "Just how the hell do we beat him?!"

"Meeehhhnnn!" Her father shouted. "The parfum of attack formation #32!"

"You really like to try don't you?" Ramin demanded. "Just give it up, your wasting your, and my, time" Mami wanted nothing more than to slug Ramin in the face, but she would look pretty stupid trying to punch the mist. attack formation #32 failed, as Ren landed on his face and Eve's shirt was pulled up over his face. Mami rubbed her face in irritation. The moisture from the mist was getting to her. Ramin's face appeared next to her. He was a rather unattractive man with white hair, not even close to Damien.

"I'm going to kill you" Mami hissed, which didn't garner a response. She attacked, missed, and her face connected with the wall of the chamber. Growling and grabbing her now bloody nose, she whipped around and nearly punted Taro in the face, as he had missed his attack as well and landed on the ground. "Akio!" She shouted. "Can't you, like, freeze him or something?" Akio shook his head.

"I wouldn't be able to get the proper amount of air flow, thanks to the mist itself" Mami face palmed as she pushed Taro in front of Eve. "Oh, right" The two of them ,combined with their fathers, began the attack. Snow began whipping around the chamber, which turned in below freezing temperature. The air flow circulated it around the chamber as well, and Mami was fully aware that her friends were watching with drool coming out of their mouths as her hair an clothes whipped around her violently. She knew she looked extremely attractive. As all the mist began to crystallize, Ramin pooped out of it, landing gracefully.

"You know" He said. "If you wanted to see me , you could've asked."

"We did" Ken grumbled. Mami took the opportunity to take the first attack. Her fist met his open palm, and the two began to grapple.

"You know" Ramin said with a grin that gave Mami the shivers. Or may be that was the room being covered in snow. "You don't have to hang around with such dorks" Mami snickered.

"Dorks, huh?" Mami asked. "Their bigger meeehhhnnn then you will ever be." Before he could retort, Mami grabbed him and threw him behind her.

"Blizzard!"

"Air sphere!"

"Data blast!" Ramin collapsed in between the younger and older groups, unconscious.

"That was surprisingly easily." Hibiki grumbled.

"Meeehhhnnn" Mami's father agreed. "He had the parfum of lackluster strength. Perhaps he was the weakest."

"I feel like he completely relied on the misdirection of the mist." Ken pointed out. "He wasn't prepared to actually take damage."

* * *

Drake perked up at the triumphant cry about men and parfum he heard from the white door.

"Blue Pegasus won." He said flatly. Laxus nodded and Damien chuckled.

"Let me guess what you heard" He said. Something about men?" Drake nodded, which made Damien laugh. "Sounds like Ichiya."

"Any news on the others?" Simon asked him. Drake focused.

"Natsu and Gajeel haven't found Apocalypse yet." He said. "Meredy and Sorano finished checking the grounds for anything. Juvia and Gray haven't beaten Lennix. Erza, Sherry and Lyon should be making contact..." The building shook from an explosion. "Just then"

"Let us hope they are all okay" Jura said. "I'm worried about the master."

"Why, Jura-san?" Winter asked. "We've got two wizard saints and Damien. Not to mention Erza and two pissed daddy dragons. I don't see what the problem is."

"That's exactly why I'm worried." Jura replied. "For him not to appear and stop us before his whole guild is eradicated... isn't right" Drake could see the logic in that. The master must've been a cocky old asshole for him not to try and stop this already.

"Maybe he has a plan" Ultear pointed out. She'd been sitting quietly next to Drake since they'd returned. "I mean, surely he doesn't intend to wing it."

"That makes sense." Master Laxus said. "But, there still isn't much to worry about." Another explosion racked the building.

"That'll leave a mark, Lyon" Drake remarked, earning a silence among the group.

* * *

Erza wished she could check on Lyon, but she couldn't see a damn thing. She knew he'd crashed and burned somewhere near her, but the darkness amde it too hard to see.

"Lyon!" Sherry called out. "Are you okay?" Lyon grumbled.

"Fine" He muttered. "Just pissed off" Erza swung her sword where she heard Quintus walking, but growled when she missed.

"That makes two of us" She replied. Quintus sighed.

"You can't hit what you can't see." He said flatly. "You might as well surrender and let me kill you" Sherry yelped out as she got struck by a claw of darkness. Erza blocked a similar attack and swung at the appendage, dissolving it.

"Judging by the strength of our group" Erza told the darkness in front of her. "Half of you have already fallen." Quintus chuckled.

"Eoin was cocky, and Ramin was weak." He replied. "Angel was a traitorous bitch, so she doesn't count. You have yet to take down a member of the six that actually knows what their doing."

"What about your master?" Erza demanded.

"Master Jose will appear when he needs too" Quintus replied. "For now, he has faith." Jose. Erza knew the name. She rolled through her years of memories, trying to place a face to the name, but she couldn't find anything. She'd dwell on it later. "Besides, as long as one of the six stands, he needn't appear." Erza swung at the voice, but missed again. Lyon's snow tiger prowled around, looking agitated it could see nothing it could maul immediately. Sherry stood next to her rock puppet, the one she formed from the destroyed walls they'd been thrown through. Erza waited patiently for an attack, but none came.

"What's wrong?" Lyon asked. "Scared"

"Oh you, ice wizard? No.'' Quintus replied. "I was just listening to what the master was telling me. Apparently, and it isn't from me, but even if you defeat all of the six, you won't defeat him. He might not even show up."

"Why's that?" Sherry demanded, taking the words right from Erza's mouth. Quintus laughed.

"Let's just say he's got a surprise in store for you, that's all"

Erza didn't like the sound of that.

**Sorry for not updating. I was in a bit of a rut, but I'm clawing myself out. Leave a review!**


	33. Distracted

**Sorry for the hiatus, but sometimes the rut is too big. Enjoy!**

Gray dodged another Impact Palm and back off slightly, launching more ice lances. He had learned quite quickly that being too close was a terrible idea. He had more than one wound to show for it. Lennix advanced slowly, obviously keeping his eyes on Gray.

"Well?" He asked. "What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing in particular." Gray replied. "Just wondering what you guys were thinking taking members of our guild hostage" Lennix stroked his chin.

"Well, the Balam Alliance has a dark history with Fairy Tail, so it's only natural we'd want a little revenge"

"By hurting them when they can't fight back?" Gray demanded. "I fail to see how you can sleep at night"

"Quite simple, honestly" Lennix responded. "I had nothing to do with those kids getting hurt, why would I feel guilty about what happened? I didn't rape the one, nor did I almost kill the other"

Rape.

The word hung in the air. Lennix seemed unfazed by what he had said. Gray couldn't deny he was shocked to his core. One of them had been raped. Who?

Elise. It all made sense now. Why the girl had refused to talk to anyone, why she hadn't shown up to the guild in days. Why she seemed so depressed all the time. She'd been raped. Gray almost felt his teeth cracking as he grinding them together in a vain attempt to remain in control of his anger.

"What?" Was all he managed to get out. Lennix laughed darkly.

"Oh, I assume she hasn't told you" He replied. "I wouldn't worry about getting those bastards back or anything, the master dealt with it in a very...interesting way" Gray hoped that meant the bastards were dead. He wondered if Gajeel or Levy knew. _Nah, if Gajeel knew, he'd have murdered everyone out there._ Gray thought to himself. He, for a very brief moment, wondered what would've happened if Nashi had been on the receiving end of that. He shuddered at the thought. Natsu would've torn the place to the ground already if that were to happen.

"I can't believe you don't have a problem with that" Gray growled. "How can you know such a thing and just go along with it?"

"It's called taking orders" Lennix replied. "I don't question the masters orders, as you don't question why you've come here. Now, shall we finish our fight, or will we continue arguing about our views?" Gray agreed with him on that, this battle had gone on long enough. He was, however, waiting for Juvia's go. She had dissipated into a puddle a few moments before. As soon as she was ready, Gray was to strike with everything he had.

"If you want, you could just surrender" Gray suggested, trying his hardest to stall for time. "I mean, half of the six have already fallen."

"As long as Apocalypse stands, there is nothing to worry about. "

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Apocalypse is far stronger than any of us, he could beat you all without lifting a single finger. Even then, if push came to shove with him, he is very skilled in martial arts. Even if the rest of the six were to be pitted against him, he'd win. " Gray chuckled slightly. "What's so funny, ice mage?"

"Nothing," Gray replied. "Just... the guys we sent after Apocalypse have a tendency of kicking the shit out of whoever or whatever gets in there way. Even if Apocalypse was able to withstand all of you, he doesn't stand a chance against them"

"Why?" Lennix demanded, and Gray could see he was calculating every possibility of who had been sent after Apocalypse. "Who could you possibly have that is that strong?" Gray was about to retort when he saw Juvia's watery apparition rising up behind. He smiled.

"Two pissed daddy dragons, that's who" Just as Lennix was about to reply, Juvia grabbed him and encased him in a sphere of water."And by the way, nice job observing, idiot" Juvia grinned widely as Lennix began pounding on the water sphere angrily.

"Juvia got him, Gray!" She shouted happily, "Juvia can't believe your stupid plan worked!" Gray flinched slightly at his wife's harsh words.

"Thanks, Juvia" He muttered. "So, that's Water Lock?" Juvia nodded.

"Yep! This was the spell Juvia used to capture Lucy-san a long time ago!"

"The one that's put them to sleep?" Gray's question was answered by Lennix slowly drifting off the sleep within the sphere. "What should we do with him?" He asked Juvia.

"Juvia doesn't know" She replied. "Leave him here" Juvia's expression darkened. "Gray," She spoke warily. "Lennix said that one of the girls was..."

"I know" Gray interrupted. "I know"

"What do we do?" Juvia asked. "Do you think Levy-san and Gajeel-kun know?" Gray sighed.

"I don't know," He responded. "All I can hope is Gajeel doesn't. He'd be going on a rampage right about now; more than usual, I mean" Juvia nodded.

"Do you think Ultear-sama is okay?" She suddenly asked, causing Gray to face palm. "She did have to take on a member by herself."

"She had Winter and Simon with her" Gray reminded her. "They'll be okay. Hell ,I wouldn't surprised if they're already back" Juvia nodded slowly as they walked back to the tunnel that had led them there, and Gray heard Lennix splash down into the ground.

"Do...you really think Juvia smothers Ultear-sama?" Juvia asked warily. Gray shrugged.

"She's a capable young woman" Gray replied. "On top of that, she a teenager. I don't think she appreciates you embarrassing her in front of her friends, especially in public" Juvia nodded, before beaming at him.

"Juvia will try and do better then!" She said proudly. "Juvia will not smother Ultear-sama anymore" Gray laughed and wrapped an arm around Juvia.

"I think you should drop the honorific" He said flatly. "But on thing at a time, right?"

* * *

Drake smiled as Lennix drifted off into slumber.

"Gray and Juvia are on their way back" he called out to the group that was currently discussing what to do about the master. "Lennix is currently dreaming about statistics" They all seemed to look relieved, but Ultear sighed.

"Thank god" She murmured.

"Have Natsu and Gajeel not found Apocalypse yet?" Master Laxus asked. Drake tried to listen in to the door the dragon slayers had taken, but he couldn't hear anything over Lyon talking shit to Quintus.

"I can't tell" He replied. "Lyon's talking so much shit about Quintus' mother I can't hear anything" Winter rubbed the bridge of her nose irritably.

"Of course he is" She said weakly. "Why would he not be?"

"The parfum of victory, meeehhhnnn" Drake turned to find Blue Pegasus emerging from their doorway, looking a little battered and irritated, but otherwise okay. "Good to see our friends have succeeded!" Ichiya shouted.

"No sign of Natsu or Gajeel" Hibiki noted. "I take it their still venting their anger"

"Most likely" Jura replied. "I do believe they have a good reason"

"How's my mom doing?" Simon asked Drake, who focused intently.

"Alright, I suppose" He replied, giving Simon some degree of relief. "She's pissed off, but I do believe that means she's okay, seeing as she's usually pissed off"

"Very true" Winter laughed. Jura winced. "Hey, are you alright, Master?"

"Yes, I'm find Winter" Jura replied, rubbing his temple. "I just have a bad headache all of the sudden"

"I can give you some ice"

"That would be nice, dear, thank you" Winter formed a small ball of ice in her palm and handed it Jura, who placed it against his forehead. another explosion racked the building.

"Mavis above, Erza" Drake growled, rubbing his ears in a vain attempt to stop the ringing. "Could you have been anymore blunt?"

* * *

Erza was about to strangle Quintus, for what it was worth. The man had gone from attacking them at random to messing around with them, calling out insults and jabbing at them. He crossed Erza's line when he spanked her. She growled.

"How about you stop playing with us and give up?" Erza asked, making sure her sweet tone was laced with malice. "I won't hurt you, I swear" Quintus chuckled.

"I think I'll wait for Apocalypse to deal with your dragon slaying companions." He replied. "I do feel like they could become a problem"

"Natsu and Gajeel won't lose!" Sherry shouted. "They're two of the powerful wizards out there!"

"So is Apocalypse" Quintus replied darkly. "I've seen the man slaughter entire armies of mages, without even batting an eye. You know the Massacre in Northern Fiore, where an invading force was ripped apart? That was Apocalypse on a bad day"

"Natsu's defeated men much more powerful than that," Erza replied, thinking back to Jellal at the tower and Hades. Zancrow, Sting and Rogue in dragon force, the Dorma Anim, the list went on and on. "Gajeel's no pushover, either"

"Well, we'll just see, won't we?" Quintus asked, and Erza nodded. "Now, I think I'm done playing." Before Erza could ask what he was talking about, Sherry gasped and Erza turned to find her caught, with a shadow blade held under her throat. "Not another step _Titania, _Or your friend gets it"

* * *

Natsu was pissed off before he got to the guild house, he was even more pissed now that he and Gajeel couldn't find this Apocalypse guy.

"See anything?" Gajeel asked, and Natsu shook his head. The two of them arrived in a small chamber, and no one in it, as far as Natsu could tell.

"If that bitch Angel lied to us and had us go through her door, I'm going to be pissed" Natsu warned.

"Why would she do that?"

"Hell if I know, but still"

"Hey, do you see this?"

"What?" Natsu turned to find a small green glowing spot on Gajeel's arm. all of the sudden, they started appearing all over his body, Natsu's as well. "What the hell?!"

"It's Rapture magic, Salamander!" Gajeel shouted. "Get ready!" Natsu was about to demand Gajeel explain himself when pain rippled through Natsu's system. He screamed in agony, it felt as if someone was driving a dagger through every inch of his body, slowly torquing it to increase the amount of pain.

"What the fuck!" Natsu shouted angrily, rubbing his arms to regain feeling in them. "Just what the hell was that?" a voice chuckled darkly.

"Lots of magic' the masculine voice boomed. "This'll be a lot of fun." A dark haired man stepped out of the shadows, hands in his pockets. He stared at them, confused.

"Hey, do I know you guys from somewhere?"

"I've never seen you before" Gajeel said. "But you may have seen my daughter. Ring any bells, asshole?" Apocalypse shrugged.

"I've tortured a lot of people, be more specific" Natsu growled.

"Fairy Tail" He hissed, and Apocalypse snapped his fingers, grinning widely.

"Oh, I recognize you now! You're the fathers of those annoying little shits that escaped! I got you know. They were incredibly irritating, so you know. Always screaming for me to stop and that I didn't have to do what I did" Apocalypse shrugged and Natsu's clenched his fists angrily. "You guys really have to do a better job at telling them to sit down and shut up" Natsu lit his hands on fire.

"How about you attack someone who can fight back?" Natsu asked angrily, his vision going red. "Maybe then you'll know why they wanted you to stop. Apocalypse sighed.

"Fine, but your kid was all talk, so how much better can you be?"

**Remember to leave a review!**


	34. A Big Boom

Drake knew he was in for it when Gray made a beeline for him. He tried backing up, but the older ice mage grabbed him by the collar of his coat.

"I've heard some things, Drake" He growled, everyone turning to face them. "Care to know what it was, or do you already know?" Drake gulped. A quick listen into Gray's thoughts confirmed what Drake was worried about. Gray knew about Elise.

"What are you talking about, Gray?" Master Laxus demanded. "Let the poor kid go" Gray whirled on everybody.

"I know what happened to Elise," He gave Drake a glare. "But I think it'd be best to hear it from Drake" Everyone stared at him, and Drake started to sweat.

"Well..." Drake began.

"Just tell us man" Damien said from his left. "It can't be that bad"

"Yeah, come on. It couldn't have been your fault" Winter said encouragingly.

"Meeehhhnnn, let us know" Ichiya said. Drake made eye contact with Ulear and Simon. He knew they already knew, but he still wanted to OK it with them. They nodded, and Ultear turned around as Drake sighed.

"Elise..." He began. "Elise was..."

* * *

Natsu wished Apocalypse didn't look so smug about just getting to stand there as he and Gajeel were thrown left and right by his rapture magic. Apocalypse chuckled.

"You know, your little girls were a lot tougher than you two" He made eye contact with Natsu. "especially yours, taking the others session with me"

"Why would she do that?" Natsu demanded. Apocalypse looked confused for a moment before he smiled.

"Oh my god" He said with a grin. "You two don't know, do you?"

Know what, asshole?" Gajeel asked angrily as Apocalypse entered a laughing fit. "I know your the reason Elise won't talk to anyone."

"Oh, that wasn't my fault" Apocalypse replied, wiping a tear from his eye. "I can assure you I'm not into that kind of torture"

"That kind?" Natsu demanded. "What kind are you talking about?" Apocalypse sighed.

"You really don't know?" He asked, which earned a head shake. "I suppose that'll make it even better when you find out"

"How about I beat it out of you?!" Gajeel shouted. "Iron Dragon Club!" Apocalypse did a graceful back flip away from the attack.

"I would tell you, but I know all about what happens when someone in Fairy Tail gets angry. I'm not pulling the pin on that grenade." Natsu mauled this information over in his head What could be so bad that he wouldn't tell them, fearing the outcome? _Fearing it. _Natsu went to the darkest part of his mind in a vain attempt to find anything. Nothing came.

"Salamander" Gajeel's voice shook Natsu out of his thoughts. "He's trying to provoke us"

"If he were doing that, he'd have told us what happened with Elise" Natsu replied. "He's just playing with us." Natsu turned back to Apocalypse. "What's your angle, pal?"

"Angle? Oh, my plan. Well, all I have to do is wait until Master Jose gives the okay, and I'm all done after that" Natsu was about to respond, but Gajeel growled.

"_Jose?" _Gajeel hissed. "_Did you just fucking say JOSE?" _Apocalypse nodded.

"Yeah, I did" Natsu made the connection as soon as he made eye contact with Gajeel. It all made sense now. The name of the guild, their specification on Elise's torture sessions.

Jose

fucking

Porla

Natsu reeled at the memories of the venomous former leader of Phantom Lord. His stupid smirk, his stupid haircut, his vendetta against Fairy Tail. Natsu could practically see the rage rolling off of Gajeel.

"Gajeel..." Natsu began, but it didn't matter, Gajeel had already entered 'I'm pissed off and whoever made me that way is going to die' mode. Natsu watched as Gajeel's entire body coated with a layer of iron scales, and both arms turned into swords.

"Do you have _any fucking idea _who that fuck is?" Gajeel hissed, voice barely audible over the constant growling. "Do you?!" Apocalypse looked confused.

"I don't follow" Apocalypse said with a smirk. Natsu saw it, but he knew Gajeel didn't. Green spots had sprung up all over Gajeel's body.

"Gajeel! He's trapping you!" It was no use, Natsu was certain the iron dragon slayer couldn't hear him at all.

"That man is fucking insane." Gajeel replied. "He almost ruined my life, and the lives of countless others, over his own fucking problems."

"Gajeel..."

"Oh, did he know?" Apocalypse asked. "A good man then" That only intensified Gajeel's anger.

"I'm going to rip you limp from limp" Gajeel said matter of factly. "Then, I'm going to use your disembodied carcass to beat the shit out of Jose. That way, he can't do this shit ever again. got it?" Apocalypse chuckled.

"I don't see how you can do that, seeing as you're going to be in that wall in about two point five seconds." before Gajeel could respond, Apocalypse snapped his fingers.

"Shit!" Was all Natsu heard as the rapture magic activated, sending him flying into the wall.

"Gajeel!"

* * *

Drake watched as his horrified audience stood in stunned silence. He had just finished his lovely story, and now everyone was silent.

"Mavis..." Master Laxus hissed. Winter had her hands cupped over her mouth, tears in her eyes.

"meeehhnnn..." Mami said sadly, rubbing at her eyes. Drake did so as well. He'd gotten more emotional telling that story then he;d expected.

"That's why I didn't tell anyone, _especially _not Gajeel or Levy" Drake said, turning back to everyone. "I think it'd be best that way, anyway"

"Agreed" Jura said, rubbing Winters ice on is forehead, trying to sooth his headache. "I think it wouldn't do either of them any good."

"I just..." Winter started, rubbing at her eyes as well. "Why would they do that?"

"This just proves only sick fucks are in dark guilds" Damien growled. "If I ever see who did it, I'm gonna see how he enjoys getting it teared off."

"Is that why Drake-kun told them to go see Doranbolt?" Juvia asked, which earned a nod from Drake. "Juvia understand now... although she wishes she didn't." Silence befell the group once again. Drake wasn't sure why they'd wanted to know so bad. It tore him up knowing he hadn't been able to do anything about it. It must'v been killing them.

_BOOM!_

Drake was grateful the explosion had gone off, for it had temporarily given him a reason to not sit around quietly. He listened in on Apocalypse's door, and he heard Natsu circling Apocalypse, Gajeel no where to be seen. Apocalypse said something about not being aware of your surroundings, and Natsu told him he was dead.

Gajeel fucked up" Drake reported. "I don't hear him in Apocalypse's place"

"Is he okay?" Master Laxus demanded. Drake shrugged.

"I can't hear him anywhere in there" Drake replied, which got more then a few worried glances at Apocalypses door.

"We should go and help" Ultear said, finally speaking for the first time since Drake began his story. Gray shook his head.

"It's more than personal for Natsu and Gajeel" Gray replied. "I don't think either would appreciate us trying to help."

"Well, what do we do now?" Simon asked.

* * *

_BOOM!_

Erza watched as Quintus' blade of darkness was thrown slightly off, and she took her chance. Rushing forward with her Flight Armor, Erza managed to make contact with Quintus, knocking him off balance. Lyon took that as his chance.

"Ice Make: Snow Dragon!" The crystalline beast rushed forward, clamping Quintus in it's jaws. Erza requipped into her black wing armor. As Quitnus freed himself rm the dragon, Erza brought her blade to his neck.

"I wonder who's faster?" She asked in a deadly tone. "Your misdirection ability or my wrist? Shall we find out?" Quintus growled angrily.

"What do you want?" He demanded. Erza grinned.

"See, I knew we could be diplomatic" She said sweetly. "Now, what is your masters 'grand plan'?" Quintus chuckled.

"Let's just say it involvesva big boom" Quintus replied. "That, and your little troupe getting wiped out by one man."

"Apocalypse?" Quintus laughed.

"Nah, much,much worse" He replied. "believe me, you'll never see it coming, maybe because you'll be staring at the ground."

**Remember to leave a review!**


	35. Jose's Grand Plan

Natsu growled as Apocalypse laughed.

"Talk about being blind with rage" Apocalypse said, turning to Natsu. "Is it your turn, Salamander?" Natsu knew already that Apocalypse would just throw him back. He needed too wait for an opening, and then strike. He hoped Gajeel felt the same, otherwise it could get messy.

"Just one question, man to man." Natsu said, and Apocalypse shrugged. "What is your masters grand plan anyway?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Apocalypse demanded. "A magician does not reveal his secrets"

"Why not? You've been cocky and out there this whole fight, why not tell me?" Natsu saw Gajeel approaching behind Apocalypse, and prayed that He could do so silently. Apocalypse chuckled.

"I see what your trying to do" He told Natsu flatly. "You're trying to distract me"

"Just being curious" The younger man stared Natsu down, but Natsu was only worried he was going to give Gajeel away by looking at him, if only for a moment. The whole fight was riding on Gajeel's stealthy capabilities, and that only made the knot in Natsu's stomach worse.

"Tell you what" Apocalypse replied. "I'll tell you, but only if you tell me something"

"Depends on what that something is" Natsu said flatly, hoping his stall was giving Gajeel enough time. Apocalypse smirked.

"I already know I'm the last man standing, other then Master Jose himself." Apocalypse told Natsu. "What I want to know, however, is how lucky you're feeling" Natsu felt confusion take over.

"How...lucky I feel?" Natsu asked, scratching his head in confusion. Gajeel looked confused as well. Apocalypse nodded.

"I've already told you it doesn't matter if I fall, I'm just stalling for time." He said quietly. "So, you feeling lucky?" Natsu shrugged, feeling his confusion turn into anger.

"Not really," Natsu growled.

"Well, than you're fucked" Gajeel took that chance to grab Apocalypse and put him in a sleeper hold.

"Tell us what Jose's plan is" Gajeel hissed, applying a little bit of pressure, and Apocalypse's face turned red. "Or I swear to Mavis I'll break your fucking neck" Natsu almost admired the fact Apocalypse felt ballsy enough to laugh.

"Well?" Natsu asked.

* * *

Drake watched as Erza, Lyon, and Sherry returned from dealing with Quintus. Erza looked especially irritated, but he didn't want to know. Master Laxus turned to him.

"That leaves Natsu and Gajeel," He told Drake. "What do you hear?" Drake was about to listen when Winter sat down next to him.

"Stop worrying, Laxus-san" Winter called. "I'm sure Natsu and Gajeel will be fine"

"They may be in trouble" Erza spoke up. "Apocalypse isn't any joke, compared to what I've heard from Quintus." Lyon nodded.

"Quintus spoke like he was a one man army." He said warily. "I have faith in Natsu and Gajeel, but Apocalypse isn't a joke. Quintus sounded, _afraid _of him"

"Just how terrifying is he?" Simon asked Drake. "You're the only one hear who's seen him." Drake was about to respond when Angel and Meredy came back in from checking the grounds.

"Find anything?" Jura asked them, still rubbing the ice on his forehead. Meredy shook her head.

"Nothing that looks suspicious, anyway" She replied. "Sorano was just telling me about this cannon thing about back" Drake remembered that cannon. Nashi had talked about it when they'd first been captured, telling them how dangerous it looked.

"What does it do?" Ultear asked. Sorano shrugged.

"It was here before I was" She replied. "I asked Master Jose about it, but he didn't tell me" Drake could smell Erza's irritation.

"There's that name again." She growled. "Where have I heard it before?" No one said anything, and Drake was sure he'd never heard the name. Before anyone could respond, however, Jura growled in irritation.

"What is it, Jura?" Sherry asked.

"My head is killing me" He said irritable. "I don't know what it is either."

"Did you hit it on something?" Eve asked. Jura shook his head.

"The ice didn't help?" Winter asked sadly. Jura shook his head again.

"Anyway," Hibiki said. "I think Jura's headache i the least of our concerns at the moment. We still have to deal with this Jose guy"

"Natsu and Gajeel better hurry up then" Ren said. "I'm getting bored over here."

* * *

Natsu was not in the mood for Apocalypse's shit anymore, especially since the man was about to lose consciousness from the hold Gajeel had on him.

"Just fucking tell us what the plan is!" Natsu shouted angrily. He was done playing around. Apocalypse just chuckled.

"I don't think want to tell you, you'll regret saying you didn't feel lucky."

"We can handle it," Gajeel hissed. "Trust me" Apocalypse shrugged.

"Alright, if you insist" He was silent for a moment, keeping Natsu's gaze the whole time. "Jose plan to use your own strength against you"

"Be more specific" Natsu growled.

"Let's just say" Apocalypse said with a grin. "Jura must have a killer headache right now" Before Natsu could question him further Apocalypse reared back and headbutt Gajeel, giving him enough time to slither out of his grasp, knocking Natsu across the room with a rapture circle Natsu hadn't seen. When Natsu managed to recover, Apocalypse was gone, and Gajeel had a bloody nose.

"What the fuck was that?" Gajeel demanded. "What the hell does Jura having a headache have to do with this?" Natsu thought for a moment. _Your own strength against you, Jura's headache... _Natsu paled.

"Shit, we gotta go, now!"

* * *

Drake was in the midst of describing Apocalypse to Ultear and Mami when he heard Natsu and Gajeel running back towards them.

"Natsu and Gajeel are on their way back" He said to everyone. "Now we just have to deal with Jose"

"Good," Ichiya said. "The parfum of a glorious victory!" Drake was about to crack a joke about the parfum when Natsu and Gajeel reappeared.

"Good job you guys" Master Laxus said. "Now we have too..." Natsu ran forward abruptly, cutting Laxus off.

"Get away from Jura!" Natsu shouted. Everyone, Drake included, was confused.

"Why?" Damien asked, "It isn't like-" Damien was cut off by a column of earth slamming into him, sending him flying by Drake and into the wall.

"Jura, what the hell?!" Erza shouted. Jura looked panicked.

"It wasn't me!" Jura shouted. "I can't control myself!"

"What the hell do you mean you can-" Lyon was cut off as well as the earth collapsed underneath him and Sherry, sending them somewhere below. Drake looked below him and saw the earth cracking.

"Uh, guys" He said to Mami and Ultear. "Maybe we should..." Drake couldn't finish his sentence before the earth under them rose up rapidly, crushing him and the girls against the roof. "Move" Drake finished. "Ow"

"It isn't me!" Jura said angrily. "Someone controlling me!"

"Halberd of he Lightning Dragon!" Jura flew o the side from the sudden burst of magic. Drake saw Master Laxus stand near the hole in the wall. "Try and hold off Jose!" He shouted. "I'll deal with Jura!" With that, Drake watched as their only real hope against Jose flew out of the building, too go and stop their other hope from hurting anyone else. A quick scan around the room showed Drake Jura had done what Jose intended. Everyone was down and out. Dark laughter filled the room, and a figure appeared at the big door at the end of the hall.

"Foolish Faires" He laughed. "Always sticking their noses where it doesn't belong" Drake heard Gajeel growl.

"Jose"

**Short, I know, but the next chapter will close the arc out, so it'll be pretty long. Remember to leave a review!**


	36. Not Explaining this to Nashi and Elise

Drake watched helplessly as Jose stepped down towards them. He could barely breath after Jura's attack. and he was more then certain everybody else was just as bad. Jose had them right were he wanted them, even after all that work they all did getting to him. Laxus had disappeared to deal with Jura and no one else was able to move a muscle. Jose chuckled darkly.

"My, my, it has been a while, Fairy Tail" He cooed darkly. "We really must catch up" Drake heard Gajeel growling again, and Jose turned to him with a wry smile. "Oh my god, Gajeel, how are you? Enjoying you're little escapade against my new guild?

"Fuck you,Jose" Gajeel hissed, struggling to stand Jose smiled.

"How can you talk to me like that, when I'm the one who defended your little girls honor?"

"You had her tortured, you bastard!" Gajeel shouted. "I should kill you!" Jose clicked his tongue.

"Always with the sass, eh Gajeel? No matter, it won't matter soon enough anyway, none of you are in any condition to stop me anyway."

"We'll beat you" Erza whispered. "just like last time" Jose broke out into laughter.

"Forgive me, Titania, but I believe the only reason you defeated me last time was because Makarov saved you. And seeing as the old fucker is dead, I don't see anyone standing in my way."

"Laxus is still standing" Natsu growled, standing up unsteadily. Drake was amazed that he'd taken a beating from Apocalypse and Jura, but still had the strength to stand up. "Laxus is Makarov's grandson, he'll a lot more powerful then you'll ever be"

"Last time I checked, your last hope was indisposed" Jose responded, launching a torrent of black energy at Natsu's sending him back to the ground. "And believe me, Laxus will have a hard time beating Jura while's he's under my control"

"He beat Jura once" Lyon replied. "He'll do it again" Jose shrugged.

"Even if he does, he'll still have me to deal with afterwards. Now, who'd like to say their final wishes first?"

* * *

Laxus hit the canyon wall hard, causing several boulders to collapse on top of him, Growling in frustration, he blew them away and stood up, facing Jura, who looked apologetic.

"Laxus, I can't stop" He said, sounding incredibly angry. Laxus nodded.

"Do you at least know what attacks are coming? That'll make it ten times easier." Jura was silent for a moment before he looked up, and a rock pillar hit Laxus in the back ,sending him flying forward. Laxus coated his fist in lightning and attacked Jura, growling in frustration as the attacks were blocked The two Wizard Saints went back and forth for what seemed like a millennium, trading blows, neither giving an inch "Lightning Dragon Roar!" The sudden change of attack had caught Jura off balance, and he blew backwards into the fenced area of the guild house. Laxus flew after him, and was met by a wall made of earth.

"Laxus, is this the cannon Meredy was referring too?" Laxus turned to their side and saw what Jura as referring too. A gigantic cannon stood their, aimed at the sky. "It appears to get charged up by magical energy" Jura noted, attacking Laxus with a barrage of rocks, which Laxus tore through with his lightning.

"What do we do with it?" Laxus demanded. "It's clearly primed and ready" Laxus grabbed Jura's fist and flipped him over. The fight was much easier with Jura attempting to resist every move, but it was till incredibly difficult. Laxus felt Jura sweep him off his fee and he launched another halberd as he did, and they both flew away from each others, demolishing the walls around them as they did. Damn it, old man" Laxus hissed. "How is your reaction time so good?" Jura jumped back to his feet and rose the earth beneath Laxus, who used to to propel himself into the air and towards Jura, punching him square in the face.

"This was Jose's plan all along, huh?" Jura said angrily, rubbing his face. "Wait until everyone but us is too weak to do anything and have us fight each other"

"Seems that way" Laxus grumbled. "If he touches a hair on anyone's head, I'll rip him apart."

"Save some for me" Jura replied, launching more pillars. "He's gone to far" Laxus grabbed the final pillar and threw it back, charging it with lightning, increasing it's speed far beyond normal, slamming into Jura and sending him flying towards the cannon. Laxus grabbed him and held him down, with much difficulty, and stared Jura down.

"What now?" Laxus asked, struggling to hold Jura's arms down. Jura made a determined face.

"Knock me unconscious, If you're the last hope our little team has, we can't let you get too injured fighting me" Laxus reared back and was about to sock Jura square in the face when he felt the older wizard saints legs kick him in the back, sending flying forward into the cannon. It made a strange sound.

"Anima cannon ready for launch" A female voice said, aiming the cannon at the sky.

"Anima cannon?" Jura asked as he slammed Laxus' face into the control board repetitively. "What the heel is that?" Laxus elbowed Jura and roared at him, sending him away from the cannon. Laxus turned around and ran his hand across the small control panel, trying to stop the launch sequence. All he succeeded in doing was aiming it far away. Laxus flinched and stepped back as the giant cannon fired a giant blue beam of energy into the distance.

Nothing happened.

Laxus waited for anything to happen, but nothing did. He heard Jura clawing his way out of the debris.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing from what I can tell" Laxus replied. Silence filled the air, and when Laxus turned around, he saw Jura with an immense amount of cncetration on his face.

"Laxus! Move, now!" He shouted. Laxus realized tool ate he was being warned. Jura caused the earth to crumble and falter beneath Laxus. Rumbling Mt. Fuji, Laxus remembered the move well. It was Jura's end game card, and he'd just gotten trapped in it.

"Shit!"

* * *

Drake, as if everyone else, flinched when Jura's attack landed. Drake had been following the fight while everyone in here was listening to Jose ramble on about revenge and his honor being stained by defeat or whatever. Drake wished he could listen in on Jose so that he could see what that cannon had done, but he couldn't nothing seemed to be working as of the present moment.

"Is Gramps okay?" Ultear hissed at him, trying to remain as quiet as she could. Drake listened, but all he could hear was the earth crumbling and smashing against each other.

"I can't tell" He reported sadly, watching the look on Ul' face turn even more downcast. "Jura's attack is causing to much noise" Jose laughed.

"It seems the young Dreyar is defeated." He said with a grin. "Jura had finished it. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, not even Makarov could stop me now."

"Stop spouting lies" Erza growled. "Laxus can't have been defeated that easily. He took Hades attack head on without any magic power and survived!"

"Hades was an incompetent fool focused on the Ultimate Magic World." Jose replied, " His desire caused him too lose focus of what was important" Drake would've punched Jose in the face a long time ago if he could move. The old bastard was purposefully not finishing them off just so he could toy with them a little, which only made him angrier. Jose chuckled. "Fairy Tail has always gotten into matters it has no business in. Intervening in the Oracion Seis plans all those years ago caused you so much grief. Grimoire Heart was bad, but Tartarus..." Jose trailed off as Sorano stood up angrily.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, you delusional old fuck" She hissed. "Hades' desire caused him too lose focus? What does that make you?" Jose looked genuinely confused at Sorano's words.

"What are you talking about, Angel?" He demanded. "I have not lost focus!"

"All you've talked about since we took those kids prisoner is killing everyone in Fairy Tail!" She shouted back. "Lost focus? Your blind hatred for that guild caused you to do nothing but plot there downfall!" Jose rolled his eyes, raised an outstretched hand, and blasted Sorano with magic.

"Sor!" Meredy shouted, voice full of worry.

"Stupid bitch" Jose grumbled. "First I find out she's a traitor, then she tried to convince I'm as stupid and delusional as Hades. Bah, I should kill her"

"You put a single finger on her" Drake growled, feeling protective of the woman who'd saved his life, "I swear on Mavis' grave I'll kill you" Jose laughed.

"Big talk from a weakling like you" He replied. "Tell me boy, why is someone of your heritage in Fairy Tail?"

"My...heritage?" Jose laughed, and Drake's blood ran cold when he realized what Jose meant.

"You really think I don't know about your magic, and your father?" Jose asked with a wry smile. "Your father, or Cobra, was a member of the Oracion Seis, a guild that had quite a run against Fairy Tail. You can imagine my amusement when I found out Cobra's son was in Fairy Tail. Why?"

"Because, unlike you, my father put the past behind him" Drake growled, managing to kneel on one knee. "He didn't hold a grudge, and practically became an honorary member of Fairy Tail" Drake looked up and met Jose's stoney gaze. "Right now, my dad is working with Crime Sorciere to stop people like you, and if he were here, He'd say the same god damn thing" Jose chuckled.

"Then your father is as big a fool as Hades" Jose responded, raising a hand and aiming at Drake. "Fairy Tail ruined his life, and he forgave and forgot? Nonsense" Magic began to gather in Jose's hand once more, and Drake fought of the feeling his life was about to flash before his eyes. "Now, any last requests, boy?"

"Yeah," Drake said, standing up tall. "Go fuck yourself"

"Drake, get down!" Damien shouted.

"He's going to kill you!" Akio shouted.

"Stop being so brave, you idiot!" Winter cried.

"The parfum of agreement with the others!" Mami shouted. "Sit down, Drake!"

"Don't try and be the hero here!" Ken growled, " He's not going to hold back!"

"Drake I swear to Mavis if we get out of this I'm going to kill you!" Simon shouted.

"This isn't what you want!" Taro yelled.

"I am _not _explaining this to Elise and Nashi!" Ultear told him shakily, "So sit your ass down!"

"Will all of you shut up?!" Drake yelled. "If this fuck wants to end me, so be it, I'm not afraid." Drake held his arms out, making himself a bigger target, "Come on, Jose! Or are to to chicken to kill me? You couldn't order it before when I was captured, so can you do it now?" Jose growled.

"You are exactly why I hate Fairy Tail," Jose hissed. "Cocky, ignorant, and has complete faith in his guild. Well, boy, say hello to Makarov for me when you see him!" The blast exited Jose's hand,. rushing towards Drake.

"DRAKE!" Ultear screamed. Drake's vision went hazy, and he felt himself falling over.

_Is this what dying feels like?_

**Remember when I said this was the last chapter of the arc? I lied. The last will be up later today, hopefully, and then we can move on. hope you enjoyed, remember to leave a review!**


	37. Laxus' End Game

**Hope I didn't make you guys wait too long. As promised, the end of this arc is here, enjoy!**

The first thing Drake realized was that it took a long time to die. That and he really wasn't enjoying hearing his friends screaming for him. Why was this so cruel? He didn't want to listen to tearful voices screaming for him. He just anted to go. That was until his vision began to clear. He looked around, and noticed he was flat on his ass near where'd been standing.

"What happened?" He managed. He shouldn't have survived that attack, yet here we was just knocked over. Someone chuckled.

"You got a death wish or something, kid?" The voice demanded. "I just barely got here in time to save your sorry ass" Drake sat up slightly, and noticed the battered figure standing in between him and Jose. A familiar, blonde, scarred, and beaten up Wizard Saint. Master Laxus cast a glance over his shoulder, staring at Drake. "I mean, seriously, what the hell were you thinking?"

"Gramps!" He heard Ultear shout somewhere behind him. "How.. how did you...?" Laxus stretched slightly.

"I'll admit, Jura was more of a problem then I expected" He replied. "But, I've dealt with it"

_5 minutes ago..._

Laxus grumbled angrily as he slowly climbed to his feet, glaring at Jura, who looked terribly apologetic.

"Can you try and aim a little away from me next time?" Laxus asked irritably. "I mean, really"

"Sorry, but in case you haven't noticed," Jura replied, sounding equally irritated. "I have zero control over my entire body"

"Well, that's true." Jura launched himself at Laxus, who grabbed him and the two men spiraled across the courtyard and away from the cannon. Laxus swept Jura off his feet and punched him in the gut, and felt a pillar of earth under his left foot, launching him into the air. Laxus compromised by shocking Jura with lightning as he flipped over and landed on his feet.

"This is getting ridiculous" Laxus said as Jura climbed to his feet. "Can't I just you in the head or something?"

"You already have" Jura replied. "You have to knock me out"

"I've tried that too" Silence befell the two, and Laxus wished we had a better idea than a full on attack. He knew full well he'd left everyone else vulnerable when he left to deal with Jura, but if he didn't he'd have to deal with Jura and Jose at the same time. That wouldn't end well. "We have to get back to the others, Jose won't hold back"

"Agreed, we have to end this quick" Jura though for a moment, before his eyes lit up. "The cannon"

'What about it?"

"Throw me into it, and it'll explode from that lacrima powering it!" Laxus face palmed.

"We were just back there!"

"I know, I know, but it's all I got."

"Alright, let's go"

"Good. Oh, and watch out, I'm raising a boulder behind you" Laxus jumped just in time to dodge the boulder, and threw a lightning bolt at Jura, doing his best to force him back near the cannon at the courtyard. They managed to make their way there, and Jura's eyes widened. "Rumbling Mt. Fuji, inbound!" He shouted, and Laxus did his best to move and evade the attack. It didn't work, and Laxus received the full brunt of the attack again. Laxus had faced worse, but it was really taking a toll on him physically. He dropped back to the ground knowing their was only one way past this.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" Laxus shouted, raising his fist as he rushed Jura. "Roaring Thunder!" His fist connected with Jura, and the older Saint flew backwards into the machine, and the metal crumpled around him. Laxus watched as the machine began to splutter.

"Good job" Jura called. "Let's see if this works." The lacrima exploded, and Laxus shielded himself as bits of debris and heat rushed towards him.

"Jura?" Laxus called out. "Are you alright?" Silence. Laxus would dwell on it later, he needed to rush back. If Jura was dead or unconscious, it was for the best. He felt bad he thought that way, but it was Jura or all of the others. He looked through the wall he'd thrown Jura through, and saw a rather disturbing sight.

"If this fuck wants to end me, so be it, I'm not afraid." Drake said, holding his arms out, and Laxus wanted to punch the second generation poison dragon slayer in the face. "Come on, Jose! Or are to to chicken to kill me? You couldn't order it before when I was captured, so can you do it now?" Jose made an angry growling sound.

"You are exactly why I hate Fairy Tail," Jose hissed. "Cocky, ignorant, and has complete faith in his guild. Well, boy, say hello to Makarov for me when you see him!" The blast exited Jose's hand, rushing towards Drake. Laxus went as fast as he could, pushing Drake to the ground and throwing up a wall of lightning to absorb the attack.

_Now_

Laxus finished stretching and Drake felt a rush of gratitude for the Master. He didn't want to die, but he'd been completely prepare too.

"So," Master Laxus growled. "You're the asshole who tried to destroy my guild 25 years ago. Nice to meet you" Jose didn't chuckle, and Drake liked the weakened look on his face.

"Where is Jura?" Jose demanded and Laxus smiled.

"He's currently sitting in the smoldering wreckage of your Anima cannon. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be fine" Jose managed a wry smile.

"So you're Laxus Dreyar?" He asked. "You do resemble that old fuck a lot, so I suppose that makes us enemies"

"Yeah, I kind of labeled you that when you tortured Nashi, Elise and Drake"

"Who?" That was the wrong thing to say. lightning started crackling around Laxus as his expression darkened.

"That's just like someone like you" He growled. "You don't even know their names. How about I pound it into you?" Jose chuckled, magic crackling off of him as well.

"I'd like that" Jose replied with a smile. The two men stared each other down.

"I've never seen the master fight seriously before" Ultear whispered.

"This is almost exciting..." Winter trailed off. Drake had to agree. He'd only heard stories about how good Master Laxus was, he'd never seen it in action. Laxus charged first, moving at a speed too fast for Drake's eyes to follow and slammed his fist into Jose's face. He drove his other fist into Jose's gut, sending him flying across the room. Jose climbed out of the wall and launched a tendril of darkness at Laxus, who met it with his own made of lightning, and they exploded, causing smoke to fall on the battlefield. Laxus rushed through it and tackled Jose, and the two of them flew around the room, attacking and insulting each other as they did. The two separated and landed, both panting.

"You're a lot more fun then your old man" Jose commented, wiping his chin from the blood.

"You're not as tough as I as expecting" Laxus replied. "I mean, you were better when you were controlling Jura" Laxus laughed, and Jose raised his hands.

"Let's see if you can take this one, Dreyar" Jose said. "The strongest spell I have, got it?" Laxus didn't move a muscle. "So you agree, then? Good, cause now's it's over. Dead explosion!" The purple beam shot right at Laxus.

"Gramps, move!" Ultear shouted.

"Don't take that!" Drake shouted. "You already took two mt. Fuji attacks!" It was too late, the beam engulfed Master Laxus and he disappeared. Jose laughed.

"Well, _Master Laxus Dreyar, _It looks like our time is-"

"If you were going to say it was your strongest attack, you could at least make it lethal" Drake watched in complete bewilderment as the beam exploded, and Master Laxus stood, arms crossed, looking unamused.

"Mavis..." Simon whispered.

"Just how strong is he?" Taro whispered. Drake couldn't find his voice, he was too shocked. Laxus was unbelievable. Laxus sighed.

"Well,i if we're doing a show of power here..." Laxus raised his hands, and held them a little out from his chest, parallel to each other. Drake had no idea what he was doing, but the adults reacted poorly.

"Laxus, stop!" Erza shouted.

"You haven't managed to cast that since the Battle for Fairy Tail!" Natsu shouted, although Laxus ignored them.

"If you fuck this up, it's over!" Gajeel shouted. Drake didn't know what they were talking about when they meant he hadn't casted it for a long time. A bright light shone from in-between Laxus' hands, and warmth spread through Drake, making him feel a million times better. He listened in one Erza, and paled.

What the hell was Fairy Law and why was it such a big deal?

* * *

Lucy sighed as she finished her book and looked over at Nashi, who hadn't moved yet. Wendy had reassured her it was fine, that Nashi just needed time. Lucy was about to get up and leave when warmth spread through her entire body, making her eyes widen and stand up in shock.

"Laxus...what the hell is happening?" She whispered, staring out the infirmary window, as if trying to find the blond Wizard Saint there. Levy burst through the door.

"You feel that too, Lu-chan?" She asked carefully. Lucy nodded.

"He hasn't successfully cast it in years" Lucy replied. "Even then it didn't work because of who he was casting it on"

"I hope he doesn't fuck it up" Levy said slowly. "He wouldn't even try unless..."

"Unless he had too, I know" Lucy and Levy were both silent for a moment, until something made a shifting sound. Lucy looked over at Nashi in surprise, who was shifting in her slumber.

"Laxus...Drake..." Her daughter mumbled, and Levy and Lucy exchanged a shocked look. Lucy looked back, and gasped. Nashi eyes were open, but they were fuzzy and unfocused. "They're in trouble..."

"Is she awake?!" Levy asked. Lucy rushed to her daughter side, clutching her hand.

"Nashi, Nashi can you hear me?" Nashi didn't move an inch, just stared at the roof.

"Laxus...Everyone... please be okay..."

* * *

Drake watched as everyone tried to tell Laxus too stop. After a quick listen, Drake knew all about how Fairy Law was the strongest spell there was in Fairy Tail, and Laxus hadn't successfully cast it in years.

"You should know what this is, don't you Jose?" Laxus asked smugly. "You should, seeing as it beat you once before" Jose smirked, although it was pained.

"You really think I haven't done my homework, Laxus?" He asked with a smile. "I know you haven't successfully cast that in years!"

'You really want to test that theory?" Laxus asked. "If you do, I'll give you too the count of three, how about that?" The light shone even brighter, and the adults got even more brazen.

"Laxus, stop trying to show off!" Lyon growled. "You're just trying to look cool"

"If I were doing that, Lyon, I'd have kicked his ass already" Laxus replied. "Bit if he wants a show of power, I'll give him one. So, ready to go, Jose?" Jose didn't respond.

"Laxus, stop, please!" Erza shouted.

"1"

"Laxus!" Gajeel shouted.

"2"

"I hope you know what your doing, Gramps" Drake muttered.

"3. See you, Jose, you fuck"

The light in Laxus' hands grew, and blinded Drake, until he couldn't see anything anymore.

* * *

When the light faded, it was obvious that the spell had worked. Jose was sprawled out on the floor, spread eagle. His face was completely white, and and his pupils were gone.

"Holy fuck" Ultear whispered. Drake felt the same as she did. Laxus had ended it in one attack.

"Looks like history likes to repeat itself, Jose" Laxus said flatly, turning around and walking towards them. "Now that I've dealt with that, who's up for some food?"

**And, scene. I know it doesn't sound like the end, but next time doesn't really continue this arc, it just involves Nashi waking up. Hope you enjoyed, remember to leave a review!**


	38. Everything Back to Normal

**Wow, more chapters? I hope you guys appreciate the spamming I'm doing! Enjoy!**

Drake wasn't sure why the whole group was so upbeat on the way back, it kind of disturbed him. Everyone was laughing and cracking jokes, and he didn't understand why. The most disturbing part was Drake knew it was the whole situations fault. Phantom Dove had changed him, it was a part of him, and it didn't matter if he didn't like that. The others from Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale had parted with them already, telling them if they ever needed more help they knew who to call. As they reentered Magnolia, Damien fell in step with Drake.

"You alright, bud?" He asked. "You've looked upset since we started heading back"

"No, I'm okay" Drake replied. "I'm just...tired." Damien gave Drake a look that said he knew Drake was lying, but he dropped it, which Drake was grateful for. Ultear had already tried the night before too get a response out of him, but she hadn't gotten a word.

"If you're still worried about Nashi" Damien said all of the sudden, "It's going to be fine, Wendy and Chelia had it covered when I got back." Drake, for one, felt terrible his dying friend had slipped his mind, and he felt even worse when he realized she was that way because he'd failed to protect her. _Her and Elise both, actually... _Drake's train of thought was interrupted when they returned to the guild and Lucy ran out to her husband, who caught her.

"Thank Mavis you're all okay!" Lucy said happily. "We were worried when Laxus used Fairy Law, seeing as we knew it must've meant he was desperate."

"Yeah, of course" Laxus grumbled. "Desperate, right" Drake couldn't help but chuckle. No one told Lucy Laxus was just showing off.

"So," Natsu said, growing serious, "How's Nashi?" Not even Drake listened in on Lucy, fearing what he would hear. The Celestial Wizards expression terrified him, and the whole group was silent. Drake felt like the tension was stabbing him. Then, Lucy smiled.

"She's awake" That was all Drake needed to hear. He dashed past Lucy and into the guild, doing his best with his injuries to run up the stairs and into the infirmary. His heart was beating a million miles a minute, but he didn't care if he had a heart attack. He needed to see her, now. He burst through the infirmary door, and looked over at her bed, and his chest swelled up. She was awake all right. She was lying there staring at the roof, and she sighed, looked over at the doorway, and broke into a small smile.

"Drake" Drake felt tears stinging his eyes at the sound of her voice. He hadn't heard it for so long he was beginning to forget what it sounded like. He pulled up a chair next to her bed and grabbed her hand with both of his.

"Hey," He breathed, finally finding his own voice, "How are you feeling?" Drake watched as she shifted slightly on to her side, smiling even wider at him.

"Better," She replied. "I'm still pretty weak from the lack of food and water, but Wendy says I'll be okay" Drake nodded, rubbing a comforting circle with his thumb on her hand. He'd never felt so relieved in his entire life. He felt tears threatening to spill, so he put his head down on the bed.

"I'm so happy you're okay" He whispered. "I never would've forgiven myself if you weren't." Nashi chuckled quietly.

"It wasn't your fault, you did what you could" She replied, squeezing his hand. "You made sure I got home alive, and that Elise made it back. You kept your promise, so don't feel upset" Drake felt a few tears stinging his eyes as he nodded, weakly, not able to say anything. "So," Nashi said. "Did you kick their ass?"

"Yeah," Drake managed, looking up weakly. "I didn't get to do much though"

"It's enough knowing they got beat, really" Nashi shifted slightly. "Listen, Drake, I need to tell you something..." Drake felt his stomach drop.

"Yeah?"

"It's about Elise..." Drake felt his heart rate pick up again.

"Is she okay? Please tell me she didn't kill herself." Before Nashi could respond, the door opened again, and Drake had enough time to turn and look to catch a mop of black hair tackling him.

"Thank Mavis you're okay!" It shouted, wrapping him into a tight hug. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" Drake froze up. That voice, he knew it. He hadn't heard it actually speak in a long time. Elise took her face out of his chest and smiled at him.

"E-Elise?" Drake asked weakly, and she smiled even wider.

"So you still recognize me, huh?" She asked happily. "I was worried you wouldn't after everything you two went through"

"You... two...?" Elise nodded slowly, watching Drake carefully.

"Yes" She said slowly, "You and Nashi got captured, remember?" Drake knew that, what he was worried about was how she didn't place herself in the same situation.

"Right," He said slowly. "I know that, I was there"

'Then," Elise continued, crossing her arms over her chest. "You guys leave to deal with the bastards while I have a cold! Did you even thing for a minute I would've wanted to help?"

"Uh... sorry Elise..." Before he could say another word, the rest of the guild filed into the room. Levy said.

"Elise, why don't you go and find your dad?" She said weakly. "I'm sure he wants to see you"

"Alright!" Drake watched in astonishment as Elise ran happily from the room, and an awkward silence befell them.

"Doranbolt" Levy said, instantly clearing up the confusion. Drake recalled what he'd said to Levy after the whole shower incident. He nodded and Levy, who only stared back.

"Was it for the best?" Laxus asked. Drake found in strange Laxus had to ask that after Drake told everybody.

"Drake said it was for the best" Levy replied. "But he wouldn't say why" Silence came again, this time because the whole Phantom group knew what had happened, and it only made them feel worse. Drake hoped no one opened their mouth, Levy didn't need that kind of stress right now. Natsu stepped forward.

"Hey, Nashi" He said with a bright, pained smile. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah," Nashi replied, sitting up slightly. "I'm just glad you're all okay" Nashi scrunched up her face. "Damien? Is that you?" The fourth generation Dreyar chuckled as he stepped forward.

"Hey,Kiddo" He said softly. "It's been a while"

"It sure has," Nashi said, grinning even wider at him. Drake found in amazing how, even after all that had happened, Nashi could be so upbeat. "You're an old man now"

"Hey, hey, I'm not even 19 yet"

"Still, look at you" Damien chuckled as he ruffled her hair.

"Good to see you're in high spirits, Nashi" He replied. "I gave one of those bastards my compliments"

"That's how you compliment people?" Ultear asked from behind him, which made him flinch. "You destroyed him" A light laugh passed through the crowd as Damien rubbed the back of his neck. Drake couldn't help but laugh as well. He heard all that, after all.

"You should rest" Damien finally said. "I'm sure you're still pretty weak."

"Yeah," Nashi agreed, yawning. "I am pretty tired" With that, she rolled over and closed her eyes. No one objected, Drake was sure they were just happy she was okay. They all filed out, Drake being last in line.

"Well, that certainly makes me relieved." Master Laxus finally spoke. "She'll be okay in a week or so, right Wendy?" The healer nodded.

"Her recovery time is far above what I was expecting" Wendy replied. "If she eats and drinks enough, she may be okay enough to leave in a few days"

"Don't rush her," Lucy scolded. "She can leave when she's able"

* * *

Nashi wanted nothing more than for people to stop pitying her. People came all the time to visit her, and all they did was tell her they were sorry, Drake especially. Nashi wanted nothing more than to get out of this stupid bed and walk around, which she did a lot when her mother wasn't looking. One day, about a week and a half after she'd woken, up, Nashi wasn't having it anymore. Ignoring her mother, she got out of bed and walked downstairs. It was good too stretch her legs. She walked over to where her friends were sitting and sat down next to Damien.

"Hey Kiddo" He said, placing a hand on her head. "Feeling better?" Nashi nodded, not bothering to move his hand. She knew Damien acted like she was his little sister, even after what happened to Stephanie.

"I wanted to get out of that damn room." Nashi said, stretching. "I swear, if one more person tells me who sorry they are for me.."

"Oh, come off it" Elise said flatly, crossing her arms. "They just want to make sure you're okay" Nashi stared at her for longer than was necessary, trying to convince herself what had happened was actually real. Elise had such vivid memories of not coming with them that Nashi almost believed her, before she reminded herself that was what Doranbolt did best.

"Yeah, I know" She replied. "I just don't want their pity"

"So," Simon said, with a sneaky smirk on his face. "We were about to go on a job. Want to come with?" Nashi wasn't sure that was a good idea, but the sly look on the usual calm and reserved Simon's face was too much. She grinned.

"Yeah, I could use a vacation. Besides, getting out of here will do me some good" Nashi got up as the rest of them began to leave. She was about to walk out the door when her mother called for her.

"Nashi, where are you going?" Nashi flinched. Shit. She turned with a small smile.

"I'm just going with everyone!"

"On a job? Are you sure?" Nashi was about to reply when Damien appeared next to her.

"Don't worry Lucy" He told her, planting his hand on her head again. "I'll make sure she stays out of trouble" Nashi glared at him ,but noticed the relaxed look her mother had.

"Thank you, Damien, I appreciate it." As soon as Nashi left the door she ripped Damien's hand off her head.

"You're not going to do that, are you?" Damien shrugged.

"You can handle yourself, you'll be fine" He replied. "besides, you were inactive for practically a month, you'll need a lot of practice."

"Shit, you're right! I probably suck right now!"

**Pretty laid back chapter, I know, but we have to relax a bit after the last arc. And, trust me, next chapter will be so laid back it'll be ridiculous. Hope you enjoyed, remember you leave a review!**


	39. One Sided Love

**Funny chapter inbound! I hope you guys enjoy! I know I did!**

Drake was having the night of his life. He didn't know hanging out with just Simon and Damien could be so much fun! Instead of being a little more respectful around the girls, Drake allowed his inner pervert loose a little. He was in the middle of telling them a story about almost getting seduced by a job givers daughter.

"Then what happened?" Damien asked, a huge smile on his face.

"I told her I'd think about it if she could double my pay." Drake replied as Damien laughed.

"And she fell for it?!" Simon asked, drinking his beer. Drake nodded, which caused a spit take.

"That's nothing compared to this one chick I met." Damien said, taking a sip from his own beer. "This chick was easily a 9/10, but I couldn't remember her name for the life of me. I traveled with her for a little bit and for the first 3 months I thought her name was Karen"

"What was it?" Drake asked.

"Nikki" Simon and Drake burst into laughter again and Drake finished his own beer.

"I have to say," Simon said, "We got to hang more often"

"I second that" Damien said, "It's so much more fun without those girls around."

"It's much more freeing" Drake agreed. "if we talked about this kind of stuff with them around, they'd call us pigs."

"Yeah," Simon said, staring at the ground. "Hey, quick question for you guys, and answer seriously if you want"

"Alright, what is it?" Damien asked as they entered the park.

"If you guys had to pick one of the girls we hang out with to date, who would you date?"

"Well," Damien said, leaning against the Sola tree with a smirk. "I already know what Drake's going to say"

"What?" Drake asked, looking at the older boy. Damien laughed.

"Oh, were you not going to say Nashi?" Drake felt his face heat up as Simon chuckled.

"Yeah, I could see that" Simon agreed. "You guys are already best friends."

"I don't like her like that" Drake growled, trying to convince them otherwise.

"Don't bullshit me Drake," Damien said, "I don't need sound magic to know you got the hots for our resident fire dragon slayer"

"Actually, I don't like Natsu, I don't swing that way." Drake said, glad he got the attention off of himself as Simon laughed again. "Oh, you meant Nashi? Well, it's still a no."

"Oh, _come on. _"Damien said, rolling his eyes. "Were you going to say someone else?"

"Well, no, but I don't actually like her like that"

"Alright, ladies, calm down" Simon said. "I'd probably date Ultear, honestly."

"You dick" Damien said flatly. "I was going to say Ul"

"Why, what's wrong with Elise?"

"Nothing, it's just she's a bit young for me, you know what I mean?"

"She's only a year and a half younger than you!"

"Are you sure it's got nothing to do with the fact she's a rape victim?" Drake asked with a slight smirk. He wasn't cracking a joke about the whole rape situation, but if it was Damien's reason for not picking her, then he'd could laugh at that.

"Nah," Simon said. "It's probably because she can't stand him"

"Hey," Damien protested. "I'll have you know I'm a very lovable person. Elise would be honored to be my girlfriend."

"Don't kid yourself, Romeo" Drake replied. "I don't think she appreciated you barging into her room the other day while she was changing." Damien shrugged.

"Eh, Ul have me 300 jewel for doing it, totally worth it."

"Your moral compass is terrible" Simon pointed out. Before Drake could laugh and Damien's expense anymore, a cackling voice interrupted their antics.

"Oh, you boys like talking about women so object fully, huh?"

"Who said that?" Damien asked, looking around. A small, old women appeared out of the shadows.

"If you boys enjoy them so much, let's see how you'll enjoy loving them for real!" The woman raised her left hand, and a faint pink glow enveloped the three of them. Just as quickly as it happened, it stopped. They looked around, confused.

"Wasn't there an old lady here, like, 3 seconds ago?" Simon asked. Drake wished we could say there was, but there was no sign of her.

"That was weird." Drake muttered. "Anyway, It's like 3 in the morning, guys, I'm going to go to bed"

"Alright, see you tomorrow bud" Damien said. He bro hugged the both of them and walked off, pondering the old ladies words.

* * *

Nashi's morning was going rather slow. She was just talking with Ultear and Elise. The guys hadn't shown up yet, and Nashi was seriously missing their company. They livened up their little group more then she realized. She especially realized it last night when they'd gone off on guys night out and refused to let the girls come with them. Nashi sighed and flicked a dried piece of food off the table at Ul, who glared back at her.

"Mavis, where are they?" Elise demanded angrily. "It's so boring without them around."

"I know," Ul agreed. "I never knew how badly I'd miss them"

"Mavis, we're sad" Nashi said, staring at the two of them. "I mean, they probably spent all night drinking and talking about guy stuff, and what did we do?"

"A whole load of nothing" Ultear replied. "I bet they had fun"

"Yeah" Elise agreed. Nashi was about to ask them what they wanted to do when they men of the hour appeared in the doorway. They looked around a little bit before spotting them.

"Here they come, guys" Nashi said, standing up. "Hey guys, what are you-" Nashi was cut off by Drake, who ran towards her and swept her off her feet, making her blush. "W-what are you doing?" Drake had a weird look on his face.

"Well, dearest,I've just missed seeing your beautiful face" Nashi looked at him like he was crazy. "I spent all night thinking about seeing you, all night wanting to make you laugh."

"Well, this is certainly forward of you, Drake" Ultear laughed. Nashi was too busy blushing redder than Simon's hair.

"Kiss her, kiss her!" Elise cheered. Drake seemed to be complying to Elise's wish, and began leaning in, Nashi's heart beat sped up, and she did the only sensible thing she could.

Punched him in the side of the head, sending him flying into the wall. Nashi was dropped unceremoniously on the floor, trying to slow her rapid heart beat.

"What the hell?" She managed to say, holding her chest. Ultear laughed.

'Wants wrong, Nashi?" Ultear laughed. "Drake was just being swe..." Ultear stopped talking, her face going red. Elise gave her a weird look.

"What's up, Ul?" She asked, waving a hand in front of her eyes. "You sick or something?" When nashi stood up, she could see the problem. Simon had his head resting on her shoulder, from behind.

"Yeah," He whispered seductively. "What's wrong Ul?"

"Eh...uh..um..." Ultear managed, not able to from a proper sentence.

"You're so gorgeous when you're nervous" Simon told her. "You're blue eyes contrast the red so well"

"uh..."

"Mmmm, keep stuttering, it's so hot" Nashi wished she had some idea what was going on. First drake, now Simon? What was going on? She was about to ask Damien when he slid up next to Elise.

"Man. those guys don't know how to talk to a woman" He said , and Nashi wondered why he seemed unaffected. "So, you and me and dinner, Elise, how about it?" There it was. Elise was slightly red, but managed a chuckle.

"Easy there, Casanova" She said flatly. "Don't get ahead of yourself." Damien ran a hand through hair.

"Sorry, just can't help myself" He replied. "The shine from your gorgeous eyes is blinding me with your beauty." Elise giggled, and Nashi felt sick. How was she okay with this? Nashi was about to ask what was wrong when she felt a pair of hands snake around her waist.

"You know," Drake whispered in her ear, his hot breath on her ear. "You're pretty hot when you hit me" Nashi's face flushed again.

"G-get off me" She managed. Drake chuckled hoarsely and Nashi shivered.

"You voice says no," He said. "But you're inner voice says otherwise." Nashi wished her inner voice would shut up. that, and Drake to stop listening to her. "I'd stop listening to you, nut you're voice is so addictive I need more every time I hear it" Dammit. She struggled, but Drake was far more physically strong than her. His grip was too strong. She needed to get away from here. Somewhere, anywhere, but away from Drake. Ultear stood up abruptly, face still red from Simon's praising.

"We need to go, girls" She said weakly.

"I'm busy" Elise said, twirling her hair around her finger as she talked to Damien.

"yeah, l-let's go" Nashi said, managing to slither out of Drake's grip and trying not to sprint towards the door. Elise sighed as she got up as well and followed. As soon as they left, Nashi turned to the others.

"What the _fuck _just happened?" She hissed. Ultear shook her head furiously.

"I don't know" She replied. "Simon was hitting on me something fierce"

'You think you had it bad?" Nashi demanded. "I thought Drake was going too start chewing on my ear at any minute."

"I don't see why you guys are so bothered by this" Elise said, shrugging. "I thought it was pretty funny"

"Oh, coming from the girl who flirted right back" Ultear replied. Elise chuckled.

"I was just enjoying myself."

"What happened to them?" Nashi asked. "I mean, I know they've jokingly hit on us before, but Drake was about to legit kiss me."

"I wish he would've" Elise replied. "I would've reminded you of that for years" Nashi was about to retort when a familiar voice came from the guild.

"Where'd they go?" Simon voice asked.

"I can hear them over there" Drake replied. "Let's go"

"You guys are just jealous Elise wasn't struggling." Damien told them flatly. Nashi paled.

"We have to go, their following us" Nashi sped up slightly as they walked through town, but the guys kept pace well enough, occasionally calling out to them. Nashi wished Elise would stop playing with them. She'd call back to them occasionally, telling them how Ul and Nashi were talking about them and flirting with Damien.

"We should split up" Ultear said. "Hopefully, they'll give it up"

"I somehow doubt that" Nashi said flatly. She drifted around a corner away from Elise and Ultear, speedily walking as fast as she could. Looking back, the dark red mane of her best friend was clearly visible through the crowd. Paling, she turned several corners quickly, doing her best to get away. She knew it was a lost cause, Drake could hear her from a mile away. She going as fast as she could without causing a scene, and it was beginning to worry her that Drake was catching up. She was about to start panicking when she ran into Erza.

"Wow, where's the fire Nashi?" The redhead asked, stopping her. "Although you shouldn't worry about that"

"Oh thank Mavis, Aunt Erza! I need you to stall Drake for me!"

"Why?"

"Cause he's acting like he's in love with me and it's freaking me out" Erza made a confused face, but didn't argue. "Please!"

"Alright, I won't ask, but you better explain later" Nashi paled. She was just as afraid of Erza as her father was.

"A-aye!" Nashi sped away and listened for as long as she could for Erza's distraction. It didn't matter anyway, Drake would catch up. She rounded the corner and was caught by the devil himself.

"You know," Drake said as she jumped back with a shriek. "I admit I almost didn't want to catch up to you, it's nice watching you from behind."

"You pervert" Nashi muttered. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing, just hanging out with a friend" More a minute, Nashi wondered if it was all a big joke. "A beautiful, smart, witty, amazing friend." There it was. "Speaking of which" Without warning, Drake grabbed Nashi by the shoulders and pulled her in close so their noses were touching. She blushed, he chuckled. "Why are you so nervous?"

"Because you're being so weird." She replied quietly.

"I'm just calling it how it is"

"No, there's something wrong with you. You've never show interest in me before, and know you're...doing all this"

"Maybe because you were always depressed before. Confident Nashi turns me on" Nashi got an idea, and she grinned.

"Close your eyes, and I'll give you a surprise." She whispered, watching as he shivered slightly and closed his eyes. Nashi leaned in enough so her breath hit his lips, and she punched him in the face again, this time with fire, sending him into the canal. With that, she turned and sprinted towards the park.

** A funny little two part arc I thought up, part two will be up tomorrow. Plus, I figured I throw it in for anyone looking for a little nod towards any ships. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	40. One Sided Love pt2

**Here's the second chapter, as promised! Now, we're at 92 reviews, can we get 100 today? I know I'm asking for a lot, seeing as we get 0-3 reviews per chapter, now I'm asking for 8, but I think 8 of you almost 90 can manage that. Please? I'll give you a spare chapter later, it's already written and everything! Anyway, enjoy!**

Ultear didn't like lying to her friends, but she hated it even more she found a reason too. She couldn't deny she'd kind of liked it when Simon was hitting on her earlier, but it was the way he was doing it that made her uneasy. He seemed so unnatural while he did it, it was obvious he wasn't actually doing it. The fact that Damien and Drake were doing it too only reinforced her theory. Something was wrong with them, she knew that much. Then again, maybe it was all one big cruel joke, and if that were the case, Simon was going to have hell to pay. She was currently hiding in an alley, occasionally peaking out to see if the scarlet devil had found her yet.

"Who are we hiding from?" A voice asked behind her.

"From my friend who thinks he...Gah!" Ultear turned and jumped and saw Simon standing behind her. "Simon! Wah... whe...wher..."

"I guess you listened when I said your stuttering was hot" He said smoothly with a chuckle. Ultear could see why Mami loved him so much. "I like how you found such a secluded area, makes our activities much more...intense"

"I-intense? W-hat a-are you..." Ultear got her answer when he pushed her up against the wall, their faces only a few inches away from each other. Ultear could feel his breath hit her face, and it only made her heart speed up even more.

"You know" Simon said, running a hand up Ultear's leg, making her shiver. "I've found you attractive for the longest time, but never did anything about it"

"Simon, stop..."

"You know why? Because you're too good for me"

"Q-quit kidding yourself..."

"But I thought about you all the time during that job I was on. You never left my mind once, not once..."

"Simon, seriously, this isn't you..." Ultear felt her resistance crumbling. Simon could read her like a book. She needed to get away from him, this wan't really him.

"What's wrong, am I making you uncomfortable?" Ultear nodded furiously. "I don't need Drake to tell me you're lying to me. "

"I'm not l-lying..."

"Oh? So you're saying if I do this..." He ran his hand up Ultear's side, and she shivered. "...you don't like it?"

"..."

"Your silence tells me I'm right." Ultear's brain was being reduced to basic functions. Even at that, she could barely breath thanks to the close proximity. She, somehow, managed to plant her hands on Simon's chest (Which was much more chiseled and firm than she imagined...) and pushed him back, allowing her self a little breathing room.

"My place" She said suddenly, surprising Simon, who grinned devilishly.

"What was that?"

"M-my place" Ultear replied. "Meet m-me there in half an hour, and I'll tell you the truth." At first, Ultear was worried her pathetic attempt at escaping (If you could even call it that) wasn't going to work. She worried Simon was going to see right through her and resume seducing her, but he laughed.

"Alright, my curiosity has gotten the better of me" He replied. "I'll be there. Oh, and Ul?

"Y-yeah?"

"You'd better bring..." He did a quick up and down scan of her, and it only reduced her barrier of defense even more. "All of you. I'd hate to have to come looking for you again." Ultear would hate that too. Simon winked at her and walked away, allowing Ultear to take a deep breath to regain her senses. Why did he have such an effect on her? She hated how he'd been able to control everything she did. Her breathing, her actions, her very brain functions. _Well, I've got half an hour to find a way to fix this, or I might not be able to control myself next time..._

* * *

Elise wished she knew why her friends got bothered by the guys so much. It could have something to do with the fact that Ul had a not so secret thing for Simon and Nashi had next to no opposite sex interaction in that way, but Elise was perfectly content with fucking with Damien. As a matter of fact, she made it a little game to see how roped in she could get him, just for the hell of it. She knew she was being rather cruel just because she could be, but, why not right? She was, at the moment, doing just that. She and Damien were walking together down the street, and he was telling her a story about all the girls on his travels and how their beauty paled in comparison to hers. She, on one hand, was slightly off put by the Dreyar's actions, but Elise couldn't lie that she felt rather good hearing such praise from a guy, even if that guy was a childhood friend who, for all she knew, had no control over his actions. She did the girliest giggle she could manage at a shitty joke he made, and sighed.

"I love hanging out with you Damien" She cooed. "Especially with all this I hear about my beauty." He laughed. A deep, booming sound that reminded Elise all too much of Damien's father, Master Laxus.

"I love you, Elise" He said. "The others were jealous you were so willing to go out with me"

"Easy there,bud, we ain't official yet" He chuckled.

"Why not?" He asked, winking at her. "Drake and Simon would be so jealous."

"Even so, I don't think I'm quite ready yet" She walked ahead of him slightly, and she felt Damien's arms wrap around her waist. A jolt of pain went through her and she swatted his arms away. "Don't fucking touch me!" She screamed. "Stop touching me!" Damien looked just as confused as Elise felt.

"I've only done that once..." He trailed off. Elise wanted to apologize, but she was too busy trying to figure out why she'd gotten so defensive. It wasn't like he'd tried anything, he'd just put his hands on her. Elise looked down at her waist and lifted her shirt a little, revealing a red mark that looked like a hand. She pressed her hand against it, and another jolt of pain went through her, this time accompanied by familiar voices.

_"Take me, she needs to rest"_

_"Oh, so now you wanna protect your friend? Fine, you'll do"_

_"Elise...?"_

_"Don't touch me! Stop touching me!_

_"All of them will know what it means to fuck with Fairy Tail."_

"What the fuck?" Elise asked, releasing her grip on herself and staring down at the scar on her waist.

"What?" Damien asked.

"N-nothing." Elise replied, smiling weakly at him. What was that? She recognized her own, Drake, and Nashi's voices, but the second one she heard was unfamiliar too her. She could ask Nashi about it later, and maybe Drake post infatuation with Nashi. One thing she did know, however, was that she needed to distance herself from Damien, that flashback or whatever it had been had made her uncomfortable. "Uh, would you mind we if split up for a while?"

"Why?" Damien sounded. hurt. "Don't you want to hang out?"

"Yeah, but I can't make up my mind about us with you pressuring me.

"Well, okay. I'll see you later, babe" Elise nodded and smiled at him as best she could as he walked away. As soon as he was out of earshot she turned and sprinted away. _Where the hell are you Nashi?!_

* * *

Nashi and the others connected in a three way crash in the middle of the park. She fell backwards and noticed the others had equally disturbed looks on their faces.

"You guys have trouble too?" She asked, standing back up. Ultear nodded.

"S-Simon tried to seduce me in an alleyway" She muttered. "I almost caved."

"Damien grabbed me around here" Elise said, putting her hands around her waist. "And I heard voices. Is that weird?" Nashi paled.

"What kind of voices?" Nashi asked warily.

"Well, yours, and Drakes, and mine, and some other guys saying 'I'd do'." Nashi almost threw up. Elise had a flashback of the day it happened. Thank Mavis she actually didn't remember anything. Nashi managed to shake her head.

"What are we going to do?" She demanded. A voice chuckled. They turned to find an old woman standing there, cackling.

"You ladies having boy trouble?" She asked.

"Why?" Elise asked defensively.

"I'm the reason they're acting like that, that's why" Ultear strode up to her and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, causing her to yelp.

"Reverse the spell before I mop the floor with you!" She shouted angrily.

"It-it can be reversed from one thing!" She shouted, sounding terrified.

"Which is?" Nashi asked.

"You have to kiss them!"

"No!" Ultear shouted. "Not a fucking chance!"

"It doesn't have to be on the lips, just on the cheek or something!" Elise sighed.

"That it?" Elise asked. The old woman nodded quickly, and as soon as Ultear released her, she scampered away, and Ultear collapsed.

"I hate my life" She moaned. "I can't kiss Simon!"

"You think you have it bad!" Nashi demanded. "I'll never live this down!" Elise sighed.

"Would you guys rather deal with them for the rest of our lives!?" She asked angrily. "We have to do this!" Nashi sighed.

"I agree with Ul" She said flatly. "I hate my life."

* * *

Nashi saw them approaching, and her stomach felt like she'd swallowed a rock.

"Are you guys ready?" She asked sadly, and Ul and Elise nodded. The guys smiled as they approached them.

"Hey guys!" Damien said with a grin. "What's up..." He was cut off when Elise panted a kiss on his cheek, and he crumpled to the ground. Simon and Drake jumped back.

"What the hell?!" Simon shouted.

"Damien got kissed and he died!" Drake hollered. Ultear went quickly before Simon could run, and kissed his cheek as well, and collapsed next to Damien. Drake began to back up. "Nashi ,come on, you don't want to kill me..."

"Get the hell over here" Nashi hissed. "And let's get this over with."

"Get away fro me!"

"Drake! Stop running and let me kiss you!"

"No!" Nashi chased Drake around the park, doing her best to catch him, but he was faster than she was. Ultear tackled Drake to the ground from the side, and Elise held his arms down. "Let me guy you bitches!"

"Hurry up,Nashi!" Ul shouted, her face completely red.

"Let's go!" Elise shouted. "I'm not doing him too!" Nashi did her best to get near Drake as he squirmed.

"Get away from me Nashi!" Drake shouted

"Stop squirming! I'm trying to help you!" She replied.

"By killing me!?"

"Oh stop it!" Nashi leaned down, and Drake squirmed even harder, moving his face around quickly to avoid the 'kiss of death'

He didn't avoid it.

If anything, he made it worse.

Nashi did her best to aim for his cheek, but he moved quickly, and Nashi felt their lips connect, and she got lightheaded. Drake stopped squirming, and Nashi broke away as fast as she could before Elise could start teasing her. She stared down at Drake's unconscious form, and she sighed in relief.

"That was hot" Elise said with a smirk.

"I wouldn't have done that if he stopped squirming..." Nashi whispered, finding she was unable to speak loudly, her head was spinning. That was her first kiss, and it had been an accident.

Great.

* * *

Drake groaned and rubbed his head. He was leaning against the Sola tree in the park, and his head was killing him. He heard Simon and Damien groaned next to him.

"What happened?" Simon asked, rubbing his head.

"I don't know," Damien replied. "The last thing I remember is walking into the guild this morning"

"You too?" Drake noticed the look both of the were giving him. "What?"

"Uh...Drake?" Simon asked weakly.

"Yeah?"

"Why is...uh..." Simon trailed off as he pointed down at Drake's lap. Drake followed his finger, and shouted in surprise. Nashi was curled up in his lap, a serenely calm look her face. Her head was propped up on his lap, and she was curled up next to him.

"I-I don't know..." Drake turned back to Simon and Damien and saw an equally as disturbing sight. Ul was curled up next to Simon, and Elise to Damien. "Although you guys don't have any room to judge." Both of them seemed to realize the situation at the same time, and paled.

"W-why...?" Damien managed.

"I-I don't know" Simon hissed. Drake looked down as Nashi shifted in his lap, and opened a hazel eye, and smiled at him.

"Morning handsome" She murmured. "What time is it?"

"H-handsome?" Drake managed. Ultear and Elise began to stir as well.

"mmmm, no wonder I was so comfortable" Elise said. "I was in the arms of an angel"

"Ahh..." Damien stuttered.

"You would think your chest wouldn't be comfortable as it's soooo hard" Ul whispered, smiling at Simon. "But it's amazing."

"Um..." Simon said. Ultear looked over at Nashi, and glowered, grabbing onto Simon's neck, practically wrapping herself around him.

"You'd better stay away from Simon, love rival" She growled. "He's mine." Nashi chuckled, getting on all ours in front of Drake, their faces only inches away.

"I kissed you" She whispered, and Drake wanted to throw up. "You tasted just like sour candy, it was incredible..." She bit her lip and Drake stuttered horribly.

"I-I uh-uh... d-don't t-think I'm..."

"Oh don't toy with me, you were dying for one a few hours ago" Before Drake could stand up, Damien did so, breaking Elise off of him.

"We need to go guys..." He said in a deadly serious tone. "NOW" Drake agreed, and stood up quickly, knocking Nashi back.

"Guys," Simon said, holding his hands up over his head, Ultear wrapped around his whole body. "Help?" Drake grabbed Ul by the shoulders and ripped her off, much to the girls discontent.

"No, Simon is mine, Drake! MINE!"

"I don't doubt you" Drake muttered as Simon stood up, and Nashi approached Drake again.

"Come _ooonnnn _Drake" She drawled, strutting towards him. "You know you want me"

"Uhhh..." Damien grabbed Drake by the collar of his coat, and raged him away.

"Come on, loverboy" He hissed. "We gotta go." Drake nodded, and as soon as Ultear yelling about love rivals and Nashi and Elise trying to take Simon away from her, they broke into a sprint.

"This is so weird!" Simon hissed.

"Come back, Simon-sama!"

"Gah!"

**And, yes, that's the end. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I decided I wanted to have the girls have the same problem, but not have the guys solve it. Can we get 100 reviews? Leave one if you enjoyed!**


	41. The King

** You guys are awesome! 100 reviews has been reached! And, wow, big surprise, new arcs starts now! Haha enjoy!**

Nashi didn't know if she was happy to be back in the general area of Phantom Dove, but she didn't voice her complaints to any of her teammates, she didn't want them to know she was on edge. She could tell that Drake was being edgy as well, and Elise was just kind of muttering to herself and saying she felt like she'd been here. The job itself was relatively simple, mind you. A little girl had run off from Watercliff town and they went to find her. Nashi argued something fierce that she didn't want to return to the area, but everyone said it was fine, and she trusted her friends, so she went. The money was pretty good for such a small town, anyway.

"Anyone see anything?" Nashi heard Simon call off to her left.

"Nah," She heard Drake reply somewhere to her right. "Are we even sure this girls still out here?"

"She only went missing a few days ago." Ul replied somewhere off in front of Nashi. "Keep looking" Nashi could understand the groups discomfort at being around each the whole charm spell incident a few days ago, the sexual tension was a bit too much to bear. Nashi sighed as she looked around a bush and sighed. This little girl sure was elusive if she was around her somewhere. Nashi knew she was one to talk about people surviving ridiculous odds, seeing as she had, but this was a little girl they were talking about here. Nashi wasn't sure she had the means to find a way to survive for longer than a few days, and that mark had come and gone. Nashi sighed as she turned on her heel and walked back through the bush towards her friends, who were already standing around waiting.

"Nothing?" Elise asked. Nashi shook her head.

"I couldn't find anything" She replied. Damien shook his head and growled.

"This is ridiculous." He said angrily. "Why the hell are we out here looking for a little girl who could be dead?"

"So you want to abandon the job just because you're bored?" Ultear demanded. "Seriously, if this girls is alive or dead, I think our little group of all people have a duty to find her."

"Easy Ul" Drake grumbled. "Damien has a point, this girl could be dead or long gone. Shit, how do we even know she's not run off somewhere else?"

"You guys are ridiculous" Ultear growled. "We have to find her!If you guys are big enough pussies to want to leave then..."

"Pussies!?" Nashi demanded. "Pardon Ul, but did you almost lose your life in this fucking forest? So excuse me I'm more than a little excited to jump at a chance to get out of here"

"Oh just run that river dry, won't you?!" Ultear shouted. "You're fine, Drake is fine, Elise is fine!"

"Of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?!" Elise growled.

"How about we lock you up in a cell and not feed you for a month Ul?!" Drake shouted, uncrossing his arms and glaring at her. "I don't think you'd want to see that cell again, would you?!"

"Why did Ul say I was fine?!" Elise interrupted angrily. Nashi watched as a argument exploded within the group, Drake and Ultear were yelling at each other, and Damien and Elise were having a shouting contest. Nashi decided to join in and yell at Ultear.

"WILL ALL OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!?" Simon shouted angrily, his rage rolling off of him in waves. Simon could be just as scary as his mother when he got like this. "We're all tense because of the charm spell thing, I got it. Arguing and shouting isn't going to fix that we all fell in love against our will, and the fact that we're sitting here and screaming at each other about this while this little girl is alone and probably dying IF NOT already dead, is completely childish!"

"A-aye sir!" Everyone shouted, falling in line.

"Now, split up and look around. Nashi, go with Damien over there. Ul, go with Drake over that way. Elise, you're with me. Get going before I tear you all another new one" Nashi practically ran to her assigned area, Damien hot on her heels. When they were a fair distance away, Damien sighed.

"Mavis, he's as bad as Erza" He muttered. Nashi nodded silently.

"We were being pretty childish though" Nashi said, and Damien chuckled.

"I can't believe we were fighting about that charm spell bullshit. I mean, I know it's awkward cause were all friends and everything, but I didn't know it was that bad."

"Simon almost seduced Ul, I kissed Drake, and you and Elise were flirting up a storm" Nashi giggled at Damien's discomfort. "I think we needed to let up a little steam."

"Yeah, true" Nashi and Damien were silent as they searched, but Simon's little tirade didn't change the fact that they couldn't find anything. Nashi could hear Damien muttering insults directed at anyone, even herself, but she didn't call him out on it. She, as with everyone else, was way to stressed out to deal with this right now. Taking the job and being alone in the forest, had them all on edge, Nashi and Drake more so. "Anything?" Damien called.

"No," Nashi said, standing up. "Not a thing" Damien was about to shout back at someone else when he was interrupted by a bright blue light from the sky. Nashi looked up curiously, and saw a giant blue, what looked like a hole, in the sky, sending off waves of blue energy. Before Nashi could ask what the hell was going on, She saw her body beginning to glow, and she began to levitate into the air, Damien as well.

"What the fuck?!" Damien shouted, doing his best to look and sound angry while floating upside down floating into the sky. "What the hell is happening?!"

"Let me down!" Nashi turned to find Drake and Ultear getting lifted up as well. Ultear was the one shouting.

"This is bullshit!" Elise shouted from Nashi's left.

"Why does this shit always happen to us?!" Drake demanded as Nashi's vision faded.

* * *

When Nashi woke up, she was lying on a stone cold floor. She yawned and sat up, looking around. She couldn't tell where she was, but she didn't like it. When looked around, and saw a few statues around the room, albeit they looked rather old and had several cracks.

"Hello?" She called out, looking around, rubbing her eyes. "Anyone? Guys?"

"Nashi? That you?" Nashi looked around. "Nashi, over here!" Nashi turned and found Damien ten feet from her.

"Where are we?"

"Don't know. We got sucked into that weird blue hole in the sky and bam! I wake up here. You okay?"

"Yeah. What do we do?"

"I don't know, but the door over there is locked." Nashi followed Damien's finger and saw the huge metal doors behind them "We could probably..." Damien was cut off by the huge doors opening, and at least 2 dozen armed men rushed in.

"In the name of the Royal Edolas Army, surrender immediatedly!"

"Who?" Damien asked, standing up, Nashi did as well. "Edolas?"

"Surrender, immediately!" Damien chuckled.

"Well, how about we not, and...well, fuck it." Damien raised his hand, obviously attempting a takeover. Nothing happened. Damien stared at his hand angrily, severely confused, and tried again. and again, and again. "What the fuck! Nothings happening!" Nashi raised her fist and attempted to light it on fire, but nothing happened for her either.

"Is our magic negated?" She demanded. The armed men advanced, and she paled. "Uhhh...we come in peace?"

* * *

The army men were anything but gentle. They pushed and pulled and whatever they felt like doing as they were forced down a hallway. One of them almost tripped her, and she sent them a venomous look. They were pushed through a pair of gilded doors, and they stopped.

"Terribly sorry for the interruption, your highness" The squad leader spoke. "But we've apprehended intruders in the Anima room."

"Have you now?" Nashi knew the voice, but couldn't place it. She waited with bated breath as a guard forced her too look up by grabbing her chin.

"Easy" Damien hissed. Nashi looked up towards the thrones, but she couldn't see anything past the feet of the thrones. She gulped.

"Your highness, that face..." A female voice spoke up. "She's..."

"I know, I know" The king replied. "Where did you find them again?"

"The Anima room, your Highness" Silence befell the throne room. Nashi waited until the king sighed.

"Let them go and leave us" He ordered.

"W-what, your Grace?"

"Leave us!"

"Y-yes sir! Right away!" The squad left and the king sighed.

"Terribly sorry," The King spoke. "I didn't realize who you were"

"Damn right you didn't!" Damien shouted. "If you did you wouldn't fuck with us!"

"Damien!"

"I mean what the fuck man! You could've at least put a heater in that fucking room!"

"Damien! You realize this is the king, right?"

"And?" Nashi was interrupted by the king chuckling.

"You're just like Laxus" He said. "Although of all people he'd have a child with, Mira was my last guess."

"How the hell do you know my parents!" Damien demanded.

"And you, girl" he said. "Natsu and Lucy?"

"huh?" Nashi asked.

"Your parents. Natsu is your father, Lucy is your mother, correct?"

"C-correct..."

"Thought so. Natsu you dog..." Nashi was severely confused until the queen herself coughed.

"Your Highness?" She asked, and Nashi was sure she'd heard that voice before.

"Right right, I know" He sighed, and began to step down, and Nashi felt his eyes widen.

"Jellal?!" She asked, Damien making a confused sound as well. Jellal chuckled.

"I assumed you'd recognize me by my Earthland counterpart" He said. "But I think you guys would better recognize me by the name thrown around Fairy Tail"

"W-which is...?" Nashi asked. Jellal smiled.

"Ever heard of Mystogan?"

**And,scene! Hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review!**


	42. Edolas Fairy Tail

"Ever heard of Mystogan?" Nashi rolled through a list of memories and names in an attempt to place his name too a story, but couldn't. She was sure she'd heard his name somewhere, but she couldn't do it. She looked at Damien hopefully, but he didn't seem anymore aware then she was.

"Sorry, can't place it" Nashi replied, and he almost fell off of the stairs.

"Seriously?" He demanded. "Do they talk about me over there?"

"Well recently, no" Damien replied. " I swear I've heard your name somewhere before though."

"Well, I was...no, am a member of Fairy Tail" He told them. "I'm surprised your parents haven't told you the story about Edolas" There was that name again, Nashi was sure she'd heard it. She, however, had been told all the stories a thousand different ways, so she could never keep one thing about a story straight. She could've sworn Zancrow was a member of Tartarus for longest time before someone corrected her.

"Remind us?" Nashi asked.

"The whole of Magnolia was swallowed up by the Anima," Mystogan replied. "I helped them get here to Edolas, and I stayed to be king" Nashi could remember that story now. That crazy one with all the doubles of people that were the opposite of how they really were. Nashi nodded, and Mystogan sighed. "I thought that the Anima business was over, but apparently it isn't."

"Quick question," Damien said. "Why can't we use our magic here? I tried beating your soldiers up and nothing happened."

"Because you are mages of Earthland" Mystogan replied. "Your magic cannot be used here without the consumption of X-balls. Speaking of which..." Mystogan dug out a small vial containing red balls, poured two out, and threw them and Nashi and Damien. "Eat those, you'll be able to use magic then" Nashi cast Damien a wary glance, and he nodded. Nashi out the ball in her mouth, and she realized it tasted like nothing. She swallowed it and felt her body warm up. A small fire lit and danced in her open palm, and she grinned, feeling much more comfortable.

"Wait," Nashi said. "If you're Edolas Jellal and you're the king, then does that mean...?" Nashi trailed off as she looked up towards the pair of feet yet to descend from the thrones. She chuckled.

"Yes, that means exactly what you're implying" She stepped down from the thrones, and Erza came into view.

"My head hurts" Damien muttered. Nashi couldn't help but agree. The woman looked and sounded like Erza, but it wasn't her all at the same time. Nashi's head spun at the knowledge.

"What are we going to do with them, Jellal?" Edo-Erza asked. "We can't just have mages of Earthland running around, it'll cause a panic"

"I think you may already," Damien replied. "There were four others who got sucked over here, but they weren't with Nashi and I in the Anima room." Mystogan sighed.

"I think the best course of action would be too deliver them to our Fairy Tail" Before Nashi could speak up, Erza did.

"Are you sure that's wise? Seeing their Edolas counterparts...may not be a good thing" Nashi wasn't sure if that meant there was another her running around over her, but she got to excited.

"I will see them there personally" Mystogan said. "They may listen with the word from their king, they will have to listen"

"You ain't my king, pal" Damien said.

* * *

Nashi watched as people carved a path and knelt down as Mystogan walked through the streets. She could hear them whispering.

"Isn't that the Dragion kid?" One asked.

"With Mira's kid too?"

"What did they do?"

"Why are they with the King himself?"

"Today has been weird. First a hole opens in the sky and now this..."

"You don't think they're Earthland mages, do you?"

"Impossible, the Anima can't open without magic in Edolas, and there hasn't been for over twenty years!"

"Hey, Nashi" Nashi looked over to find Damien watching her carefully. "What do you make of all this?" Nashi sighed as Mystogan rounded a corner and a green building came into view.

"I don't know" She finally said. "I mean, where else would've we've been sent?"

"I think a better question would be, how do we get back?" Nashi had to agree with him there, she really wanted to get back. As interesting as Edolas sounded, the prospect of getting back was more important.

Well, that and she'd gone missing, again.

"This place may be a shock to you guys" Mystogan spoke up, interrupting Nashi's train of thought. "Let me do the talking and explain everything. I'm sure they'll understand... I'm just not sure the other you's will."

"Oh, this is kind of exciting!" Damien said. "I can't wait to see the other me!"

"If he's the opposite of you, he might be a nice guy" Nashi joked, getting her a venomous glare from Damien and a chuckle from Mystogan.

"How are things in Earthland, anyway?" Mystogan asked suddenly. "Is Makarov and everyone doing well?" Damien and Nashi shared a look.

"Um...Mystogan...can we call you Jellal?" Damien asked.

"If you want, I don't care" He replied, turning to face them. Nashi gulped.

"Well... uh... you see..."

"...Makarov's dead, isn't he?" Mystogan's blatant tone shook Nashi up a bit. Mystogan sighed at their silence. "I assumed as much. It has been almost thirty years, I had hoped it was otherwise... Is...Laxus in charge now?" Nashi nodded, and Mystogan sighed. "It must be hell then. I'm sorry if he causes a lot of trouble."

"What?" Was all Damien managed, Nashi feeling just as confused.

"Before I left, Laxus was all about controlling the guild and kicking everyone out." Mystogan replied. "Is he different now?"

"Yeah, Gramps is pretty chill" Nashi replied. "I never really got to know Makarov all that well, but Laxus is a nice guy" Mystogan nodded in silence, ending the conversation there. "So...Edolas Fairy Tail?" Mystogan nodded and did his best to perk up.

"Right, of course, I'm wasting time." He began walking up the steps towards the doors. "Come on then, we haven't got all day you know" Nashi and Damien trailed up the stairs after him and he pushed the doors open. Nashi didn't look past Mystogan's towering frame, but she could hear people gasping and see them kneeling.

"Y-your Highness!" A familiar voice shouted. "W-what are you... what can we...?"

"Stand, Lucy" Mystogan spoke.

"H-how did you know my name, Your Grace?"

"Doesn't matter, we have pressing matter to discuss." Mystogan stepped out of the way, and he gave Nashi and Damien the front row seat to everyone staring at them in shock. Nashi found herself staring at her mother, but she was slightly different. She had shorter hair, and a side pony tail

That and the growing look of anger on her face.

"W-what did you do, Nashi?" She demanded, and Nashi sweat dropped.

"Nothing, honest!"

"Damien, what happened?" Mira demanded from the crowd, and Damien chuckled.

"Well, do you want the story before or after I got arrested?" Nashi suppressed a giggle as Mira fumed. Mystogan coughed, regaining the attention of the guild.

"As I said, pressing matters" he said. "These, however, are not your children"

"With all due respect, your Highness" Lucy said. "I think I know my daughter when I see her" Mystogan sighed.

"Nashi, if you would" Nashi figured he wanted her to prove it to Lucy, so she lit er entire body on fire and the whole guild jumped back.

"Someone get some water!"

"Nashi's on fire!"

"Uh, you idiots!" Everyone turned back to Mystogan as he shouted angrily. "That isn't your Nashi! it's Earthland's Nashi!"Everyone turned back with a gasp as Nashi extinguished herself. "She was sent here by a mysterious force, and while I have it investigated, she and Damien will be staying here, alright?" Nashi could tell it wasn't a question, he was informing them. Lucy smiled weakly.

"A-as you wish, your Highness!" Mystogan nodded, turning back to Nashi and Damien.

"If you two ever find out anything about where your friends are or what sent you here, do not hesitate to come to the palace, my door is always open"

"Got it, your Highness" Nashi said.

"Can do Jelly!" Damien said saluting, and Mystogan smiled weakly.

"I'll take my leave then" He turned on his heel and left, leaving Nashi and Damien standing there feel uncomfortable.

"So..." Damien said, breaking the silence. "Any one know any good jokes?" Nashi face palmed.

"We won't be any trouble, really" Nashi said. "We'll be looking for our friends most of the time, so..."

"Friends, huh?" A voice demanded. "Who are they?" Nashi turned to find a familiar female standing there, and Nashi felt like she had vertigo. Edo-Ultear looked like Nashi's Ul, but she was wearing way less clothes and sounded way bitchier. Damien coughed something that sounded like slut, and Nashi paled.

"Well, Earthland you" She said weakly, and Edo-Ul laughed.

"We're friends in Earthland? Wow, how fucked is it over there?!" Nashi managed a weak chuckle.

"Ultear, be nice" Edo-Gray said.

"Shut up, pops!"

"Love you too, dearie!" Before Nashi could comment on that, a white haired figure walked up to them, and Nashi's eyes widened in shock as she glanced between Damien and him.

"Mavis, that's creepy" She said weakly as the two Damien's scanned each other warily.

"You're supposed to be me?" They both said at the same time. "Hey, don't copy me! Stop it! Uh, you're the worst" Nashi's Damien turned to her. "Tell this dope I'm better than he is." Nashi was about to say something when Edo-Damien laughed.

"You better than me? Impossible." All it took was Damien changing into his demon form the scare the other off. Nashi sighed.

"Did you have to make him piss himself?"

"I pissed myself?! Mavis, Edolas me is a wuss" Nashi turned and noticed Edo-Elise hiding behind her mother, and Nashi smiled and waved to her.

"Hey, Elise!" Nashi said with a grin, and Elise just shied away, confusing Nashi profusely.

* * *

Nashi spent the majority of her afternoon meeting and greeting everyone from Edolas, and she was about a difference away from snapping and lighting someone or something on fire. She sighed as Damien walked over too her and took the set next to her.

"This place is weird." He complained.

"I know," Nashi replied. "Ul's a flirty, bitchy exhibitionist. Elise is shy and introverted, you're a wuss, Drake and I are nowhere to be found, and I'm one comment about my lack of cover on my upper body away from punching someone in the face." Damien chuckled.

"Well, you do keep that vest unzipped most of the time, and you don't seem to like wearing any other shirts."

"Get over here and let me punch you, you bastard" Nashi and Damien spent the next 5 minutes wrestling each other on the table, Nashi intent on punching him and Damien covering himself. They were interrupted by the door opening.

"Oh!" She heard her mother say. "There you guys are!" Nashi turned and nearly threw up. Edo-Nashi stood in the doorway with a shit eating grin plastered on her face, and a blonde girl stood next to her, making Nashi feel even sicker. Damien saw it too, and Nashi looked over at him worriedly.

"Damien...That's..."

"What the fuck..." They remained silent as Edo-Lucy explained the situation. Nashi saw her Edolas counterpart look over and her eye widen as they landed on her, and Nashi gave a sheepish wave. "Nashi... that girl with you... it's...!"

"I know, I know" Nashi hissed. "I recognize her" Nashi watched as the two girls approached them and Edo-Nashi smiled weakly.

"So...you're me?" She asked. Nashi nodded weakly. The blonde girl smiled.

"So does that mean your my Earthland big brother?" She asked Damien, who looked on the verge of tears. Nashi had never seen him so torn up.

"Steph...Stephanie..."

**Heh, another cliffy. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	43. Little Surprise

Nashi had seen Damien a lot of different ways since they had become friends. Distraught, angry, unhappy, gleeful, sad, the list went on and on. This was an all new level of sadness, however. It was clear Damien was going his best to hid in his tears as he scanned his baby sisters face, the grown up face he'd never gotten to see. Nashi watched as he put his head in his hands, taking deep, shaky breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. Nashi still remembered the first time she learned Stephanie was dead. The guild was so unhappy for so long, Nashi sometimes wondered if that was when her own depression began. Mira hadn't stopped crying for months, and Master Laxus had practically disappeared. Damien, however, was the worst off. He was never the same after that day he lost control.

"Damien..." Nashi's voice cracked as she spoke his name, but the man next to her didn't respond. He rocked himself back and forth slowly, doing his best not to break down and sob. "Damien...look at me" Damien took a deep breath, and cocked his head slightly to look at her, and Nashi almost cried looking him in the eyes. The most guilty, terribly sad look stared back at her, and it took everything Nashi had not to break down with him. "...Are you okay...?" Damien responded by placing his hands behind his head and continuing to rock himself.

"Uh, is he okay?" Edo-Nashi asked, and Nashi couldn't find her voice to respond. Damien stood up abruptly, his eyes obscured by his hair.

"I need some air" He spoke hoarsely, and when no one said a word, he strode out of the guild, and Nashi took a deep breath, wiping her eyes in a vain attempt to stop the stream of tears. She looked up at Ed-Nashi and Steph.

"Sorry about him" She whimpered. "He's not good with sadness"

"Why was he so sad?" Steph asked, and a fresh wave of sadness washed over Nashi as she remembered the day she'd learned what happened.

* * *

_Nashi didn't want to wear that stupid black dress, but her mother made her._

_"Why do I have to wear this?" Nashi pouted angrily, no more than five years old. Her mother sniffled._

_"Because it's what you do when someone dies" She replied quietly, and Nashi remembered a wave of sadness washing over her. "Nashi...you need to understand something"_

_"Yes Mommy?"_

_"Stephanie...won't be coming to the guild anymore"_

_"Why not?"_

_"Because she's gone where your grandfather is" Her mother whispered, wiping the tears from her eyes. "She's gone" Nashi remembered crying._

_"Steph is...dead?"_

_"Oh Nashi I'm so sorry..." Nashi remembered collapsing into her mothers grasp, crying and telling her too bring her back. "Damien...don't try and talk to Damien, okay?"_

_"Why?"_

_"Just...don't. He's too upset"_

_"But it wasn't his fault! It was that thing that took control of him!"_

_"Nashi he won't listen too that"_

_"Why not?"_

_"When someone thinks it's their fault they don't like to listen..."_

* * *

Nashi was brought back to reality when she registered Edo-Nashi waving a hand in front of her vision.

"Hello? Earth to me? Come in me?" Nashi shook her head.

"Sorry! I was just...thinking" Nashi cast another glance at Steph, and quickly looked away to avoid crying. She couldn't do this. She stood abruptly, almost brought back down by the weakness in her own legs. "I should go and find Damien, I'll be back." before either girl could speak up, Nashi pushed past them and walked away from the guild, doing her best to clear her head. She looked around frantically, calling for the takeover mage. She looked up and saw him on a higher ridge overlooking the city, so she climbed up the buildings and jumped towards him, landing gracefully next to him on the railing.

"What the score, judge?" She asked, attempting to break the silence. Damien didn't even acknowledge her presence, he just continued to stare out into the city. Nashi sat down on the railing next to him and remained quiet, knowing he wanted his silence. She sat there contemplating what she was going to say, but she couldn't find anything.

"I told her I'd be there when she got married" He suddenly spoke up. Nashi looked over in surprise.

"What?"

"Her wedding. I'd told her even if I was mid job, I would come her to be there" He wiped his eyes again. "It's my fault I lied."

"It isn't your fault. It's... that things fault"

"The demon?" Nashi nodded, and Damien chuckled darkly. "We all have a demon inside Nashi, it's our responsibility what it does when we let it out."

"Damien, blaming yourself is like me blaming my dad he was never there while I was growing up, even when he had no idea I existed." Damien snorted.

"From what Drake, Elise, and Ul have told me, that's a pretty roundabout thing to say Kiddo" He replied, resting his head on his hand. "They told me you always looked for a way to blame him." Nashi nodded quietly and looked off into the city, wondering what she could day.

"You know what?" Nashi asked. "I told myself if my father ever came home, I wasn't going to forgive him. I told myself I'd push him away and not let him in, and look where that got me"

"Amazing Dragon Slaying abilities and and amazing figure" Nashi punched him in the shoulder.

"Shut up"

"What was your point?"

"My point was I tried to convince myself of something, and I failed as soon as I was given the chance."

"Ah, I see" Damien remained quiet, and Nashi sighed. "You know, I've always known my parents blamed me, even if they won't tell me."

"Don't say that" Nashi scolded. "Why would your parents believe that?"

"If you lost your little girl and you had an easy blame, would you blame it?"

"Well..."

"Exactly." Nashi remained quiet, and took a deep breath. She wished she could find a way to comfort her only companion in this strange new world, but no words came. Nashi's childhood troubles seemed so trivial compared to what Damien had gone through.

"We should be looking for the others" Nashi suddenly spoke up. "We were lucky we had a crash course in this place, Mavis knows where they landed."

"Yeah," More silence. "Hey."

"Yeah?" Nashi turned to him, and he put on a brave smile, putting his hand on her head.

"Thanks for the pep talk, I'm better now"

"No, you're not"

"Damn ,you got me."

* * *

Nashi and Drake reappeared at the guild, and Nashi felt him tense up almost immediatedly. She could see why, the reason was right in front of them, standing around talking to Edo-Nashi.

"Oh, there I am" Edo-Nashi said, turning to face them.

"Here I am!" Nashi said with false enthusiasm. She was really only focused on monitoring Damien at the moment, and he didn't look much better than before, only now he had what some might call control over his emotions.

"Did you find Oniichan easy enough?" Steph asked kindly, and Nashi cast a wary glance at Damien, who had his fists clenched. She was plenty surprised when he looked up with a huge fake smile on his face.

"Nah, I'm pretty elusive" Damien bragged, making Steph chuckle. Edo-Nashi coughed.

"Well, anyway, can I talk to you for a sec, Earth-Nashi?"

"Uhhh..." Nashi looked over at Damien ,sending him a mental question if he was okay with that. He shrugged, but Nashi could see the huge amount of displeasure in his eyes. "Sure." Edo-Nashi led her away from Steph and Damien, and smiled.

"It's good to meet me" She said, smiling quizzically.

"Me too, I think" Nashi replied.

"I just wanted to ask about Damien. He kinda...Broke down" Nashi nodded and sat there quietly, thinking about what to say.

"Alright, just promise you won't say a word." She zipped her lips up, and Nashi sighed. "In Earthland...Steph's dead" Nashi saw her counterpart's eyes widen in shock.

"...what?" Nashi sighed as she looked down and played with her hands, doing anything she could not to look herself in the eyes.

"Dead" Nashi repeated. "Steph is dead" Edo-Nashi leaned back and blew her bangs out of her face (A problem Nashi barely ever had.), and turned to her again.

"What happened?"

"Damien killed her"

"Eh?!"

"Well, I mean that in the loosest sense possible" Nashi continued, watching her counterpart look terrified. "Damien uses takeover magic, which means he takes on the forms of demons."

"Alright?"

"Once, he tried to use a really powerful one and...failed, let's go with that"

"Failed?"

"He went crazy, lost control, destroyed town, and killed Steph in a fit of rage." Edo-Nashi was silent for a minute, and Nashi could understand way.

"Wow. No wonder he needed some air. The guilt must be eating him alive"

"You have no idea" Both Nashi's sat quietly, contemplating what they should say next. "Well, is that all?" Edo-Nashi shook her head.

"I wanted to ask about your life" She replied, "What's it like? Just curious" With that, Nashi launched into a novelized explanation of her life, from her childhood to Phantom Dove. Edo-Nashi whistled. "Damn, you've seen some shit" She said. "Hey, how come the only person you named was our parents and Damien?" Nashi shrugged.

"Not trying to offend anyone over here, I guess" She said. "I don't know"

"Well, who are your friends?"

"Drake, Ul, Elise, Simon, Damien." Nashi listed off, and watched as Edo-Nashi's face contorted with confusion.

"Drake?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"He's your friend?"

"Best friend." Nashi said, grinning slightly at the thought of her best friend. "I tell him everything." Edo-Nashi shook her head in confusion.

"Well, that's where we differ, I guess"

"Why?"

"Not only did you list Ultear as a friend, but you said Drake, _Drake, _Was your best friend. I hate him" The though of her not being Drake's friend confused her.

"Why?"

"He's the reason I have so few friends, he's a fucking dick. All he does is bully me and tell me I'm worthless." Nashi's eyes widened.

"Seriously? He was the only one that defended me from bullies back in Earthland" They stared at each other before Ed-Nashi chuckled.

"Your Drake sounds like a Prince fucking Charming compared to mine" She said. "Out of curiosity, who bullied you?" Nashi balled her fists, getting angry just thinking about him.

"He's a total asshole" Nashi whispered. "Goes by the name of Rocky" Nashi ignored Edo-Nashi's look of shock. "The most insufferable, arrogant..."

"Uh, Nashi..."

"Asinine, retarded, rude, boorish, scumbag..."

"Nashi..."

"I mean, what compels you to make me want to kill myself?!"

"Nashi..."

"I almost killed that fucker, Edo-Me, I swear..."

"Nashi!" Nashi took notice of Edo-Nashi's complaining, and turned to look at her.

"What?" Edo-Nashi played with her hands uncomfortably.

"Uh, I think I should tell you something..."

"Yeah?" Before Edo-Nashi could say a word, the doors to the guild opened, and Nashi turned, only to clench her fists. Rock strode in, although the cocky look he usually donned was all too absent. _Calm down Nashi, this is Edo-Rocky, he's totally the opposite of what you know him to be... _He turned, caught Edo-Nashi's look, and smiled.

"Nashi, there you are!" He spoke up. Nashi hid her face so that he wouldn't ask, and heard him approaching.

"Rocky wait, before you..." Edo-Nashi was suspiciously cut off, and Nashi's curiosity got the better of her and she looked up, immediatedly wishing she hadn't.

They were kissing.

Edo-Nashi and Rocky were _KISSING._

Nashi felt like throwing up.

Correction, she did throw up, all over the floor, causing them to break apart.

"Why are there two of you Nashi!?" Rocky demanded. Nashi managed too climb to his feet and grab him by his shirt.

"You...fucker" Before he could say a word, Nashi socked him in the mouth, sending him flying into the wall.

"What the fuck?!" Edo-Nashi shouted, running to her boyfriends side. Nashi sighed as Damien's laughter broke out around the guild.

"Nice, Nashi, nice"

**He he, I'm evil. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	44. Prince of Edolas

Once Nashi had managed to calm down a bit Damien decided to take her out her dinner to get her mind off of it. Nashi had lied through her teeth though. She couldn't stop thinking about how elated Edo-Nashi had been during that kiss. That was not her, that was for sure. Nashi sighed and fixed her scarf slightly, doing her best not to scream. Damien rubbed his chin.

"Well, what do you want to eat?" Damien asked, and Nashi was tempted to ignore him. She knew Damien was as, if not more, troubled then her at the moment, and that he was doing his best not to think about it all the time as well. Nashi shrugged.

"Whatever is fine. Mavis, I can't believe Edo-Me..."

"Me either..."

"I mean of all people, why him? What could she see in him?"

"Beats me. Hey, do you think that jewel is even legal tender here? Because if not, we may be in trouble"

"I mean, our Rocky I can't stand,"

"Probably explains the whole parallel universe thing, then. Now, stop thinking about it and help me figure out where we're eating" Nashi sighed.

"How can you possibly be thinking about food right now? We're trapped in a another universe, your sister is alive, and I'm dating Rocky and you think this is okay?"

"I'm hungry, that's all"

"Well, can we eat after my stomach stops turning?"

"No, I'm hungry now. Besides, it's not like you kissed Rocky, Edo-Nashi did"

"I know, but..."

* * *

After arguing with a waiter for twenty minutes about jewel and paying with them Nashi dragged Damien away from the restaurant before he could get any angrier.

"This stuff must be collectible or something!" Damien shouted, throwing at least a few thousand worth of jewel at the waiter as he followed them out. "Take it, I'm fucking starving!"

"Damien, enough!" Nashi shouted, turning to face the older takeover mage. "We'll find somewhere else!" Damien growled and began outing when his face contorted in confusion.

"Hey," He said. "What the hell is that?" Nashi turned to find a carriage waiting for them at the curb, the driver stepping down and bowing at them.

"I presume you are Nashi Dragneel and Damien Dreyar?" He asked, and Nashi exchanged a look with Damien.

"Who's asking?" Nashi demanded.

"The king requests your presence, m'lady." He replied. "I have been tasked with escorting you there. Shall we leave?" Nashi gulped and stared at the carriage in fear.

"Can we walk?" Nashi asked weakly, and the man shook his head. "I'm um... not great with vehicles." The man chuckled.

"Motion sickness, m'lady?" He asked, and Nashi nodded. "I shall drive slowly then." Nashi smiled weakly, knowing full well that the slowness of the driving wouldn't help her in the slightest. She climbed in after Damien and as soon as the horses began to trot, vertigo overtook Nashi and she groaned.

"You really have to work on this" Damien hissed.

"There isn't anything to work on!" Nashi replied as best she could. "It's a side effect of my magic!"

"Well that sucks"

"Really?!" Nashi laid back as best she could and did her best not to throw up, seeing as that would make it the second time she'd done it that day. Nashi didn't know how far the castle was from the restaurant they'd been picked up from. She hoped, for her own sake, that it wasn't far. Nashi turned to look out the window, doing her best to resist the urge to jump out the window. The carriage turned, and Nashi did as well, landing on Damien's shoulder.

"If you puke on me" He growled. "I swear on Mavis' grave I'll kill you" Nashi groaned weakly in response. "My dad told me about something that helps, put your head in my lap" Doing as she was instructed, Nashi felt Damien's hand rubbing a circle on her back, and she felt the feeling of sickness slowly fading. "Better?" Nashi didn't reply, just enjoying the feeling of the ground moving under her without wanting to blow chunks. She stayed there until Damien whistled. "Mavis. Nashi, look at that." Nashi lifted her head from his lap and looked out the window, taking a sharp breath at the beauty before her. The whole Castle was lit up.

"Wow" She said. "It's so beautiful" Damien nodded as they passed through the front gates and Nashi jumped out of the carriage before she could feel sick again. Before she could say any more, she was approached by a man with black and white hair.

"Hello!" He said cheerfully. "My name is Macbeth, one of His Highness' advisors, and I will escort you too dinner, alright?" Nashi swore she recognized Macbeth, but she couldn't place him and she nodded. As she and Damien followed him through the castle, he spoke joyfully about the castle's history and how Edolas was founded, none of which Nashi actually listened too. "You know many advisors are attending this dinner, but they are all close friends too the king, you'll be just fine!"

"You sure are happy" Damien muttered. Macbeth laughed.

"Why would I spend my days being depressing?" He asked. "I simply wish to spread joy to others!" Damien nodded quietly, and they continued on their merry way. When they finally reached the dining hall, Nashi saw several other advisors around the table.

"Ah, the guests of the hour!" Mystogan shouted from the end of the table. "Come, sit, we have much to discuss" Nashi and Damien sat on one side of the table, waiting for Mystogan to say more. "Now, before we go any further, I must introduce you all. This is Richard, the finest financial advisor in the kingdom" The skinny man with orange hair laughed.

"You flatter me, your Highness" Nashi noticed the rather strange roundness to his face, and it kind of creeped her out. "Nice to meet you."

"This is Sawyer, he's in charge of all petty inner castle activities."

"You mean when the rumors of sexy sounds from his majesty's chambers must be dispelled, M'lord?" Sawyer asked with a crude grin.

"Ah, yes, that" Mystogan said, as he and Queen Erza both rubbed theirs necks in silence. "This is Ultear, my right hand ma- woman" Ultear shot Mystogan a look as Nashi did so to Damien, both receiving ends promptly ignoring the girls.

"Pleasure" Ultear purred, and she looked exactly how Meredy always described her.

"And.. what, where are Erik and Meredy?" Mystogan asked, looking around, as if just now noticing there absence.

"I believe you sent them after the Prince, M'lord" Sawyer replied, coughing. Erza sighed.

"Why must he always get into trouble?" She asked. "Sorano seems to be missing as well"

"I believe she said she had important matters to attend too" Ultear replied. "Sorano must not be able to make it."

"Anyway, eat!" Mystogan shouted happily. "We will discuss what we will do after you've eaten." Nashi was more than happy to oblige, digging into the feast that had been laid out before her. She finished off three plates of food before Mystogan spoke up. "Now, how about you two tell us what happened, so we can get an idea about it?"

"Well, we were on a job" Damien replied. "When this hole opens in the sky, and next thing I know, I'm getting arrested by the douche bag police" The advisors chuckled. "We honestly have no idea" Mystogan nodded.

"Anima have been opening randomly for a long time" He said quietly. "This is the first time human beings have been sent through. And you say there are more of you?"

"Yes, four others" Nashi replied, "We don't know where they are, though"

"It is possible upon entry," Richard said. "That you were all separated."

"I think that may be exactly what happened," Macbeth said flatly. "If there friends were gone when they awoke, I think it's obvious they were separated" Both men glared at each other before huffing and looking away.

"It would be best to look around for them as soon as possible" Ultear said, breaking the silence. "Before their friends try to find a way out."

"And, without X-balls, they are defenseless" Erza agreed. Nashi hadn't thought of that. "We must make haste." Mystogan nodded.

"Alright," he said, "Tomorrow, Nashi and Damien will-" Mystogan was interrupted by the doors flying open, and a familiar scarlet haired man strode wore regal robes like his parents, and yet he wore an all too unfriendly scowl. Nashi stood in surprise.

"Simon?!" Her friend turned to her, his glare darkening.

"How dare a peasant speak too the Prince of Edolas like she is on a first name basis with me" He growled, and Nashi almost slapped herself. Edo-Simon was the Prince of Edolas, how had she not seen that? Mystogan growled.

"Simon, do not speak to her as if she is one of the civilians." He told his son. "She is a mage of Earthland, and a friend. She, with my permission, ranks only just below you in authority." Simon growled angrily and sat down next to his father as two others strode in. One was Meredy, she was recognizable. The other looked strikingly like Drake, and Nashi realized it was his father, Erik.

"Terribly sorry for the interruption, your Highness" Meredy spoke, a small smirk on her face. "It would appear his royal pain in the ass is on his royal period"

"Cram it, Meredy!" Simon growled.

"Simon!" Erza shouted.

"Sorry, Meredy-san" Simon muttered. Erik laughed.

"The boy is as impudent as his father" He said. "He was ripping my men a new one for getting the heating wrong in his room." Nashi wanted to laugh at the trivial matter the Prince had gotten so wound up about. Mystogan chuckled.

"It's alright." He replied, turning to Nashi and Drake. "This is Erik, the 1st division commander of the Edolas Royal Army. Meredy is in charge of the second division." Damien scowled.

"So you two are in charge of the dicks who arrested us!" He shouted, and Erik laughed.

"Nope, that was the third division, Sor's fault not mine" He said with a smile. Nashi managed a weak grin as they sat down.

"As I was saying before we were interrupted." Mystogan said, glaring at his son. "Nashi and Damien are to accompany Erik and a squad to look for their friends, as early as 8 tomorrow morning"

"Sounds good" Nashi said, realizing eight in the morning was a bit early. Nodding, Mystogan and everyone resumed eating, as did Nashi.

* * *

Nashi sighed as she washed her hands and looked in the mirror. She needed a haircut. Nashi preferred to keep her hair at shoulder length, any longer and it got in her way more often then not. Maybe she'd ask Mystogan for the address of the royal hair cutter. Sighing as she opened the door too the bathroom and stepping out, she saw a familiar scarlet haired prince outside the door waiting.

"Sorry if I took long, Prince Simon" Nashi said, not wanting to provoke him. If Edo-Simon and Simon shared any sort of similarities, she hoped it wasn't getting livid at nothing. Prince Simon sighed.

"Nothing so trivial, I'm afraid." He told her flatly, watching her carefully. "I came to talk to you."

"About?"

"Your friends. They are missing, correct?"

"Yeah, they are" He was silent for a moment, turning to stare out the window.

"My men gave me a report about two hours ago" He told her.

"Your men? They answer only too you?"

"What kind of Prince doesn't have men only loyal to him?" Simon demanded. "Regardless, the reports held information regarding people who claimed they were from Earthland"

"Really?!" Prince Simon nodded quietly.

"They told of bandits out to the east, claiming they captured a girl with black hair and a man with dark red hair and a 'big mouth'. Sound familiar?"

"That's Ul and Drake!" Nashi shouted happily. "Where are they?"

"About a three days walk from the city, to the east" Nashi surprised the Prince by hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Nashi shouted. "I'll tell Damien right away!" Simon scowled as she released him.

"Yeah, whatever" He replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." he walked off to the right as Nashi went left. _Maybe the Prince isn't a big pain in the ass..._

* * *

Prince Simon chuckled as he entered his chambers, smiling down at the floor. The foolish girl had taken the bait. Well, kind of anyway. It was more of a distraction truthfully. He had received reports, this was true, of both people he described to her. However, it was his time to strike, and the visitors from Earthland gave him a perfect distraction. He cackled as his door opened, and he turned to find one of his men standing there.

"Report, Akio" He said. Akio nodded.

"I was successful in my mission to the kitchens" Akio reported. "I was able to taint the meal of the King and Queen" Simon laughed.

"Excellent. Now is the time, Akio. The Earthland mages have given us our chance to strike, to make our move."

"What are your orders, Prince Simon?" Akio asked, and Simon clasped him on the shoulders.

"Tell the men to ready themselves" He replied, smiling. "oh, and Akio?"

"Yes sir?"

"By tomorrow you will refer to me as King Simon, ruler of Edolas"

**ohhh, the plot thickens. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	45. Mistaken Identity

** Back again! I wanted to throw a suggestion out there for you guys. Could we manage like 5 reviews per chapter? I feel bad asking but there's only a select few people that leave reviews (You know who you are ) and I appreciate it. But there is, as of right now, 96 people following the story, only 5 have to do anything, 3 or 4 who have quite a lot already. Just thought I'd ask, alright? Enjoy!**

Simon knew something was up when he felt dead weight lying down on him. He cocked his head slightly too look and saw Elise, completely knocked out, lying down on top of him. He sighed, and put his head back down, feeling it hit the sand softly. What had happened? He remembered yelling at everyone, then they got absorbed into the sky. He rubbed his eyes, cursing the sun for being so bright.

"Elise" He grumbled. "Elise, wake the hell up" The iron dragon slayer mumbled something incoherent, and Simon took it as a refusal. Simon slowly sat up, and Elise slowly fell off of him, lying still as she continued to sleep. "Elise, we may have a problem"

"What?" She asked sleepily, and Simon adjusted to his surroundings. He appeared to be in the middle of a desert, and the sky seemed unusually yellow.

"Where are we?" He asked, looking down at here, and Elise groaned as she sat up, a bit of sand sticking to her face.

'I dunno" She mumbled. "Outside"

"Gee, thanks" He grumbled. "That was helpful."

"What do you want from me?" She demanded. "You know my brain doesn't work right until at least 10 minutes after I wake up, you may as well be talking to a wall" Simon sighed, he had known that. Elise was terrible at mornings, she always had been.

"Well, what do you propose we do?" He asked. Elise shrugged and laid back down.

"You're the leader, you figure it out" Simon glared at her calm face trying his best not to strangle her as he stood and surveyed his surroundings. All he could see was sand, sand and more sand. That and the sky's color was really unnerving him. Simon sighed. He didn't have dragon slayer eyes, he couldn't see over the horizon.

"Elise, get up. We're going" He said, getting another groan from her. She stood slowly and stretched, yawning.

"Alright, what now?"

"We walk over that way"

"Why that way?"

"No real reason" Elise surveyed the intended direction and then she smelled the air, and began walking the opposite way.

"I smell bread" She said lowly. "And I'm hungry" Simon couldn't argue with that logic, Elise's nose was ten time stronger then his was. He followed her quietly, turning and stopping as she did. He wasn't in any real hurry, he didn't even know where they were.

"Where do you think the others are?" Simon asked, watching Elise's head. "We got separated, after all."

"They're probably fine" She replied, waving him off as she took another whiff, turning her head and began walking right. "They're more than capable of protecting themselves." Simon pocketed his hands and walked silently.

"Can I just use meteor and speed this up?" Simon asked. "This'd be a lot faster that way" Elise shrugged indifferently. Simon tried to activate the speel, but nothing happened. He tried again, and still got nothing. "What the ell, I can't do anything"

"What do you mean?" Elise asked curiously.

"Meteor won't work"

"Try requipping." Simon did so, but couldn't access his magical inventory. He growled. "Nothing?"

"Nope, why is this happening?" Elise raised her hand and glared at it. "What are you doing?" Simon demanded. Elise sighed.

"I should be staring at a sword" She said bluntly. "But nothing happened."

"You either?"

"Nope" Simon growled in frustration. Why did this kind of stuff only happen to them? "Now what?"

"Lead the way, I guess" Simon replied. "We don't really have much of a choice."

"No, we really don't" Silence befell them, and Simon stared into the distance.

"So, know any good jokes?"

* * *

Nashi watched as Erik's men wandered around the cap site, and she knew that she couldn't wait much longer. She had to save Ul and Drake, no matter what. She knew her companion felt the same. Damien sighed and crossed his arms.

"How much his royal scumbag say it was until we got there?"

"Around three days," Nashi replied. "We still have a ways to go"

"Be that as it may, I hate this place." he groaned, rubbing his stomach. "Do ou even know how bad my indigestion was after dinner last night?"

"No idea, and I don't care too"

"Bitch"

"Scumbag"

"Whore"

"Dickhead" The two of them continued their pointless banter until Erik walked up too them.

"Are you two ready to move out now?" He asked, "We'll reach the bandits hideout in about sixteen hours"

"Sixteen hours too long" Nashi muttered, shuddering as she eyed their transportation. "I'm really not one for long rides on wheel" Erik chuckled.

"I've never seen a girl with worse motion sickness" He told her. "Why is that?"

"I'd tell you, but for someone from Edolas, it'd make no sense."

"Probably not" Nashi giggled at the thought of Earthland Erik. She'd never met him herself, but she knew they shared magic types; he had motion sickness too. Nashi dragged her feet as she walked towards the carriage, knowing full well she'd never stomach the food she'd just eaten, at all.

* * *

Nashi wasn't one for violence, thank Mavis, but even she wanted to jump into that bandit encampment and attack everyone that wasn't Ul and Drake. Damien was obviously about to do the same, but Erik had other ideas.

"We need a more tactical approach" he told them for the millionth time. "They'll kill you if you just run in there and try to knock heads."

"I'd love to see them try" Damien snorted in reply, and Nashi couldn't help but agree. They'd never stand a chance with her and Damien here. Erik sighed.

"I can't let you" He replied. "You are under my jurisdiction right now, and..."

"Well, hate to break it to you buddy," Damien said, taking over into Demon soul, causing the soldiers to panic. "But I'm going to rush in there and save my friends. If you want to sit out here and play with yourself, fine by me. Nashi, let's go" Nashi stuck her tongue out at Erik and followed Damien towards the cave. "Alright, Kiddo, ready?"

"Yeah, let's do this" Damien raised his hand and blasted the door in, and Nashi ran inside, roaring fire and yelling for Ultear and Drake. She tore through the bandits rather easily, they really weren't anything that special.

"Drake! Ul! Where are you?!" Nashi screamed as she drilled a bandit in the face.

Nashi? Nashi! We're over here!" Drake shouted, and Nashi sprinted towards his voice, Damien close behind. Nashi found them out back, in a cell, not even cuffed. Drake broke into a grin when he saw them. "I've never been happier too see you guys!" Drake shouted happily. Damien blasted the door open, and Nashi found herself constricted by two people hugging her.

"How did you guys find us?" Ul asked, breaking off of Nashi to hug Damien, who made a strange sound as the younger S-class mage hugged him.

"Long story short" Damien replied. "We may or may not have landed in the royal palace of Edolas, where we were promptly arrested and taken to the king who decided to help us."

"Really?" Drake asked, staring at Nashi, who chuckled in agreement.

"Yeah," She agreed. "Now we just need to find Simon and Elise"

* * *

Simon had spent two whole day following Elise and her nose, and it was pissing him off. She kept reassuring him they were going to make it, and she was insistent they keep going through the night, which only made him sleepier and angrier. Elise sniffed one more time, and Simon finally snapped.

"I can't fucking do this!" He shouted, causing Elise to jump in surprise. "We've been following your sense of smell for two days!" Elise sneered at him.

"Oh calm the fuck down your Highness" She hissed, and Simon didn't take kindly too the royalty joke. "Get off your high fucking horse. You're just mad you can't do anything!"

"Maybe if I had a better idea then following my nose, I'd be a little more agreeable!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"Well, _Princess Simon, _Maybe if you took a moment to look over _the fucking way we were heading, _You'd see what I was smelling!"

"What do you...?" Elise moved slightly and Simon could see a small village on the horizon. He gulped sheepishly and turned to Elise. "Sorry" She nodded and sighed.

"I guess I was a little hard on you" Elise agreed. "Now, let's go see if anyone's seen our friends",Simon nodded. As they approached the town, Simon wasn't appreciating the looks he was getting. People were staring at him and ogling, and he scowled back, not about to take any shit from the locals. He got even more confused when people began too bow down and murmur.

"That's him..."

"I know, what's the prince doing here?"

"Don't make him mad, he could have his personal guard kill us if we wanted too" Simon had no idea what was going on, but he wasn't appreciating the stares. He was about to question Elise about it when a bunch of armed men ran towards them, and he tensed right until they knelt at his feet.

"Prince Simon" The one in front said. "We were unaware of your arrival in town. Is there anything you need? Transportation? Weapons? Booze?"

"Uhhh..." Simon turned to stare at Elise, who looked like a deer in headlights, and shrugged at him. He sighed. "Of course, I do need a few things. Also, n one in the royal family is to be aware of this visit, got it?"

"Of course, M'lord, whatever you need. Now, what do you need us to do?"

"I need a way to the Royal City, and I am pretty hungry." The men nodded.

"Of course, your Highness. Right this way" Simon followed the guards through the streets, turning and casting a sheepish grin at Elise, who sighed.

"I was kidding when I made the royalty joke"

**Hehe, Simon gets mistaken for the Prince. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	46. King Simon's Plan

**You**** guys came through with those reviews last chapter! Enjoy!**

Simon wasn't sure if he was grateful or suspicious, perhaps a bit of both. The soldiers had seen to his and Elise's needs well enough, but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing. He had been fed, and given transport to the royal city, but that wasn't enough to quell his belief they'd find out about his deception. True, he really didn't care if these soldiers found out he wasn't really Prince, but at the same time, he feared what would happen at the same time. Without his magic, he couldn't do much of anything. Of course he had taken a sword for himself, but he felt exposed without the option of his own armor. He sighed as Elise groaned.

"Could this airship be any more unstable?" She mumbled. "I can feel my lunch trying to kill me"

"Maybe you should've eaten less then" Simon replied. "We've already slowed down to the point where it'll take us a few days to get to the royal city"

"Can we go any slower?"

"Can we?" Simon asked the pilot, who shook his head.

"We already have to make several stops on the way, your Highness" He replied. "any slower and we'll be going downwards."

"There you have it" Simon told Elise, who moaned. "We can't go any slower."

"My stomach hasn't hurt so much since Phantom Dove..." Simon paled as Elise flinched. "I was sick that week, after all..." _Yes, sick. _Simon hoped she didn't remember anything about that with him. He wasn't sure he had the emotional capacity to help her any.

"Yes," he said slowly. "You sure were" Elise continued to groan as the airship continued on it's way. Simon wished she'd shut up for everyone's sake, he didn't need the pilot trying to kill her to shut her up. Simon was also worried that the guards hadn't had a second thought about the Prince showing up in town, looking near dead with a random girl. Wouldn't the Prince of wherever they were have a personal guard or something? He was glad that he resembled the Prince enough to fool them, but he still wondered. "How long until we reach our first stop?" Simon asked the pilot, who turned to face him.

"At this speed, it'll take a few hours." We could speed up, but..." Simon could tell the pilot was referring to Elise, and he sighed.

"It's okay, we're in no hurry"

* * *

Nashi was in a big hurry. She wanted to get back to the city and talk to Mystogan and see if he'd heard anything about Simon and Elise, although she felt like she doubted it. She managed to get out of the carriage as it stopped and she stretched, yawning.

"Are we there yet?" She heard Drake moan from inside.

"We have at least another day and a half" Damien replied, stepping out. "And from what I saw in there, you won't make it without throwing up"

"Make him think about it more" Ultear scolded. "That'll do well" Nashi chuckled as they walked through the small town they'd stopped at. "So, this is Edolas huh?"

"Yep" Damien said. "Want everything you've ever known to be questioned while you can't use magic without taking a pill? This is the place"

"Must be tourist hot spot" Drake replied, rubbing his stomach. "That guy back there looked like my dad, is that weird?"

"That was your dad" Nashi replied. "Well, it's Edo-Drake's dad anyway" Drake looked confused.

"Wait, was he my dad or no?"

"Kind of. Think of him as your step dad"

"What am I like over here?" Ultear asked curiously. Nashi chuckled.

"You're slutty and a total bitch" Nashi replied. "Your opposite" Ultear looked rather shocked.

"Me? Hard to believe" Damien snorted.

"You were hitting on me for at least 30 minutes" Ultear laughed at his response.

"As if"

"We'll ask her when we get back then" Nashi smiled weakly at the bickering. She was glad they'd managed to find two of their friends. She hoped Simon and Elise were okay. She obviously had no doubt in her mind they were, but she couldn't help but worry.

"Can we eat something?" Drake asked, his hands behind his head. "I'm hungry"

"I am not allowing you to eat a Mavis damn thing" Ultear said flatly. "You'll throw it up on the way back."

"But I'm hungry!"

"Deal with it!"

"How about we not argue about this?" Damien asked, his tone saying it wasn't actually a question. Simon may have had the Erza's son scare tactic, but Damien had the terrifying takeover to back up his threats. Nashi felt her own stomach rumble.

"Even if we wanted food" Nashi spoke up. "Jewel isn't legal tender here. We couldn't buy food even if we wanted food."

"Damn," Drake sighed. "I could really use a sandwich."

"Or a steak" Damien said wistfully.

"Stop talking about it," Ul grumbled. "We weren't fed very well by those bandits and..." Ul was interrupted when her stomach roared in anger at the lack of food it had. "...I'm actually pretty hungry" Nashi chuckled.

"I remember that food we were fed at the castle" She sighed, remembering how much she'd eaten that night. "It was pretty amazing"

"Agreed" Damien replied.

"Lucky..." Drake trailed off.

* * *

Simon stepped out of the airship after Elise (Who was currently throwing up too the side of the airship) and surveyed the squad of soldiers waiting for him. They'd clearly been informed of their arrival, and Simon felt it was rather unnecessary. Whoever this Prince was, he was clearly one pompous prick. The squad saluted him.

"Prince Simon, we were informed of your arrival" Their leader said. "Is there anything you need while your airship is refueled?" Simon thought for a moment.

"Got any doctors that specialize in curing motion sickness?" He asked suddenly, pointing towards Elise. "My frie...guard is terrible with vehicles."

"Yes sir, we have such a doctor. Please, right this way" Elise trailed behind Simon as they were lead inside the compound, and Simon marveled at the area. Although he'd seen plenty of airships in Earthland, he was always slightly taken aback at the technological advancement here. Although they still used horses and carriages for ground transport, he'd seen airships, cars, pig machines that are called 'tanks' or whatever, it was all surreal, truthfully. The soldiers pointed out the doctor, and Elise left to see her, and Simon continued towards the control center with the rest of the squad. When they reached their destination, a man with four stars pinned to his jacket, and what Simon guessed was a stick up his ass, advanced towards him, bowing,

"Your Highness" The General spoke. "It is an honor to be in your presence. Is there anything we can do to make your temporary stay more enjoyable?" Simon thought for a moment.

"Break out the champagne, General." Simon finally said. "I want a drink"

"Nothing but the hard stuff, my Grace. Will whiskey suffice?" Simon pretended this upset him for dramatic effect, which caused the General to stiffen.

"My my, not even a fancy drink for royalty... I'm disappointed, General" The General gulped as the command room quieted down. Simon quite liked the amount of power he commanded, even if it technically wasn't his.

"I...I'm terribly sorry, your Highness" The General spoke quietly. "I...shall be more careful in the future."

"See that you are. Now, fetch me my whiskey... oh, and General?"

"Yes?"

"Please do me more careful. I am most certain my father would be displeased to hear of your...discharge from our military." The General gulped.

"Of course, Prince Simon." He said stiffly. "The whiskey, yes?"

"Yes, Oh, and perhaps you should get me something to eat. I hear refueling takes quite some time."

"Yes, yes or course your Highness, right away" Simon smirked as the General hurried away. _I could get used to this..._

* * *

Nashi smiled as they entered the Royal city. She was glad to be back, she felt much safer inside these walls. The thought, however, was quickly diminished when they were surrounded by the guards.

"What is going on here?" Erik demanded. "I command you to stand down!"

"On orders from the King, we are to detain the Earthland mages upon their return, Commander Erik" The Captain spoke. "Please step away" Before he could protest, Erik was whisked away by the guards, and Nashi heard a familiar voice chuckle.

"Thought your little trick would escape me, Earthlanders?" Nashi turned to find Prince Simon walking through the crowd, and they parted as he did.

"Earthlanders?"

"Are they from Earthland?"

"Are they responsible for what happened to the king and queen?" What had happened to Mystogan and Erza? Nashi felt a terrible feeling settling in her stomach as Prince Simon reached them.

"I see you have found your friends" He said, "No matter, I've discovered your plan"

"Simon?" Drake asked, which earned him a glare.

"That's King Simon, ruler of Edolas, to you " Nashi made a face.

"You're only the Prince" She said, balling her fists. "What happened to Mystogan?" Prince Simon turned to face her, face contorted with anger.

"I'm sure you already know the answer to that, Earthlander" He spat, making Nashi even angrier. "My mother and father are currently on their deathbeds, thanks to you two and your little friends"

"What the hell did we do?" Damien demanded. Prince Simon glared at him.

"The advisors found the poison, Dreyar," He hissed. "I know you tried to murder the King and Queen." The crowd gasped, and started making wild accusations.

"Earthlanders poisoned the King and Queen?"

"Bastards, are they planning to invade?!"

"Kill them where they stand!" King Simon raised a hand and silenced the crowd.

"Did you really think your foolish plan would go unnoticed, or did you think we would overlook the fact the King and Queen get poisoned right when Earthland Mages appear in Edolas for the first time in almost thirty years?!" He growled. "I am disgusted by you, all of you. Guards! Arrest them for crimes against the royal family of Edolas" Before Nashi could say a word, she felt handcuffs snap around her wrists. When she attempted to use her magic, she felt electricity course through her.

"Anti magic handcuffs?!" Ultear shouted. "Where the hell did you get those?!"

"Get the out of my sight, **_now_**"Nashi struggled as hard as she could as the guards took her and her friends away, screaming insults at his royal pain in the ass.

* * *

Prince Simon managed to suppress his grin as he entered his parents chambers, moving to the edge of the bed.

"Leave us" he ordered the guards, and they did as he commanded. Simon chuckled slightly as they shut the door.

"Oh beloved father, how foolish you are" Simon said, moving to stare out the window at the city. "Sawyer told you a million times that a royal food taster was a good idea, but no..." Simon smirked. "Not that it would've mattered, the poison only took effect twelve hours after ingestion." He moved the the bedside again, staring at his parents ghostly faces. Both were clearly in a lot of pain, and Simon felt a little sick he enjoyed that. "I've lived in your shadow for far too long. Now with the emergency powers granted to me in the countries time of need, I shall make my voice heard. Granted the Earthlanders gave me the perfect frame. Earthlanders show up and the King and Queen mysteriously fall ill? How convenient, no?"

"Uhhh..." His mother moaned, and Simon frowned.

"Granted, you two had stronger immune systems then I had imagined. But, no matter, with the emergency power I have been granted, I have everything I need..." He smiled to himself at the thought. "You always said I had no eye for detail, Mother. Would you be proud of me, for once, if you saw me now?" He got no response, and he kicked the bed in a fit of rage. "Answer me, whore! Are you fucking proud now?!" Simon took a minute to calm down, and returned to the window, taking several deep breaths, just as his multiple (Now dead or missing) therapists had suggested he do in his fits of anger.

"Uh..." His father groaned.

"I have everything I need, the stars have aligned, father, can you feel it?" Simon asked under his breath, a devilish smirk adorning his handsome features. "The invasion force must be amassed for when the Anima opens again... and I already have my key to it, the Earthland mages..." Simon turned to glare at his parents. "You always told me stories of Earthland's strength, Father. Now, I shall see how weak they really are as our army tears through their lands, killing everyone in the wake of Edolas' beauty."

"King Simon" A guards voice said outside the door. "Counsel woman Ultear has requested your presence at the meeting"

"Tell her I shall be there in a moment" Simon replied. He cast one more look at his parents, and smiled darkly. "Let us see just how strong this Fairy Tail is, Mystogan" With that, Simon turned and left the chambers, knowing well it would be the last time he returned to it for a while.

**Wow, dark ending there, huh? Can we manage five or more reviews again? If you enjoyed, remember to leave one, like always!**


	47. Assistance from the Outside

** Back again, can we get 5 more reviews?**

Nashi wished she could have an adventure without getting thrown into a cell. She landed rather hard and gave the guards a glare as they walked away. Ultear sighed.

"So," She began, crossing her arms and legs. "I take it neither of you guys have any idea what this is about?"

"Not in the slightest, honestly." Damien replied. "If I did, I don't think I would've tried to kill that royal dickhead."

"What exactly was he talking about?" Drake demanded. "I mean, the King and Queen got poisoned? From what?"

"I don't know" Nashi said as she shrugged. "I hope they're okay, though. Mystogan was a nice guy."

"Mystogan?!" Ul asked, bewildered. "he's the king?"

"Why did you think Simon was the Prince?" Damien asked. "Obviously the King and Queen are Edo-Jellal and Erza" Ultear chuckled sheepishly.

"Oh, right"

"This is bullshit!" Drake shouted, slamming his fist into the wall. "Why is it everything I do gets me trapped in a fucking cell?!"

"Ditto" Nashi sighed. "At least this cell is warm." Drake snorted.

"Yeah,whatever" Damien began scratching at the wall with his handcuffs on. Ultear tried to get some sleep, and Drake stared out the barred window. Nashi sighed, the King had gotten them good. What reasoning did he have, though? _He's Edo-Simon, doesn't that mean he's fucked in the head? _That made sense to Nashi, so she went with it. After a while, Nashi heard the door open, and the royal prick himself strode in, and the guards left, leaving them alone with King Simon. He chuckled.

"You people really are unlucky." he mused. "Getting sent to another universe and arrested for something you didn't do" Nashi glowered at him.

"So you know we didn't do it? She demanded, and Simon nodded. "Then do us a favor and get us the hell out of here!" He laughed.

"Get you out? Nothing so simple can be achieved, I'm afraid. The people are in an uproar. Someone must take the blame, and who better then the visitors from another word all together?"

"Bastard, what are you talking about?!" Damien yelled angrily. King Simon stared at him with an amused smile.

"I mean that I'm blaming all of you for the sake of the country, that is" He replied, turning the other way and crossing his arms. "An official investigation will not be launched."

"Why the hell not?!" Nashi shouted. "Don't you want to know who poisoned your parents?!" King Simon chuckled.

"If I really wanted to do that, I'd look in a mirror" He replied, and Nashi felt her eyes widen.

"What?" She managed, knowing the others looked just as shocked. He laughed.

"I'm the one who poisoned them, I'll have you know" He turned to grin darkly at them. "I've been planning my parents downfall for years, and now with you lot visiting from Earthland, you've given me the perfect cover story."

"Bastard..." Drake growled.

"It was harder then I thought it would be, truthfully" Simon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "The poison was meant to kill them, and yet all it did was nearly do the intended job" He smiled weakly. "But the intended reaction happened; I was bestowed emergency control of the entire country."

"And what's the plan, fuckface?" Ultear asked lowly.

"Now that I have a reason, invasion of Earthland is my top priority." Nashi gasped. "And truthfully, with the Anima opening now of all times, destiny is truly on my side. I think my first target will be this M_agnolia _I've heard so much about" Ultear was shaking with rage.

"How dare you talk to us with his face and voice... saying such things..." She hissed murderously. "I swear on Mavis' grave I'm going to kill you." King Simon laughed.

"Oh, are you? You got spunk, I like that" Nashi wasn't sure she liked the tone he used when he said spunk but she couldn't do much about it anyway. "No matter you'll all be executed for war crimes soon enough" That got a rather poor reaction as everyone stared at him in rage and fear.

"What?" Damien asked which earned a chuckle.

"I have to give the people what they want." He replied devilishly. "And I must admit, I think of all things to spur them towards an invasion would be an execution of the assassins who attacked the royal family."

"Then you go and kill yourself, jackass" Drake hissed, struggling against his handcuffs. "That simple." King Simon laughed.

"Oh I think I like you more than Edo-Drake" he said, bemused. "Edo-Drake has a terrible sense of humor."

"Fuck yourself"

"Yeah, I definitely like you more" Drake didn't respond, and Simon just smirked. "I wouldn't worry about your precious family, anyway. You'll be dead before the invasion starts anyway."

"We'll see about that, asshole" Nashi growled and Simon chuckled as he left the cell.

"See you at the execution" He said waving back too them. "Although I'f like to swing that blade myself. What do you think?" He cackled darkly as he left the prison, and nobody spoke. What could they say? They were dead, easily. They had no means to escape with the anti-magic cuffs on, and there was at least fifty guards between them and the exit of the prison. Nashi sighed.

"Anybody up for charades?"

* * *

Nashi was just staring down at the floor of the prison a few days later when the prison door opened, and Nashi recognized the woman that strode in to be Ultear, the Kings' right hand woman.

"The fuck do you want?" Nashi demanded. Ultear flinched.

"Easy kid, I'm trying to help you" She hissed.

"Oh really?" Damien demanded.

"Yes! Look, Simon's gone insane; all he talks about is his precious invasion plan, and it needs to stop"

"Then get us the fuck out of here" Drake said flatly. "Then w punch is royal face in and save the day and stop the invasion, then use the Anima to go home." Ultear sighed.

"It isn't that simple" She hissed. "No one but the king has the authority to let you out, and if I'm caught doing so, we're all fucked."

"True" Ultear in the cell commented. "So what's your plan?"

"I was kind of hoping you guys had an idea" She replied weakly. "I can get you anything you need, but tell me what I need to do" A bell went off inside Nashi's head.

"Simon and Elise" She said, breaking the silence.

"What?" Ultear asked leaning down and grabbing the bars. "What was that?"

"Earthland Simon and a friend Elise should be out there somewhere" Nashi said, crawling up to her. "If you can find the, you can bring Earth-Simon here to confuse the people, and if they're stupid enough, he could have the jurisdiction to get us out!"

"Nashi, that's brilliant!" Drake said.

"Amazing plan!" Damien laughed. "Just one problem" Nashi turned to the older takeover mage.

"What is that?" She asked.

"We have _no _fucking idea where they are" Damien replied. "Even if we did, Simon has no idea how to act royal and shit, they'll see through him faster then glass" Ultear sighed and stood up.

"I'll put out a signal for Erik, Meredy, and Sor" She said. "They have their battalions loyal to them, they can look for your friends"

"Is this what we're going with?" Nashi asked, and when no one spoke up against it, Nashi sighed. "Hurry up, Ultear we need to hurry"

"I can't exactly do much" Ultear in the cell said. "I'm trapped in here"

"Not you, Ultear" Damien said, jabbing his thumb at the one outside of the cell. "That Ultear the opposite of the one that died in Earthland. Y'know, the one you're named after." Ultear made an O with her mouth as the other Ultear left.

"I'll do my best, just see if you can stall the royal jackass. I'll tell the others" Nashi nodded.

"Do your best" Nashi hissed. "King Simon is the biggest arrogant dick I've ever met, but he's no fool. He'll see right through our attempt at fooling him." Ultear nodded and swiftly left the prison, leaving Nashi and the others alone with their thoughts.

"We're fucked." Drake said matter of factly.

* * *

King Simon chuckled as he waited to address his people. They were all foolish enough to believe he was right with the Earthlnaders and now all he had to do was trick them, a simple feat, honestly.

"Ready, sir?" Sawyer asked. King Simon nodded and stepped out onto the balcony and the crowd roared. All of the residents of the Royal city were down there, waiting for him to speak. He raised a hand, and the crowd fell silent.

"People of the Royal city" He called out. "We have apprehended those who have attacked our leaders" The crowd roared in approval again, and Simon couldn't help but chuckle. This was far too easy. "Now, after a few days of intense interrogation and holding the, I come to the people of Edolas for an answer: How do we stop these insects from causing any more damage?"

"Kill them!"

"Hang them on a pole and let us stab them!"

"Give em all weapons and make them kill each other!"

"Fuck them up!" Simon smirked as they threw suggestions up at him, and he couldn't have foreseen the outcome any better. The people of Edolas were wrapped around his little finger.

"Shall an execution suffice as a sign of our power to the Earthland scum?!" He demanded, and a deafening roar reached his ears, and he smiled even wider. All according to plan. "Then, a week from now, a public execution shall be held, and the insects shall be stomped upon!" The roar was his cue to initiate the final plan of his little speech. "People of Edolas, I come to you with a suggestion. Invasion!" The whole crowd paused, and Simon faltered momentarily to inspect the crowd, all of which looked shocked.

"What?"

"Why?"

"They have magic, thy'll rip us apart!"

"Yeah, this is a stupid idea!" Simon growled as the people rejected his idea. This wasn't good, he was losing them quickly.

"If we do not invade to make a point, we will lose everything!" He shouted. "The Earthlanders will send more scouts, ones far more dangerous then those we've apprehended already!" The crowds roars of disapproval died down. "We will lose our country, our culture, our very families, if we don't stop the Earthlanders attempt at inter-universal expansion! A show of force will show them they do not belong in our world!"

"Your Highness" Sawyer urged in his ear. "With all due respect, this is a bad idea"

"We have that magically resistant metals, do we not?"

"Yes, but..."

"Then shut the fuck up" Simon turned back to the crowd. "Earthland will not see it coming, they will be unprepared. We can strike at the very home of the invaders and take out big threat. Will the strength the royal army of Edolas had, Earthland will not stand a chance!" The crowd roared in approval again, and Simon smirked as he stepped back inside the castle.

"This is a bad idea, your Highness" Sawyer said again, doing his best to keep up. "They have many powerful mages, I don't think"

"Sawyer, why don't you get someone who knows what they're talking about to talk me down! Leave me and we will convene in an hour or so to discuss tactics." Sawyer made a face, but didn't argue.

"Yes, or course, M'lord. Goodbye" Simon cackled as Sawyer left.

"Now all I need is the rest of the Earthlanders, and I have everything I need. Fairy Tail, the end is near."

**Can we match these reviews again? leave one if you enjoyed!**


	48. Mid-Air Battle

**Sorry the chapter's up so late, the websites been down all day. Enjoy!**

Simon had a terrible feeling that the guards at the last stop knew about his deception. They were giving him curious looks and that was making him edgy, and Elise telling him people were staring didn't help.

"Do you think they know?" Elise asked, sticking close to his side, and Simon couldn't imagine why. Although he was decent with a blade, he couldn't do much protecting without his magic, and he currently had no access to that.

"Let's hope not" Simon whispered. "We need to reach the royal city, if our friends had any sense..."

"I know, they'd go there." Elise coughed, which made Simon jump more than he'd ever admit again. "Do you think they're okay?"

"Yes, I do" Simon replied. "They are pretty capable, after all."

"I know, it's just I..."

"Stop worrying, would you?" Simon and Elise entered the main hall, and Simon immediatedly noticed the different atmosphere of the room. As oppose to the commanding presence he usually had, everyone was staring at him suspiciously. He gulped. "What?" He snapped irritably but no one responded, and he coughed.

"Your Highness, so good to see you here!" Simon turned to find a familiar pink haired woman standing there, smiling weakly. "Are you enjoying your stay with us?"

"Uhh..." Simon said until he got elbowed by Elise, and he coughed again. "Good, good. Glad to see the Commander is being respectful" He directed his insult at the men in the hall, and they looked away.

"Alright, well if you come with me, I'll show you around." Simon nodded and followed the woman through the hall, watching her warily. He knew her, but he couldn't place her. She showed them all the different facilities, but Simon was more focused on the fact that she seemed to be leading them somewhere. He began to see less and less people on their way through the building, and the Commander turned to smile at him. "Right through here is the armory. After you, your Highness." Simon nodded as he entered the room, and was met by a big broom closet.

"What the...?" Elise began, just as the Commander slammed the door behind them and glared at them.

"Earthlanders?" She asked somewhat hopefully.

"W-what?" Simon managed. "How dare you speak to me like that..."

"Cut the crap, kid I know you're not the King"

"The King?" Elise demanded. "What do you mean?"

"While you were gallivanting around with the Kings identity, he was poisoning his own parents, taking emergency control of the entire country... oh, and taking you're friends prisoner and planning to execute them for war crimes.

"What?!" Simon demanded. "We have to save them!"

"That's what I'm for" She replied. "Edolas Royal Army 2nd Division Commander Meredy at your service"

"Our service?" Elise demanded. "Aren't you loyal to the King?"

"I am loyal to the real King and Queen" Meredy replied, looking rather pissed off. "If you two can usurp his throne, then I'm all for it."

"What can you do to help?" Simon asked, grateful someone was willing to help. Meredy thought for a moment.

"I can get you guys an airship and a crew that'll listen to you without question" She finally responded. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow, though."

'How much time do we have?" Elise asked. "Until the King kills our friends?"

"About three days" Meredy said, sighing. "King Simon is making a show of power to the people of Edolas by killing the Earthland invaders. The ones that, according to him, poisoned the King and Queen. He's using it as an excuse to invade Earthland"

"Invade?!" Simon yelled, glaring at Meredy. "Just how insane am I over here?"

"Pretty insane, actually" Meredy replied. "You have had several therapists, but their um... dead"

"Oh..." Simon trailed off, not knowing what to say. "That's pretty crazy."

"Yeah." Meredy said, staring at the floor. "Just stay in this room, and don't leave until I come to get you, alright?"

"In the morning?" Elise asked, which Meredy nodded to.

"I'll have the crew and airship ready tomorrow. They'll take the longer way to the city, which will take an extra day. Believe me though, it'll be worth it too avoid Simon's scouts." She strode towards the door, and turned back to face them. "The door will be locked, but the walls are thin. Do your best not to make a sound, got it?"

"Yeah, now hurry please" Simon replied. Meredy nodded, and left the broom closet. Simon was silent, mauling it over. She had seemed rather trustworthy, and Simon was quick to trust her seeing as she wad Edo-Meredy, but his instincts told him that he should be wary. Elise sat down as quietly as she could, and Simon followed suit.

"What do you make of this, anyway?" Elise asked. "Do we trust her or no?"

"I don't think we have much of an option, she knows the truth either way." He sighed, moving a broom so he could sit more comfortingly. "All we can do is hope she is trustworthy. "

"Yeah" Elise was silent until she began moving things around, making a triumphant sound as she pulled out the head of a mop, turning to smile at him. "My pillow, call it" Simon couldn't help but smile at the childish look on her face.

"Damn it."

* * *

Simon was awoken by the door slamming open. He opened his eyes blearily, seeing the pink haired Commander standing in the doorway, a panicked look on her face.

"Up, now" She demanded, and Simon did his best to stand in his early morning state, yawning as he did so.

"What happened?" he asked wearily. Meredy threw him a cloak, and she sighed.

"The King sent out a messgae. Any Earthlanders are too be arrested and shipped to the prisons ASAP. Now that they know you're not the King, they're looking for you. I need to get you out, now"

"Alright, five more minutes" Elise grumbled, and Simon whipped her head with her cloak. "Alright, alright, I'm up, shit."

"Let's go." Meredy said, turning back to the door. "Keep your heads down and don't say a fucking word. If we find any guards, I'll do the talking, they'll listen to me."

"Right," Simon said, nervousness punching him in the stomach. They followed Meredy swiftly, doing his best to look inconspicuous. He heard guards approaching them, and he gulped.

"Commander Meredy!" One shouted. "Have you heard the news? The King here is an impostor!" Meredy growled.

"You think I haven't heard?" She hissed. "I saw him and his cohort escaping the grounds near your post! Go and get them, you fools!"

"Shit, we're going!" The guards rushed past them and Meredy continued, and Simon let out a sigh of relief.

"Man, your men our stupid" Elise said quietly. Meredy held back a chuckle.

"I know" She said. "That and their terrified of me, I'm usually pretty scary."

"Hard for us to believe" Simon said. "Earth-Meredy's a bubbly, childish person who rarely raises her voice."

"Really" Meredy asked, sounding bewildered. "Doesn't sound like me..."

"That's Edolas for you..." Elise said quietly. Simon felt the breeze from outside hit his face and the airships rudders sending air currents his way. A soldier ran up to them as Simon pushed the cloak's hood down.

"Commander Meredy!" He shouted. "The airship is ready to go!"

"Good!" Meredy shouted back over the sound of the engine as she turned back to Simon and Elise. "This is you're ride, take it." Simon nodded.

"Thank you, Meredy" he said. Meredy smiled, and for a moment, Simon saw the Crime Sociere wizard quite clearly.

"Thank me when you end the King's tyrannical reign" She replied.

"We'll do our best" Elise replied.

"If your best isn't taking him out, don't bother." Simon turned to run aboard the ship, Elise close behind. "Simon!" Simon turned to find Meredy throwing him something, a small vial of red pills. "Those are X-balls, they allow you to use your magic here!"

"Thanks!" Simon shouted back, ducking inside the ship as the bay door shut behind him. He opened the vial and downed a pill. It tasted like nothing, but he felt a surge of energy flow through him and he grinned. He threw the vial at Elise and told her to have one, and she did, grinning as well. Simon walked up behind the pilot. "How long until we reach the city?" He asked, placing a hand on his shoulder to alert him of his presence. The Pilot sighed.

"At least a day and a half" He replied, quietly. "That's if we can avoid the sentries the King no doubt has."

"Isn't this a royal airship?" Simon asked, instantly fearing hitting the ground when being shot out of the sky.

"Yes, but the orders are to shoot down any unannounced aircraft, royal armies or not."

"Right..." Simon's next question was cut off by the airship shaking violently, Elise groaning in pain from her motion sickness, and alarms blaring quite loudly. "What the hell was that?" Simon asked, and noticed the pale look on the pilot's face.

"We're being tailed." He said lowly. "Someone must think you guys hijacked the airship and are using it too escape." Simon didn't reply as he strode towards the hangar. "Where the hell are you going?!"

"Just keep this piece of shit in the air!" Simon shouted back. "I'll deal with the airships!"

"Are you fucking insane!? They'll rip you apart!"

"I would love to see them try." Simon proceeded towards the hangar, pressing the bay door button and opening it, a violent gale of wind whipping around him as he did. "Requip!" smiling as his magic obeyed his order, he felt himself change into his Lightning Emperor Armor and he activated Meteor and took to the sky towards the tailing airships. He pointed his spear at the nearest of the three tailing him, smiling at lightning sprung from the tip and hit the first airship, sending smoke up from it's rotors. He burst through the window and landed in front of three soldiers, all of the glaring at him.

"Bastard, how did you do that?" One demanded, Simon responded by slamming the butt of his spear into his chest, sending him flying back into the wall. The other two charged, and Simon knocked one back into the control panel , causing the airship to veer downward. The final guard flew past him out the window, and Simon followed him, but using Meteor to fly towards the next airship. He growled as it fired at the airship Elise was in. He launched another tendril of Lightning, but he missed as it veered to avoid him. He landed on the roof and stabbed the spear into the roof, sending Lightning through the entire vehicle, and it sputtered and died, slowly falling to the ground following the other. Simon turned towards the final airship and flinched as it fired at him, giving him no other option but to requip to his Adamantine armor to avoid getting shot. _Damn, at this rate I'll never reach it... _Thinking quickly, he quickly changed into his Flight armor, and that coupled with Meteor, he moved at the speed of light towards the final ship ,smiling as he drifted easily around the bullets. He drove his rapier through the window and landed in the cockpit as he did so. He looked up to find a weapon pointed at his head.

"Move one fucking muscle." He hissed. "And I blow you're fucking head off, got it?" Simon nodded and raised his hands, trying to think of a plan to disarm the guard. He didn't have too. An iron spear burst through the window and struck the guard in the chest, sending him flying back. Simon grabbed the weapon from mid air and fired it at the control panel, causing it to spark and catch fire. He launched himself back out the window, requipping his rapier back into his Lightning spear and downing the final airship. He flew back towards this own airship and saw Elise lying on her back, staring at the roof with a green face.

"You're welcome" She groaned.

"Nice shot" Simon replied with a grin. He proceeded back to the cockpit and the pilot turned to him.

"Did you...?"

"Yeah" Simon knew the pilot was giving him a look full of awe, but he ignored it. "Will those damages slow us down?" The pilot shook his head to clear it.

"Yeah, by a few hours, unfortunately." Simon sighed. They needed to get there before King Simon executed his friends.

"Well, hurry this piece of shit up"

**I love this chapter, so I hope you guys did! Can we get 5 reviews? leave one if you enjoyed!**


	49. The Day Before

King Simon had better things to do than pretend he cared about his parents. He was forced to act as if he did for the whole charade he had going to work, and it was extremely demanding. He sighed as the royal Physician began to pack up.

"Nothing?" He asked with mock hopefulness. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry your Highness, all we can do is wait and hope the King and Queen pull through on their own." King Simon did his best not to jump for joy. The hardest part of the entire plan was making sure his parents did not recover before the plan was initiated. He grinned as the physician left.

"Hear that, dearest mother?" he hissed. "Nothing he can do." Simon smiled as he stood and paced around the room. "I do admit, this whole ordeal of making sure you stay under until the invasion is complete is rather tasking, but I can manage." he chuckled. "Although I doubt either of you would think that, you never believe in me. All you ever praised in my presence was Fairy Tail." Simon clenched his fists as he thought back to the dinner scene when he'd first learned of the Earthland Mages arrival. "You already knew I had disdain for them, and you had the audacity to welcome them into the palace with more open arms then for your own son..." He kicked the chair he'd been sitting in across the room to quell his anger. "No matter, I've seen to their destruction. I shall execute them tomorrow, then put the rest of my remaining power into finding the remaining two. They were spotted near the city, perhaps they are coming here... Wouldn't that make my job so much easier, dearest father?"

"..."

"Your silence is far more rewarding then your scolding, I'll admit" Simon sighed as he crossed the room towards the bed again, staring at his parents with a relative amount of pity. "Look at you, to weak to even reply with a groan... pathetic." He crossed his arms and stared at his parents quietly. "Of course, I did hear the reports from the last man who survived the crash of the tailing airships. A man who rocketed through the sky, launching lightning at them, who looked exactly like me... Earthland me, perhaps. That would be a show, no? The King of Edolas executing himself..." He chuckled as the door opened, revealing none other than Taro, another of his closest men.

"Sir, we have new information on the remaining Earthlanders" Simon nodded.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Apparently they are on their way to save their friends"

"That is not new information, Taro. I assumed they were on their way to the Royal City to see the sights." Taro gulped at his response. "Go and make sure our guests of honor are enjoying themselves in the prions, and feed them something nice tonight...It is their last meal, after all"

"Yes sir!" Taro saluted and left the room, once again leaving Simon alone with his parents. Simon sighed.

"This is far more taxing job then I'd expected, but I'll manage." He turned to stare at his parents again. "Perhaps once the invasion is over, I shall find myself a queen...Yes, that would do nicely..." He chuckled as he moved his hair out of his eyes. "I'm sure a beautiful Earthland women would satisfy my father, seeing as he's always had more interest in their world then ours anyway" Simon thought for a moment, grinning. "Perhaps this Wendy I've heard so much about, would she suffice, Father? Your little Wendy?" He heard the door open again, and he turned to find none other than Sorano and Erik standing there. "What?" He demanded.

"The visiting royals from neighboring countries have arrived, sir" Erik mumbled, sounding less then pleased.

"They'd requested your presence." Sorano finished for the 1st Division Commander. "I take it they wish to greet the young man holding our country together." Simon smiled. He'd even gone as far as too invite other leaders to the execution. What he was really hoping for, however, was that other leaders would side with him and aid him in the invasion. Although he had complete faith in his own army, more troops was always nice.

"Tell them I shall meet them in a few minutes" Simon replied, turning to stare out the window. "I have more pressing matters to attend too, anyway."

"What's that?" Erik hissed. "Mocking those kids and telling them about how you plan to kill them?" Simon could sense the malice in the Commander's voice.

"My, my" Simon said. "Are your personal feelings getting in the way of your duties, Commander Erik?"

"The fact that one is my son from Earthland has nothing to do with this" Erik growled. "You know their innocent, you just want to find someone to blame!"

"And I have found the culprits to blame" Simon replied. "Tell me, Commander Erik, who else in this entire castle would poison my dearest mother and father?" Erik clenched his fists as Sorano surveyed the scene in front of her.

"I don't know," Erik replied. "How about the power mad boy King standing in front of me?" Simon laughed.

"Me?" Simon demanded, forcing a grin onto his face at the completely true accusation. "It is treason to accuse a royal of such a thing, Commander."

"Not if I'm right" There was silence in the room.

"Commander Sorano" Simon finally spoke. "Arrest Commander Erik for treason" Sorano seemed a little shocked by the words, but nodded and handcuffed Erik, who growled.

"You think I'm a fool, King Simon?" He asked, which surprised Simon, Simon had assumed Erik knew just how stupid he was. "You have no military presence or experience. Lock me up and you may as well be sending those men into Earthland with sticks and mud pies" Simon mauled this information over in his head. On one hand, he knew Erik was right, he had no idea how too lead an army. On the other, however, it was completely plausible that Erik would order his men to stand down, as he was against the invasion. He made up his mind as Sorano moved to leave with him.

"Release him, Sorano" Simon spoke, and the white hired Commander obliged. "A word of warning, Commander Erik"

"What?" He snapped. Simon grinned darkly.

"Disobey or accuse me again, and I'll execute you with those Earthlanders"

"Yes sir..." The Commanders left, and Simon cackled.

"Only thing left to do now, father" He whispered. "Once the Earthlanders have been executed, and the Anima opens, I'll be the only one you can praise. I'll be sure of it." Simon realized that the royals were probably waiting for him, so he left his parents alone, smiling to himself at the almost perfect position he was in. _The only thing that could fuck this up is me underestimating Earthland me.. but he probably isn't all that anyway..._

* * *

Nashi was dreading the following morning. So far Ultear had given them no news of Simon or Elise, and it was beginning to worry her. All she had to do was stare out the window and try to lighten the mod by pointing out idiotic people she could see down on the street. No one was really listening, though. She sighed as she sat back down on the ground, playing with her hands.

"So," Damien said. "Anything you guys want to clear the air of before we die?" Everyone was silent for a minute before Drake sighed.

"Hey Ul" he said. "Remember when you lost your favorite doll?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I broke it while I was joking around with Simon and we threw it into the river"

"Bastard, I looked for that thing for months." She sighed as silence befell them again.

"I was the one who stole your coat that one time" Nashi told Drake. "I dropped it in a pile of shit and buried it outside the guild."

"You bitch, Nashi" Drake replied. Damien sighed.

"You guys remember that time someone put a banner in the guild that said Master Laxus eats my shit? That was me, so sorry I got you all grounded."

"Asshole" Ul said with a small chuckle. "Although that was pretty funny."

"Heh," Damien snickered. "Yeah" Nashi sighed.

"I hope Simon and Elise find a way out" She said. "It'll suck if they don't."

"I won't be surprised if they get thrown in here any minute now." Drake replied. "I have faith in them, but without magic, they're just two teenagers, not a dragon slayer and Titania's son" Damien nodded.

"Yeah, agreed." Nashi's next comment was cut off when the prison door opened. She turned to find Ultear rushing in, looking rather frantic. "Any news?" Nashi asked hopefully. Ultear grinned.

"The morning headline in the paper was 'King look-alike and his Earthland comrade hijack an airship and take three others out of the sky, rumored to be allies of the Earthlanders who poisoned the King and Queen'" Ultear replied, and Nashi felt a surge of hopefulness.

"Those guys know who to make a scene, alright" Drake chuckled. "Will they make it in time?"

"Depends on if they know how to get here" She replied. "I hope they do, because otherwise you may be in trouble."

"No," Damien said with sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Really?"

"Be nice, Damien." Ultear in the cell scolded. "She's doing her best." Counsel woman Ultear sighed.

"King Simon can't even postpone anymore" She told them. "He's invited so many royals from other countries he'll look stupid should he not do it"

"Well, do your best" Nashi replied. Ultear left a moment later, and Drake yawned loudly as he stretched.

"So," he said. "Who wants to die first?"

* * *

Nashi almost threw up when she heard the bells chime the following morning. She stat straight up and stared wide eyed at all of her friends, who looked equally as worried. Nashi was about to speak up when the doors opened, revealing a squad of thrity or so guards standing there, waiting to take them to be executed. Nashi was picked up roughly and taken to the hall of the castle, where the smug fuck stood to greet her.

"My my" King Simon spoke with a kind, yet malicious tone. "Are you ready to greet the crowd?"

"Fuck yourself" Drake hissed. Simon chuckled.

"Maybe I'll take you're life first, how does that sound?" Drake didn't reply, and Simon grinned darkly. "Or perhaps I'll play with you a little bit, would you prefer that?"

"Why don't you take your preferences and shove them up your ass" Ultear questioned. Simon smiled as he walked up to her.

"You've got fire, girl. Perhaps I'll spare you for myself..." He trailed off at the disgusted look on Ultear's face. "What?" He demanded. Ultear chuckled.

"I did figure that's how any girl could like you" She replied. "You threaten to kill them unless they get in bed with you" King Simon growled, but Ultear kept going. "Or maybe it's because you're too small to be confident? What do they call you, Short stack? Small Stuff? His Royal Limpness?" King Simon slapped her, causing Drake and Damien too struggle against their captors as they gave Simon murderous glares.

"You will be first, girl." King Simon growled. "I will cut that disrespectful tongue from your mouth, and I will ship your head to your family in Earthland before I kill them as well."

"Sounds like fun" Ultear replied, not about to back down. "The opposite of you in bed, I'm sure" King Simon growled again before Nashi and the others were dragged towards the open doors into the courtyard of the castle, where the angry, screaming crowd was waiting.

"Well" Nashi said. "Let's go, guys"

**Ah, cliffhanger! Sorry guys, I know I'm evil! Let's get five reviews, and maybe the next chapter will be up tonight!**


	50. The Execution

**The big 50! I hope you enjoy!**

Nashi noted just how many people they'd managed to shove in the courtyard of the castle, and it was rather impressive. It appeared the entire city had come out to watch her and her friends get their heads cut off, and it was sickening to think about. She couldn't think about much anyway seeing as the angry roaring of the crowd kept her from that/ They yelled insults, threw items ranging from food to weapons, but the guards deflected it all, knowing full well their kind would be displeased should one of them be taken by a flying dagger on the way to the stage. Nashi finally made it too the stage stationed in the center of the courtyard, and she was forced to her knees next to Damien. The guards raised their hands to silence the crowd, and their yelling died down.

"In accordance to the Edolas Charter of Rights and Laws" One spoke formally. "Section 3, subsection 2A, the criminals responsible for the murder or attempt on the Royal families life shall be executed by the heir to the throne as a show of their new power. Please Welcome King Simon!" The crowd roared again, this time in praise of the man strolling towards them at a casual rate, as if he had all the time in the world. He had a devilish grin plastered on his face as he walked towards them. He was waving to the crowd, and smiling down at his people. Nashi would've said he seemed like a nice guy if she didn't know better, which she did. King Simon was a sadistic psychopath, and Nashi wanted nothing more then to punch him in the face. He finally reached the stage, and the crowd died down again.

"People of Edolas!" He shouted. "I present to you the criminals responsible for the attempt on the King and Queen's lives!" The crowd cheered again, and Simon silenced them with a hand. "In accordance to tradition, I will kill them for your pleasure!" Simon grinned at them, and Nashi spat at him, which caused a great deal of rage from the crowd. Nashi really could've cared less. Simon smiled at her. "Act as you wish, pink haired one, but it will not save you" Nashi rolled her eyes and turned to look at the crowd, who was still raging about her spit. She made eye contact with Edo-Nashi, who seemed rather apologetic for some reason. Nashi gave her a weak grin, which got returned in kind. Nashi wished she didn't feel calm abut this, but the turning in her stomach had stopped. It was acceptance, and she didn't like it. She was going to die here, and she knew that deep down, she knew that. King Simon chuckled. "Now, where shall we start?"

"Your sword, sir" A guard said, handing Simon a jewel encrusted blade, which he took with a smile and steady hand. He turned back to them and strode up to Ultear.

"Well, bitch" He spat. "Are you ready to die for what you've done?" Nashi was impressed Ultear managed a hearty laugh.

"What did I do again?" She asked sweetly. "Or, right. I said you had a small dick, my bad." King Simon growled.

"You poisoned my mother and father!" he shouted, earning more cheering. "You will pay for this treasonous act!"

"I wasn't aware making fun of your dick size was treason, but alright, whatever." Simon was at the end of his rope, Nashi could tell.

"This has nothing to do with that!" he shouted, face completely red. Ultear giggled.

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

"Why are you being so defensive about it? I mean, surely you aren't compensating for anything, are you?" Before Simon could roar back at her, Damien laughed.

"Yeah man" he said. "Only people with small dicks get so defensive about small dick jokes" Ultear seemed grateful for the backup.

"See?" She asked, a wide grin on her face. King Simon replied by grabbing a fistful of her hair and holding her head up, and Ultear's smile vanished rather quickly, replaced with a grimace.

"Let's see you laugh about my size with your head cut off!" he roared, bringing the blade up to swing it, earning a roar of approval from the crowd.

"Kill that disrespectful bitch!"

"Cut her head off!"

"Kill her!" King Simon grinned.

"I did find you attractive, too" he said wishfully. "Oh well. Goodbye, Earthlander!" Simon swung his blade, bringing it down on Ultear's neck, and Nashi looked away an inch before contact, not able to watch.

_CLANK!_

_*Gasp*_

Nashi opened her eyes to look at the crowd, and saw they all looked stunned. She turned to the King and Ul and found out why. A cloaked figure had jumped from the crowd onto the stage, deflecting the blow before it made contact with Ultear's neck. King Simon looked enraged.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" he roared. "I am the King of Edolas, you fool! Guards, arrest this man immediatedly!" Before a single guard could make a move, the cloaked figure chuckled.

"You're the King, huh?" he demanded, and Nashi knew the voice. "Then what does that make me?" Before King Simon could reply, the cloaked figure grabbed his cloak and flung it off, and relief washed over Nashi.

"Simon!" She shouted happily, tears stinging her eyes. The scarlet haired requip mage stood up tall, allowing the crowd to gasp.

"Simon?!"

"There's two of him?!"

"What's going on?!" King Simon seemed beside himself, caught between rage and being at a loss of what to say.

"You...me..." He stuttered, and Simon laughed.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? or maybe you weren't expecting that? King Simon looked completely enraged as his voice returned.

"Guards!" he shouted, and guards appeared from nowhere, encircling Simon. Simon sighed, and snapped his fingers. Before Nashi had time to question what had happened, another cloaked figure sprang from the crowd.

"Iron Dragon Lance: Demon Logs!" Iron spears sprang from the figure and stuck the guards, sending them flying for cover as the figure landed next to Simon. "Geez, give me a little more warning next time, bud" Simon chuckled.

"Sorry, I had to move fast. After all, those damages really did slow us down. Or was it you're inability to ride a vehicle without getting sick?"

"Shut up" The other figure's cloak came off, and Elise stood back to back with Simon, both grinning wildly. Nashi had never been happier. King Simon seemed at a loss of what to do as the crowd lost it's mind. They screamed all sorts of different insults up at them, and Elise regarded them quietly. "Man, you guys are really petty." Simon nodded.

"So," Simon said, speaking to Edo-Simon. "Care to throw anything else at us?" Edo-Simon snapped his fingers with a grin, and soon enough, a small army had encircled Simon and Elise, the former of which laughed. "Go and free the others, Elise. I've got these guys" Elise pouted.

"Man, you get all the fun, don't you?" She sighed as she jumped over the armies head and landed in front of Nashi, and winked at her. "Sorry we're late, Nashi" Nashi managed a small chuckle.

"Better late then never, Elise" She replied as the girl's arm morphed into a sword and cut through her cuffs, repeating the process with the others. Nashi looked over to find Simon handing the guards their asses, sending them flying this way and that. The crowd had begun to panic and run everywhere, giving Nashi and the others some decent cover for an escape.

"What now?" Damien demanded. Elise shrugged.

"We'll wait for Mr. Showoff over there to finish up, I guess." She replied. "We didn't really think this far ahead." Nashi was about to badmouth that plan when she saw Edo-Nashi running up to them. "Woah, look Nashi, it's you!"

"I know that, Elise" Nashi mumbled as Edo-Nashi reached them.

"Come with me!" She shouted. "we can hide you guys back at the guild!"

"Are you sure?" Damien asked. "That's be harboring fugitives, after all" Edo-Nashi shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, i'm not letting you guys get caught!" Nashi smiled appreciatively at her Edolas counterpart as Simon ran to them.

"Alright," he said. "I've had my fun, what's the plan now?"

"Following Edo-Nashi" Drake replied. Nashi saw Drake get a rather dirty look from Edo-Nashi, but choose not to mention it. Edo-Nashi ran ahead, and they had no choice but to follow. They ran from the courtyard, ducking through several different alleyways as they made their way towards the guild. Nashi could see the guild ahead, hey were home free.

* * *

King Simon stormed inside the castle, very angry being an understatement.

"FUCK!" He screamed, throwing the ceremonial sword at the wall, in bedding it several inches. He stalked towards the counsel room, finding everybody already there.

"Problem, your Highness?" Erik asked smugly, which earned a glare.

"Fuck off, Erik" Simon snarled angrily, barely able to properly enunciate his words due to his rage. "Go and find Akio, Taro, and Ken"

"Why?" Sorano asked.

"Because you're all fucking fired, that's why! Now go and get them!" Simon watched as they ran to find his friends. He couldn't even think straight, everything had gone to shit so fast he didn't even know what had happened. He tried taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down, but it didn't work. He turned as his most trusted men walked in.

"What is it, sir?"Taro asked. Simon clutched the side of the table, doing his best not to throw it.

"Prepare the army." he hissed. "Get every able bodied man to the Anima courtyard behind the castle, now! The invasion isn't off"

"Sir...?" Akio began, but Simon wasn't having any of it.

"Don't fucking question me! Do it!" They all sprinted to leave, and Simon stopped Ken before he could. "You have a special job, Ken my boy" Ken gulped.

"Y-yes sir?" he asked warily. Simon grinned.

"Prepare _it_" Ken's eyes widened.

"It, sir?" Ken asked, bewildered. Simon nodded vigorously with a grin on his face.

"The testing was done, it is operational, yes?"

"Yes. but.."

"Then shut the fuck up and get it ready! I am not letting these fucksticks ruin this for me!" Ken ran from the room to complete his mission, and Simon smiled to himself. "It is ready, I am not letting these Earthlanders ruin my chances to show him... no, show everybody, what I'm capable of..." He stalked away from the counsel room and cackled as he did. Guards carved a path as he did, bit he ignored the looks he received. He couldn't deal with them right now, he would later. Now that he had a limited time span until the invasion, he decided to pull all the guards from the other towns around the Royal city to have a bigger army for the invasion. "SAWYER!" he screamed, and saw the tiny man come running.

"Yes sir?" he asked in a small voice.

"Send men to the Fairy Tail guild hall right now!" Sawyer seemed confused.

"Sir...?"

"NOW!" Sawyer scurried away as fast as his little legs could carry him, and Simon laughed manically. _I know you're there, you little fuckers, I just know it..._

**Hope you enjoyed, let's get five reviews again, so leave one if you enjoyed!**


	51. Meeting Counterparts

**Another day, another update. Enjoy!**

The first thing Nashi did when they were in the safety of the guild walls was wrap Simon in a constricting hug. He gasped for air.

"Nashi," He managed, "Can't breath" Nashi laughed.

"Sorry" She laughed. "I'm just so glad to see you, and you saved us to boot!"

"Did you have to wait until I almost got my head cut off?" Ultear asked. "I mean, surely it was dramatic and all, but shit Simon, I thought I was done for" Elise laughed.

"Drama, nah we were just low on time. Our airship got damaged on the way and we only got to the city 10 or so minutes before we save your sorry asses" Drake chuckled at Elise's response.

"We could've escaped" He told Elise. "We had the King around our little finger."

"I could see that" Simon retorted, smiling. "I had a great view while he tried to kill you"

"Well," Drake said. "How many times each have the girls tried to kill me? We're still great friends"

"I wouldn't call us friends" Ultear said. "More like I deal with your presence because you're Nashi's BFF"

"I wouldn't say BFF" Nashi broke in, silencing the others. "More like he's the only one I could hag out with when I couldn't use magic and I haven't gotten the chance to dump him" Drake had a false hurt look on his face.

"I hate you all" he grumbled, making everyone laugh. Nashi was glad she and her friends could make jokes while they were fugitives. It mad de her realize they had hope. She was tapped on the shoulder, and Nashi turned to find Edo-Nashi standing there. "What's up?"

"Um..." She began, jabbing her thumb at Simon. "I am supposed to be kneeling to him or what?" Nashi laughed at her Edolas counterpart's question, which caused the others to stop bickering and look over.

"Sorry." Nashi said. "I guess I haven't properly introduced Edolas to them yet." Nashi had the entire Edolas Fairy Tail following her as she walked up to her friends. "This is Simon. Don't worry, he isn't royalty or anything."

"Well, hey"Simon interrupted, "I am son of Titania, so maybe, right?" Nashi chuckled.

"What ever gets you going, bud" She replied, patting his shoulder. "This is Ul, she's alright, I guess"

"Ow" Ultear complained. Nashi watched as Edo-Ultear walked up to them.

"You're Earthland me, huh?" She asked, which earned a stern nod. "Don't look like much to me." Ultear sighed as she lifted her hand and froze Edo-Ultear solid, causing everyone to jump back.

"Sorry" Ul said. "I've been told I'm a bitch over here"

"Thanks, actually" Edo-Nashi mumbled. Nashi walked up to Elise.

"Elise say hi" Nashi instructed, watching as her friend made a big show of waving to everyone.

"Hey guys!" She shouted. "What am I like here? Wait, let me guess!" Elise thought for a moment. "Shy and reserved?" Edo-Elise poked her head out of the crowd.

"Y-yeah" She mumbled, and Elise laughed.

"Yes! Got it!" Nashi sighed as she walked to Drake, and noticed everybody glower at him, which made him chuckle nervously. No doubt he could hear them hating him. She nudged him, and he smiled.

"And Drake" Nashi said. Drake waved sheepishly, and only got glares in return. "From what I've heard, Edo-Drake is a total douche, but our Drake isn't that bad, trust me!"

"Bit of an understatement" Elise said, which earned a quite literal venomous glare from Drake. "He is quite hard to deal with, honestly."

"Yeah" Ultear agreed. "Total dick"

"Asshole" Simon threw out there.

"Retard" Damien tried,

"Again, hate you all" Drake replied, ad Ul put him in a headlock.

"Oh were just teasing you!" She said as she rubbed her fist into his head. "Stop being to thin skinned!"

"So, uh..." Drake began. "I take it I'm not liked around here?"

"Not really" Edo-Nashi said. "You're kind of a dick" Drake looked astonished.

"Even to you?" Edo-Nashi managed a small nod. "Man, me and me are going to have to have a talk about that" Nashi laughed. Drake's definition of talk usually consisted of punching the offender in the face and demanding apologies. She knew that from the years he spent protecting her. "Speaking of me, where am I?"

"You disappeared earlier" Steph replied, and Nashi face palmed as the remaining four who had yet to know about Steph watched her in shock. "You said you had to...Why are you all staring at me?" Simon managed his words first.

"Mavis above..." He whispered.

"Steph...?" Drake asked weakly.

"You... no ,surely it can't be..." Elise said quietly.

"I...what...?" Ultear whispered. Nashi sighed.

"Right, forgot to say" Nashi said. "Steph's alive in Edolas." That hadn't gotten the reaction she intended, as all of Edolas Fairy Tail reacted poorly.

"I'm dead in Earthland?!" Steph demanded.

"What happened?!" Edo-Lucy asked.

"Was she killed?!" Edo-Gray asked. These were only some of the many question thrown at Nashi by the guild, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Damien fuming.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" He shouted uncrossing his arms to glower at the guild, who cowered. "That's enough about Steph...alright?" Nashi saw his angry demeanor falter, and Ultear patted him on the back. "That's... that's enough" Damien rubbed at his eyes.

"Are you crying, Oniichan?" Steph asked quietly, and Damien just rubbed harder.

"No" He snapped. "I just have something in my eyes, that's all"

"Sure, big guy" Elise said, rubbing his back. "You know what's in your eyes? Tears" Damien didn't reply, and Nashi saw a glint of water trickling down his cheek. Nashi hated seeing Damien cry. He was supposed to be the biggest bad ass on the team, and seeing him so broken over something so simple tore her up.

"What happened to me?" Steph asked, sounding genuinely curious. Simon sighed.

"I remember it like it happened yesterday" The scarlet haired mage whispered, grabbing everyone's attention. "It was a bright shiny day, and Damien was telling us all about this new powerful form he had..." Ultear immediately began talking as Simon stopped.

"He told us he was going to try it out later, and that we had to come watch, Steph included. We were so excited..." Drake crossed his arms and turned around, what Nashi noticed was usually what he did in a situation where people would see him get emotional.

"We went out later that day, and Damien began to use the takeover...Takeover: Demon Xisplate" Nashi shivered at the name, she remembered it all now. "At first it was actually pretty cool..."

"Until we realized that you had no control over what the demon did" Elise said, still comforting Damien, who hadn't improved during the story telling. "You...began to trash the whole city..."

"It only lasted ten or so minutes" Nashi began. "But it was the most terrifying ten minutes of my life. Then, Steph tried to tell him to stop..." Damien stood up straight, staring at the guild with wide, tearful eyes.

"And the demon replied by attacking her." he finished, his voice full of anger and regret. "He completely obliterated her, there was nothing left..." Damien clenched his fists and stared at the ground. "He attacked a six year old girl without a second thought... Bastard..." Nashi waited for someone to say anything, but she knew they had all been shock into silence. Nashi wanted to find her voice and speak up, but the reeling memories of that day kept her from doing so.

"W-wow" Steph finally managed to say. "I.. wow"

"Yeah" Simon said, and Nashi was rather impressed the man was able to keep his cool in such an emotional environment. "We don't really talk about it, so..."

"And you're still friends with the bastard?" A voice sneered. Everyone turned to find Edo-Drake standing in the doorway, a smirk on his face.

"Me..." Drake hissed. Edo-Drake sauntered into the guild, and his eyes landed on Nashi and the others. "gah! You idiots are harboring the fugitives here?! And one of them is Nashi of all people?! Nashi smiled as Drake strode forward towards his Edolas counterpart. "Wait, this guy is..." Drake interrupted him by slamming his poison coated fist into his face, sending him flying.

"Say one more thing about Nashi" Drake hissed. "And I'll make another Drake shaped hole." Nashi grinned as Edo-Drake crawled out of the wall and sputtered.

"Why are you protecting her?" He demanded at Earth-Drake. "You're supposed to be me!"

"Apposite of you" Drake hissed, raising his fist threateningly. "One more thing, try me" There was silence before Drake punched him again.

"What the fuck I didn't say anything!"

"I heard you" Drake replied, turning around and walking away to stand next to Nashi, and she blew a raspberry at Edo-Drake, who growled.

"Anyway" Edo-Lucy interrupted. "What are we going to do with you six? I mean, surely the army will check here eventually."

"You guys should run" Edo-Levy advised. "it isn't safe here, they'll no doubt check here."

"Wow, Levy agreed with me" Edo-Lucy asked.

"First and only time, sister" Nashi sighed.

"We can't." She told them. "King Simon is planning an invasion of Earthland, and we need to stop him."

"Speaking of which," Ultear spoke up. "Who is he going to do that? I mean, the Anima only sucks up magic" Edo-Gray shook his head.

"It's been sucking up random objects too" He replied. "If the King gets his army positioned, surely they'd be taken to Earthland."

"Alright, simple enough" Elise said with a dark grin. "Take out an army, huh? Sounds like fun" Nashi smiled and nodded.

"Sure does." She told Elise. "Let;s go and do that right now" Elise nodded and they turned to leave. before they could, however, small canister were thrown through the window, releasing a toxic looking gas into the room. "Shit! Don't breath it in!" Nashi shouted, but it was clearly too late. People started collapsing left and right, and Nashi felt her own muscles begin to seize up. She dropped to her knees as she coughed, her bodies desperate attempt at clearing her body of the toxins.

"Damn Royal Army..." She heard Elise hiss somewhere near her. Nashi was about to try and reply when a pair of strong hands wrapped around her midsection and hoisted her up and over their shoulder. She managed to turn her head a little, and saw a mane of darkreddish brown hair.

"Drake..." Her scratchy voice came, and the poison dragon slayer chuckled.

"Don't breath this shit in, Nashi." He warned. "It ain't good for you"

"Coming from you..."

"I'm immune, there's a difference." Nashi didn't reply in order to conserve her air, and Drake sprung from the back door and down a few alleyways and jumped up the side of a building, dropping her next to a pile of rope. "I'll be back, I have to get the others."

"Hurry up, alright?" Drake nodded and walked towards the window. "Drake?"

"Yeah?" He asked, looking over his shoulder. Nashi smiled weakly.

"Don't get yourself caught again, alright?" Drake chuckled.

"Yeah yea. You stay out, Princess"

"Where else would I go?"

* * *

Edo-Nashi hated being useless, but she did currently feel that way. She was currently lying on the ground inside the guild as the guards questioned people left and right. She saw them shooting some for not cooperating, and it scared her. Where was Earth-Nashi when you needed her? Nashi had seen her and the other Earthlanders get carried away by Drake, and she could understand his want to save his own first. Nashi had been more concerned on how he was okay. The gas had stopped everyone in their tracks, and somehow he was okay. She'd wonder about it later. The captain of the guards stood up straight.

"Alright." He shouted. 'Take everyone but these five!" Nashi noticed that was her, Elise, Ultear., Damien, and Drake. She knew immediately why, they were the counterparts of the people they were looking for. "Find the impostor of the King, he must be around here somewhere!"

"Please," Nashi managed. "We're not who you're looking for..."

"Let go of me you fucking bastards!" Drake roared. "my dad is a commander of the army, you will pay for this!"

"Shut up!" A guard shouted, driving the butt of his rifle into Drake's back. Nashi didn't feel bad for him, really.

"Alright men, release the gas!" Nashi didn't like the sound of that. She stared, terrified, as the guards released even more of the nerve toxin. Nashi was smart enough to know this one was aimed to kill them. She struggled to get away, but the gas kept advancing.

"No, please!" Nashi shouted. "It isn't us!"

"Yeah yeah, shut up!" The guards yelled angrily. Nashi watched as the gas came closer, and she closed her eyes as she felt it tickling her skin.

The weirdest thing happened after that.

Nashi heard a strange vacuum sound, and she opened her eyes to see the gas lifting up into the air, towards the front door. She looked as best she could, and a figure wearing a white coat stood there.

"You know" He said, and Nashi's eyes widened when she realized who it was. "That poison tasted likes hit, what do you guys out in it? Way too sour"

"What the..."

"I mean, shit, this is a bit cruel, even for Edolas me, y'know?"

"We tied up the wrong kid! get him!" The guards ran towards him, and he grinned.

"You guys don't ever learn. How about a taste of your own poison?" He inhaled. "Poison Dragon Roar!" Green energy burst from his mouth and hit the guards, paralyzing them all and they hit the ground. "Wow, that's never happened before" He grinned as he turned to them, and Nashi had never been happier to see that face.

"Drake..."

**Yeah, that's the end. Let's get five more reviews! Leave one if you enjoyed!**


	52. Infiltration

**Man, I update fast, hope you guys enjoy that!**

Edo-Nashi watched as Drake strode up to her, a big smile on his face that made her heart speed up.

"You alright?" He asked. Nashi managed a weak nod as he bent down to stare at her. His gaze made her face go red. "Here, I got you" He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. He ran from the guild out the back door, seemingly going in a specific direction.

"Where are we going?" Nashi asked quietly.

"A warehouse over here" he replied. "I dropped the others there. I'll go back and get the others in a moment." Nashi was silent as he scaled the wall into the warehouse and Nashi saw her Earthland counterpart lying still near a pile of rope. "I'd tell you to stay here but.." he snickered. "It's not like you can move." Nashi managed a weak smile as he dropped back down onto the street and ran back to the guild to get the others, none Nashi was at all too fond of. Maybe Elise and Damien ,but not really anyone else. She turned her head to see Earth-Nashi staring at the roof.

"So," Her counterpart called out. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I guess" Nashi replied. "He's something else, your Drake"

"He isn't all that impressive" Earth-Ultear told her. "He's just lucky he's immune to that shit"

"How?" Nashi asked. She knew next to nothing about magic, so any news at all would be useful.

"Drake's a poison dragon slayer" Earth-Damien called out. "He's immune to all poison."

"Wow..." Nashi was silent as Drake began dumping the others in the warehouse. He sighed and sat down as he did.

"Well," He said. "Now what?

"How about you get the poison out of our system?" Earth-Elise asked, which earned a sheepish neck rub by Drake.

"Well, uh..." He started. Earth-Nashi glared at him.

"Just do it, would you? We can't do anything like this" Drake sighed, turning to face Nashi's Earthland counterpart.

"Alright, but don't hit me" He warned, which earned a stiff nod. He shuffled over to her and sat her up, and he sat behind her. "Don't move." He warned. "This'll suck if I miss" Earth-Nashi nodded, and Nashi watched in complete shock as Drake sank his canine's into her neck, his teeth glowing dark red.

"What the...?" Earth-Simon began, but Drake ignored him. Nashi watched in astonishment as purple marks began trailing up Earth-Nashi's neck towards his canines and into them. This process went on for quite some time, and Nashi felt a little sick she was envious of her Earthland counterpart. _He's technically kissing her neck... no! Stop thinking like that! _Earth-Nashi raised a hand slowly and flexed her fingers.

"Woah..." Was all she said, and Drake moved away, wiping the excess poison from his mouth. He moved on to do all his friends (Showing a little more reluctance with Damien and Simon, for obvious reasons" Pretty soon everyone was testing their muscles to see if they worked correctly, Edo-Nashi included. She was a bit bewildered to tell the truth, but she was busier trying to dispel the excitement from having Drake at her neck like that. Earth-Nashi sighed.

"Alright," She said, rubbing the small marks on her neck where Drake had been, for lack of a better way to put it, sucking on her neck. "Now what do we do?"

"We need to stop King Simon" Earth-Damien said flatly. "Which means we'll need to get into the castle."

"He's probably amassing the invasion force" Earth-Ultear said. "Which means he'll be heavily guarded." Earth-Elise laughed darkly, rubbing her fist.

"As I said already" She said. "I can take on an army, no problem"

"Maybe not for you" Edo-Elise spoke up. "We aren't exactly combat ready, if you know what I mean" Edo-Ultear nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and there is no way in hell I'm sitting in this warehouse and doing nothing." She said. Simon nodded quietly.

"Well, if you want to do something that badly" He grinned darkly. "Maybe you can be our bullet sponges"

"Be nice, Simon" Earth-Ultear hissed, and Simon sighed.

"Whatever. I was going to suggest you guys save your guild while we knock some heads." Edo-Drake laughed, and Nashi felt irritated he had the nerve to speak.

"We don't know how to fight" he hissed. "And I'm not attacking army soldiers"

"Cause you're a bitch?" Earth-Elise asked.

"No, because I'm loyal, unlike these fucks!"

"So, a bitch then"

"How about I come over there and teach you a lesso..." Drake was interrupted by Earth-Elise's arm transforming into a sword and being pointed at his neck. Nashi turned to find Earth-Elise smiling sweetly.

"What was that?" She asked, and Nashi could sense the undertone of malice. "I didn't quite hear you, speak up. Got nothing to say? Obviously not, you're a bitch" Drake growled, and Earth-Nashi cleared her throat.

"I think you guys should do your best to save your families" She told them. "We can get you into the palace, hopefully, but your on your own after that, we have more important things to do." Nashi nodded, and watched as Earth-Nashi made for the warehouse window and jumped from it, her friends following suit. _Man, Earthland Fairy Tail is crazy..._

* * *

Earth-Nashi was in the middle of the group as they snuck up to the grounds of the palace. Dispatching the guards to get close had been simple enough, but Nashi knew that their goal of staying silent and the amount of guards wouldn't mix well. She crept up behind Drake as he pinpointed where the guards locations were so they could avoid them. She could hear the others behind her, and Drake motioned for her to follow him, and she did as she kept low to avoid the giant searchlights sweeping the grounds. They had managed to make it into the main hall, and Nashi breathed a sigh of relief as Drake gave them the okay to stand up straight and relax.

"Now what?" Ultear asked. Drake's ears twitched and he pointed to a hallway to their left.

"Prisons are that way" He said. "Which means this is where we split up"Nashi nodded at their Edolas counterparts, and they all visibly paled at the thought of splitting up from them. Drake seemed to notice it as well ,and sighed. "There's only one guard down there right now, meaning you guys should be good unless you're so incompetent you can't handle one guy. And there's five of you"

"Excuse me, Mister Magic" Edo-Damien replied. "Bu we aren't bad asses."

"I know" Drake replied. "But we can't do everything at once. As much as it pains me to say, Edolas Fairy Tail being safe is the least of our problems."

"Agreed" Damien said. "And you guys are the least help, so get to it" Their Edolas counterparts grumbled angrily as they proceeded away from them, and Nashi and the others continued on their way through the palace. Drake was on point with his sound magic telling them when to stop and when not to stop.

"Where are we headed again?" Ultear asked.

"The throne room" Drake replied before he chuckled. "So... Edo-Nashi and Edo-Rocky, huh?" Nashi paled.

"Wah?" Nashi asked as her friends, with the exception of Damien, eyed her curiously. How had Drake known? Right, sound magic. "I don't know that you..."

"Really?" Drake asked curiously. "Just kidding, I heard you know. For everyone behind me who seems completely confused about what the hell I'm talking about..."He smiled devilishly at Nashi before continuing, "I heard all about them while I was curing her, and ah...I heard some weird shit"

"Drake come on don't be..."

"What? Are you embarrassed by the fact that you and Rocky are dating over here" Nashi flinched as Simon snickered.

"Seriously?" He asked.

"Yes..." Nashi replied with a sigh. This caused her friends attempt to stifle their laughter, and Nashi hissed at them to shut up. They were, currently, behind enemy lines, and they couldn't get caught because they couldn't keep quiet. She took the pause in there advance to survey the area of the palace they were currently in. They were in the halls near the armory, as Nashi could hear the mechanical drills from here she was. Once her friends got control of themselves they continued on their way, and Drake stopped with a glare.

"A squad" He said. "Coming this way. And no where to hide, so prepare to take them out" They all took cover behind the pillars in the hallway as the squad came into view, and Nashi noted the amount of them. Surely this wasn't just a squad, it consisted of at least fifty men.

"You think the King is right to activate that thing?" One asked warily, and Nashi noted the caution in his tone.

"I don't think so" Another replied. "That thing was half the reason we lost all our magical power... That and that bastard Demon Lord Dragneel." Say what now? Demon Lord Dragneel? What was that about? Dragneel was Nashi's last name, but she had no idea what that was. Another growled, and Nashi saw wisps of white facial hair.

"Don't you dare mention his name" He said to his squad mates. "I was a soldier when he was here... it was hell on earth, the man blew freaking fire" The others shuddered.

"Was he all that bad? I mean, I heard he has pink hair" Yeah, this was sounding more and more like a certain someone Nashi knew, mainly a certain father she had.

"Pink hair? Yeah, it's seems pretty ridiculous until you remember he had fire magic and had a slug match with King Jellal"

"And Jellal won"

"That isn't the point, he was a monster." Nashi turned as Ultear readied her ice magic to attack them and take them out when Nashi heard high heels clicking down the hallways. Nashi forced Ultear's arm down as counsel woman Ultear strode into the hallway, causing the men to salute. "Ultear! We-we weren't..."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ultear demanded. "His Highness ordered all soldiers into the Anima courtyard! Hurry the hell up and get there!" The men scurried away, and Ultear sighed. "You kids can come out now that I've saved you" Nashi realized she knew they were there, and she stepped out from behind her column.

"How did you know?" Nashi asked.

"I figured you guys would sneak back in and try to stop Simon" She replied. "You're just lucky I found you before they did. Come with me, I have information you can use." Nashi watched her friends as they all shrugged, and they trailed behind her through the castle.

"So, what do we need to know?" Damien asked, and Ultear sighed.

"You already know Simon is preparing to invade Earthland" She replied. "But now that his initial public show of power has escaped and taken out a whole squad that was sent to retrieve them he's kind of snapped" Nashi gulped. That didn't sound good. "He's recalling all the forces from the city and towns in the area for the invasion, meaning the men in the palace and city has effectively tripled."

"So, he's gone insane?" Ul asked, and Ultear nodded.

"Yes, basically" Ultear quickly checked past the corner and motioned for them to follow. " On top of that... he's gone and activated the Royal Army's end card in a fit of rage"

"End card?" Drake asked. "Which is"

"I don't know" Ultear replied. "All I know is that it's code name is Dragon Knight." Nashi didn't know what that meant, but she didn't like it. Dragon Knight sounded way too bad. "I also know that it was a resurrected project from a long time ago."

"Anything else at all?" Elise asked which made Ultear shake her head again. "Well, I'm just interested in attacking a whole army, so can we, like, hurry this up?" Older Ultear glared at the iron dragon slayer.

"We need to make sure you know what you're up against" She replied. "It wouldn't be good if you were to..." The counsel woman was interrupted when a blaring sound surrounded them.

"Warning! The Earthland invaders have been spotted inside the castle! All available troops stop them!" Elise roared with laughter.

"Come and get us, assholes! let's see how you handle all six of us!" Nashi chuckled.

"And when we're able to fight back" Simon smiled as he requipped into his Black Wing armor.

"Are we keeping score again?" He asked, raising his blade. Damien chuckled as he raised his hand, a dark glow enveloping him. When it faded, Demon Damien took his place.

"If we are, you guys are so going to lose" He said as soldiers began running towards them. Elise grinned darkly as one hand turned into a blade and the other into a club.

"Just because you're S-class doesn't mean you're better at this game" She said. Drake grinned as poison began to flow around him.

"Stop acting like you'll win, Elise" He told her Nashi grinned as Counsel Ultear sighed.

"You people are insane" She muttered.

Nashi agreed

**Practically noting happened in this chapter, but I felt like updating. Leave a review if you enjoyed, let's try and get five!**


	53. Revelation

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Nashi sent the soldiers flying and ducked as a few more began to shoot at her. They were currently hiding behind Ultear's ice wall to prevent getting shot, and it was beginning to wear rather thin.

"Poison Dragon Scales!" She heard the poisonous projectiles fly towards their target and explode, and Drake growled. "Every time I take one out, three more take his place!"

"I know!" Damien hissed, launching dark blasts from his hands. "How are you holding up, Ul?" Nashi cast a glance at the woman holding up their wall of ice, and noticed her sweating profusely too keep the bullets from breaking it.

"Great" She replied. "Feeling the burn, but I got it"

"She can't hold up the wall forever" Simon said, launching his swords at the soldiers, aiming for the guns rather than the men in order to stop the constant stream of bullets. "Drake! I need a haze!" Drake snickered.

"Paralyzing or nah?" The other asked, and Simon smirked.

"One that'll cover us and melt bullets!" Drake flinched.

"That's asking for a lot Simon, you got any thing to eat?" Simon glared at the dragon slayer and he chuckled. "Alright, everyone behind the wall." Nashi ducked under the thinning ice and saw Drake release the haze around them.

"Where'd they go?" A soldier demanded.

"The haze is covering them!" Nashi heard the soldiers open fire on them and she heard a hissing sound, and a melted bullet dropped in front of her. "It's melting the bullets! Stop wasting ammo!" Nashi glared at the rest of her group, with Ultear panting,

"Now what?" Nashi demanded, scooting towards them. Elise shrugged.

"I don't know" She replied. "I could make a hole in the middle of us, but it'll take some time"

"That's a good idea" Ultear managed through her panting. "It may not seem like it, but this wall takes a lot of work."

"Where'd the other Ultear go?" Drake asked. "She disappeared when the shooting began"

"Don't know" Damien replied. "But I think that hole is our best bet." Elise nodded and transformed her arm into a pickaxe, and began hacking away at the floor. Nashi put a hand on Ultear's shoulder.

"You good?" She asked, and Ultear nodded.

"Yeah," She replied. "I'm feeling great just...hurry up, okay Elise?" Elise nodded and began to hack at the floor even faster. Nashi stood a little to find the haze dissipating, and she saw a few soldiers through the haze.

"We need to get out of here" Nashi said flatly. "Before any of us get shot." She launched a fireball at a squad to the left, and they scattered for cover. Nashi ducked back beneath the wall, but it wasn't good enough. A bullet tore through her upper arm and she screeched in pain. "Fuck, I'm hit!" She shouted, clutching her bleeding arm. She felt the bullet still lodged in her arm, and it hurt a bit more then she'd imagined it would. Simon knelt in front of her, and she saw his worried look.

"Are you okay?" He asked, and Nashi nodded weakly. "Let me see" Nashi moved her arm and Simon inspected the bullet wound as bullets continued to fly around them. "It's still in there" He reported, looking back at Nashi, "Can you still fight?" Nashi chuckled weakly.

"A little bullet is nothing" She replied. "I got it" Nashi managed to stand back up and throw a few more fireballs, but everyone she threw with her left arm veered way off course. Nashi had to grit her teeth so that she didn't start wailing. It really hurt. She was about to suggest another haze when she heard the ground near Elise crumble.

"Got it!" She shouted. "Everyone in the hole!" Nashi turned as her vision began to blur and managed to fall in the hole, Damien catching her as she did. She was propped against the wall as everyone else jumped down, and Elise turned and sealed the hole with iron.

"Are you alright?" Damien asked, and Nashi coughed.

"I think they poisoned those bullets" She replied weakly. "Drake, get over here" Drake shook his head weakly.

"The bullet needs to be removed" He replied. "It'll keep the poison in her blood stream" Simon nodded, and strode towards a table in the corner, taking a small bit of cloth from a copy of Edolas' flag. He walked to Nashi and tied it around her arm, trying it tight.

"Alright, listen up" He told her. "I need to dig that bullet out. If I'm hurting you too much, squeeze Damien's arm, alright?" Nashi nodded weakly as Simon shoved the remainder of the cloth in her mouth to avoid her screaming and alerting guards. Simon requipped into a small thin blade and, with a nod from Nashi, approached her wound and the blade made contact with wound, Nashi screamed into the cloth as pain shot up her spine. She did her best not to squeeze Damien's arm, but she knew she was anyway. Black spots appeared in her vision as Simon grunted and the blade made contact with her bone, Nashi felt faint.

"Damn, this is gross" She faintly hurt Elise say. Nashi dug a hole in Damien's arm as Simon did his best to force the bullet out, and he growled in frustration and back up.

"Drake," He said. "Can you numb Nashi's arm? I'm afraid of hurting her." Drake nodded and moved forward, planting his hand on Nashi's shoulder, and Nashi felt the pain disappear, and she breathed a sigh of relief, thanking Drake with a look. Simon resumed his work, moving with much more proficiency as Nashi was no longer screaming in pain. Nashi turned to look at the bloody mess of her upper arms and Simon widened the whole a little.

"That looks gross" She murmured, and Simon sighed as the bullet fell from Nashi's arm.

" There" He said. "I got it" He took the cloth around Nashi's arm that prevented her from bleeding a lot and wrapped it around the wound, wiping his bloody hands together,

"Thanks" Nashi said, doing her best to move her bloody numb arm. Simon nodded as Ultear washed his hands off. "Now what? We can't get caught like that again, or we'll be screwed.

"Where exactly are we going anyway?" Drake asked, crossing his arms. "I mean, we've just been doing our best to stay alive." Simon thought for a moment.

"We should be trying to stop the invasion." he said. "But with the way things are going, we won't be able to take on a huge invasion force if we can't even deal with a squad or two."

"Then there's that whole Dragon Knight thing" Damien said, whirling his hand around. "That old project Ultear told us about, remember?" Nashi nodded.

"We need to stop him" She told them. "But we need some sort of distraction, or an advantage..." Nashi was interrupted by a stern knocking on the door, and they all paled.

"Hey, you little shits" A familiar voice said. "I know you're in there, open the damn door." Nashi stared at the others in shock.

"Isn't that..." Ultear said, but Drake was already sat the door and he flung it open, revealing Commander Erik. "Commander Erik! Thank Mavis for you!"

"Thank who?" Erik asked as he quickly entered and shut the door behind him, and Ultear shook him off. "Anyway, I heard the castle getting torn apart and something about Earthlanders, so I came as fast as I could"

"Well, as you can see" Elise said. "We're in quite a predicament here." Erik nodded.

"That you are, but I have some information you could make use of."

"Which is?" Damien asked. Erik motioned for them to follow him, and they quickly followed him out the door and down an abandoned hallway.

"Where are going?" Simon asked.

"Sub level two of the castle" Erik replied. "Only Division Commanders and Members of the royal family can descend past sub level one. King Jellal had them built a few years after the last Anima incident to house several of his pet projects, and where the most dangerous of which is being prepared on sub level four."

"Ultear said something about a Dragon Knight" Elise said, and Erik visibly paled. "That have anything to do with this?" Erik growled and clenched his fists.

"The goddamn Dragon Knight?" He hissed as they rounded a corner. "What the hell is that moronic little kid doing...?"

* * *

Edo-Nashi should've seen it coming, but she didn't think of it until it was too late. Obviously, seeing as their Earthland counterparts were amazing fighters, they were not. They'd gotten capture almost immediatedly, and had been thrown into the cell with there families. Nashi grinned weakly as she looked at her mother.

"Nice save" Her mother said quietly, which made Nashi rub her head sheepishly.

"Sorry," She replied. "We didn't do very well" Her mother sighed.

"Where are your Earthland counterparts?" She asked, which was accompanied by an explosion up above.

"There they are" Drake commented. "What were they thinking letting us do this alone..."

"They have other things to do" Damien replied. "Besides, it was only one guy. We just suck." Nashi chuckled.

"Maybe they'll raise enough hell to the point where we can just slip away" She suggested as gunfire tore up something above them. They were about to give up when a soldier opened the cell door.

"Come on" He hissed. "Let's go"

"Where?" Nashi's mother asked, and the man grinned.

"To the courtyard where the army is gathered" He replied. "The King plans to use the Dragon Knight to kill the invaders, and the people who harbored them"

"But we're not the..." Nashi trailed off as she remembered they looked exactly alike. She trudged out of the cell after her guild as more explosions souded above. _Nashi for the love of God, please hurry..._

* * *

Nashi felt her wounded arm begin to throb as they descended the stairs into sub level two. They had managed to avoid all the guards on the way, but that was probably becuase they were all gathered in the courtyard. Erik walked over to the console and it sprang to life, and he began rapidly tapping the keys, searching for what looked like something it particular. Nashi rubbed the cloth over her bullet wound, tying to dispel the pain, failing rather well. She hadn't expected the wound to throb so horribly, it felt like it had it's own heartbeat. Erik cursed, which interrupted her thoughts.

"It's 70% ready" He told them, continuing to tap keys. "I can't believe he's activating it, it's banned under the law of the King..."

"He is King, right now" Simon reminded him. "Meaning he has every 'right' to activate it." Erik nodded absentmindedly.

"So, what exactly is this Dragon Knight?" Damien asked. "can we blow it up?" Erik didn't reply, just kept muttering to himself. Nashi looked at Erik for a translation. Drake looked confused.

"It will cause the sky to turn dark, and Edolas will lose half of it's magic... What the hell does that mean?" Erik still didn't reply, and Nashi could see Drake's patience wearing thin. "Hey, Edo-Dad! What the hell does that mea..."

"There" Erik said, standing back. "That is the Dragon Knight." Nashi's gaze drifted to the screen, and she paled at the sight before her. "This is what King Simon plans to use against you and Earthland."

"What is that thing?" Elise demanded. "It's huge!"

"And terrifying." Drake added. Erik took a shaky breath.

"The machine that almost took all this world's magic the last time it was activated." He told them. "The one that almost cemented King Faust's tyrannical reign..." Nashi stared up at the silvery beast on the screen. It looked close enough to it's code name, and it's glowing orbs that represented eyes shook Nashi up as she stared at them.

"What is it?" Nashi asked weakly. Erik glowered.

"The Dorma Anim"

**OOOOHHHHHHHH...**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy, so leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	54. 10 Minutes

Ultear hated it when she was the only one with half a brain, especially in life or death situations. She was currently sidelined by the brashness of her friends as they debated what to do against the Dorma Anim, whilst she and Erik stood back and marveled the ridiculousness.

"Are they...always like this?" Erik asked weakly as Elise grabbed Simon by the collar of his jacket, yelling at him. Ultear sighed.

"More often then not, unfortunately." She replied, rubbing her temples as the yelling intensified. She now had a headache, and that didn't help any. Elise, Drake, and Nashi wanted to fight the Dragon Knight head on , and Simon and Damien didn't want anything to do with it, opting for sabotaging the mech before it became a problem. Ultear sighed. She knew Simon and Damien had their heads on straight, but the arguing was what was pissing her off. She didn't have the energy to intervene either, seeing as the wall had sapped most of her strength. She growled as the yelling got even louder. She stormed up to her friends and they took notice instantly. "Can we stop arguing?!" Ultear asked angrily. "At the moment our home is about to be invaded, and we're sitting her arguing about taking that thing down! Why don't we just go and kick the King's ass?!" Drake sighed.

"Because Ul," He replied. "He's probably overseeing the activation personally."

"That and I want to kick both asses" Elise grinned. "The Dorma Anim and King Simon: Kick one, kick another free!" Damien rolled his eyes.

"What about the army with enough bullets to level Crocus?" The takeover mage demanded. "We can't waste magical energy dealing with that Knight in a head on fight, let's just sabotage it."

"10 minutes to Dorma Anim activation" A robotic female voice resounded throughout the floor. "I say again, 10 minutes until Dorma Anim activation"

"It's too late to sabotage it" Erik spoke up. "The only thing left is to power it up, you can't trash it now" Ultear was more then disappointed when Elise cackled.

"Yes!" The Iron Dragon Slayer shouted happily. "Our plan wins! High five!" Elise and Drake high fived, and Elise was left hanging with Nashi checking her bullet wound. The pinkette flinched as she re-wrapped her shoulder and turned around, facing everybody.

"Ul's right" Nashi said, and Ultear sighed in relief. "This bickering is pointless, we need to stop the army. Although, this Dorma Anim is quite the problem..." Ultear rubbed her chin, deep in thought. How could they take this thing out? It was quite an imposing job, even for them. Could all five of them even make a dent? Ultear turned to Erik, who perked up upon being looked at.

"How was the Dorma Anim taken out last time?" She asked the Commander, who made a face.

"Hmmm..." He said, thinking. "As I recall, it's referred to as the legend of Three Dragons"

"Three Dragons?" Simon asked. "What does that mean?" Erik sighed as he stood up, walked towards the screen and began tapping, and everyone waited impatiently.

"The legend of the Three Dragons," Erik began, "Is the story of the Dorma Anim's last defeat. It is said that when King Faust had gone insane and activated the forbidden Dragon Knight, the beast and King were defeated by Three Dragons from Earthland, who ripped the Knight apart and scattered the remains across Edolas to prevent the Knight ever being used again." Erik snickered. "Of course, the latter is folklore to suppress the masses, as Earthlanders wouldn't have made a good story." Damien made a face.

"Well, obviously not" He said, rolling his eyes.

"Of course," Erik continued, "I'm sure you're all well aware of who those three Dragons were..." Erik tapped more rapidly as Ultear remembered the Edolas story. "The Dragon as majestic as the open sky, the Dragon as dark and metallic as iron deep in the earth, and a Dragon as bright and fiery as a fire burning in it's hearth..."

"Wendy, Gajeel, and Natsu" Drake supplied as Erik nodded. "They defeated it?"

"Yes," Erik replied, as a picture showed up on the screen. Ultear could see a white, red, and shiny black dragon attacking what looked like the Dorma Anima, and she had to admit it was amazingly painted. "Here is a picture someone painted to commemorate the event, There's even a holiday."

"8 minutes to Dorma Anim activation."

"Then how do we beat it?" Nashi demanded. "I mean, surely there's a method too..."

"You'd need to ask them yourself" Erik interrupted, "Although given your current position, I feel as if that isn't possible." Nashi nodded, and Ultear had to admit this information wasn't helping. All he'd told them was some shitty legend and showed them a picture, neither of which helped them any.

"Well, now what?" Ultear asked, looking around. She got no response, not even from Elise about attacking it. "Come on guys, we have to come up with something!"

"I'm thinking," Damien replied. "But I can't see any plan where we all survive..."

"That'd be quite a story to tell when we get back" Simon said with a slight smile.

"If any of us make it back" Drake replied. "As I see it, we may not."

"Don't be so depressing" Nashi scolded. "We'll all make it just fine"

"You got shot already" Elise pointed out. "Who's to say no one else will?"

"I'm not saying no one else will" Nashi replied. "I'm saying that Drake being so depressing isn't helping."

"So you're saying someone will get shot?"

"Fuck off, Elise" Silence fell over them, and Ultear thought as hard as she could, but nothing jumped out at her as an amazing plan. She suddenly got an idea, and turned to Erik.

"Can you get us a view of the courtyard?" She asked him "Just so we have a vague idea of what we're going up against here?" Erik nodded, and began tapping the console again, and a camera view of the courtyard sprang up in front of Ultear, and her eyes widened as her friends talked behind her. "Guys," She spoke up. "That's..." She heard the others turn around, and they gasped.

"What the...?" Simon said.

"Bastard..." Damien growled.

"Why is Edolas Fairy Tail there?!" Nashi yelled angrily as Edo-Nashi was forced into the group, and guns were aimed at them. "We have to save them!"

"Without a plan?" Simon asked weakly.

"Fuck the plan!" Drake shouted. "We can't let them die!" Ultear smiled as her friends ran towards the door, all of them shouting insults.

"They may be a little insane" Erik said. "But you can't compare their sense of justice." Ultear smiled.

"Nope, you really can't"

"6 minutes to Dorma Anim activation"

* * *

Edo-Nashi was more then a little terrified. Having all these guns pointed at her while she cowered in her father's grasp was all she found herself capable of, and she heard King Simon laugh.

"Earthland invaders!" He shouted. "And the traitorous guild that harbored them, see upon the destruction of you're home with you're own eyes!" Nashi paled as more soldiers appeared out of a doorway. "Now that you've started a war with Edolas, a war you will get! one that all your countrymen and women will have to bear!"

" We've told you a million times, you delusional bastard!" Ultear shouted. "We aren't them!" King Simon laughed again.

"Really?" He asked. "The explain why you look exactly alike"

"We..."

"Explain why you were trying to break out the guild that helped you, but got captured!"

"We..."

"Explain why you were so intent of making small dick jokes!" That one caught everyone of guard, and Nashi saw a few soldiers giggle silently. "But never mind that! You will all pay for your crimes!"

"3 minutes to Dorma Anim activation"

"And soon the Dragon Knight will awaken, and with it's power we will rush Earthland under our superior boot!"

"You're fucking crazy!" Damien shouted.

"Crazy?" King Simon asked. "Nothing of he sort. I'm simply being vengeful, and believe me, I will reap vengeance for my family." Nashi couldn't say anything, her tongue betrayed her.

"Please!" She heard her mother shout angrily. "There are innocent kids here!"

"No member of the guild that harbored the fugitives is innocent" King Simon replied. "You will all die for this crime! Men, Finish them!" She heard hundreds of guns get loaded and cocked, and she buried her head in her fathers chest.

"It's okay" He cooed. "It'll be fine" Nashi didn't believe him for an instant, but she didn't say anything about it.

"Open fire!" King Simon shouted, and bullets flew.

"Ice Make: Wall!" Nashi looked up as an icy wall sprung to life around them, catching all the bullets.

"Evil Explosion!" Before any guards could question what had happened, a blast of dark magic threw them all over the place. Nashi saw a golden light soar into the sky, and seven seals were drawn in the sky.

"Be judged by the seven stars above! Grand Chariot!" Thousands of arcs made of heavenly light struck the courtyard, throwing up a veil of dirt. Nashi coughed, and when the dust cleared, she felt relief wash over her.

"Earthland Fairy Tail!" She shouted happily. Earth-Ultear, Simon, and Damien stood facing the soldiers, all of them with murderous glares on their faces.

"What kind of a sick twisted fuck attacks innocent people?" Damien demanded, and Nashi found his demon form terrifying. "I mean really, if you wanted to shoot at us, you could've just asked."

"Requip! Purgatory armor!" Simon shouted, changing into spiky back and gray armor, carrying a standard issue Edolas assault rifle. "Now you've gone and angered us, do you know how bad for your health that is? To anger Fairy Tail?" King Simon laughed.

"Fools!" The King shouted. "I have the whole Edolas army under my command! Do you really think just the three of you stand a chance?!" Earth-Ultear grinned.

"Now, there's your problem." She said as water started to circle her violently, and Nashi noted the change in temperature. "We aren't just three mages..." Nashi watched as her whole body turned into water and icicles surrounded her. "We're S-class mages! Some of the best fairy Tail has!" King Simon laughed.

"Oh? Let us see how S-class wizards perform against thousands of armed men!" The army roared in approval, and advanced on Earthland Fairy Tail.

"Simon!" Damien shouted, and Simon grinned, his body glowing with heavenly light. before Nashi could even ask what was happening, Simon disappeared, and all of the guards rifles broke into a million pieces. They all gasped and backed up as Simon reappeared, carrying a blade he must've used to carry out the task.

"Figured I'd even the odds a bit" He said. "I've just broken the sound barrier and broke all your guns, no big deal" Nashi stared at the Earthland version of the king in shock. He'd broken the sound barrier, going faster then sound itself.

"We still have swords!" A soldier shouted and they began to advance again, this time slipping on the icy floor that had spread throughout the entire courtyard, and Ultear grinned.

"Sorry," She said. "You guys must've been to busy to notice me freezing the entire floor to trip you up, sorry." Simon raised his hand and a red magic seal appeared over Nashi and the rest of her guild, dropping weapons ranging from maces to guns into their hands.

"I figured I'd even the odds" Simon said casually as Edolas Fairy tail stood up. Damien laughed.

"Let's go fuckers!" He shouted, his hands glowing with black energy. "Come and get us!" Before Nashi could even understand what was happening, battle erupted in font of her, punctuated by spells being thrown in every direction and the occasional gun going off. She lifted the sword wearily and began to fight as well, fighting beside her father as they attacked the army.

"Dorma Anim activation sequence completed." The robotic voice boomed. "Stand by for Dorma Anim" King Simon roared with laughter again from atop the tower.

"It's over, Earthland Fairies!" He shouted as the ground rumbled and the fighting momentarily stopped. "Behold the ultimate anti-magic weapon! The Dorma Anim!"

**And another cliffhanger, I'm sorry :) All cliffs aside though, this arc will come to a close very soon. Well, actually, never mind. The Edolas part will end shortly, but I have a small addition ready for afterwards then a few one shots, blah blah, next arc.**

**Hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	55. Three Dragons

Simon was glad he had good senses, because if he didn't he'd have no idea what was happening. Blades, bullets, and people flew left and right, and he was currently flying above the battleground to avoid that. He could see his friends helping Edolas Fairy Tail fightback, and he occasionally released an arc of light to help, but he was more looking for the big problems. Seeing a soldier sneaking up behind Ultear, he dove as fast as he could and threw the soldier away, standing back to back with Ultear.

"Having fun avoiding everything?" She demanded as several bullets passed through her liquid body. Simon chuckled.

"A lot more than I'd be having down here, obviously." He replied. "Have you seen Nashi, Drake, or Elise? I haven't seen them yet." Ultear shook her head.

"No, I haven't seen anything yet."

"30 seconds until Dorma Anim activation" Simon growled as the voice announced their biggest problem.

"There's that, too" He said flatly. "Will you be alright on your own?" Ultear chuckled at his question as she launched icicle spears at a squad of soldiers.

"I'll be fine, you go and help someone else." Simon nodded reluctantly and took off towards a few soldiers, landing and taking them out with a few small bursts of light. Simon was reluctant to use up too much magic due too the lack of Ethernano in Edolas. Due to that, if he used up all his strength, that was it, there was no recharging for a while. Because of that, he used the resources around him, such as dropped weapons and such to attack. The more magic he conserved, the better.

"Dorma Anim activation sequence completed." The robotic voice boomed. "Stand by for Dorma Anim" King Simon roared with laughter again from atop the tower.

"It's over, Earthland Fairies!" He shouted as the ground rumbled and the fighting momentarily stopped. "Behold the ultimate anti-magic weapon! The Dorma Anim!" Simon paled, this wasn't good. He turned to find the tower roof opening up, revealing the robotic monster. It was far bigger than Simon had anticipated, it was at least 25 feet tall. It silvery body glowed in the afternoon sun, and it's red eyes glowed upon being revealed to the world. King Simon laughed as the chest cavity opened and he climbed inside. "Now, how about we have some fun?!" The Dorma Anim moved swiftly, and a beam of white energy surged from it's mouth into the middle of the courtyard, throwing up people and debris everywhere.

"Shit!" Damien growled as he landed next to Simon. "What now?" Simon shook his head.

"We attack" He replied. "We have no other option." Damien looked even more pissed off now, and Ultear crawled to them.

"Where the fuck are Nashi and the others?!" She demanded. "They've completely disappeared!"

"They ran this way with us!" Damien replied. "Are you saying they aren't here!?"

"Yes!"

"Fuck!" King Simon laughed, and Simon noted that he, along with the others and Edolas Fairy Tail, had been surrounded in the brief instant since the Dorma Anim's attack.

"Shit," He hissed. "No where to run now"

"We're so fucked." Ultear muttered.

"Now, Fairies, let us carve a memorial made of your bones into this courtyard!" He charged up another blast, and it left the monsters mouth. Simon flinched and closed his eyes, waiting for the end to come.

Nothing happened. Simon looked up, confused. The Dorma Anim's attack had missed, flying slightly off course. Simon looked up at the mech and found out why. A Fireball the size of the beast had pounded itself into it's back. Before anything could happen, the Dorma Anim received a blow to the chest, and flew backwards. King Simon roared angrily.

"What the fuck was that?!" He demanded. "The Dorma Anim is invincible to magic of all forms!" Simon saw a figure fly into the sky behind King Simon.

"Poison Dragon...ROAR!" Drake's attack met it's mark, landing on the Dorma Anim's back. When the toxic attack faded, Simon saw the thrusters had melted. Drake landed next to the other figures and one chuckled.

"Good job on the thrusters, Drake" Nashi said with a grin. Drake chuckled.

"You distracted it for me" He replied. "You guys did better" Elise chuckled as she cracked her knuckles.

"You're to modest, Drake" She growled. Simon watched as the three of them faced off against the Dorma Anim on top of the highest tower of the castle.

"Nashi!" Ultear shouted.

"Elise!" Edo-Levy called.

"Drake!" Edo-Nashi yelled. None of them turned around to face them.

"Stop the invasion" Nashi called. "The Dorma Anim is ours." Simon grinned as he requipped into his Fire Emperor armor.

"He's all yours" He told them as he pointed the blade at the army. "We've got the grunts" Damien laughed as he stood.

"Man, they get to have all the fun" He said.

"Will they be okay with just the three of them?" Edo-Lucy asked warily. Simon chuckled.

"Are you serious?" he asked. "That's a Dragon Knight, they're all Dragon Slayers. They can handle it just fine"

* * *

Nashi listened as battle broke out behind them, and smiled. They'd made it just in the nick of time, apparently. Her attack had thrown the beam off course, and Elise thew him back while Drake used his toxic roar to melt the thrusters. King Simon growled.

"Earthland Fairies" He hissed from inside the Dorma Anim. "I would've known you'd show yourselves. Have you come to die?" Drake chuckled as he crossed his arms.

"Die?" He asked. "Nothing so morbid, unfortunately. We're here to kick your ass and save our home." King Simon laughed.

"Kick my ass?!" He demanded. "Sorry to disappoint you, Fairies, but the Dorma Anim is invincible! It cannot be damaged by your petty attacks!" Elise snickered.

"Looks to me that roar did some damage to your jetpack, pal" She pointed out. "Now, stop being so pompous and fight us" Nashi smiled as King Simon growled.

"You will regret the day you challenged me" He hissed as he swung at them with the Dorm Anim's left arm, but they all dodged it and Nashi propelled herself at the mech, punching it in the midsection. She was swung at, but she dodged it as poisonous scaled exploded against his front and Elise slamming her club into it's face, forcing it back. Another beam of energy left it's mouth, and Nashi jumped back away from it.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" She shouted and the gout of flame met the Dorma Anim's front, leaving it steaming. Drake jumped up behind it.

"Poison Dragon's Twin Fangs!" Two fang like attacks launched from his hands and struck the Dorma Anim in the back, but it didn't falter whatsoever. It turned to attack Drake, but Elise was already ready.

"Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!" She yelled, her fist turning gray as she punched the Dorma Anim's leg, leaving a dent as it buckled and missed Drake slightly. "Damn" Elise said, backing up next to Nashi. "This thing is hard as fuck"

"All the more fun to break then" Nashi replied. "Let's go!" She and Elise charged again.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

"Iron Dragon Club!" As they attacked it mercilessly, Drake climbed up onto his shoulder, waving and smiling like an idiot at the eyes before he threw his own punches at the Dragon Knight.

"Gah!" King Simon shouted. "Get the fuck off of me!" He spun his arms and upper body, throwing them all off.

"Our attacks aren't doing all that much" Drake noted as they stood up.

"We can't let him beat us though" Elise replied. "This isn't a battle we can lose."

"Agreed." Nashi said, smiling at her friends. "Let's make this a great story to tell when we get back, alright?" Drake snickered.

"Great story?" He asked. "So I do everything and you two bow in the presence of my awesomeness?"

"In your dreams, Poison Breath" Elise replied. "I'll get him, you two hang back!"

"Over my dead body!" Nashi smiled as she rushed with them again. Drake jumped to eye level with it. "Poison Dragon Spiral Jaw!" His kick connected with it's face, pushing it back slightly as Elise jumped up.

"Iron Dragon Sword!" She shouted as she slashed at the midsection of the beast, but her attacks bounced off uselessly. Nashi ran up next to it.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" She slammed the fireball into the Dorma Anim, and it disappeared into a smokescreen. Nashi waited with bated breath for the result of their attacks. She paled when it reappeared, barely damaged at all.

"Seriously?" Drake demanded. "It's barely hurt at all!" Elise massages her fist.

"It is resistant to magic" She said. "It's no wonder we aren't doing an damage to it."

"We need to be careful, guys" Nashi said when she finally realized the level of fatigue she was at. "There's no Ethernano in the air to recharge us in Edolas, we can't use to much magic"

"While we're at it" Drake said angrily. "Why don't we give him wings? Just for the hell of it" King Simon roared with laughter.

"Foolish Earthland Mages!" He shouted. "I've already told you the Dorma Anim is impervious to your magic! You cannot win this battle!"

"Take your stupid speeches and shove them up your..." Elise's insult was cut off when a blast impacted her in the chest, causing her to fly back.

"Elise!" Nashi shouted worriedly. Drake growled, poison coating his hands.

"Poison Dragon Scales!" The attack landed and the Dorma Anim seemed pretty undamaged by it. "This is insane" he hissed as Elise rejoined them. "If we can't damage i with magic what do we do?"

"Punch it until it breaks!" Elise shouted. "Then rip the King out of the cockpit and kick his ass too!" Before either of the other Dragon Slayer's could comment, Elise took off towards him, launching several different attacks.

"She's impossible" Nashi said face palming.

"She's got the only plausible plan, though" Drake replied. "Come on, we can't let her do all of the work." Nashi nodded and ran at the Dorma Anim again, preparing another attack, feeling her magic reservoir emptying. _We have to take it out soon, I'm losing my strength from all the fighting I've already done here..._

* * *

Ultear knew the battle was practically already won, but she still had to beat up the remaining soldiers who thought they could win, which was rather ridiculous.

"Water Nebula!" She shouted, and the torrent of water washed away another squad. Ultear paused to take a breath, she was running out of energy. She'd been senselessly attacking anyone with the Edolas seal somewhere on their body, and it had taken it's toll on her magically. She barely had enough strength left for a few bubbles, and that wasn't good. Thinking quickly, Ultear switched back to a solid body, knowing full well keeping her body in it's water state constantly drained her magic. She felt a little magic return as her body solidified, but it wasn't much. She backed up and was met with Simon's back.

"You doing good?" he asked.

"Feeling the burn" She replied. "I don't have a lot of magic left" She saw a blade appear in front of her, and turned to look at him. "And I don't know if you remember our sparing sessions, but But I'm shit with a blade"

"It'll have to do," He replied. "If you take too long to rest, they'll kill you" Ultear smiled wryly.

"I'd so make you explain that to my mom" Ultear replied as she took the blade from his hands. "I'd love to see that" Simon chuckled.

"I'm sure you would, from your hole in the ground." Ultear's smile faded as they were attacked, instantly getting separated. Ultear was, as she had said, not very good with a blade, but she instantly could see she was on par with the soldiers, who she either disarmed or knocked out. She didn't say for her teammates, but she wasn't aiming to kill any of them. When she cleared a path, she could see Steph fighting a few soldiers. She paled when she saw one sneaking up behind her, blade aimed to stab her right through the chest. The soldier swung, and Ultear heard the girl's name leave her mouth.

"Steph!"

**Damn, another cliffhanger? I'm the worst! ;) Anyway, make sure you leave a review, let's get five!**


	56. Demon Lord Xisplate

Damien had to admit, the Edolas soldiers were pussies. Most took one look at him and his demon form and ran the other way, and he found himself actually enjoying the battle. He just casually walked around, throwing out random punches and blast of magic when he felt like it. He had magic to waste, he had a shit load, even after attacking the bandits holding Drake and Ul. He was loving it.

"Steph!" Damien's ears perked up at the sound of his sisters name. He turned and saw Ultear pushing her way through the crowd. he followed her gaze and immediatedly found out why. His sisters Edolas counterpart was fighting a few soldiers, and another was poised to run her through with a sword. Damien began to run and was easily faster than Ul, as most people saw his hulking form and got out of his way. The solider got closer, and Damien unfurled his wings and used them to propel himself even faster. _I will not watch her die, not again...never again..._

* * *

_"Alright guys, watch this!" Damien turned with a huge smile on his face as his friends cheered him on. He couldn't wait to show off this new for he got. He hadn't tried it out and it was probably dangerous, but what the heck right? He walked to the middle of the guild backyard, and raised his right hand. A black magic circle appeared around it. "Takeover: Demo Xisplate!" Damien shouted as the demon began to merge with his body._

_"You're awesome, Damien!" Simon shouted._

_"You look awesome!" Elise yelled. Damien wanted to laugh, until he realized something was wrong. Normally he was in control of his takeover, but now he was watching his friends like he was in a theater. He looked around curiously, trying to figure out what was happening._

_"Where am I?" He asked aloud, hoping that somebody could hear him and would answer him, but he had the feeling that was a foolish thought. That was, however, until he heard somebody chuckle._

_"In your own mind, boy" Damien whirled to find a man wearing midnight black armor, and equally as black hair. He had a reptilian tail, and black horns jutting out from his temples that turned outward. Damien felt the death radiating off of him, and it chilled the young boy._

_"Who are you?" Damien asked weakly. The being chuckled. A deep sound that sent a shock down Damien's spine._

_"I'm you" he replied. "Or rather, you and I have come to share a body, so to speak"_

_"What does that mean?" The being sighed, crossing his arms at the young boy._

_"Perhaps you would recognize me by my name" he replied, and Damien backed up slightly as black energy flowed off of his armor. "I am the Demon Lord Xisplate, the guardian of the 12th Circle of Judgement. The Demon of Death." Damien paled._

_"I'm... you're... we're...?" Xisplate chuckled._

_"Yes, I'm the demon whom you have summoned with this takeover. I must say, I'm impressed such a young boy was able to merge with me."_

_"Why?"  
_

_"In a distant land, monks train and meditate for years until they are near death itself to be able to summon me, and here I have a young healthy boy. Quite the change of pace, from bodies so old and withered I can barely move."_

_"Heh...yeah"_

_"However, I must take advantage of this...don't you agree, Damien Dreyar?" Before Damien could question what the demon meant, Damien saw his real body turn and shoot off a blast of magic too the left, exploding a small building. _

_"That was awesome!" His sister shouted._

_"Do it again!" Drake laughed. Xisplate chuckled again._

_"My my, these children seem hungry for a rampage. Shall I oblige, Dreyar?"_

_"No, don't blow anything up!" Xisplate smirked._

_"Like this?" Damien's real body turned and launched more magic, this time at Magnolia. Damien watched in horror as people he knew ran as building toppled and exploded. "My my, I had forgotten what it was like to kill humans. Such fun"_

_"Stop!" Damien cried, grabbing the demon's arm and trying to force it down. Damien realized how frigid the armor was. Xisplate laughed darkly._

_"I'm sorry, is something wrong?" Damien felt his body take flight, and Xisplate proceeded to attack the city, blowing any and all things he saw up. "What's wrong, Dreyar? Have I done something wrong?"_

_"You're attacking innocent people with my body! Stop it!"_

_"Why?"_

_"Because it isn't right!" Damien felt even more terrified as Xisplate laughed._

_"Right?" He demanded. "That is what you've concerned yourself with? You are a demon, Dreyar, we do not worry about such things."_

_"I'm no demon, I'm human!"_

_"Oh?" The tone Xisplate used almost made Damien second guess himself. "Is that so?"_

_"Yeah...it is"_

_"Then explain to me how you were able to summon me. No normal eight year old boy could've managed that."_

_"I...learned takeover from my mother..."_

_"Mother?" Xisplate was silent for a moment before his obsidian eyes widened. "Oh my word, little Mira? This certainly changes things"_

_"How do you know my mother?" Xisplate smirked._

_"Oh it's a fine and bloody tale, boy. Did your mother ever tell you how she obtained her powers?"_

_"...No"_

_"...Well, long story short she absorbed a demon attacking her village." Xisplate clicked his tongue. "Such a shame, too. It took us years to replace Keri." Damien wasn't going to ask who that was as Xisplate continued. "The other Demon Lords issued she must die, but I saw your mothers potential, as a demon takeover wizard. I protected her from the other eleven in hopes she would grow. And grow she did."_

_"What does this have to do with me?" Xisplate smiled darkly._

_"Well, we could say that your life belongs to me, as I am the only reason you're alive."_

_"What?! No! You won't kill me, not now not ever!" The look on Xisplate's face as Damien's body continued to rampage told Damien the demon wasn't interested in hearing it. Xisplate sighed._

_"If not the life of the caster as is tradition with me, than perhaps someone close enough, would that suffice?"_

_"Huh?" Damien wasn't sure what that meant until he heard footsteps._

_"Oniichan, stop!" Damien whirled to find his little sister staring up at him angrily. "You're hurting people, stop!"_

_"Steph!" Damien shouted. "Get away, please! This isn't..." Xisplate laughed._

_"Being bound by blood is as close as I can get, wouldn't you agree Dreyar?" Damien felt tears stinging his eyes._

_"No, not her! Not my sister!" Xisplate growled, and Damien saw his earthly body aim his hand at Steph._

_"I grow tired of our conversation Dreyar. I'd apologize in advance, but I really don't give a damn" Black energy swirled in Damien's open palm, and shot at Steph at lightning speed, everything around her becoming a blur._

_"Steph!"_

* * *

_Damien opened his eyes and looked around. He was in the infirmary. How had he gotten here again? he tried to sit up and his body ached in response. He heard the door open, and Wendy stood there with a weak smile on her face._

_"Oh, you're awake Damien" She said sadly. "That's good at least"_

_"What happened?" The young Dreyar managed. Wendy sighed._

_"You lost control of your takeover and trashed the city, or most of it." It all came really back to Damien now, the rampage, the death._

_Steph_

_Damien felt a rock settle in his stomach as he remembered what Xisplate had said. 'Being bound by blood is as close as I can get, wouldn't you agree, Dreyar?' Damien felt like dying. He looked up at Wendy weakly._

_"Steph" He managed to choke out. "What happened to Steph?" Wendy sighed as she looked down._

_"She..." Wendy trailed off. "I'm sorry, Damien. There was nothing left." Damien felt as if he was falling. Steph was gone, slayed by her demonic older brother. How could he have let that happen? Xisplate had wanted blood, and he'd gotten it. Damien felt his body begin to rock and shake with anger and sadness, but he felt none of it. He was back in his head, and the demon was behind him._

_"Shall we ever have fun again" Xisplate said with a smile. "A life is required, or I shall take yours, got it?" Damien didn't reply, he had no words to do so with. "I cannot wait until we do business again...Damien" Damien felt himself beginning to sob, huge labored ones. Wendy was doing her best to comfort him._

_"Steph...I'm sorry, Steph...He made me do it..."_

* * *

Damien grabbed the blade before it pierced his sisters stomach, and the soldier responsible panicked at the sight of him. Damien let out a low growling noise that alerted his sister.

"I watched Steph die once." He hissed at the soldier as he bent the blade upward and snapped it. "I will not let you repeat that fate here, Xisplate." The soldier looked terrified.

"Who is..." The soldier was cut off as Damien grabbed him by his neck and threw him away. Steph smiled at him.

"Thanks, Oniichan!" She said brightly, causing Damien's stomach to turn. "He almost had me!"

"...yeah, you're welcome." Silence befell them as the battle raged on.

"Hey Oniichan" Damien turned to his little sister from Edolas curiously. She had a big smile on her face, and that didn't help soothe Damien's guilt at the flashback. "Don't beat yourself up over killing Earth-Me. I'm sure you didn't mean too. You're too nice to do that." Damien sighed.

"I know I'm too nice, but my demons aren't." He told her. "After all, Xisplate killed her. I was just helpless to do anything"

"Well, then why are you so upset about it? It wasn't your fault."

"The only reason Xisplate got close enough to kill you was my own faulty sense of control. I'm never summoning him again. Ever."

"Good! Now, I have to go find Edo-You. He's probably hiding somewhere." Steph ran off, and Damien watched her go sadly. All she ever managed to do, regardless of her not blaming himself pep talks, just intensified his guilt. Damien turned and took off into the battlefield. _never again... I will not use him ever again. _Damien paled as a voice not his own laughed in his head.

_"Never again, eh Damien? I guess we'll just see about that, won't we? After all, you and I have a shared destiny. We will see each other soon enough, trust me."_

Damien did his best to ignore the voice he hadn't heard for ten years, but it unnerved him a lot.

"Damien, look out!" Damien turned just in time to see a soldier get flung away by a burst of heavenly light, the sword that was going to kill him clattering the the ground. Simon soared next to Damien and gave him a look. "Don't get so distracted with bugs, Damien." Simon informed him flatly. "It almost killed you." Damien managed a laugh.

"Sorry, but the soldiers are such a joke!" Before Simon could reply, Damien heard a screech. Both turned to find Edo-Ul being forced down on by three soldiers intent on killing her.

"I got it," Simon told Damien. "You collect yourself."

"Can do, Fairy Prince...or whatever the hell you go by" Damien watched as Simon cast him an irritated look and soared off to save Edo-Ul. Damien clenched his fists. _Combined Destiny, Xisplate? Let's see how you prophecy works with you stuck in the demon world. _The demon laughed in response.

_"Plenty of time, Damien. We have plenty of time"_

** Pretty dark chapter, I know. Let's try and get five reviews, so leave one if you enjoyed!**


	57. Here's to Hoping

Nashi jumped back as the Dorma Anim swung at her, and she narrowly avoided it as she stood. She almost faltered, and realized that she was growing weaker by the minute. She clearly had the least energy out of the three of them, but Elise and Drake were panting as well.

"This is getting more ridiculous by the minute" Elise said, panting heavily.

"Does this thing have no weak spot?" Drake demanded angrily. Nashi didn't have the energy to reply, she was doing all she could to stand. She was almost at her limit, and that was not a good thing.

"We'll have too..." Elise trailed off, and cursed under her breath. "Fuck, I don't know. We've tried everything." Nashi managed to stand without using her knees as support and sighed.

"There has to be something we haven't tried." Nashi hissed. "Something, anything." Drake shook his head.

"There is literally nothing we haven't tried." He replied. "Even shit talking, but that just's makes him angrier" Nashi was about to say something when King Simon laughed.

"Foolish Fairies!" he shouted. "I've already told you the Dorma Anim is resistant to your magic! I'll admit, however, that I am impressed with the little bit of damage you've managed to do."

"Fuck off" Elise hissed under her breath. Nashi had to agree with her friend, she really wanted King Simon to fuck off. His whole' invincible to magic you can't beat me' crap was really getting to her.

"Guys," Nashi said warily. "I... I don't have anything left..." She felt Drake's hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Nashi nodded. "Well, looks like it's just you and me, Elise" Elise chuckled and stepped in front of Nashi.

"Take a breather, Nashi" She said. "Drake and I can hold him off."

"Are you sure?" Nashi asked weakly. Elise responded by rushing forward and slamming her clubs into the mech ,and Nashi did her best not to collapse. Drake followed Elise's lead and ran forward, punching and kicking the Dorma Anim wherever he could. Nashi watched weakly as they did, a little upset they'd lied to her. She knew perfectly well both of them were almost at their limit as well, but they had far more energy than she did.

"Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust!" Nashi watched as the snake figurehead of Drake's attack grabbed the Dorma Anim's arm, but King Simon was one step ahead of him, using the poison to slam Drake into the ground.

"Drake!" Elise shouted worriedly, but that was all King Simon needed to use the Dorma's tail to slam Elise into the ground as well. _At this rate, we aren't going to win... _Nash did her best to stand, but she could barely produce anything but embers. King Simon laughed, and Drake and Elise landed in front of Nashi, beaten and bruised.

"Now," King Simon shouted. "How about I end this? Then, I'll use this amazing invention to kill your families!" Nashi doubted that Fairy Tail wouldn't be able to end this pathetic little army, but they couldn't help them now. Nashi watched as slots opened up on the Dorma Anim's back. Rocket launchers.

"This is really bad" Elise whispered as she struggled to her hands and knees. "Let's hope Erik succeeds" Drake coughed as he sat up, clutching his now revealed arms, as his coats sleeves had been ripped to pieces.

"I gave him the proper dosage." He said. "Let's just hope he manages. He may be our last hope." Nashi nodded weakly as rockets appeared in the launchers, and Nashi came up with a crazy idea.

"Guys," She said. "Get behind me"

"What?" Elise asked incredulously. "Are you insane? You're in a worse condition then we are!" Nashi turned and met Drake's gaze, and her best friend's ears twitched. He chuckled.

"Just do it, Elise" He told the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Nashi's got this." Nashi managed to stand in front of her friends as the rockets launched, and King Simon laughed manically.

"Goodbye, Fairies!"

* * *

Erik winced as an explosion rocked the castle. They certainly were aiming to destroy, weren't they? Erik turned the corridor towards the upper floors, and he began to worry slightly. What if his Earthland son hadn't given him the proper amount? He'd have to worry about it later. He had a job to do after all, and if what those kids had told him was true, then he may have been the only hope they had. Erik's mind drifted back to the conversation they'd had before they ran off.

...

_Erik stared at the three Earthlanders in front of him who'd pulled him aside from the rush to save Edolas Fairy Tail. He had no idea what they wanted, but it must've been serious._

_"What's wrong?" He asked, and Nashi sighed._

_"If we're being completely serious," She told him. "There's almost no way we'll win this fight without a trump card."_

_"Which is?" Erik asked. The raven haired one, Elise, stared back at him._

_"King Jellal" She replied. "We need him up and moving, he's the only one who can stop this invasion."_

_"Who do you plan to fix that problem?" Erik demanded, crossing his arms. His Earthland son chuckled._

_"Poiso__n specialist over here" he told him, pulling out a vial of clear liquid. "I've never really toyed with creating anti-venom, but this is what I came up with." Drake threw the vial to Erik who almost dropped it. "Just force him to drink that, and it should combat whatever King Douchebag force fed him." Erik stared at the vial of liquid in shock. "Oh and don't waste it or anything. That took a lot of energy."_

_"Who did you even make anti-venom?" Elise asked. Drake shrugged._

_"Well," He replied. "I guess I just tapped into my ability to eat poison, which made it anti-venom and..."_

_"Spare us the science lesson" Nashi interrupted suddenly, and the pinkette faced Erik. "We need you to do this, alright?" Erik nodded, pocketing the vial._

_"I can do it." he replied. "You guys try and beat him, I'll make sure someone sane can take the throne when that little shit goes to prison." The three of them nodded, and turned to run after their three teammates. "You three better not die beforehand though..._

_..._

Erik approached the chambers of the King and Queen, and the two soldiers guarding them saluted.

"Commander Erik." They said. "What do you need?" Erik stood in front of them and tried not to look suspicious. He knew they only listened to Simon, but he had to trick them.

"I need to see the King and Queen" he told them in his commanding tone, but the soldier shook his head.

"Sorry Commander" He said. "We're on direct orders from Simon that only he and the doctors may visit the King and Queen" Erik did his best to roll his eyes knowingly.

"I know that" he replied irritably. "I'm here by the request of the doctors. They have a new anti-venom they wished me to administer."

"Why aren't the doctors here?"

"Are you serious?" Erik demanded, and stepped forward to smack the soldier in the head. "With the war zone out there making the whole castle dangerous, they didn't want to risk coming up here. I volunteered." The soldier made a face before nodding understandingly.

"Makes sense" He said, opening the door. Erik slipped past the two of them and they shut the door behind him. he sighed as he approached the unconscious royals. Erik had to admit, whatever poison Simon had used must have been potent. _He probably was aiming to kill them, though. _Erik walked up next to Jellal and stared down at him. The man didn't look any better than when Erik had last seen him in this state. Erik fumbled around with the vial and pulled it out of his pocket, swishing the clear liquid around in it's container.

"Well" Erik said flatly. "Here goes nothing." Erik leaned down and pried Jellal's mouth open, and carefully balanced the vial on his bottom lip. "Let's hope Drake knew what he was talking about." He poured the liquid into Jellal's mouth, and did his best to make him swallow it. Erik heard the King gulp, and he sighed and sat down in the chair across from the bed. "Here's to hoping."

* * *

Nashi had to admit, her plan was a little crazy. She planned to bait Simon into shooting the rockets at her, so she could absorb the flames and power up. She hoped, first and foremost, that it would work. That and that they didn't blow her up before she got a chance to eat them. _Here's to hoping. _She thought as the rockets launched at her and her friends, but Nashi didn't move a muscle. They got even closer, and Nashi tensed. Was this going to work? She didn't know.

"Nashi!" Elise shouted, but the rockets cut her off as they exploded around them, and Nashi felt her entire body get coated in flames. She smiled. Exactly what she planned. Taking a deep breath, she began to eat the fire, absorbing the fire into her system. Nashi felt the fire in her stomach grow, and she laughed as she finished, and King Simon made a confused sound.

"What?!" He demanded. "No effect?!" Nashi grinned at the mech.

"Maybe you didn't know." She replied. "Fire Dragon Slayers power up by eating fire. maybe you should've thought of that beforehand, huh?" Simon growled.

"Of course" He replied. "You are related to Natsu...I should've seen that coming."

"You know my dad?"

"Of course. Did you think I grew up without stories of how amazing your stupid guild was?" Nashi noticed the hint of anger and malice in his tone. Clearly King Simon wasn't a fan. "But, I'm not done yet!" Simon released what looked like a toxic cloud of gas towards them, and Nashi smirked.

"Drake" The Poison Dragon Slayer appeared next to Nashi and repeated the eating process, and the gas cloud was absorbed into his system. he grinned as he wiped his mouth.

"They really have to work on the formula" he complained. "Their poison tastes like shit" King Simon growled.

"Why?" He demanded. "Why does everything I do always get..." He trailed off as the sound of metal being ripped away resounded, and he turned slightly, and Nashi found out why. Elise was ripping out the rocket launchers and eating them, a huge smile on her face.

"I agree with Drake" She said as she jumped away and landed next to Nashi. "It does taste like shit. But not that we've eaten..." Nashi grinned and nodded, fire erupting around her entire body. Drake's arms turned into dark red scaly dragon like arms, and Elise's body began coated in iron scales.

"We're all fired up!" They said together. Drake sighed.

"Did we really just do that?" he asked, face palming. Nashi giggled.

"We'll argue about it later." She told him. "For now, let's focus on kicking Simon's ass." Nashi finished her sentence by rocketing herself at the Dorma Anim, tackling it in the center of it's chest with everything she had. She managed to knock it back and Elise appeared behind it.

"Iron Dragon Sword!" Nashi watched the sword embedded itself in the Dorma Anim's shoulder, and Drake appeared next to her.

"Poison Dragon's Sharp Horn!" He thrust his fist straight through the Dorma Anim's chest and poison began to shoot out of it, King Simon roaring angrily and throwing all of them off, he swung with his blades, but Elise caught it and grinned.

"You ain't all that now" She said, grabbing the blade and swinging the Dorma Anim at Nashi, who was already ready for it.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" The fireball sent the Dorma Anim flying right for Drake, who was waiting for his turn.

"Poison Dragon's Twin Fang Thrust!" Utilizing two arms of poison, Drake flung the Dorma Anim out into the royal city, right off of the tower. Drake laughed. "Come on girls." he said. "We aren't done yet." Nashi nodded and followed them as they jumped from the tower, leaping down from the castle towards where King Simon had landed. _Maybe we won't need Mystogan's help..._

* * *

Meredy stormed through the castle with murder clearly her intent. Rather, that's what she made her purpose seem to be. She knew Erik was up at the King's chambers, that's where a guard told her he'd been heading. How could that idiot allow his men to listen to King Simon? Meredy had succeeded in keeping her own men stationed, but Erik had not. She'd seen the backup going to the courtyard with her own eyes. She stepped up the finally step and approached the chambers.

"Move." She told the guards angrily, and they did well by not arguing. She flung the door open and Erik jumped as she did.

"What the fuck is wrong with your men?!" She demanded. "The fuck! Those kids are going to..." Erik laughed, which interrupted her.

"Come down Meredy" He told her. "Everything is fine"

"Everything is not fine!" Meredy shouted angrily. "Those kids can't hold off so many soldiers, are you fucking..."

"Meredy" Another voice called, causing Meredy too squeak in surprise. "We'll have in under control soon enough. Calm yourself." Meredy watched as the figure stepped out wearing a black cloak. She immediatedly dropped to one knee.

"K-King Jellal!" She said in surprise as the previously near dead King stepped toward her. "When...When did you.."

"Just now" he replied. "Commander Erik was informing me of the situation when you arrived."

"S-so you know a-about..."

"About Simon being the one who poisoned Erza and I, seizing emergency power, blaming Nashi and the others, and using that as an excuse to invade Earthland?" Meredy only gulped and nodded, unable to speak. She'd never seen the King in such a state of silent rage.

"W-what will you do, M'lord?" Meredy asked. King Jellal was quiet for a moment, before he sighed.

"I will intervene with the fight in the courtyard" He replied. "They wouldn't dare attack me. As for the Dorma Anim..." King Jellal trailed off as a huge explosion shook the castle. Meredy and the other turned to look out the window as the Dorma Anim sailed through the air and into the heart of the city, a trail off bright red, dark red and black, and gray tailed after it. King Jellal chuckled. "And it appears they have it covered for now. Now," he turned to stride from the room and Meredy and Erik followed him. "Let's go and stop this ridiculous invasion."

**The fight intensifies. Hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	58. The Secret to Dragon Slaying

Nashi landed in the middle of the street, the intense heat surrounding her immediately startling the remainder of the civilians who hadn't already fled from the metal monstrosity that had gotten there before they did. Drake landed next to her with a splash of poison, and Elise made a huge crater on her left. They watched as the Dorma Anim recovered from the building it had been thrown through. King Simon growled.

"You three are really causing me problems" he hissed. "And what the hell has happened to you?" Drake snickered as he himself looked at his scaly arms and claws.

"It would appear we've activated some sort of power" he replied. "Got to admit, it's pretty cool." Elise rolled her eyes.

"Can we talk about this later?" She demanded. "We have a king to beat up" King Simon laughed.

"Even if you amplified your magic, it still doesn't damage me" Elise laughed.

"You sure?" She asked. "because it seems to me your precious Dragon Knight is a little damaged."

"Couldn't possibly be from falling over 150 feet to the ground and into a building." The King replied. "Nevertheless, I will not lose!"Nashi snickered.

"Alright then" She replied. "Come and get us!"

* * *

Ultear had nothing left. She was currently at Simon's side as he tried to help her up.

"I...I can't..." Ultear managed. "I have nothing left Simon."

"Stand up!" Simon shouted at her. "Seriously, don't give up!"

"What am I going to do?!" Ultear demanded. "I can't even stand Simon. Leave me here, I'll be fine" Simon stared at her before he sighed at laid her down.

"Are you sure?" he asked worriedly. Ultear managed to nod. "Alright. If you need my help, don't hesitate to call for me. I won't be far" Ultear nodded as he disappeared in a flash of light, and she sighed as she sprawled out to stare at the sky. How did he have that much strength left? Ultear had none, yet Simon and Damien were still kicking ass. Ultear heard the door to the courtyard open, and she lifted her head to look. She paled when she realized several hundred soldiers were there, with guns and ready to reinforce the army currently there.

"Simon" Ultear managed to call out, although her voice was raspy. "Simon, we have a problem" Her redheaded friedn appeared at her side, and Ultear noticed he was considerable sweaty.

"Yeah?" he asked. Ultear raised her hand to point, and Simon followed her finger, growling as he found the reinforcements. "Shit"

"Can you break their guns?" Ultear asked. Simon shook his head, panting.

"I don't have a lot of magic left." he replied. "These guys have a habit of getting back up after I knock them down."

"How much left?"

"Pretty much fuck all"

"Well, where's Damien?" As if on cue, the takeover mage landed next to them, his wings curling up on his back.

"If you guys are just going to sit around and confess how you fell about each other" he threatened. "At least tell me so I can take your guys, I got energy to spare over here" Ultear felt thoroughly embarrassed from Damien's insult, partially because Simon was practically cradling her, but Simon seemed unfazed.

"Sorry" Simon replied. "But in case you hadn't noticed, they just got a few hundred reinforcements" Damien nodded and chuckled.

"Yeah, I noticed. Pretty cute they think they can win, huh?"

"I don't know if you've noticed or not here, Dreyar" Ultear hissed. "But I, as with Edolas Fairy Tail, is fucking exhausted." Damien laughed.

"More for me, then" Simon shook his head.

"Ever the optimist, eh Damien?" He asked as a couple hundred rifles shot up into the air at once. Ultear looked to find the reinforcements holding several of the Edolas Fairy Tail members, including her Edo-Mother and Father, watching the silent courtyard.

"Gather the captives and put them with those traitors" The one speaking noticed Damien's stance and form, and chuckled. "And any moves from the invaders and we kill the captives."

"Damien" Simon warned. "Stand down." Damien glared at Simon incredulously.

"Seriously?!" He demanded. "I can kick all of their..."

"Damien" Ultear spoke with a commanding tone despite her position. "Stop" Damien watched her angrily before he sighed and the demon features faded from his body. He sat down and began to pout as Edolas Fairy tail was rounded up one by one and thrown around them, all awaiting the firing squad.

"Well," Simon said flatly. "All that to die by firing squad?"

"What a way to go, huh?" Ultear asked,, sitting up on her own. "I mean, all of this shit just to die right before we won."

"We could still be winning..." Damien muttered, and Ultear smacked him on the head, which made him whine. "What?"

"Quit being such a child!" Ultear shouted. "This is serious!"

"I know, but if you trusted me..."

"You are impossible, Damien" Simon hissed. The soldiers raised their rifles and aimed at them, and Ultear flinched and closed her eyes, knowing it was the end. That was until she heard the strangest sound she'd ever heard, and reopened her eyes. All of the soldiers were staring up at the sky, and Ultear did so as well, paling slightly.

"Isn't that..." Ultear whispered. Simon nodded weakly.

"Yeah." he told her, confirming her worst fear. "The Anima is open, we were too late."

* * *

"Iron Dragon Roar!" Nashi watched as Elise's attack pushed the Dorma Anim back into a building, and Drake ran up as it dispersed.

"Poison Dragon's Spiral Jaw!" His kick left residual poison that did a little bit of damage, and Nashi threw herself into the air.

"Fire Dragon's iron Fist!" her fist sent the Dorma Anim into the building, and King Simon roared in anger.

"Fairy tail mages..." He hissed. "No, Dragon Slayers...are a real problem." Nashi laughed.

"There's more where we came from" Nashi replied. "Our parents are a bigger problem then we are." Drake chuckled.

"Not to mention Sting, Rogue, Wendy and Laxus" He added. "All seven of them? You'd stand no chance" King Simon laughed.

"Not a chance, huh?" he asked. "Then how about I stop holding back?" Elise actually laughed.

"You've been holding back?" She asked, brushing debris off of her iron body. "Then how about you stop humoring us?" Nashi was about to speak up when a strange sound echoed around the city, and she looked up to find the sky opening up into a black and blue hole, and yellow tendrils began to leak into Edolas. King Simon laughed darkly.

"Oh good" He said. "You three idiots managed to last until this happened." Nashi turned back too look at him, confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked, which earned another chuckle.

"Of course, the original Dorma Anim was reparable" he told them. "But, there is a second mode. One that, no matter how technologically advanced we got, could not be accessed without magic." he laughed manically as the Dorma Anim began to glow. "Behold! the Dorma Anim's true power! Dorma Anim: Black Sky!" Nashi watched as the tendrils of magic flowing from the Anim began to connect with the Dorma Anim, and it straightened as the metal is was made from was repaired and turned a dark dark black. It's eyes glowed red as the Dorma Anim stood tall, at least 10 feet taller than before.

"Shit..." Drake said, whistling. "That is one big ugly motherfucker." Nashi grinned.

"How about we beat it up again?" She asked, rushing forward. "Fire Dragon's Claws!" Nashi kicked the machine, and gasped when her fire fizzled out upon contact and King Simon laughed as she jumped back, jumping on one foot as she rubbed the other to soothe the pain.

"You alright?" Elise asked. Nashi nodded before she set her injured foot down.

"My attack did shit" She replied. "I have a bad feeling about this" Drake nodded, running forward.

"Poison Dragon's Fang Strike!" Drake's poison curved and he drove it into the Dorma Anim, and Nashi watched as Drake's attack, like her's, did nothing. Drake jumped back and growled. "okay, what the fuck" he said angrily, and Elise chuckled.

"You guys are pussies" She said flatly, approaching the mech herself. "Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!" She slammed her fist into the Dorma Anim's leg, and Nashi watched as the iron coating her skin cracked and broke, and she screeched in pain.

"I think I broke my wrist!" She called as she ran back to them. "The fuck is with this thing?! We can't break it half as easily now!" King Simon laughed.

"The previous model may have been resistant to magic, but the Black Sky variation is completely impervious! Paired with the increased durability and abilities, it's nearly untouchable!" He roared with maniacal laughter as Nashi winced. This was bad. It was good the Anim had stopped leaking magic, but it was too late to matter at this point.

"Well, we have no choice, guys" She said as she steeled herself. "We have to fight him off." Drake sighed as he enveloped his fists with poison, his dark red scales covered with bruises.

"We're so screwed" he said.

* * *

Ultear watched as tendrils of magic leaking from the Anima went towards the middle of the city, and she had a bad feeling about that. Nashi, Drake, and Elise may have been in trouble, but there wasn't much she could do. She was still completely out of magic, and the army had surrounded them.

"Well this sucks" Edo-Drake growled.

"Agreed" Edo-Lucy said, sighing. The captain sighed.

"Don't get deterred, men!" He shouted. "Take aim and fire on the invaders and their cohorts!" No one shot, and Ultear was confused. The men began to bow, and Ultear cocked her head to see what was happening, and immediately saw what the problem was. "What are you waiting for, men?!" The captain shouted. "I said, open fir..."

"That's enough, Captain" A stern, commanding voice said. The Captain squeaked, and bowed to the blue haired individual flanked by Commander Erik and Meredy.

"K-K-King J-Jellal!" He said. "i w-wasn't aware you w-were..."

"Enough" King Jellal spoke. "Gather your men and put them back to their posts."

"But sir, the invaders..."

"I'm sorry Captain, was that resistance?" The Captain squeaked again, and Ultear chuckled. "Now if you have anymore objections, you can tell Commander Erik all about it from behind the bars in the prisons" The Captain and the whole Edolas Army practically ran for their lives, leaving Ultear and her friends, Edolas Fairy Tail, and King Jellal and the two commanders. King Jellal sighed.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble my idiotic son has caused." he said weakly, smiling at them. "From what Commander Erik and Meredy have told me, he's been quite the nuisance."

"That's a nice way of putting it, King Jelly" Damien said with a goofy grin. "How did you even get over the poison fed too you?"

"Did Drake not tell you?" Erik asked. "he made a dosage of anti-venom, and gave it too me" Simon sighed.

"That must've been where they went before the fight broke out" he said. Erik nodded.

"Speaking of which" Edo-Natsu said. "Where'd they go?" Ultear was about to respond when an explosion from the middle of the city lit up the sky.

"There they are" Ultear said. King Jellal sighed.

"I only rebuilt that thing for emergencies" He growled . "not so my idiotic son could use it to try and invade Earthland."

"Can they even beat it?" Simon asked.

"If two of them are descended from Natsu and Gajeel, I'm sure they're fine" he replied. "I don't know much about Earth-Erik, but I'm sure Drake's more than capable." Damien hummed in agreement.

"Yeah, they sure are King Jelly" He said, causing King Jellal to flinch.

"Do you have to call me that?" he asked. Damien laughed.

"That's what I call Earth-Jellal." he replied. "I figured I'd call you the same."

"Does he tell you to stop?"

"Nah, Jellal's kind of like our uncle." Ultear noted the wince Simon had on his face, and smiled weakly. Ever so sensitive about his dad, that one. "I've always called him Jelly."

"Yeah" Ultear agreed. "Good old Uncle Jelly" She and Damien laughed, but Simon just sighed. Everyone else had a small laugh until another explosion sounded in the distance. "Shit," Ultear hissed. "Let's hope they're okay."

* * *

Nashi and the others were not okay. the Black Sky Dorma Anim was kicking there asses. That and she was really starting to feel sick. Ever since the Anima had opened, she'd been feeling really sick. She didn't know what it was, but it was seriously effecting her ability to fight. She and the others had long since lost their power; Nashi's body flame had gone out, Elise's scales had broken, and Drake's dragon-like arms had faded back to the normal tan ones. Nashi panted as she managed to stand.

"This sucks" She said. "We must not be hitting it hard enough."

"Yeah, totally." Drake hissed, standing as well. "I've hit it as hard as I can, and it barely made a dent."

"Well," Elise said. "There is one thing we could try" Nashi stared at Elise, bewildered.

"We can't do that, we've never even tried. It's too difficult." She told her

"Best to try now, right?" Elise replied weakly. "Do we have any other option?" Drake managed a weak chuckle.

"We really don't." he said. "Get ready, this'll take everything we have." Nashi nodded and began taking a deep breath, absorbing as much air as she could into her dragon slayer lungs.

"What the hell are you three idiots doing?" King Simon demanded. "You really don't learn, do you?!" Nashi couldn't breath in anymore, and she prepared herself.

"Fire Dragon..."

"Iron Dragon..."

"Poison Dragon..."

"ROAR!" Nashi exhaled the column of flames, and watched as the three beams of elements combined and shot towards the Dorma Anim as fast as a bullet. The three way roar exploded, and Nashi shielded her eyes as debris shot past her. She laughed.

"I think we..." She began as the smoke cleared, and choked on her spit at the scene in front of her. "Missed?!" She demanded. The three way attack had completely missed it's mark, and the sick feeling Nashi was experiencing was probably the cause. Drake doubled over, clutching his stomach.

"Why do I feel so sick?!" He asked angrily. "I feel like my blood is on fire!"

"I..." Elise began, covering her mouth. "I'm not the only one who feels like they're riding a train?"

"You guys too?" Nashi asked weakly as her sense of vertigo increased tremendously. The roar had made it even worse. Nashi collapsed to her knees as she clenched her fists. Her whole body felt as if it was exploding. Her arms, face, body, all of it felt on the verge on combusting, and not in the good way.

"GGGGAAAHHHH!"

* * *

Ultear winced the closer she got to the edge of the courtyard near the city, and she got a killer headache.

"Mavis above" She hissed as she rubbed her temples. "What is up with the ether-nano in the city right now?" Simon nodded, rubbing his own head.

"If we hurt this much here" he said, "Nashi and the others are probably dying. The ether-nano level is off the charts right now." Ultear was about to continue complaining as her headache dissipated, and she gasped.

"What just happened?" Damien asked. "it was like it was just...absorbed" King Jellal made a face.

"I have an idea...but it's pretty far fetched" he said, rubbing his chin.

"Explain." Simon said.

"Dragon Slayer's posses amazing sets of lungs" he explained. "They use these to exhume their breath attacks. However, due to the immense amount of ether-nano in the city right now thanks to the Anima leaking it from Earthland, the magical energy is literally clinging to the air." Ultear gasped, covering her mouth.

"You mean..." She began, and King Jellal nodded.

"It's possible that they tried to roar, and absorbed so much magic into their system to the point where it's on a unlivable level." he replied.

"Are you trying to say they died?" Damien demanded, and King Jellal shook his head.

"No." He replied. "It's possible they..." King Jellal was cut off by three roars echoing across the city, and Ultear shivered. They reminded her all too much of the stories her father often told her about the Eclipse incident. King Jellal chuckled. "As I was saying," He continued, "it's possible their bodies used this pure magical energy to their advantage, and accessed the most hidden of the Dragon Slaying Arts"

"Which is?" Ultear asked, feeling a little bit excited, partially because she felt she knew the answer.

* * *

Nashi stood, panting. She'd never felt so powerful. Neither had Elise or Drake. Nashi saw the bright red scales lining her arms, and the felt the pure energy coursing through her.

"Holy fuck do I feel good right now" Drake hissed, feeling the rough, dark purple scales lining his own arms. Elise had undergone a similar transformation, and her own body was covered in shiny black scales. They all had patches of scales under their eyes and on their legs, and Nashi grinned.

"Guys, I think we just did something incredible" She said, standing tall, her previous injuries no longer hurt at all. Elise chuckled.

"We'll figure it out later." She said. "Right now, we have a King's ass to kick and a mech to wreck. Two for one" Drake laughed as he stood, poison actually leaking from him.

"Whoever takes him out gets 200,000 jewel when we get back" he said. Nashi chuckled.

"You are so on" She replied as they rushed the Dorma Anim for what was, quite possibly the last time.

* * *

Ultear waited for King Jellal to answer her, and another explosion resounded from the city, and he chuckled.

"The forms Dragon Slayers of ancient times used to slay their foes" he said, as if giving them a history lesson. "It takes your enemy to know your enemy, one could say."

"Get to the point" Simon hissed.

"The most potent form of their magic..."

"Dragon Force"

**I know I'm evil for that cliffhanger, but I hope you enjoyed! Let's get five reviews!**


	59. Tale of the Three Dragons

**Sorry for that cliffhanger, guys! I'm back!**

On a scale from one to ten, Nashi felt like an eleven on power. She felt as if she would explode if she stopped attacking. Every one of her attacks had increased in power, and nothing the Dorma Anim attacked with hurt in the slightest.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" The spirit bomb connected with the Dorma Anim and it cascaded through several city blocks as they chased it down. it struggled to it's feet and Drake jumped forward.

"Poison Dragon's Scales!" The poisonous projectiles exploded against the mech and Elise ran underneath it.

"Iron Dragon Roar!" The roar connected with the Dorma Anim's crotch and it flew into the air, flailing uselessly. King Simon growled.

"What the hell happened to you three?!" He demanded as the thrusters re-stabilized him. "Your power levels went through the roof!" Drake laughed, rubbing the scales on his arms.

"Don't know" he replied. "But whatever this is, I'm more than partial to it."

"What's wrong, Simon?" Nashi asked with a grin as she felt her skin heat up. "Now that we're all powered up you got no more shit talking to do?" King Simon didn't reply, so Nashi just smirked and ignited her body, and watched as her friends shied away.

"Mavis, Nashi." Drake hissed. "It's like standing next to a supernova" Elise nodded quickly in agreement, and Nashi laughed awkwardly as she calmed down.

"Sorry" Nashi replied. "Forgot I'm a lot hotter than I used to be" Drake smirked.

"That's for sure" he joked, and Elise smacked the side of his head. She reared back at stared at her hand.

"My hands numb" She reported. "All I did was smack him!" Drake laughed.

"You can't even touch me?" He asked heartily, "Awesome!" Drake placed his own hand on Elise's head, and shouted in pain. "Ow, my hand!" He stared down at it, and Nashi saw a trickle of blood.

"Looks like you can't touch Elise, either" Nashi smirked, and was interrupted by a blast of energy from the Dorma Anim. "Can you wait? We're talking." The reply consisted of more blasts, and Nashi sighed. "Fine, we'll take you out first."

* * *

Ultear ran behind the others as they followed King Jellal to wherever they were going. She hadn't heard what Jellal wanted to show them, but all she had heard was follow me, so they were.

"Where are we going?" Ultear asked curiously.

"The Comms room" Meredy replied. "We have a drone in the air over over the city, maybe we can see what's happening."

"So we can watch the fight, you mean" Damien replied, which made Meredy laugh and nod. "It isn't front row seats, but they'll do." They turned into a room on the left, and Ultear watched as Erik began to tap rapidly on the keypad. She wasn't sure what they'd see exactly, but she was kind of excited. She'd nver seen Dragon Force, only heard of it's power from her parents and others in the guild. The user taking on the abilities of a dragon...

"There!" Erik shouted. "I have a picture!" Ultear looked up at the screen as the camera zoomed in on the fight, and saw their three friends standing side by side facing the Dorma Anim.

"What's up with them?" Simon asked. "they have scales"

"Side effect of Dragon Force, I suppose" Damien replied. Ultear watched as the three of them dodged a blast from the Dorma Anim and Drake appeared near it's chest, and poison exploded from it's midsection and it fell backward towards Elise, who appeared and blasted it forward again with two clubs. Nashi dropped on it from above and the camera was temporarily blinded by the following explosion.

"Mavis, they're going all out" Ultear said. "There won't be much left of the city at this rate." As if to prove her point, Drake punched the mech through several blocks, and the camera followed it as it recovered in time to be knocked over again by Elise slashing it's legs with her sword arm.

"If they don't, it'll be a mistake." King Jellal said. "The Dorma Anim may be taking a beating from them, but if he gets it to Earthland it'll be and even bigger problem because of the abundance of magic there. Here it's weaker, but there it'd be unstoppable." Ultear nodded understandingly as the Dorma Anim swung it's sword at Nashi, who caught and melted the blade, and it oozed into a puddle in front of her. Nashi tackled the mech and threw it through more buildings as Elise slammed hammer into it's torso.

"If they aren't careful they kill Simon" Meredy reported. "They aren't exactly trying to only destroy the mech."

"Maybe that'd teach him a lesson" king Jellal mused. "I swear that boy is a handful."

"I know right?" Damien asked as he nudged Simon, who elbowed the takeover mage in the stomach. "Ow, easy!"

"Don't talk about me that way" Simon replied. "I'll destroy you"

"Why are you being so touchy?" Ultear asked. "Seriously, he isn't you. Don't get so offended if we call him a dick or anything." Simon just growled incomprehensibly and Damien chuckled.

"Mavis Jelly" He said. "Is your Simon this touchy?"

"Basically." Jellal replied. "He's hard to stand, truthfully. Sometimes a little too much."

"Is that where Edolas differs?" Ultear wondered aloud. "Our Simon can't stand his dad, does that mean you can't stand Simon?" King Jellal sighed.

"It's not that I don't love him or anything, and I fear he gets that feeling." He replied quietly. "it's just that I have so much on my mind being the king and everything that I fear he thinks I don't. His mother is no better"

"So..." Simon said in a low tone. "maybe he did all this to get your attention."

"Huh?" Simon looked up and met his Edo-Dad's gaze.

"I'm saying if you get the feeling he doesn't know you love him, maybe it's all a cry for praise." he replied. "If this is where Edolas differs from Earthland, my dads done some crazy shit to get my attention."

"Like when took you to that festival in Crocus for a week?" Damien asked.

"Or when he gave you any amount of jewel you asked for?" Ultear supplied.

"Or when..."

"That aside" Simon interrupted loudly. "I'm just saying, maybe he's just trying to get your attention." King Jellal made a face, obviously thinking of something."

"But that doesn't explain why..." King Jellal face palmed. "Of course! That's why he targeted Earthland!"

"What?" Ultear asked, confused.

"I used to tell him all about Fairy tail and Earthland when he was younger. It's possible he was trying too..."

"Take out the affection competition, so to speak." Damien finished, and Jellal nodded. "So he's just a misunderstood kid with no attention from his parents?"

"Sounds like it" Meredy replied. An explosion from the monitor distracted them, and Ultear turned to look just in time to see Nashi fly right into the drones camera, and the feed disappeared.

"Looks like the drone got hit" Erik said. "The camera feed disappeared."

"We should get down there" King Jellal said. "See if we can help in any way."

"Alright, let's go" Ultear said, turning and running from the room.

* * *

Nashi managed to free her arm from the debris of the drone as it fell from the sky into the city, and instantly felt motion sick. Dragon Force didn't help. She toppled over into a heap and did her best not to throw up. The drone connected with a building and Nashi fell from it, landing in what looked like a bedroom. A feminine scream met her ears.

"Mommy it's a monster!" A little girl screamed as Nashi managed to sit up. She looked into the corner of the room to find a family cowering there, and Nashi felt sorry she'd crashed the drone into their house.

"No, I'm not a..." Nashi trailed off as a lamp was flung at her.

"Don't hurt us!" The mother screamed. "Please!"

"I'm not a monster! I won't hurt you, I swear..." Nashi was interrupted by a purple blur blindsiding her, and she fell to the ground. Nashi looked up to find Drake lying on top of her.

"Ow" The Poison Dragon Slayer mumbled. "Thanks for catching me, Nashi"

"Get off me" Nashi hissed, trying her best not to have flashbacks from when she accidentally kissed him. Drake rolled off of her and gave her his hand, which she took as he helped her up.

"What are you doing in here, anyway?" Drake asked. Nashi pointed at the remainder of the drone, and Drake whistled. "Damn, you crashed the drone in here?"

"Yeah, and now you've terrified that family even more" Nashi said, and Drake took notice of the cowering family.

"Aw shit" Drake said, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about your house, I guess..." Nashi smacked him, (causing her hand to go numb) and he flinched. "And making you shit yourselves." He turned back to Nashi. "Anyway Ace Pilot Nashi, we should go help Elise."

"Right behind you, Cyanide Breath" Nashi replied. Together they rocketed from the house and back towards the fight, where Elise stood opposite the Dorma Anim.

"What were you two doing, making out?" Elise demanded as they rejoined her.

"Jealous?" Nashi asked as she lit her hands up. "How's the fight going?"

"Doesn't matter," Elise replied, "We'll kick his ass and it'll be the end of that."

"Enough talk" Drake replied. "I thinks it's time we stepped this up a notch."

"Oh yeah?" Elise mused. "How so?" Drake turned and whispered to them, and Nashi paled slightly.

"I haven't really tried that though..." She trailed off and Elise rolled her eyes.

"Better get some practice in them, cause we're going out with a boom." She replied.

* * *

King Simon watched from the cockpit as the three Dragon Slayers stood side by side, obviously preparing to attack again. Whatever power up they'd miraculously received hadn't been good for him. The Dorma Anim was slowly becoming irresponsive, and if they throttled him anymore, it would break completely. He wasn't done, though. Not by a long shot.

"I still have one trick up my sleeve!" he shouted as he activated the magical vacuum and the magical energy being leaked by the Anim began to gather in his open hands. "Not even you three could survive this attack!" he shouted with glee as the spirit bomb grew larger and larger. All three of them seemed to be concentrating, but he had no idea why. "Goodbye, Fairy Tail!" He launched the spirit bomb, and watched as it connected with the three as they stood unmoving, and laughed.

Until the smoke faded and all three were rushing him. The poison one reached him first.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" He shouted, raising his hands above his head as he jumped to chest level with the Dorma Anim. "Venomous Corruption!" Both fists began to slam into the Dorma Anim at the speed of light, causing the Dorma Anim to fall to one knee. The black haired one was there to meet him.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Karma Demon: Iron God Sword!" The gigantic blade sliced the Dorma Anim in half, and the top half was thrown into the air, where the pink one was already waiting.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" The spiral of fire arced towards Simon, completely tearing the Dorma Anim to shreds and flinging him from the cockpit. He flew through the air, and saw it with his own eyes.

_Flashback_

_"Have I told you the tale of the Three Dragons, Simon?" Jellal asked his son, who shook his head excitedly._

_"Nope!"_

_"Well come here, and I shall tell you" Simon hopped up onto his fathers lap and waited silently. "Now, where to begin?"_

_"Grandpa!"_

_"Oh that's right! Well, your Grandfather had activated the Dragon Knight, the one machine that would take half of Edolas' magic upon activation." Simon waited patiently as his father thought. "And this machine was to be used to convert all the Exceed to lacrima to be used to power the nation, and too eliminate their home, Extalia." he sighed._

_"Why did Grandpa hate the Exceeds?"  
_

_"Patience Simon, one story at a time. Anyway, all magic in Edolas was to come to an end at the Dorma Anim's hands, but it was stopped before it could carry out it's evil tasks. Can you guess by what?"  
_

_"Ummm...The Earthlanders?"_

_"To an extent, yes. The saviors were from Earthland. However, they were Dragons" Simon's eyes widened at the thought. Three monstrous reptiles descending from the sky and attacking his Grandfather. "They had arrived to bring judgment to Faust for his actions, and they ripped the Dorma Anim apart."_

_"Yay!"_

_"Afterwards, as punishment for Faust's actions, the dragons took the reminder of the magic in Edolas back to Earthland, as if to prevent any possibility of the Dorma Ani__m rising to power once again. The legend says, that when the sky darkens and the Dorma Anim rises again, the three dragons shall return to once again destroy it, and make sure Edolas remains safe."_

_"Is that story true, daddy?"_

_"Depends."_

_"On what?"_

_"If you believe."_

_..._

Simon's eyes widened as he flew through the sky. _The Dragons have come, just like my father warned me... _he no longer saw the three teenagers, he saw three monstrous reptiles: a purple, black, and red one... _they've come to punish me... _And with that, Simon flew into the window of a store, and everything went black.

* * *

Nashi cheered as she high fived her friends.

"Got him!" She shouted happily. "Two months rent, let's go!"

"Bullshit!" Elise shouted. "You wouldn't have been able to do that without our help!"

"I still won the bet, now fork it over!"

"No!"

"Ladies, you're both beautiful!" Drake shouted, causing both of them to glare at him. "Sorry, only way to break you up. Now, shouldn't we go and check on him? I mean, he flew pretty far."

"He'll be fine," Elise replied. "We won, why should we care?"

"You're a horrible person sometimes" Nashi told her friend flatly. "Come on, let's go find him." All it took to find where Simon had landed was follow the trail of metal and blades, and they found themselves near a costume shop with a broken window.

"I think we found him" Drake said, jabbing a thumb at the pile of costumes. Nashi jumped in and pulled the costumes away, revealing the Prince, who was curled in a ball with tears in his eyes.

"Is he crying?" Elise demanded, and Nashi nodded.

"Are you hurt?" Nashi asked worriedly. As much as Nashi hated his guts, she didn't want to fatally wound him. Prince Simon looked up and yelped.

"Stay away you monsters!" He shouted. "I'm sorry, I forgot the legend! Please, I didn't know!"

"What in Mavis' name are you talking about?" Drake asked.

"The three dragons..."Simon whispered, cradling his head. "They came... to punish me... to defeat the Dorma Anim... they really came..." Nashi had had enough, and she slapped Simon across the face a few times, causing him to shake his head. "Wha?" He asked in confusion.

"You feeling alright?" Nashi asked. He nodded weakly.

"Yeah, just...I didn't know they'd actually come..." Nashi raised her hand threateningly, and he paled. "Alright, I'm done. You beat me."

"Damn right, asshole" Elise hissed. Simon sighed.

"I just...All I wanted was to make someone proud..."

"Huh?" Nashi asked curiously. Simon sighed and crossed his legs.

"I've never exactly had anyone's praise or love" he replied. "my own family can barely tolerate me, my father detests me, my mother wants nothing to do with me..."

"So you tried to kill them" Drake supplied. "I wonder why they hate you."

"It's been a long time I've known this" Simon said weakly. "That and my father always spoke so highly of Fairy Tail...how amazing, how great it's ideals, how everyone was a family..." Nashi's eyes widened.

"That's why you targeted Earthland." She said. "It got more love than you ever did." He nodded weakly.

"I...I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused." He told them. "I understand if you want to beat me up some more, I'm willing to let you." Nashi sighed.

"We're not going to beat you up" She replied. "Now I just feel bad for you."

"Yeah, I guess" Drake said. "He's the opposite of our Simon in all regards, I suppose..."

"Well, I know where this is going" Elise said. "What will we do to help?" Nashi shrugged, she had no idea. Nashi could hear people begin to come outside to observe the damage, and she grinned.

"You guys remember the Edolas story?" She asked, and they grinned, going to find exactly what Nashi meant. Simon looked confused.

"What's that mean?" He asked.

"Shut up and do exactly what I tell you, got it?"

* * *

Ultear followed everyone through the streets, noting the bits of debris along the way.

"I think they won" She said. "That and the explosion have stopped." Simon nodded.

"Where are they though?" He asked, and Ultear shrugged. They reached another square, and Ultear surveyed the damage. Entire blocks were completely eradicated, with bits of fire burning, poison pools on the ground, and shreds of iron stuck in stuff.

"Fuck" Damien said, whistling. "I'm impressed."

"Wrong word, bud" Ultear replied. She watched as the people below turned to look at something, and began to migrate there.

"What's going on?" King Jellal demanded. Ultear looked up and rolled her eyes as a red, black, and dark red columns exploded into the night sky in front of her. She followed wordlessly as everyone ran.

Ultear could barely believe the scene in front of her. Prince Simon was tied up on a stake, stuck on a roof, and there their friends stood, black cloaks billowing in the wind. Nashi laughed as she turned to the crowd.

"People of Edolas!" She shouted. "I am Demon Princess Dragneel!" Ultear could see the people gasping.

"Dragneel?!"

"She's his daughter?!"

"We're so fucked!" King Jellal face palmed.

"Like father like daughter, I suppose..." he said quietly as Nashi continued.

"I have come from my homeland to exact vengeance on Edolas for my father defeat! As you can see, we have defeated and captured the Prince er...King! Whatever he is, he proved no challenge for me or my comrades!"

"Run!"

"She'll kill us all!" Nashi laughed manically, and Ultear was impressed she did such a good psychopath impression.

"Demon Redfox! Demon Cobra! Seal off the square!" Elise and Drake jumped from the roof and to the left and right, sealing the crowd in with a wall of iron and poison. "Now, who shall be first to taste my wrath?" King Jellal sighed.

"Suppose that's my cue" He said, stepping towards the balcony in front of them. "Stop Dragneel! This ends now!" Everyone turned and met Jellal's gaze.

"Your Highness!"

"He's okay!

"Save us, your Highness!" Jellal jumped onto the buildings next to them, and proceeded towards Nashi.

"Come to avenge your father defeat, have you? Release my son!" Nashi smirked.

"Nah, I'm good" She replied. "Redfox, Cobra! Get him!" Elise and Drake jumped up onto the rooftops, but Drake was flung off in one push and Elise was thrown through the roof. Nashi paled. "Shit..."

"I'll warn you once more" Jellal hissed. "Release him."

"You love him that much, do you? Why?"

"Why? He's my son!"

"And he's done so many vile things! Hell, even more than me! What's to love?!"

"He's my son. No matter what many idiotic, fucked up things he does, I love him unconditionally."

"Yeah? That's cute. So if I do this..." Nashi turned and swung a fire coated fist at Prince Simon, and Jellal made a weird sound. "Ah, I see. So if I used him as a bargaining chip..."

"You wouldn't..."

"Oh yeah? What'll you give me in exchange for his safety?"

"..." Jellal's silence caused Nashi to bring her flame even closer to Prince Simon.

"I'm waiting, your Highness" She hissed. Jellal sighed.

"I'll...give you Edolas" The crowd gasped, and Ultear wondered what he was thinking. "Just...don't harm him." Nashi grinned.

"That's better. Now wasn't that easy? Come here and I'll give you your son, in exchange for that royal amulet you got on." Ultear hadn't noticed the amulet, but Jellal took it off and walked towards Nashi, who grabbed Simon and held him near Jellal. Jellal took Simon, and before he handed the amulet to Nashi, punched her through the roof.

* * *

Nashi landed on her back with a brazen smile on her face and Mystogan landed next to her.

"What the hell kind of show was that?" he hissed as he punched the floor a few times, for dramatic effect.

"Your son seems to think you don't love him." Nashi replied. "I thought I'd help him with that" Nashi cleared her throat. "Ow! Fuck! Damn you and your mother!" She shouted loudly for the people outside to hear.

"I thought so" Mystogan said sadly. "Maybe he'll change his kind now. He did all of this for attention, didn't he?"

"Yeah." She replied. "Fucking hell I will end you!"

"Take this you whore!" He shouted back. "Anyways, you did amazing defeating him. Wish I'd seen it."

"It was pretty cool" Mystogan punched a hole in the floor, and Nashi remained silent. "Now, go and address your people. I'll stay down here." Mystogan smiled.

"Thanks, Nashi"

* * *

Mystogan climbed out of the hole and stared down at the people waiting worriedly. _Just like last time..._

"People of the Royal City!" he shouted. "I have vanquished the Demon Princess and her cohorts, and saved Edolas once again!" The crowd roared in approval. "And now that I am well, the invasion is also off. Prince Simon will be heavily reprimanded for his actions, let me assure you all" Mystogan was about to say more when the Anima opened again, and this time it didn't leak magic from Earthland. Nashi and the others rose into the sky, and Nashi began to shriek.

"I'm sorry, father!" She shouted. "Please, I did my best...no, anything but that! Gaaaahhh!" Drake and Elise did a similar act, and Mystogan smiled. _ I spent years wishing I could see them again, just one last time... I suppose I got my wish, in a way..._

"Hey, Mystogan!" Mystogan looked up in time to see Earth-Simon raise his hand, his index finger and thumb pointed upwards. Mystogan felt tears in his eyes. The others repeated the action, and the six of them smiled down at him, but Mystogan did not see the six teenagers. He saw Natsu, Gajeel, Erik, Erza, Laxus, and Gray all smiling at him as the Anima absorbed them.

"Goodbye," Mystogan spoke, a singe tear following from his eye.

"Fairy Tail."

**Holy fuck, long ass chapter to finish out the arc! So next we'll have some one shots, and then another new arc! Hope you guys enjoyed,leave a review! Let's get TEN for the end of the Edolas arc! Oh, and I know Mystogan didn't meet Earth-Erik, but Drake isn't descended from anyone in Fairy Tail at the time Mystogan left. Anyways, see you next time!**


	60. Explanation

Nashi figured their goodbye from Edolas must've seemed really heartfelt or something.

Yeah, not for them. Why, you may ask? Well, it might have had something to do with the fact that when they returned to Earthland, they landed in a pile on top of each other.

"Get your foot out of my mouth!" Simon shouted.

"Stop eating my foot!" Ultear shot back.

"Who's ass is in my face?" Drake demanded.

"Touch my ass and I'll kill you" Elise warned. Nashi managed to wiggle out of the pile and sighed as she took a few relieved breaths. Then it started to rain. Perfect. Nashi grabbed her cloak and pulled it around her as the wind and rain pelted them. Damien sighed as he sat up.

"Well" he said. "We may as well go home now."

"I'm cold." Elise said flatly, rubbing her arms in a vain attempt to warm herself. Nashi wished she knew what that felt like, she was never cold. "Nashi, make a fire or something"

"In the rain?" the Pinkette asked. "Okay Elise, I'll get right on that."

"Don't start with me."

"Don't make stupid requests."

"Coldness aside" Simon interrupted, standing up. "Damien's right, we should go home. Besides, how long has it been since we took that job offer?" Oh yeah, the job. Nashi remember why they had been here in the first place, it was to find a little girl that'd run off. Nashi almost laughed. Twice now during a job she'd disappeared somewhere. She was honestly surprised that her parents let her go on jobs at all at this point. Nashi was about to stand up when Drake hummed in irritation.

"We aren't alone" he said flatly, turning to look at the bush to their left. "You can come out" he called. "I know you're there." The six of them watched the bush warily as it shuffled a little bit, and Nashi gasped when a little girl poked her head out at them.

"Um, hello" She said shyly. Nashi couldn't find her voice. Had the little girl been sucked into Edolas too? It made sense where she'd gone now. Ultear was the first to speak.

"Hey" She said sweetly. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was out playing" The little girl replied. "When this hole opened in the sky and sent me to this weird place where there was two of me. I just got sent back." Simon whistled.

"She was in Edolas?" he asked. "It all makes sense now, truthfully. That's why we couldn't find her." Nashi nodded in agreement.

"Well, we can take you home," Ultear said, pulling of another dazzling smile. "Would you like that?" The girl nodded again, and Ultear walked up to her and grabbed her hand. "Come on guys, let's go." Ultear began to walk back to Watercliff town, and Drake sighed as he stretched and stood.

"Come on, Ul's in charge now"

"And if history has taught us anything" Simon mused as they walked after Ultear. "Ul's scary when she's in charge." Damien snickered.

"Coming from Erza's son"

* * *

The rain hand't let up yet, and they had already returned to Magnolia. Nashi would've liked to say being on the train dyed them up, but it didn't matter now, they were all drenched again. Nashi yawned.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"I don't know" Drake replied. "Late, maybe after 10"

"What do we say when we get back?" Ultear asked, gesturing to them. "We all look like shit, Dragon Slayers especially." Nashi knew Ultear was right, they all looked like shit. They all had bruises, scrapes, torn clothing, and Ultear was even limping.

"How about we just say what happened?" Simon asked. "Not to be some goody two shoes or anything, but I can't think of a single excuse we could give for this."

"He's right, unfortunately." Drake said, sighing. "We'll just tell the truth."

"You all cannot be serious" Elise growled. "Do you really think that's a good idea? We're wet, bruised, limping, we all look like shit, and on top of that we fought an army and a dragon mech in a parallel universe? Seriously?"

"Got any better ideas?" Damien asked as he placed a hand on the door of the guild. "No? Then shut up and let's get this over with." He pushed in open, and Nashi let the sweet smell of liquor, cigars, and a variety of other smells assault her nose. Home sweet home, Edolas Fairy Tail couldn't compete. As they stepped in, eyes turned to them.

"About time you guys got back" Gray said with a smile. "What took you so long?"

"Well..." Simon trailed off, obviously not sure where to start.

"Why do you all look like absolute shit?" Nashi's father asked from the right, and Nashi laughed awkwardly.

"It's a long story, Dad" She replied. Nashi saw her mother giving her a look.

"Nashi?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, Mom?"

"What happened to your arm?" Nashi was confused until she looked down at the ragged cloth on her upper arm. Oh right, her bullet wound. Nashi paled at the thought of how bad that was going to look. Nashi slowly tore the cloth off, and revealed her clearly infected, disgusting looking bullet wound. Nashi hadn't noticed when it happened Simon had really done a number on her arm trying to dig the bullet out. "Mavis Nashi, what happened?"

"Uhhh..." Nashi replied, not sure what to say.

"She was shot" Damien supplied for her, and she face palmed. Leave it to Damien to say something like that so bluntly.

"Are you okay?" Nashi's mother asked worriedly.

"It fine..." Nashi trailed off as she attempted to lift her arm and it seared in pain. She grabbed the wound and winced. "Ow." Master Laxus sighed.

"I think an explanation is in order" he said. "And judging from the looks I see in this room, you'd all do well not to leave anything out."

_2 hours later..._

That was how Nashi and the others had launched into an explanation on what had happened, telling all three accounts of what exactly had happened. From the Anima, to Mystogan, to Prince Simon, to Nashi getting shot, to the Dorma Anim, all of it. Nashi noted how the looks transpired from laughter to seriousness to even more serious. Clearly, it sounded more dangerous to their parents then them.

"Is that it?" Gajeel asked gruffly. Drake shrugged.

"Pretty much" he replied. "Well, excluding Dragon Force and the whole demon thing, I think we covered it all." Drake's words cast an eerie silence over the guild, and Nashi wasn't sure why.

"What and the demon thing?" Nashi's father demanded.

"Dragon Force" Elise replied with a grin. "You should've seen it Natsu, we had scales and we were super powerful and it was awesome!" Nashi laughed in agreement.

"Yeah, we were pretty cool" Nashi agreed. "Especially when we ripped the Dorma Anim apart." The silence unnerved Nashi, and she felt like mentioing Dragon Force was the wrong thing to say.

"Nashi" Wendy spoke up. "Why don't you come with me to the infirmary? I'll patch that wound up." Nashi nodded and followed the Sky Maiden up the stairs towards the infirmary, wondering what exactly was wrong with that they'd said.

* * *

Nashi sat on the edge of the bed as Wendy silently healed the wound on her arm, wondering what she could say. Wendy was a Dragon Slayer, perhaps she could explain what was wrong with Dragon Force.

"Hey, Wendy" Nashi spoke up, garnering a sideways look from the healer.

"Yes?" She asked.

"What's..." Nashi trailed off, unsure of how to say it. "What exactly is wrong with Dragon Force? I mean it saved our lives." Wendy sighed.

"I think it'd be best if Natsu-san answered that for you." She replied. "It'd be better hearing it from him."

"Why?"

"...I'll go get him, you stay here." Nashi nodded weakly as Wendy left the room. Nashi wondered why Wendy had been so against speaking to her about it. It was clearly a dangerous technique, but Nashi didn't know why. She sat it silence massaging her closed wound when the door opened again, this time revealing her father, who cast her a worried glance. He walked to the opposite side of the infirmary, staring out the window. he stood there for a while, before sighing and turned around to face her.

"I was worried this would happen" he said flatly. "Seems my worries were in the right place."

"Why?" Her father sighed in response.

"Because you're lucky to be sitting there after what happened to you." He walked over to her and sat down next to her, and Nashi noted the tense aura he had. Nashi's father had never looked so tense, at least not in front of her. "As I'm sure you've figured out, Dragon Force allows a Dragon Slayer to take on the properties of a dragon, basically becoming a humanoid dragon themselves."

"Right."

"Well, I suppose I should've told you this, but the lost magic of Dragon Slaying itself...turns the user into a dragon."

"What?!"

"Yeah."

"I'm...I'm going to.." Nashi stared down at her hand in shock. Surely this was some kind of joke, right?

"Calm down, you'll be fine" her father replied.

"But you just said..."

"I know what I said, but the only known way to prevent this dragonification is to have antibodies created by a dragon themselves. Your grandfather Igneel did that for me."

"What does that have to do with..."

"Nashi, you're my daughter. Half of your DNA is mine, remember?" Nashi could see what her father was getting at now, it made sense. "If science has anything right, you should have a form of antibodies in your own blood, not allowing you to turn into a dragon completely."

"Completely?"

"That's where Dragon Force comes in." He sighed as he wrapped his hands together tightly. "As Dragon Force gives the body dragon-like attributes, it also helps dragonification. Seeing as it is such a powerful skill, the antibodies in your blood may not be enough to prevent dragonification."

"So if I use it too much, I'm in danger?"

"Precisely. That's why everyone got so worried when you guys mentioned it. If you use it too much, there's a chance you won't come back out of it. You'll be a dragon."

"Well...that sucks."

"I know." He laughed weakly and ruffled Nashi's hair. "I wouldn't worry about it though. Dragon Force requires a huge amount of magic to activate, something you and your friends don't inherently possess."

"Why?"

"It requires a lot of magic to activate." he replied. "Only Third Generation Dragon Slayers can enter it whenever they want, and that's because they have a dragon lacrima in their bodies to give them the necessary magic boost to enter it. How did you guys even enter it?" Nashi thought for a moment before it dawned on her.

"When we were fighting the Dorma Anim, the Anima was leaking ether-nano into the air." She told her father. "At first the high concentration of it was making us sick, but when he inhaled a lot to roar at him, we must've taken in a lot of magic." Her father nodded understandingly.

"Make sense" he said. "Like when I ate Etherion."

"Yeah"

"Don't ever eat Etherion, Nashi. tastes like shit. That and it can kill you, but mostly the taste." Nashi laughed weakly.

"I'll keep that in mind." The two of them were quiet for a moment, before her father sighed.

"Anything else you wanted to ask?" He asked her. Nashi thought for a moment, before something began to bug her.

"What about Drake?" She asked. Her father looked confused.

"What about him?"

"He the son of a Second Generation Dragon Slayer" Nashi reminded. him. "His dad doesn't have any antibodies to pass down to him." Her father thought for a moment, before he shrugged.

"I honestly don't know" he replied. "Cob-er, Erik can't enter Dragon Force as far as I know, so I don't know how Drake did or if he's in danger. I'd keep an eye on him though, he not know."

"Alright." Silence befell them again, and Nashi wasn't sure what to say. She and her father often entered awkward silences like this, probably because neither knew what to say to the other. Nashi had never know him and he hadn't even known she existed, maybe that was the problem. He sighed.

"So," He said smiling at her. "How was Edolas?"

"Weird." Nashi replied, chuckling. "I'm dating Rocky over there"

"..."

"Dad?"

"I'm going to kick his ass"

"What?"

"Be right back" Nashi watched as her father left, and chased after him.

"Dad, wait for me! I want to see!"

**Short, but I got them back today, next time will be one shots. I apologize if anything in this chapter is incorrect, I did my best to look into the whole dragonification thing. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's get five!**


	61. Bonding

**Warning you guys now, touchy chapter inbound. Remember to tell me what you thought!**

Natsu yawned as he rolled over in the empty bed, growling at the empty spot of the bed where Lucy should've been. Was she up already? Ridiculous. It was only...what, 10? Insanity. Natsu was about to continue complaining until the sweet smell of bacon hit his nose, and he sighed. Lucy's cooking was always incredible. Natsu contemplated whether or not he wanted to get up before he did, and careful not wake Happy who was at the foot of the bed, he dragged his feet down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Mornin' Luce" He mumbled as he entered, his wife humming in reply.

"Morning Natsu" She replied happily. "Did you sleep well?"

"I suppose. What's for breakfast?"

"Food"

"Oh, no shit?" Natsu collapsed into a seat at the table as Lucy continued to cook, rubbing his temples. "What are you doing today?"

"Erza asked me to go on a job with her." Lucy replied without looking at Natsu. "I figured I'd make you something to eat before I left, because you're so incompetent on your own."

"Is that how you see me?"

"Yes." Natsu glared at Lucy as she stuck her tongue out at him and he sighed. "Anyways, what about you? Got anything planned?"

"Not as far as I know" Natsu replied, leaning back to stretch. "Maybe I'll go and start a fight with Gray, that'd be fun."

"Somehow I imagined you'd have grown up a little since you left." Natsu laughed.

"Did you even really know me?"

"Apparently not" Lucy placed a hand on her chin as she placed a plate full of bacon and eggs in front of Natsu. "I have an idea! Why don't you ask Nashi what she's doing?" Natsu swallowed his food and stared at Lucy curiously.

"Nashi?" He asked, wiping his mouth. "Why?"

"Maybe you can do something with her. You know, some father-daughter bonding time."

"Nah, I'm good."

"Why not? You barely know her." Natsu stared at her and she stared back. "Could be a good idea."

"What makes you think Nashi wants to spend her day with her old man?" Natsu asked, playing with his fork. "She's almost a grown woman for Mavis' sake, she has better things to do."

"What makes you say that?"

"What makes you think that she would agree to this?" Natsu and Lucy had a stare down as Lucy huffed. "I mean seriously Luce, she has friends, a life, other things to do other than talk to me" Lucy responded by picking up the phone and dialing a number.

"Nashi? Yeah it's me." Natsu stared wide eyed at her as she stuck her tongue out at him again. "Have any plans for today?...Well, that's all well and good but I was thinking you and your dad could spend the day together...no ,you can't bring Ul!...Because it'd be you and your dad!...Yes of course he agreed!"

"I did not!" Natsu yelled at the phone, and Lucy glared at him.

"No, that was Happy...Nashi I'm telling you he thinks it a good idea...Yes, you have too!"

"No you don't!" Natsu shouted.

"You should!...It's only a day Nashi , not the end of the world...I mean, you barely know your dad...so what? What's that supposed to mean?...Okay, well how about I come over there and make you?...Don't use that tone with me young lady!...Yes, I will do that!...Nashi, I swear on Mavis' grave...Thank you, was that so hard?" Lucy hung up the phone and turned back to Natsu. "She said she'll meet you in the park!" Lucy reported happily.

"Did you say that or did she?"

"Irrelevant. Fact is, she'll be there, which means you have to be there, got it?"

"Says who?"

"I'll divorce you, Natsu"

"Yeah right"

"Try me" Natsu and Lucy had another staring contest before Lucy sighed and poured on the sad act. "I just thought you and your daughter could get to know each other" She said sadly. "I mean, sixteen years is a lot of lost time, Natsu. What if she grows up and moves away, and all you know is her name and what she looks like?"

"I know more than that" Natsu retorted.

"What's her favorite color?" Natsu grew a complete blank. "What's her favorite food? her favorite movie? What's her middle name?" Natsu stared at Lucy before he sighed angrily.

"Alright, I'll do this damn day with her, just stop with the puppy eyes." Lucy laughed gleefully and jumped up to kiss Natsu on the cheek.

"Was that so hard, you big teddy bear?" Natsu growled in response as Lucy walked away.

"Don't think for even a minute I'm going to enjoy this!" He called after her angrily.

* * *

Natsu took his sweet time walking down to the park, maybe he'd find an excuse to not show up. A cat stuck in a tree, or an old lady that needed someone to carry her groceries, something. Anything. Natsu turned the corner and spotted his daughter waiting for him. He sighed, there was no turning back now. he walked down the steps towards the Sola tree and Nashi took notice of his approach.

"Hey." Natsu said awkwardly.

"Hey" Nashi replied equally as awkwardly. There was a silence between them until Natsu sighed.

"We really don't have to do this" he told her. "your mom will be gone all day, so we can just make something up and go with it when she comes home." Nashi chuckled and pocketed her hands.

"Nah, it's alright." She replied. "I thought it over on the way here, and it really isn't a bad idea. We really don't know each other at all." She smiled up at him, and for a moment Natsu saw Lucy instead of her. "Right?"

"I suppose" Natsu replied. "So, what now?"

"I was kind of hoping you had an idea" Silence befell them again, and Natsu racked his brain to find something to say. He really had no idea how to have casual small talk with her. "Let's just walk, maybe we'll see something."

"Alright, fine by me" Natsu walked beside his daughter down the street, still feeling uncomfortable. if Natsu could have one thing in the world, he'd have the ability to be around his own daughter without feeling uncomfortable. She seemed equally as uncomfortable. Natsu managed a weak laugh.

"Leave it to your mother to set this up" he told her. "I mean really, we can't talk to each other, what was she thinking?" Nashi chuckled.

"Maybe that's the idea." She said wistfully. "She probably thinks it's sad."

"Well, it is." Natsu remained silent for a minute before he continued. "So, how's it been since I finished training you?" Best to start simple, right? Nashi shrugged.

"Good" She replied. "A struggle, as you know, but it's fun going on jobs with everyone."

"Yeah, that's a perk"

"Speaking of jobs Dad," Nashi said,cocking her head to face him. "What was yours that kept you away for so long?" Natsu flinched visibly. He wasn't sure he was ready to discuss that with her, of all people.

"It's dangerous for anyone to know about, you can't know"

"Why is it so dangerous?"

"Because"

"Because why?"

"Because I said so." Natsu grinned as Nashi puffed up her cheeks in irritation. He could't tell her, she wasn't ready. "Don't be so upset, it's no big deal."

"Well, I mean it kept us apart for my whole life..." Natsu's chest tightened with guilt.

"What, you're going to guilt trip me now?" Nashi giggled at his question.

"No, I'm over it, it's alright." She turned to smile at him. "You're here now, that's what matters."

"Yeah. And, uh, for what it's worth..." Natsu trailed off and stared at the ground, and Nashi made a curious sound.

"What?" She asked.

"I know I've told you already, but if I had had any idea I had a daughter..." Natsu turned his head to meet her gaze. "I would've dropped everything." Nashi blushed slightly.

"I know." She replied. "Speaking of which, I guess you really aren't to blame for not knowing"

"Yeah, it's your mothers fault if it's anyone's."

"Yeah." Nashi stopped as did Natsu, and he watched her grin childishly at him. "Want some ice cream?" She asked excitedly. Natsu grinned.

"You are definitely mine, that's for sure."

* * *

"Hhhhmmmm" Nashi said, sucking her spoon dry and sticking it back in the sundae. They were currently at an ice cream parlor playing twenty questions, and Natsu honestly felt happy. "How about...favorite food?"

"Anything" Natsu replied with a laugh. "As long as I get to eat, I'm good." Nashi laughed.

"Me too! Man, we're so alike it's almost creepy." Natsu chuckled.

"The only Lucy part of you is your gender, apparently." Natsu rubbed his chin for a moment before a question appeared in his head. "Most embarrassing story?" Nashi thought for a moment before her face went red.

"Well, it's sort of recent." She trailed off, rubbing her arm. "And you have to promise not to get mad or overprotective or anything, alright?"

"...Okay?" Nashi sighed, playing with her sundae.

"It was a little bit before we went to Edolas" She began. "One morning the guys were...acting weird"

"How so?"

"They were flirting with us a whole lot more than normal" Natsu felt a protective surge of anger course through him, and he attempted to drown in out with more soothing thoughts.

"Who was it?" He asked quietly, and Nashi gulped.

"Drake." She replied, staring down at the table and Natsu did his best not to flip that very same table over and hunt down the Poison Dragon Slayer. "And I sort of, um...never mind"

"Nashi..."

"The only way to break the spell was to kiss them" She spoke quickly, and Natsu's rage began to envelop him. "And I, uh...missed my mark."

"by how much?"

"The space between a cheek and his lips" With that information, Natsu stood and began his hunt. "Dad, you promised not to get mad!"

"That was before you told me." He replied stoically. "Now I'm mad."

"It was an accident!"

"So?" Natsu paused when she grabbed his arm and he turned to stare at her. She was completely red and shaking slightly.

"It was an accident" She said shakily. "I had too, or else he would've kept flirting with me. I don't like him like that Dad, I promise." Natsu sighed.

"Yeah, yeah" He said, his rage subsiding. "Just tell him to watch himself."

"Right." Paying for the ice cream and leaving, Natsu and Nashi once again found themselves enveloped in awkward silence. Natsu knew his fatherly protectiveness was the cause, but he couldn't help it. She was his daughter after all, he wasn't just going to let any guy do whatever he wanted. Natsu sighed.

"Sorry about that." he spoke. "I shouldn't have gotten so mad." Nashi smiled.

"It's alright." She replied. "It's nice to know you care so much, even if a bit too much."

"It's just..." Natsu thought over his sentence before he spoke. "You're my daughter and he's...a guy and I know you're a teenager and everything..." Nashi made a strangled sound.

"Please don't tell me you plan on giving me the talk, do you?" She asked, and Natsu choked.

"What!? Mavis no! That's your mothers job, not mine! If I had a son it would be a completely different ball game, but you're a girl! That'd just be weird!"

"What does that make our current relationship?"

"Um...well..." Natsu didn't know how to reply to that, so instead he opted for a funnier response. At least in his head, anyway. he ruffled Nashi's hair and chuckled.

"Just be safe, sweetheart" he said, and she went completely red.

"You did not just tell me that, dad!"

"What?" Natsu asked innocently, doing his best not to laugh. "It's like I said, I know you're a teenager and that you have urges..." Nashi covered her ears with her hands as he continued.

"La la la la la la, I can't hear you!" She shouted.

"And that sometimes you act on those urges..."

"Dad!"

"Believe me, I know what it's like..."

"DAD!" Natsu grinned at his thoroughly embarrassed daughter.

"What?"

"Enough! I don't need a story!"

"Oh, a story? Well, this one time..." Nashi ran, and Natsu bolted after her. "Get back here and deal with me!"

"No, you're to embarrassing!"

"I'm supposed to be!" Nashi didn't reply and sped up, and of course Natsu followed suit. She thought she could out speed him, that was funny.

* * *

"Put me down!"

"Not a chance." Natsu had chased Nashi all throughout Magnolia, and currently had Nashi draped over his shoulder as she slammed her fists into his back, but they didn't hurt all that much. The sun was setting as Natsu carried her back into the park. "Not until you calm down."

"I'm calm!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Natsu unceremoniously dumped her on the ground next to him, and he chuckled as she fumed silently.

"Something the matter, sweetheart?" He asked innocently.

"First you launch into the most embarrassing conversation I've ever had, then you chase me around for a few hours..." She glared at him, and he only chuckled in response. "What time is it, anyway?" Natsu shrugged.

"Feels around six" He replied. "Don't worry, our day is almost over."

"Good, you're insufferable."

"It's your mothers fault."

"Believe me, I know." They sat down on the bench next to them, and Natsu stretched. "As unbelievable as it sounds, I did have fun." Nashi said quietly, observing the sunset.

"That is hard to believe" Natsu agreed. "But you're right, so did I" Silence befell them, and for the first time Natsu didn't feel uncomfortable during it. Just a normal silence.

"Dad?" Natsu was jerked out of his thoughts at the sound of his daughters voice. "Can I ask you something? It'll sound kind of stupid, but..."

"Go ahead, I don't mind." Nashi played with her hands for a little bit before she looked back at the sunset.

"Do you love me?" Natsu almost fell off of the bench at the question. He recovered and stared at the back of Nashi's head.

"What?"

"You heard me." She replied, her voice suddenly serious. "Do you love me or...am I just someone you feel indebted to be around?" Nashi had a sad expression on her face as she continued. "it seems silly, but...sometimes I feel like the only reason you trained me was so that you're own legacy wasn't tainted."

"Huh?"

"Y'know, the legendary Salamander of Fairy Tail's daughter can't even use magic. Sometimes I worry that's how you feel..." Natsu cut her off by placing a hand on her shoulder and glaring at her. She turned to face him weakly, tears in her eyes.

"I wish you'd stop saying that shit" he growled. "What kind of stupid question was that?"

"Well, I just thought..."

"No, you clearly didn't. You thought, what, the only reason I hang around is because I feel like I owe you or my legacy was going to be tainted or something?" Nashi nodded weakly. "That's ridiculous."

"What..."

"Of course I love you, you're my daughter for Mavis' sake. I love you more than I've ever loved anything, what cold possibly make you think otherwise?" Nashi remained quiet, so Natsu continued. "No matter what anyone tries to tell you, you're my pride and joy. I wouldn't care if I was on everyone's hit list if I knew you better than I do, or if I was there while you grew up. " Nashi was starting to cry, and now Natsu felt stupid.

"Dad..."

"I've never regretted anything more than not being there for you, If anything, I feel like you don't love me."

"But I do! When you first came back, I tried to tell myself I didn't but..." Nashi trailed off as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "You're my dad, I can't change that." She smiled brightly at him, and Natsu felt his chest swell up. Natsu wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him, relishing in the moment they were sharing. Nashi sniffled and chuckled. "I guess this is better than some fake story we made up, huh?"

"We could just tell your mother we can't stand each other." He joked, "That'd be fun."

"Or we could not." Natsu stayed silent as she remained in his one armed hug, pressed up against his chest. Natsu could've stayed like that forever, just him and his daughter. _Lucy will never let me forget this if she sees this..._

* * *

Lucy sighed as she walked around Magnolia, looking for her family. She couldn't find Nashi or Natsu anywhere, and she'd looked practically everywhere. She was on her way home when she passed the park, and noticed a blob of pink in said park. Turning and entering the park, she could see her husband and daughter alright, and her heart melted at what she saw.

Both of them were out cold, and Nashi was curled up against her father, using his chest as a pillow. Natsu had a protective arm around her, and he was snoring quiet loudly, but Nashi didn't seem to mind.

"And you tried to tell me you would enjoy this." Lucy whispered aloud, watching the pair with a small smile. She didn't have the heart to move either of them, so she left them as they were. "I told you it was a good idea, Natsu."

**Aw, ain't that sweet? Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! let's try and get five!**


	62. Eleven Years

**Another chapter today? You guys are lucky!**

It was raining. Of course it was, why wouldn't be? Nashi stood in front of her dresser, brushing her hair while looking in the mirror. Normally Nashi woke up full of energy and ready to go, but today it'd taken all her energy to crawl to her dresser and get dressed for the day. Today wasn't a good looking day for this shit, anyway. Nashi straightened the remainder of her hair and watched as her bangs cascaded back over her right eye, and she sighed.

"Eleven years, huh?" She asked her reflection. "That's a while long ago now, Steph" It was eleven years to the day Damien had lost control and killed his little sister, and Nashi was not looking forward to her day. Today everyone was super sad and emotional, Nashi included. It didn't help she got depressed easily due to her childhood. Nashi once again pushed her bangs from her face and stared at her reflection. She, like everyone else, was wearing black clothing. She herself had a black dress and matching high heels. Nashi would've complemented her reflection for how the dress hugged her curves if she wasn't so upset. There was a knock at the door, and Nashi put her brush down. "Come in" She called hollowly. Ultear and Elise appeared in the doorway, both wearing dresses to Nashi.

"Hey," Ultear greeted, standing in the doorway.

"Hey." Nashi replied. No one said anything else as Nashi continued to brush her hair in a van attempt to straighten her hair. Growling in frustration, Nashi turned to Ultear preparing to beg, and the older girl sighed and took the brush. Elise sat down on the edge of Nashi's bed as Ultear did her best to straighten Nashi's rebellious hair.

"Eleven years?" The iron eater asked, and Ultear paused the brush to sigh.

"Yeah," She replied solemnly. "Been a while now, huh?" Nashi nodded as Ul managed to keep her hair straight.

"Hard to believe it's been so long" She whispered. "Feels like it was yesterday" Nobody replied to her, which didn't bother Nashi. Ultear finished brushing her hair, and Elise sighed.

"Drake and Simon are waiting for us." She said quietly. "We shouldn't keep them waiting." Nashi nodded silently as she followed her friends from her room and down the stairs. When she rounded the stairs her eyes landed on Drake and Simon, who both had black suits on. Simon was pacing back and forth, while Drake was sitting down on the bench next to the exit. They looked up as the girls approached.

"Hey," Drake said. "You guys look good" Nashi nodded appreciatively.

"Yeah, you guys too" She replied. Simon closed his eyes and sighed.

"Today's going to suck" he whispered.

"I know" Ultear said, placing a hand on his arm. "But it's for her, we can manage." Simon nodded at her as thunder sounded outside.

"Of course it's stormy" Elise hissed. "What else could go wrong?"

"I'll cover us" Ultear said. "Just get ready" Ultear stepped towards the door and the others walked behind her. "Water Shield." Ultear said, a circular water shield materializing over their heads. Ultear expanded the wall to cover them all, and they stepped out into the rain as it fell around them. Nobody spoke, no small talk could be made on such a shitty day. Nashi, Elise and Drake had been to every one of these since it happened, Simon and Ul had missed a few.

"How do you think Damien's holding up?" Nashi asked, curious as to how the takeover mage was handling the day. "He hasn't been here for eight years, after all."

"Terribly, probably" Simon responded darkly, hanging his head. "Last I him last night he was drowning himself in booze."

"Poor guy" Ultear said quietly. The rest of the walk to the guild was silent, and Nashi couldn't think of a better way to do so. When they arrived, the rest of the guild was dressed similarly to them, and only small conversations could be heard, uttered in small tones. Nashi could see Damien sitting by himself, exuding such a dark aura that nobody dared approach. Nashi dared, however. She approached her friend silently, and smiled weakly as she reached him.

"Hey, Damien" She said quietly, and the man didn't even acknowledge her presence. "How are you?" Still no response, obviously. "Weather's pretty shitty, huh? Kind of fitting for today..."

"I don't want to sound rude, Nashi" Damien interrupted in a dark tone. "But I am really _not _in the mood for small talk." He didn't continue to say anything else, and Nashi frowned at him. She made an understanding sound and turned to leave Damien by himself to skulk. She walked back to her own friends, and Elise turned to her.

"How is he?" She asked. Nashi sighed.

"As you'd expect." She replied. "Unresponsive, dark, the usual" Elise nodded sadly, and Ultear hugged herself tightly.

"It makes me so mad even to think about." She said. "It isn't his fault, it was that thing he tried to takeover into" Simon nodded and pocketed his hands.

"He isn't to blame, but he can't see anyone at fault but himself." Simon reasoned. Nashi nodded.

"He told me in Edolas when we first saw Steph." Nashi told them. "That we all have demons inside, and we're responsible for what they do when we let them loose."

"There's a limit" Drake hissed, crossing his arms. "If the demon hijacks your body and uses it to hurt and kill people and destroys a city, it isn't your fault." Nashi nodded. She and her friends made small talk as the remainder of the guild filed in, including Nashi's parents and Drake's mom, and Nashi heard Master Laxus' office door open. She turned to find the Master looking like absolute shit, and Mira not looking any better.

"Alright" he said hollowly. "Everyone ready?" A resounding yes answered from the guild, and Master Laxus sighed. "Alright, let's go." Everyone followed Gramps out of the guild, and Ultear and Juvia made another water shield above them, covering the whole guild. Nashi walked in silence as the townsfolk moved out of the way for them, they also knew what day it was. Nashi was unaware if any of the townspeople knew Damien had been the demon that attacked the city, but they all knew Steph had died. As they approached the graveyard, the mood darkened considerably. They weaved in and out of tombstones as they approached the one they were looking for, way in the back with Fairy tail guild mark engraved on it. As they reached the tombstone, the guild stopped, and Nashi watched as Gramps and Mira walked forward next to it and faced them.

"T-t-today..." Mira tried, and stopped when Gramps placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to step back and sniffle. Master Laxus turned back to everyone.

"Today, eleven years ago," He spoke in a loud, yet shaky tone. "A monster took my little girl from me" Nashi watched as Damien flinched. perhaps that wasn't the best word to use to describe the demon. "And we are gathered here today to honor her, and remember her." Laxus turned and placed a hand on the gravestone and sighed. "Hey sweetie, how are you?" he asked shakily. "Everyone's here to see you, we all miss you. Natsu even came back, you remember the stories? Uncle Natsu?" Laxus began to shake slightly, and Nashi did her best not to cry. "Mavis, I miss you Steph..." Mira whispered something to him, and he stepped back. Mira walked up in his place.

"Hey Steph" The white haired women said. "How are you doing? I've been good, but..." Mira began to wail and collapsed. "Steph! Steph! Please, come back! COME BACK!" Nashi watched as Damien pushed his way away from the crowd, leaving the graveyard. he needed space, Nashi knew that. Everyone stepped up: Macao, Romeo, Gajeel, Levy, Wendy, Jet, Droy, the list went on forever until Nashi watched her parents step up.

"Hey Steph." Her mother said with a weak smile. "How have you been? Natsu came back, he's sorry he couldn't have met you" her father nodded.

"Sorry I never met you, kiddo" her father managed. "I'm sure I would've loved you like my own. Everyone tells me you were a little angel. Rest in Peace, Steph" As her parents stepped back, Drake stepped up.

"What's up, Steph?" Nashi's best friend asked as he knelt down to eye level with the writing. "Been a while, huh? Been on some interesting adventures since you went away..." Nashi watched as her usually calm and collect friend lost his cool. "Shit Steph, I really miss you. We saw you in Edolas, and...well...That didn't go well." Drake ran his hand across the writing. "I wish I could hear you again, Steph. The real you." Drake stepped back and wiped his eyes, and Ultear walked up to the tombstone.

"Man, I said I wouldn't cry this time" Ultear whispered. "Hey Steph, sorry I wasn't here last year. I was out began a wizard and all, like you always dreamed of. It didn't go so hot, but things happen, huh?" Nashi watched as Ultear sniffled. "There was this little girl I met while I was out. Keiko was her name. Mavis, she was so much like you. When she died, it reopened the wounds from losing you...Sleep tight, Steph" Ultear walked back and nearly collapsed into Simon's arms, who rubbed a comforting circle on her back and whispered comfort to her. Elise sighed as she stepped up to the gravestone.

"Steph" She said with heavily sarcastic enthusiasm. "How are you? been to long girl. I..." Elise's voice cracked and she covered her mouth as she began to cry. "I...man, I thought I was over losing you. Than Edolas happened and we got to see you... You were so beautiful, Steph. Just like your mom in those old spreads in Sorcerer Magazine she used to do. See you later, Steph" Elise did her best to hold her head high as she walled back, and Simon stood Ul up straight as he took his own turn.

"Steph" Simon spoke. I...wow, it's been two years I missed these, huh? didn't think it'd been so long. Well, I was out on a job like Ul, but it took me a while longer than I expected. Maybe one day I'll tell you about it, would you like that? You were always one for the stories, you loved hearing your dads. Shit, we all did" Simon placed a hand on the tombstone. "Can't say it enough Steph, I wish things were different." Simon stepped back, and Nashi felt compelled to step forward and say a few words. She walked up to the tombstone and bent down to be on eye level with it.

_Stephanie Dreyar_

_Beloved Sister, Daughter, and Friend_

_R.I.P._

Nashi sighed as she ran a hand across the writing. She'd been here every year since it happened, but the emotional impact was always the same.

"Hey Steph" Nashi said with a weak smile as she withheld the tears. "A lot's happened in my life this year. Let's see... Oh, my dad came home, just like you said. I learned how to use magic, and I'm told I'm pretty damn good." Nashi sniffled and covered her mouth to prevent crying at the thought of the little blonde girl smiling at her. "You always told me both would happen, and I didn't believe you...Steph, I'm so sorry. I wish things had been different, but...shit happens, I guess.I hope you're happy, where ever you are, I just hope you're happy. Maybe you're watching us, not wanting us to be sad...Rest in peace, Steph"

* * *

"Man, that was depressing" Drake growled as he downed another mug of booze. Drake and Simon had shed their coats a while ago, and Nashi could understand why, the guild hall was incredibly hot. Ultear crossed her legs and hiccuped. It didn't take a genius to see she was wasted.

"Where's Damien?" She demanded. "That fuck should be drinking like the rest of us." Nashi sighed as she rested her head on her hand.

"He wants to be alone, obviously." Nashi replied to the tipsy water wizard. "Today of all days I don't think we wants to drink."

"Poor bastard" Simon hissed, taking a swig from his own mug. "I mean really, how has he not just shut himself away from the world?"

"It must be impossibly difficult to put on that mask of normalcy" Elise reasoned. "That thing is still in him, too. it's not like it was a one time thing. How does he do it?" Nashi shrugged.

"Maybe he doesn't." She reasoned. "Maybe he just wants to give up, but can't."

* * *

Damien stood, getting soaked in the rain, staring down at the tombstone solemnly. He planned on standing here all night if that's what it took, but he wasn't planning on leaving until the guilt was somewhat quelled.

"Mavis, Steph" he said aloud. "I can't be more sorry for what I did to you." No one responded, who was there to do so? "He did it to you...he took my body and made me watch while he tore you apart...Mavis, I'm sorry..." Damien felt the tears escaping his eyes,and someone sighed.

"You are one sad sack of meat, Damien" The familiar voice said flatly. Damien gasped as he whirled around, almost throwing up. He stood there, in a tux as black as his armor, smiling at Damien. "although I admit, today must've been hard. Damien watched as Xisplate walked up next to him and stared down at the tombstone. "my my, rather unimpressive for the Master's daughter, huh?"

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Damien growled, clenching his fists. "I don't want you here, get away from me!" Xisplate sighed, crossing his arms.

"My my, have you forgotten what day it is, Damien?" he asked with a coy smile on his face, and Damien growled again as thunder sounded overhead.

"It's the day you killed my sister you bastard!" He shouted back, and Xisplate sighed.

"Well, yes, but I was thinking more along the lines of the anniversary of the day we met." Damien's eyes widened.

"You...you sick twisted fuck..."

"That's so kind of you to say Damien! And on our anniversary, too!" Xisplate laughed. "I have missed you, my boy, how are you?"

"Fuck off!"

"Hm, I see. I've been well. The demon world is fun, as always. The 12th Circle of Judgement gets the weirdest dead people passing through, I swear."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. This one guy kept yelling about your friends, Nashi and Ultear. Something about his loss being bullshit and how he was a master of Impact magic, I don't know"

"Great to know..."

"Yeah, it's true. But I didn't come here to talk casually."

"I don't want to talk to you at all."

"I know, but I adore our conversations. Anyways, I have come to warn you."

"About what?" Xisplate remained silent as rain continued to fall, but Damien began less and less interested by the minute. "I don't have all day what is it?!"

"After the Grand Magic Games that take place in 7 months, a tragedy will befall Fairy Tail" Xisplate replied, turning to stare at Damien. "One that cannot be stopped, and it will be ten times more devastating to your guild than the loss of your dear Stephanie."

"What?" Damien demanded. "How? What's going to happen? How do you know?" Xisplate sighed as he ran a hand through his midnight black hair.

"I know not myself. I do know one thing though." Xisplate got right into Damien's face, glaring at him. "There will be a catastrophe. And when it reaches it's climax, one of the six in your group will not leave with their life," Damien paled as the demon burned holes right into his soul with gaze. "I know not who. maybe the water wizard, perhaps Oberon. or maybe it'll be one of the dragon slayer, who know's?"

"You should! You're the demon of death, it's your forte!"

"As true as that is, I cannot see more." Xisplate began to walk away, leaving a soaked and confused Damien in the rain and thunder. "Be ready for when it comes Damien, the Balam Alliance will not be ready to play when it happens." The demon disappeared, and Damien stared down at the ground.

"Ul...Simon...Elise...Drake...Nashi" Damien whispered. "Me... who is it going to be?" He asked no one in particular, before clenching his fists. "No, that will not happen, Xisplate. I will protect them, all of them..."

"Even if it means my own life is the one forfeited."

**Woah, this is a really dark chapter. Lot's of plot progression, lot's of stuff to remember for the future. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	63. The Shift

Nashi was about to scream. not really because she was in pain or anything, just pissed. Why, you may ask? She couldn't find her scarf. She'd looked everywhere in her room, but she couldn't find it anywhere.

"I swear on Mavis' grave I'm going to kill whoever took that damn thing..." Nashi hissed to herself as she tore her sheets off her bed again in search of the scarf. She felt to naked without it, it just wasn't right. Sighing and giving up, she threw her vest on and walked out into the hallway, fiinding Elise standing there waiting.

"Morning" The raven haired girl greeted.

"Morning." Nashi replied, "Is Ul up yet?" Elise snickered.

"Nah, the princess is still getting ready...I think"

"You think?"

"Well, I woke her up and everything, but she'd awful quiet." Nashi nodded silently as she pressed passed a few girls on their way to the guild towards Ul's room.

"Ul!" Nashi called, knocking on the older girl's door. "Are you up?"

"Yes, for Mavis' sake!" She snapped back. "Man, leave me me alone!" Elise snickered.

"Someone's touchy." She commented, and Nashi giggled with her.

"Just go on without me!" She shouted. "I'll meet you there."

"You sure?" Nashi asked.

"Yes, it's not like you're going on vacation without me or something! Just go!"

"Mavis, what's with her today?" Nashi hissed as she and Elise began to leave. The other girl shrugged.

"Don't know." She replied. "Is it her time of the month or something?" Nashi smirked.

"Nah, maybe it was Simon's fangirls last night." Both snickered at the thought. When they had been out lat e the night before, some of Simon's fangirls had cornered him, and Ul had gotten rather touchy then as well. "Who knows with her, she's so weird.

"Where's your scarf?" Elise asked, and Nashi fumed.

"One of those bastards must've swiped it last night when I wasn't looking" She replied. "I don't know who it was, but whoever is going to get my flaming foot up their ass."

"I'm betting money on Drake, the other two aren't that idiotic."

"You're right there." The two of them walked down the hill and into the guild, giving greeting smiles to all who did so to them as they approached the table where the three guys were seated.

"Morning ladies" Damien said, making a face. "Where's Ul?"

"On her period" Elise replied as Nashi laughed. "What's up with you guys?"

"Not much." Simon replied. "We were just discussing what we were going to do."

"A job?" Nashi asked hopefully. She was itching to work as of late as they hadn't really taken any work lately, and she wanted to do some. It had nothing to do with rent, she was covered for a few months thanks to the payout she got for knocking Prince Simon out of the Dorma Anim. Drake shrugged.

"Nothing interesting on the job board." he replied. "Although I could use some cash." Nashi sighed, as the more pressing matter entered her brain.

"Alright, anyways." Nashi said, silencing everyone. "Which one of you idiots took my scarf? I know one of you did, who was it?" All three of them stared at her innocently, and Nashi slammed a fire coated fist on the table. "Who?!" Damien and Simon panicked and pointed at Drake who paled as he stared at them incredulously.

"Seriously, guys?!" he asked. "Ratting me out already?"

"She's scary, dude" Simon muttered as Nashi stared Drake down. "Just give her her damn scarf back." Drake muttered insults directed at Simon as he pulled the fabric out of his coat, throwing it to Nashi, who caught it and wrapped it around her neck, instantly feeling more covered.

"Thank you." Nashi said, still feeling rather irritated. She was about to tear Drake a new one when she saw Ultear approaching out of the corner of her eye. This was going to be good.

"Morning guys" She said, and al; three of them stiffened.

"Hey Ul" Drake said in a disgustingly sweet tone. "How's your day going?" Ultear made a face at him.

"Fine...?" She said slowly, unsure of what was happening, and Elise was holding in a laugh.

"That's good" Damien said sweetly. "Always good to start your day happy." Ultear stared at the three of them, still looking somewhat confused.

"What's going no?" She asked. Nashi smiled.

"Well." She said. "Elise kind of told them you were on your... you know."

"My what?"

"Your period" Elise replied, dodging the chair that gone thrown at her as the older girl chased the Dragon Slayer around the guild. "What? I just assumed!"

"Why would you say that?!" Ultear shouted back, reaching and trying to grab Elise's hair. "I'm going to kill you!" Nashi sat and laughed with the guys as Ul tackled Elise and the two rolled around the guild shouting insults at each other. That was, however, until the bells in town began to ring, and Nashi paled.

"Holy shit..." She said, turning to the door as the bells rang even louder. Drake's eyes widened.

"It's exactly what you all think it is" He said weakly. "He's back."

"Seriously?" Damien asked, "When was he here last?"

"Years ago" Simon replied. "It may have even been before Steph died, and that was eleven years ago..."

"Shit..." Ul whispered as she and Elise rejoined them. "Is it...the shift?"

"Yep" Elise said quietly. "He's home." Nashi ran to the door as Magnolia began to split apart, signaling the beginning of the shift. The many blocks of the city moved out of the way, and Nashi smiled.

"Gildarts shift." She said brightly.

* * *

Gildarts walked along the road silently, counting the years it had been since he'd been home at the guild. Easily over ten, he knew that. He wondered how everyone had been doing since he'd left, especially Cana. He wouldn't admit it too anyone, especially her, but he knew she hated the smothering she got. He trekked up the mountain and sighed, he was getting to old for this. Maybe it was time he retired. A quiet life at home? It seemed an almost foreign concept. He reached the doorway, plastering a smile on his face as he entered, almost frowning at the looks he was receiving. Had he gotten the wrong address again? This happened way to much. he stepped up to a smiling pink haired girl standing near him.

"Did I get the wrong place again?" he asked her, and she chuckled.

"Uncle Gildarts, it me. Nashi." Gildarts' eyes widened as he stared at the woman in front of him, vaguely reminded of the shy introverted girl he'd met all those years ago. He laughed.

"Wow, look at you!" he said, ruffling her hair. "You look more like your dad that you did before!"

"Heh, yeah." She said, smiling, and Gildarts was having difficulty seeing her as the same girl Lucy had introduced to him before.

"Speaking of which, are you over him leaving yet, or what?" Nashi rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Well, uh..." She began but was cut off by loud footsteps behind her, and Gildarts watched as a very familiar salmon haired men wrapped an arm around her.

"I'd say she is" Natsu said with a smirk.

* * *

Nashi wanted nothing more than to be released, but her fathers grip was too strong. Not that she minded, she had missed a lot of hugging time as a kid. Gildarts chuckled.

"So you decided to show up, did you?" He asked with a grin. "You're looking old, Natsu."

"Coming from you, I see that gray hair." Both men laughed, and Nashi managed to free herself from her fathers vice grip.

"As much as I'd love to catch up, I have to go be somewhere else where my dad can't embarrass me." her father smirked.

"What was that, you want story time?" he asked, and Nashi went red and shook her head viciously. Gildarts chuckled.

"I'll have to catch up with you all later, as well" Gildarts said. "I'm beat, I'm to old for this. Before I go, however, where's Cana?" Nashi smiled inwardly as Erza stepped forward.

"Probably at Quatro Cerberus" The requip mage told Gildarts, who looked confused.

"Why?" He asked, and Gray chuckled.

"With Bacchus" he told Gildarts, who turned such a pale color he looked like a ghost. "Since, y'know, they're married." Gildarts began to walk towards the wall as if on autopilot.

"I have to sit down." He destroyed the wall with his crash magic, and disappeared.

"I'm not sure telling him that was a good idea" She said warily, and Ultear grinned.

"Poor guy probably feels bad over missing it or the fact she's married at all." Elise nodded.

"Yeah, that or he's about to go and die." She said, and got a few looks. "What?" Drake sighed.

"Could you be any weirder?"

* * *

Natsu trailed along the pathway to Gildarts' place, smiling at the thought of catching up with the crash mage. They did have a lot to talk about, and Happy was bouncing along in the air next to him.

"Do you think he got us any gifts this time?" The exceed asked, and Natsu shrugged.

"I doubt it, he had no idea we were back." he told his partner. "Maybe we can swipe Nashi's if there's one."

"But she'll come after you, Natsu!"

"I know, that's part of the fun." Natsu and Happy made it to Gildarts' place and Natsu knocked, earning an approving sound from the man inside. "Hey, old man" Natsu greeted as he walked in. Gildarts had a fire going, and he smiled.

"Natsu." he said. "When did you get back?"

"A few months ago, I guess" Natsu said, doing a mental count of how long he'd been home.

"Were you, ah... expecting to have a daughter when you returned?" Natsu laughed awkwardly as he recalled his first day home when he'd met Nashi. Not a good day.

"Nope." he said. "Although I don't regret it."

"You and her get along alright?"

"Yeah. It was a rocky start, but we've forged some kind of relationship."

"That's good." Gildarts said, staring at the fire. "When I first met her about eleven or so years ago, she was the opposite of who I saw today."

"So I've been told" Natsu muttered, recalling all the stories he'd been told, and he'd blamed himself for every one of them. "I've done my best with the time I've had, but she isn't exactly a little girl anymore." Gildarts nodded and stared at the fire, leaving Natsu to lean against the counter, and Happy landed next to him.

"Have you told her?" Gildarts suddenly asked, and Natsu sighed, he knew that question was coming.

"No," He replied. "She's too innocent, she isn't ready"

"When will she be ready to learn such a horrible fact?" Gildarts demanded, and Natsu shrugged.

"I'll be honest, when I first got back I was horrified because of that" he said quietly. "I was worried that...that she was going to turn any minute, but it's stayed dormant as far as I know."

"That's good." Gildarts leaned back and sighed. "It pains me to think a young girl with such a bright future has such a dark secret she herself isn't even aware of."

"I'm also worried what'll happen if she's subjected to too much emotional trauma." Natsu murmured. "It may...well, you know." Gildarts chuckled.

"Yeah, it'll help her cope." Silence befell the two. "One other thing about her, Natsu."

"Yeah?"

"Make sure you're there for her if she needs you. I know you weren't aware she existed, but...be there when she needs her father, especially when _that _happens. Don't do what I did with Cana."

"I technically already did." Natsu replied, sighing. "But I know what you mean, I'll be there when it awakens." Gildarts nodded before smirking.

"Want a drink?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Nashi groaned and threw her head down on the able as her friends yawned.

"Can we just do something?" She demanded. "Even a shitty job would be preferable!" Damien sighed.

"No good jobs flowing right now." He replied. "I don;'t just want to work to work, I want to enjoy myself." Simon smirked.

"Well." He said. "I know where we can find some interesting work."

"Where?"Drake asked, ad Simon turned to pint upstairs. Nashi could just barely see the S-class job board up there, and she grinned.

"You're a genius, Simon!" She shouted, and her friends tore after her upstairs and towards the board to look for something. Nashi was already getting excited from skimming.

_Demon army attacking..._

_Dark guild needs destroying..._

_Dealing with my daughter's wedding day..._

Nashi grinned as the S-class members of the team skimmed the board.

"Here's a cool one." Damien said, pulling a flyer down. "Some rich guys wants mob ties to disappear. He'll pay handsomely."

"That sounds cool." Simon said, looking over Damien's shoulder.

"And dangerous" Ultear smirked darkly at the three dragon slayers. "Can the none S-class members pull there weight?" Elise coughed.

"Uh, I'm sorry Ul, but who returned without completing their S-class job?" The Iron Dragon Slayer taunted. "Oh, and who fought the Dorma Anim and won? Oh right, us." Both Simon and Damien snorted as Ultear fumed.

"She has a point" Simon said, putting a hand on Ul's shoulder to calm her. "They can hold their own."

"Let's stop and just go." Drake said, grabbing the flyer and marching it down to Mira, who smiled at them.

"S-class job, huh?" She asked sweetly as she wrote it down. "That'll be fun. Keep an eye on everyone, alright Damien?" Before the takeover mage could reply, Nashi grinned.

"We'll keep an eye on him Mira. Don't worry."

"Worry more abut yourself, Kiddo" Damien grumbled. "I'm S-class, you ain't."

"Who fought the Dorma Anim?" Nashi asked as Damien rolled his eyes and made for the door. "Who, Damien, who?"

"...You"

"Exactly."

"Nashi." Nashi turned at the sound of her mother's voice to find her beckoning. Ordering her friends to wait for her outside, Nashi approached her mother.

"Yeah, Mom?" Nashi asked, and Nashi sighed.

"Can you not baby me, Mom?" Nashi asked. "I can handle myself."

"I know, I worry though. Any good mother would."

"I know, but I got it, alright?" Nashi watched as her mother pressed her mouth into a thin line.

"Alright, get going." Nashi smiled, waving to her mother as she ran.

"Later!"

* * *

Lucy watched as Nashi disappeared, her heart heavy. She kept getting flashes of Galuna Island, and she only wanted Nashi to be okay. She laughed to herself weakly.

"Who am I kidding? She's Fairy Tail wizard. She doesn't need to look for trouble, it looks for them."

**Okay, a few things to address. Yes, this is the new arc, an S-class job. Deal with it.**

**And what were Natsu and Gildarts talking about? Interesting. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	64. Separated

**Remember how I said it was the new arc?**

**Surprise, I lied again.**

**Well, not that I lied, but I realized how trash the idea was, so I ditched it. And as soon as I did that, inspiration struck! This is the real new arc, but it won't be 20 chapters or anything. Depends on how long I can drag it out. So enjoy!**

"Are you positive?" Nashi rolled her eyes as Ultear asked the question for the third time.

"I've tripled checked." Damien replied, throwing the flyer down. "It's the right damn area, let's just do this."

"I'm telling you." Drake growled, crossing his arms. "That flyer smells...eerily familiar." Nashi nodded in agreement as Elise rubber her forehead.

"Uh...my head is killing me" She growled. "I want to agree with Drake, but... I don't know why" Nashi watched the girl warily. Whenever Elise got poked in Phantom Dove's direction, everyone stayed quiet to see if Doranbolt's memory programming faltered and she remembered everything. It hadn't yet, but Nashi didn't like to take the chance, the flyer smelled way to much like...him. The mere memory of the torturer made Nashi sick to her stomach.

"Don't worry about it" Simon said carefully, patting Elise on the shoulder. "let's just get these ancestral scrolls and make a run for it."

"Agreed" Ultear said warily. "This cave is creeping me out." They'd been hired to retrieve some scrolls from someone's ancestor that were, apparently, somewhere inside this cave. Nashi didn't know if there was anything inside she could beat up, but she hoped there was. That was one of the few things that would settle her nerves. She walked behind everyone inside and got a blast of disgusting air to the nose, and she doubled over.

"Mavis, it smells like shit in here" Nashi said, straightening and covering her nose.

"Better sense of smell doesn't help." Drake hissed, covering his own mouth and nose with the popped collar of his coat. Nashi did her best to ignore it, but it didn't work very well. They walked down the descending pathway further into the darkness, and Nashi felt unnerved even more that nothing was in the way. A monster, a person looking for help, something. They walked out into what looked like a clearing, into absolute nothingness.

"Well" Elise said slowly. "Anyone see scrolls?"

"I don't see a goddamn thing" Drake replied angrily. "Did that client dupe us?"

"Why would they?" Nashi asked. "Unless they were..." Nashi was cut off my a rumble throughout the cave, causing everyone to lose their balance.

"What was that?" Simon asked. The requip mage got his answer when the floor fell out from underneath them, and they tumbled towards the darkness. Nashi felt her back connect with the ground, and her vision faded.

* * *

When Nashi awoke, she was on her stomach, her arms supporting her head as if she'd been asleep. She yawned as she sat up and looked around. Where was she? She remembered falling down a hole and blacking out, that was about it.

"Guys?" She called out, looking for her friends. "Hello? Anyone?" Nashi stood and looked around the small caver she'd landed in. They'd all fallen down the same hole, how had they gotten separated? "Drake? Elise? Ul? Simon? Damien? Can anyone hear me?" Nashi began to feel panicked. Where were her friends? She really had nothing to do other than try and find everyone, so she began to walk down the one way hall she was in. It only took her a moment to find a piece of paper, that looked rather aged, resting on a pedestal.

_Initiate,_

_within the hollowed halls of our holy ground towards the scrolls, you will face that which you fear most. No mater what it be; regret, disappointing someone, spiders, you will face it as your trial ahead. Good luck, you will need it._

Nashi wasn't exactly sure what the hell that meant, but she didn't have time to wonder. She moved on from the pedestal and back down the hallway, and hear footsteps ahead of her.

"Hello?" She called weakly. "Guys? Is that you?" No one responded, and she sighed, tapping her foot.

"Such a disappointment." The voice said, and Nashi's eyes widened. "Why are you such a disappointment, Kid?" Nashi watched in complete disbelief as her father stepped out from the darkness, staring at her.

"D-dad?" Nashi managed. "What are you doing here?" He sighed.

"Watching my failure of a daughter fuck up, again." He replied, and Nashi felt a knife pierce her heart. "Seriously, are we sure you're mine?"

"W-what...?"

"I've never been more disappointed of someone in my life. You are not my daughter, you're just...ugh" Every word hurt Nashi even more, even though she knew something was off.

"What's going on?" She demanded. "My dad wouldn't say that!"

"Really? Cause last I checked here I am, saying it. Rather strange I'm not, huh?" Nashi growled. "Don't do that, it just makes you more unappealing to look at."

* * *

Drake was confused. He was all by himself in a dark hole, and no one was around. He couldn't even hear anyone, just emptiness. He sighed as he continued down the only path he could see, not knowing exactly where we was supposed to be going. Why was it this only happened to him and his friends? It was just too weird.

"Hello?" he tried again, and once again to no avail. It was becoming more and more apparent they'd been separated.

"Drake, is that you?" Drake sighed at the sound of Nashi's voice, and grinned.

"Nashi, thank Mavis!" he shouted happily as he ran towards her voice. "I'm so glad your..." Drake trailed off as he reached the source of the voice, and his skin crawled. Nashi was standing there waiting for him, but she was severely wounded. her legs and arms had gashes all over the, and her left eye had been gouged out. Her stomach was burnt (Surprisingly enough) and she had such a deep frown on her face.

"What took you so long?" Nashi whimpered. "You did this to me!"

"W-what?" Drake croaked. "I- I didn't..."

"You said you'd always be there, and you weren't. I needed you and you weren't there. This is your fault!"

"I-I..." Drake didn't know what to say, his voice wouldn't cooperate. How had she gotten this hurt? Was everyone else like this. Nashi coughed, and blood splattered all over the ground. "Nashi, I..."

"Don't you dare fucking apologize, it's far too late. We're all dead because of you, everyone's gone. And you know what now?"

"W-what?"

"I'm going to use the remainder of my strength to kill you, maybe then you'll see what you've done."

I, Nashi please, I don't..." He trailed off as a fireball flew past his head, and Nashi growled.

"You weren't there for us, for any of us... and now it's your turn to die!"

* * *

Ultear wasn't that badly hurt, but her old leg wound from Zindo was acting up again. When she got back, she was going to have Wendy look at it, maybe it was still in worse shape then she thought.

"Mavis, where am I?" She demanded, throwing a fist at the wall. "We all got separated for these damn scrolls...fuck!" Ultear winced as pain shot up her leg, and she groaned. "I wish I could just get out of here, this is ridiculous!"

"Don't we all, Ultear-nee?" Ultear felt her eyes widen. No, it was impossible, that voice had died long ago. Long, long ago. "What's wrong, Ultear-nee? Surprised to see me?" Ultear turned her head slightly, and gasped. Keiko stood there silently, staring at her.

"K-Keiko" Ultear managed. "W-what, h-how..?"

"A little cutie, isn't she?" Ultear gasped again as another figure with tattoos all over his face stepped out of the darkness. "Such a shame she burned to death."

"Z-Zindo" Ultear whispered, and the man grinned as he patted Keiko on the head. "W-what are you...how are you..."

"Surprised to see me?" He asked, and Ultear nodded viciously. "Not surprised, that little firefly of yours packed quite the punch."

"You, you, you..."

"Yes yes, I should be dead, right?" Ultear nodded, and Zindo laughed. "And so is Keiko, and yet we're both here to see you, _Ultear-nee." _With that, Zindo reached down and, n one swift movement, snapped Keiko's neck. Ultear screamed as her body collapsed and Zindo laughed. "What's wrong, _Ultear-nee, _have I done something wrong?" Ultear watched in complete disbelief as Keiko stood, unharmed.

"K-Keiko..."

"What's wrong Ultear-nee?" The girl asked innocently. "You're crying." Before Ultear could reply, Zindo slammed Keiko's head into the wall, and laughed as the body went limp. Keiko crawled out and remained stationary as Zindo attacked her mercilessly, and Ultear felt tears streaming down her face.

"STOP!"

* * *

Simon wasn't one for being alone, and he sure as shit didn't like the fact they'd been separated. He'd called out for everyone at least a million times each, but each time was met with absolute silence. He knew it was no good, why the hell was he even trying.

"This is insane." He hissed to himself. "Sometimes I wonder what I be doing if I wasn't doomed as what appears to be a plot device for some shitty story..." Mumbling to himself incoherently, Simon continued to walk down the path, before he was stopped by clapping. "What was that?"

"Oh, congratulations, you aren't completely retarded." Simon watched as the voice in question stepped out from the darkness, and gasped as his father stepped out from the shadows. "I'm honestly impressed, you don't know."

"Dad?" Simon asked weakly, staring at him in confusion.

"Don't address me like we're close." he hissed in response. "You act as if I care about you."

"But you do, I've seen it."

"Keep telling yourself that, I've never hated anyone more, and that's coming from Zeref's puppet. I don't understand ho such a pathetic human being could be produced by Erza and myself. Truly a mistake of judgement." Simon had never heard such things from his father, and it hurt to hear. His father had always done his best to make him feel loved, and this was not that.

"Stop lying to me." Simon growled. "What is this, some sort of trick?"

"I wish, you're so undesirable it's ridiculous. Makes me sick to my stomach, truthfully."

"Yeah? I'm not stupid.

"Debatable."

* * *

Damien didn't need to be smart to know they'd fallen into a trap, it was clear as anything to see. He sighed as he continued towards what he hoped was the way out and the others, but that was debatable. He was all to familiar with bullshit, and this reeked of it, and that could only spell one word: Bad. he rubbed his throbbing elbow he slammed it against the wall, surprisingly not breaking it.

"Man, what am I doing here?" He demanded. "I don't understand why I'm so..."

"Stop complaining, Oniichan." Damien froze mid-sentence at the interruption. That voice, he knew it all too well. He turned slowly and found the cause. The cause was about as tall as Nashi, with golden blonde hair. Her eyes were a piercing blue, and her face spelled trouble.

"S-Steph?" Damien asked, and was met with a blast of lightning.

"Don't you dare address me so casually." Steph hissed. "Not after what you did to me."

"Steph, I didn't..."

"You didn't?! Have you forgotten, Oniichan?!" Steph asked incredulously. "It's all your fault! You tried to impress us and what happened? Death and destruction! And you know who's fault it is?"

"X-Xisplate..."

"Wrong! Yours!" Steph blasted him with lightning, and Damien flew back into the wall. _She sure has some power behind her attacks...she is a Dreyar... _Damien felt himself collapse into the wall, and he stayed there as Steph advanced before a hand grabbed his arm. He turned to find the demon himself helping him up.

"Get up, Damien" Xisplate hissed. "Don't fall for it."

"W-what?" Damien whispered as Steph growled. Xisplate sighed.

"This place" Xisplate said. "It's an old burial ground where tribesmen would traverse tests to commune with their ancestors. This is one such test. The test of the deepest fear."

"Deepest fear?" Damien asked as he stood. Xisplate nodded.

"One such test they endured was facing a physical embodiment of what they feared deep down, but would never admit. Yours, apparently, is your sister blaming you for what happened."

"But it wasn't my..." another lightning bolt exploded between them.

"Not the time, Damien" Xisplate hissed.

* * *

"Fuck!" Elise slammed her club into the wall again and growled. "Fucking fucking fucking fuck! Why the fuck am I stuck down here?!" She growled as she rubbed her fist that was now sore from the attacking. She really had to learn to calm down. This place just creeped her out, and her head was still throbbing from that familiar smell the flyer had. She knew she could place it, bu she got a killer headache whenever she thought about it. Maybe it had something to do with the pains she experienced when people, guys especially, grabbed her hips? Hell if she knew. All she did know was that she was in a hole, pissed off, and now had a throbbing headache.

A recipe for a great day, obviously.

Doing her best to ignore the pain coursing through her head, Elise continued down the hall, rubbing her knuckles to sooth them. She was about to enter another hissy fit when a dark voice chuckled.

"Well, hello again beautiful" Elise looked up and found a man approaching her from the shadows, and her headache intensified.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Elise demanded, and the man chuckled.

"You don't remember, huh? Too bad, I remember every moment. Let me tell you, we had some fun" Elise grinned back, equally as dark.

"Did it involve me kicking your ass? Because that's about to happen in about three seconds."

"It involved ass, just not mine and certainly not getting kicked." Elise's temples roared in defiance to his voice and Elise groaned and doubled over.

"Fuuuuuuuck my head!" She groaned. "What the hell is wrong with my head?!"

_"Well, how is she?" _Elise's eyes widened as hr mothers voice resounded in her head. A mans voice sighed.

_"I can do it, but she's incredibly resistant." _Doranbolt's reply came.

_"I don't care, find a way."_

_"She may remember, or at least have a killer headache if she thinks about it."_

_"If she'll be Elise again, I don't care."_

Elise wasn't really sure what to think. When had she overheard that?Her head felt as if it was going to explode, and she grabbed it in a vain attempt to prevent just that.

"I don't know who you are, pal" Elise hissed, facing the man with great difficulty through the pain, "But maybe kicking your ass will make me fell better."

"Let's find out"

**Before anyone asks, yes, that is the guy that...**

**you know...**

**anyway, hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	65. Ultear's Regrets and Elise's Flashback

**Hello again fans! Before we start today's chapter, I have something to ask you guys. As I've started a new arc today, The Ancient Trials, I need you guys to help me with something.**

**Seeing as this arc was a spur of the moment replacement for the original arc in this slot, I kind of need some more trials to put them through. This arc also exists to flesh out some characters, as people like Simon or Drake really don't have all that development.**

**All I need is some kind of deep, philosophical thing to put each of them through, something that may develop them a bit. I know my own characters, so all I'm asking for is something to help flesh them out. Open to ideas, don't be shy!**

**I'll stop rambling, enjoy!**

Damien growled as he dodged another lightning bolt. He didn't want to hurt his sister, even if it was just some kind of stupid test. She, however, didn't feel the same towards him, she was completely murderous. She kept screaming things akin too 'Die!' and 'This was all your fault, Oniichan!' and shit like that. Xisplate was no help either, as he just followed Damien around lazily telling him to hurry up.

"I hope you realize you aren't helping in the slightest" Damien hissed at suit wearing demon to his right. Xisplate chuckled.

"Shall we takeover, then?"

"Fuck that! Just help me somehow!" Xisplate rolled his eyes and pointed at Steph, who appeared to be charging up another round of lightning.

"She isn't real, she's a figment of the trial." He droned, and Damien nodded. "You have to defeat her, or get over your innermost fears."

"How?"

"Perhaps you could kill her, maybe then you can advance."

"No."

"Well..."

"No. If that's all you have, go away." Damien waited for Xisplate to either sigh and disappear, or chuckle and stay. He regretted he was grateful it was the latter.

"Then get over your fear of her blame, Damien my boy. It is as simple as that"

"But, what if she does blame me?" Damien often wondered what his sister would say should she not have been ten feet underground in a coffin, but he pushed the thought away.

"That thought is exactly we we're stuck her dealing with her. Is her blame really what you're most afraid of?" Damien nodded weakly, knowing full well it was pathetic. He could've been afraid of death or people, but nope. His dead little sister blaming him was his worst fear, pathetic. "Then get over it, these trials are all about conquering your innermost fears and reservations"

"How?" Damien whispered, staring at his open hand, before clenching it. "How can I rid myself of that fear?"

"You have to let go, for one."

"Let...go...?" Xisplate face palmed at Damien's weak question.

"Damien, I'm a part of you. I can tell you still have not let go of her. She is dead, not you or I can change that. Let go of Steph, and maybe we can make some progress"

"But...she's my baby sister..."

* * *

_"Oniichan, give it back!"_

_"You forgot the magic word!"_

_"Please?"_

_"Since when is please my magic word?" Steph puffed her cheeks up and Damien chuckled. She was too easily annoyed by such things. He was only holding her favorite doll hostage far above her head. "Come on, just say it!" Steph sighed._

_"Damien is the greatest big brother in the world" She muttered. "There will never be a better Oniichan than Damien. He is almighty, he is the best. There, I said it."_

_"...Nah, you weren't sincere enough!" Damien laughed as he ran away, and Steph wailed._

_"I'm telling Daddy!"_

_"Crap! Don't tell Dad!"_

* * *

_"Watchca doin', Oniichan?" Damien smiled at his little sister as she approached him. They were both far in the woods._

_"Looking for Vulcans" He replied devilishly. "I wanna try my takeover out on one"_

_"But Mommy said not to without her permission!"_

_"Ah, what does she know? What are you gonna do, Tattle on me? Are you a tattler, Steph?" Steph puffed her cheeks up, what she usually did when she was mad._

_"No." She said slowly. "I'm no tattler."_

_"I beg to differ."_

_"Wanna bet?"_

_"Yeah. I bet you one beat up Vulcan you tell someone who'll get me in trouble."_

_"You can't bet a beat up Vulcan, Oniichan!"_

_"Why not?"  
_

_"I can't beat up a Vulcan!"_

_"Have you tried?"_

_"...You're stupid, Oniichan"_

_"Am not!"_

* * *

Damien came out of his flashbacks just in time to dodge more lightning, and Steph growled.

"Stay still Oniichan, I can't hit you!" She shouted angrily. Xisplate reappeared at Damien's side.

"If you can't let go like an idiot, look at it this way." he said in Damien's ear. "That isn't Steph, it's an apparition."

"It's still Steph."

"No it...! Holy Zeref above you're difficult, Damien." Damien didn't reply as Xisplate remained silent. "If you don't do something, I will, and I'll make sure it's just like last time too..."

"Alright, fuck, I'll try and let go." Damien focused on his sisters face, doing his best to dispel the guilt pent up inside. It barely worked, if anything it made him feel worse. Steph attacked again, and this time she hit Damien square in the chest, causing him to fly back into the wall again. "Fuck me, this is hard..."

* * *

Ultear was upset to say the least. Sitting her watching as Zindo mercilessly assaulted Keiko, and she was too paralyzed to do a damn thing. Zindo laughed manically.

"Got no words, Fullbuster?" he roared. "Good! Once I'm done with her I'll start with you!"

"Please...stop..." Ultear managed as Keiko stood once again. The little girls gaze had not deterred from Ultear in the slightest, and that was probably the worst part.

"Why don't you come over here and make me?!" Zindo challenged, and Ultear remained quiet as Keiko stared at her.

"Why are you sad, Ultear-nee?" Keiko asked innocently, and Ultear felt her throat closing with emotion. Why was she seeing this? Keiko was dead, Zindo by all accounts should've been as well. Yet here they both were, one getting continuously assaulted by the other. "Don't be sad, Ultear-nee, it'll be okay."

"K-Keiko..." Ultear managed, and Zindo smirked.

"Cute little thing." he said, patting her head. "Too bad she's dead, she'd have made a good pet." Ultear tried to growl, but a whimper came instead. "Why oh why did I kill you? Oh right, she's right over there. Now..." Zindo proceeded to use his impact magic on Keiko, and the little girl still got up every time she fell. Ultear's eyes began to betray her as she stood shakily.

"Stop..." She hissed. "Stop...NOW..."

"What're going to do?" Zindo questioned. "Are you going to..." Zindo trailed off as Ultear slammed the icy blade into his chest, sending him flying backwards. Keiko stood and Ultear went to her side.

"Keiko run" Ultear advised.

"Why?"

"Just run, please. This'll get ugly."

"...Okay, see you later." Keiko walked away, and Ultear watched as the girl dissipated into thin air. _Some kind of vision? _It didn't matter, because Ultear could hear Zindo getting up.

"Bitch" he spat. "Every time we see each other it ends like this...what the hell are you doing?" Ultear had reached him quickly and held the blade to his neck and growled.

"Watching you attack Keiko made me realize something." Ultear replied, grinning darkly. "My biggest fear...or rather, regret...was that I wan't there for Keiko when you killed her, and that things could've been different had I been there."

"You..."

Shut up" Ultear pressed the blade closer to Zindo's neck, and was a satisfying amount of blood colored the blade. "You're the reason my leg is fucked, the reason that young family is gone...And now you'll pay." Ultear grinned as she ran the blade slowly across his neck, watching as she slowly slit his neck. "How's it feel, Zindo? Being watched as you die like some kind of...animal?" Zindo managed a weak smile.

"You and I ain't so different, huh..." Ultear finished the job, and Zindo dissipated as well, along with the blood adorning Ultear's blade. Ultear collapsed and began to heave huge, labored sobs. She let all the pain out, everything. She cried about it all; Keiko, Zindo, the townsfolk, all of it. By the time she had recovered enough to lift her head, she could tell she'd drenched herself in tears.

"I'm such a mess, Keiko" Ultear whispered with a weak chuckle as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "What would you say if you saw me like this, huh?" Solitary darkness was Ultear's only companion, and it responded as emptily as it was itself. "Mavis, the air down here must be making me delusional. First I see Keiko and Zindo, next I'm talking to myself..."

"Although I do that a lot already..."

* * *

Elise felt the need to vent on this poor asshole, but she hadn't the faintest idea why. She felt as if he'd wronged her in some way, but her headache and terrible memory worked together to make sure she didn't remember shit. She clubbed him in the stomach a few times, and he grinned up at her.

"My, how the positions have changed." he said wistfully, and Elise growled as pain shot up her spine.

"Shut up, your making my headache worse" She hissed, and he laughed.

"I'm upset you don't remember me whatsoever." He said. "Have you lost your memory?"

"No, but you're giving me a splitting headache, so shut the fuck up!"

"Well, I mean..."

"I said shut up!" Elise hissed as her temples nearly exploded. "Just...stop talking, please!"

"Oh? Does my voice hurt?" Elise involuntarily flinched, and he chuckled. "Oh, that's let me chatter up a storm!" He began saying nonsensical words, but every syllable drove Elise insane. She roared angrily but missed, and dropped to her knees. "Ah, you below me, so fitting." Elise tried to look up, but she nearly passed out by doing so. The pain had spread throughout her entire body, and she could barely think straight.

"W-who are you?" She managed, staring at the ground, doing er best not to throw up. "I-I-I can't r-r-remember... GAH!" Elise shot up like she'd been electrocuted as a vision shot through her mind

_"We have to get out of her" Drake said angrily. Nashi nodded._

_"Every last one will know what it means to fuck with Fairy Tail"_

_..._

_"Don't make her go, she isn't okay"_

_"None of you are, like it or not, she has to..."_

_"She. Can't."_

_..._

Elise collapsed and began to pant. What the hell was that? She didn't have any recollection of that. She recognized Nashi and Drake's voices, and the third was eerily familiar. Who was it? She didn't have the patience for this, she had an asshole to deal with. Her headache had died down considerably due to the vision, and it helped her stand and grin at him.

"What were you saying about me being below you?" She asked sweetly. Before he could reply, Elise slammed her fist into his stomach, causing him to fly away. "How about you come over here and make me stay down?! HUH?!" He crawled from the debris and growled.

"As resilient as ever.." He growled. "Just like last time."

"Oh yeah?" Elise grabbed the collar of his shirt, causing him to pale. "How about I kick your ass three ways from Monday, and the ask you what your ties to Phantom Dove are?"

"Uhh..."

"Ssshhh, no speaking. I'm going to show you what happens when you fuck with me" He grinned weakly.

"More than you know, bitch. More than you know"

**Like I said above, send me any ideas you may have for trials. Anything that may be emotionally revealing or something, I don't know. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	66. Remember!

**back again, enjoy!**

Simon didn't know what to do. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew deep down he returned his fathers love and affection. So it was more than off putting seeing him here saying such things. Was this some sort of illusion? No, he'd faced off against more than enough illusion mages to know that wasn't the case. Perhaps this was some sort of test, to see if he was worthy of continuing on his way? Yes, surely that made more sense. Simon was brought out of his deep trance as a ball of heavenly light struck him in the chest, sending him to the ground.

"Mavis, you can't even dodge any attack" His father growled. "Just how useless are you? The fact hat Nashi is a better wizard disgusts me." Simon was no stranger to what Nashi could do if she needed too, but currently she stood no chance, especially with his fire emperor armor. He growled as he stood up, not really at that effected by the attack.

"Your power level is terrible." Simon commented. "My Dad had a lot more force behind his blows, you're a terrible impostor." Jellal laughed.

"And you're a terrible son overall." he replied. "I mean really, why did I spend all those jewel trying to gain your affection? Would've been a much wiser spend to buy your mother presents to get in her pants and try again, on't you agree?"

"...No" Simon was slightly disturbed this test was talking so freely about trying to give him a brother or sister. Especially one that was only really there to replace him.

"I'd love to see how Mom would react to that." Simon said with a grin. "She loves me, even if you don't." Simon had obviously found some sort of opening as the apparition flickered. "Replace me? I'd love to see you try." Jellal laughed.

"Easy enough. I shall destroy you and then conceive another child, hopefully one who will be a far greater success." Jellal launched himself at Simon, who dodged it with meteor and threw out balls of light. Jellal dodged each and everyone, and flew at him with a sweep kick, one that Simon dodged and raised a fst to bring it down on his fathers face.

He couldn't do it. Simon was shocked to feel himself resisting the attack. Jellal laughed.

"You're so sweet, Simon" he hissed as he threw Simon into the wall. "You can't hit me, can you?" Surely that wasn't the case, could it be? Simon tried several more times to attack, but was met by the same result. Deep deep down, he couldn't hit his father, he couldn't attack. He withdrew and dodged a few more balls of light.

_This'll be a problem if I can't fucking hit you..._

* * *

Elise slammed the man down into the floor once again and was met with silence as his back rose and fell rhythmically. Elise had yet to remember a damn thing, but at this point she was too into kicking his ass to care. She grinned down at him as he struggled to stand and spat out blood that dripped from his mouth. He laughed darkly.

"who's on their stomach now" He choked out. "my my, such a change."

"Why the hell do you keep telling me shit like that?" Elise demanded, planting a foot on his back and pushing him back down. Just because she felt like being a bitch. "You act like I'm supposed to know you"

"Do you really not?" He asked weakly, and Elise hook her head. "Man, your people fucked with your head something fierce, didn't they?"

"Fucked with my head? my people? Just explain yourself." He laughed darkly.

"I..." He swallowed hard, and Elise took her foot off. It was too late. "I...You and I..." he dissipated into thin air, leaving Elise just as confused as she had been before. She and he had what? She'd never know, whatever that had been had disappeared.

"Maybe that was some sort of sign." She wondered aloud. "But for what?...Fuck, I'm not smart enough for this, I'll ask Nashi or maybe Simon. Yeah, they'll know.: That was what Elise hoped truthfully, because the more and more she got random headaches and people referenced Phantom Dove, the more irritated she got she was what seemed to be the only one not in the know. Had something happened to her specifically?

"No, no...Nothing happened to me, I was sick...Right?" Elise wracked her brain for something, anything.

Memories...

Doranbolt...

Her Mother...

Phantom Dove...

"FOR FUCK SAKE!" Elise threw out a punch at the wall, demolishing it immediately. "WHY THE FUCK ARE PEOPLE KEEPING THIS SHIT FROM ME! I WILL FIND THE FUCK OUT, I SWEAR ON MAVIS' GRAVE!" Elise through out more attacks at random, getting more and more angry by the moment.

"I..." She collapsed to the ground, resting her head on her arms, curling up into a ball, which for some reason made her head hurt again. "I don't understand...Just what is everyone hiding from me about Phantom Dove? Is there some thing I'm not allowed to know or something?" Elise spent another good five minutes trying to think before she felt so frustrated she wanted to cry.

"Why can't I remember?"

* * *

To say Damien was pissed off was like saying Natsu was pretty good at magic, a huge understatement. Xisplate was right, Damien knew that, but he couldn't bring himself to kill her or let go. He just...couldn't. Damien growled as he grabbed Steph and threw her back.

"You're pathetic, Oniichan" Steph hissed. "You can't do what the demon says you must, huh?"

"You...you can see...?" Steph laughed.

"Oh course I can, he helped you kill me. When I'm done with you, I'll start with him."

"I would love to see her try" Xisplate muttered, pocketing his hands. "Bitch"

"Shut up" Both Damien and Steph growled. Damien watched Steph carefully, wondering what he was going to do. He knew he had to do something, but he didn't have any idea. Steph flew at him again, this time aiming for his stomach instead of his head; He was caught off guard by the change in direction, and flew into the wall. Growling as he stepped out, he used his demon soul, and Steph cowered sarcastically.

"No, please Oniichan!" She shouted. "Please, don't attack me with that!" Damien did his best not to seems effected, but he knew deep down her plea effected his moral compass. That was the problem, obviously. He needed to just off her and be done with it, he knew it wasn't rally his sister.

"If you don't do it" Xisplate warned next to him. "I will, and I can guarantee you don't want to witness that."

"What'll you do, forcefully jack my body and do it for me?" Xisplate glowered and looked at Damien.

"Do not tempt me, Dreyar." he hissed. "I will if I need to, all six must be present in seven months."

"You really think reminding one of my friends will die in seven months is going to help anyone?" Damien demanded, not in the mood to argue with the demo of death while he faced a physical embodiment of his dead sister who was only dead due to said demon of death? The whole link the three of them had made Damien's head spin. He flew towards Steph and knocked her to her left, and she laughed.

"Ah, so you'll actually try now? That'll make killing you and that demon so much more enjoyable!" She roared, launching more lightning bolts at Damien, who easily flew in between them. The apparition wasn't very strong, mainly due to the fact there was no teenage Steph in Earthland to base it's damage off of. He tackled her and did his best to hold her still, but it really wasn't working all that well. She struggled as hard as she could, doing her absolute hardest to escape.

"Steph...fuck ,stop squirming!"

"Let me go, you asshole!" She shouted angrily. "I swear to Mavis I'll...I'll" Steph began to trail off, and Damien looked at her in shock.

There was a huge, gaping hole in her midsection, one caused by an attack Damien had not meant to use. he stared at his sister in shock, doing his best not to start crying. She coughed and then laughed.

"Look at you, Oniichan..." She whispered weakly. "You fucking got me again, you asshole...I'll fucking get you for this..." Her head lolled uselessly and Damien was left there with empty arms, tears in his eyes. He'd watched her die again.

"I'm sorry" Damien whirled to find Xisplate standing there solemnly. "There was no other way." Damien realized what Xisplate was saying, and stormed towards him and grabbed the collar of his suit.

"You...you hijacked my takeover didn't you?" Xisplate stared back, almost looking apologetic. Damien wanted to believe that was the emotion on the demons face, but he didn't think Xisplate was capable of that.

"As I said, no other way" Xisplate replied weakly, coughing. "I told you if you couldn't, I would. It wasn't really her, what's the big deal?" Damien growled and tightened his grip on the coat.

"That is the _second fucking time _I've watched my sister die because of you." Damien saw the 'it wasn't really her' on Xisplate's lips, and he silenced the demon with a stare. "It doesn't fucking matter if it wasn't really her, it was close enough. She had a voice, a face, emotions..." Damien was cut off as Xisplate grabbed his own jacket and glared at him.

"You're completely fucked, Damien." He hissed. "That was not anything but an embodiment of your pathetic inner self. That was not anything near your sister, get the fuck over it."

"It..."

"No, it wasn't. Now, go and proceed. I swear to myself if I need to take control of you to make the tough decisions, I will. Do not think I won't because I will. Now, do you need a minute to collect your pathetic self or can we go?" Damien stared at the demon, doing his best to control his anger.

"You're fucked too." Damien replied, letting go of Xisplate's suit. "let me control my on life, don't do it for me."

"Don't let it get to the point were I have to."

* * *

Simon was an absolutely pathetic excuse of a person. Then again, maybe he wasn't. This was all over his inability to hit his own father. How could he beat someone he couldn't hit? The question boggled Simon's mind." Jellal chuckled.

"I'll admit, you've got skills in running like a bitch. Why don't you come over here and get me, Simon?" Simon didn't waste his energy in replying, there wasn't a point. This apparition knew his psyche inside and out, and it troubled him deeply. "Why is it you insist on disappointing me? I mean, what have I done?"

"How about not being there whenever I need you?" Simon blurted out, doing his best to not get teary eyed, "How about all the ridiculous attention whenever you did show up? How about acting like nothing was wrong?" Simon was surprised when he threw a punch and didn't stop himself midway. His fist connected with his father, sending him flying. Simon stared at his fist in shock. He says a bunch of truth and manages to hit him. Simon grinned.

"Well well, looks like this kid isn't so useless after all" Jellal and Simon stared each other down as Simon cracked his knuckles.

"Useless?" He asked. "let's see how useless you think I am with your face in the ground."

**Yeah, more chapters! Sorry their so short, I'm doing my best. Can we hit our review goal today? We didn't yesterday, so let's get five! Leave one if you enjoyed!**


	67. Past Promises

**Hey, guys. Maybe you can tell by my lack of enthusiasm, but I have something to address. I'm a tad disappointed, honestly. There is over one hundred of you guys, and we can't get five reviews?**

**It's five reviews, guys. I'm not asking for thirty, forty, or even ten.**

**Five.**

**FIVE.**

**I'm incredibly grateful for the few people who've been reviewing constantly, and I hope you guys never stop, because that'd be bad for my self esteem. If you guys have seen my SAO fic, I'm not even asking for a response like that. Just five reviews. If we can't get at least five this time, I'm going to have to put in a minimum amount until we get a new chapter.**

**This may seem rude or excessive, but it's 5 out of 116, that's 4% of the readers. Come on guys, you can do it!**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi wasn't sure of what to do, but she was sure that she was upset. She knew that this was a test, the writing she'd read had more than told her that. But, as she stood here, facing opposite her father, Nashi wasn't sure of what to do. Her father chuckled.

"You haven't come up with a plan yet, have you?" He asked.

"Maybe," Nashi replied, doing her best to smile. "Maybe not. How about you just leave?"

"And miss out on my daughter falling on her face or maybe, if I'm lucky, dying down here? Not a chance." Nashi didn't want to feel so upset at the insult, but she did nonetheless. Maybe that was the point, embodying her worst fear in order to obstruct her. "I can see why Rocky made a point to make fun of you, not surprised Elise joined in for a while either." Nashi flinched as various memories swam in her conscious. She did her best to ignore them, but she couldn't.

* * *

_Nashi landed hard on her back as Rocky laughed. Nashi did her best not to cry as rain pelted her, soaking her to the bone. She felt the hot tears streaming down her face a Rocky kicked her in the back and laughed even harder._

_"Is this what a Dragneel is made of?" He demanded as Nashi cowered. "Maybe when your scumbag dad comes home I'll kick his ass too...or if he comes home."_

_"S-shut up..." Nashi managed, rubbing at her eyes viciously as she sat up, glaring at the young tan boy. he laughed as he ran his hair through his brown hair._

_"Oh, are you going to make me?" He asked as he flicked the hand carrying his umbrella, and rocks clamped around Nashi's ankles. "Let's see how long you last out in this rain, or will you summon up some fire to warm yourself up?" Nashi pulled desperately at the rocks, doing her best to free herself, but to no avail. "I'll come back in a few hours, see if you're sick or dead. Bye." _

_"Get b-back here!" Nashi shouted angrily, pulling at her ankles, trying her absolute hardest. Of course, given her age and strength, wasn't all that hard. "Rocky! Rocky! Ro-achoo!" Nashi watched as his retreating figure disappeared into the rain. She sniffled. "I hate you...I HATE YOU!"_

_"Same here, Dragneel, same here." Rocky called back and Nashi growled as she fell back onto her back ,entering a sneezing fit._

_..._

_"Hurry up Simon, she's almost free!" Nashi opened her eyes slightly and saw two mops of hair, one red and the other black._

_"W-who..." Nashi managed, and Ultear's face appeared in her blurry vision.  
_

_"Nashi! Are you okay?" She asked worriedly. Nashi sneezed in response as she sat up, almost headbutting Simon. Erza's son was currently hacking away at the rocks with a blade, doing his best to free her._

_"You good, Nashi?" Simon asked as h freed her left ankle, and Nashi instantly rubbed it to regain a little feeling in it._

_"Y-yeah..." Nashi mumbled as Simon freed her other foot. "Thanks for helping me..." Ultear glowered._

_"I'm going to kill that guy" Ultear hissed. "C'mon Simon, you're going to help me."_

_"What'll that solve?" Simon demanded, turning to Ultear with an equally as angry look on his face. "We can't guard Nashi every minute of every day, that's not going to solve anything!"_

_"So you're going to sit around and do nothing? Not me! I'm going over there right now and..."_

_"No!" Both of Nashi's friends topped arguing and turned to her as she stood unsteadily, "Neither of you are going to do that."_

_"Nashi..." Ultear began._

_"No!" Nashi shouted again, letting her hair fall over her eyes as she hung her head. "Me not fighting my own battles will just make it worse. Please, just stop"_

_"...Alright." Simon said, pocketing his hands and sighing. Ul stared at him incredulously._

_"You've got to be kidding, Simon!" She shouted. "Rocky's out to kill her! We can't just..."_

_"Ul!" Nashi heard Simon shout her name, and she quieted down. "Nashi wants to fight her own battles, we'll let her."_

_"Thank you, Simon." Nashi said with a sigh, rubbing her arms as the rain continued to pour downwards. "For understanding." Simon nodded. He requipped an umbrella and gestured towards her as he opened it._

_"Come here, Nashi." he said. "You'll get sick." Nashi nodded as she stepped next to her friend under the umbrella as Ul wrapped an arm around her shoulders to keep her warm. Nashi almost laughed at the irony of how an ice/water wizard was trying to heat him up because she was wet._

_"This is all your fault, Dad..." Nashi whispered under her breath as Ul and Simon walked her home._

* * *

Nashi snapped out of her flashback as her father launched a fireball at her, and she allowed it to hit her. The fire had to heat or taste, it wasn't actually fire. It didn't fill her up much, either.

"Good, you can eat my fire." He laughed. "You're of some use."

"Surprise surprise." Nashi replied. "My Dad's fire tastes like shit."

"Keep blabbing kid, I'm sure someone is listening." Nashi mind drifted to her sound mage friend, but he was no where to be found. Even so, this was her battle, with her inner demons. Nashi's life sure revolved around those demons, everything seemed to be linked to them in some way. She dodged another fireball and did her best to stand, her legs matching her heart's nervousness.

"Riddle me something, father." Nashi said weakly, brushing her legs off. "Why was it you left for so long? You know, the reason I'm such a...how did you put it? Oh right, a disappointment" Her father laughed as he scratched his arm.

"I forgot to tell you, didn't I?" He said with a dark smile, and Nashi nodded. Maybe this thing would tell her. Then again, this thing could lie to her. "Let me tell you a story. One day a little girl was born to the most beautiful woman in the world. That little shit, er...girl was given the name Nashi, Nashi Dragneel."

"I don't need a story of my life." Nashi hissed, rolling her eyes. "That wasn't even what I asked you."

"I was getting to that you impatient...ugh. Anyway, this little girl was born with a darkness inside of her, one that, cultivated properly, could destroy her. The same darkness as her father. That was the reason I left, to seal away my own darkness, while unknowingly leaving you with yours." Nashi felt like she was going to be sick. Darkness? What darkness was that. _He may be lying to distract me, don't fall for it. _

"You don't have to lie to me to make me feel better, just tell me." Her father laughed at the response, clearly in amused him.

"Lie to make you feel better?" he demanded. "Please, I told the truth in hopes you'd break down and cry. Now that you know that, riddle me something, oh daughter of mine."

"What?" Nashi watched as her father thought it over, wondering what it was he wanted her to answer.

"With the knowledge that you were depressed, tell me if you ever get, mmmm...murderous intentions."

"Huh?"

"Murderous intentions." He replied. "You know, like you want to kill every and all things in the immediate area."

"Not really."

"Oh, alright." Nashi didn't want to ask why that was a question, did that relate to that darkness inside of her? She didn't know, she'd ask her real father when she got back. Right now, she had the fake one to deal with.

* * *

Simon sighed as the apparition of his father disappeared, leaving him along in the hall. Simon didn't really know what had just happened, but he hoped it meant he could either leave or find whatever it was he was supposed to be finding. He turned and began to walk down the way he'd been going before he was rudely interrupted by his father. Simon walked down it for a little bit before he heard a sound, what sounded like crying.

"What the hell is that?" Simon asked aloud, following the sound to it's source. He was more than a bit surprised to find Ultear curled up against the wall, crying loudly. "Ul?" Simon asked softly, and she looked up at him. She growled as she struggled to stand.

"Another test?" She hissed. "Was Zindo and Keiko not enough?" Simon didn't know what she was talking about, but whatever had happened had clearly shaken her up.

"Ul, it's me." Simon tried. "Simon, your friend."

"Yeah, and?" Ul tried angrily, clenching her fists. "What's your shtick?"

"My what?" Simon asked weakly. "Ul, are you okay?"

"What's the game this time? Maybe you'll be flirty Simon again, like that charm spell. Or are you scumbag Simon?" Simon didn't get a chance to reply, as Ul flew at him and punched him in the. face, and Simon grabbed her wrist in an attempt to avoid another punch

"Ul, stop it!" Simon shouted angrily. "It's me! Simon!" Ul's eyes widened as she stared at him, her struggling died down.

"Simon?" She asked quietly. Simon nodded, and Ul collapsed into his arms, sobbing.

"Ul, what happened?" Simon asked as he rubbed a circle on her back, but the girl didn't reply, she just cried even harder. "Mavis Ul, get a hold of yourself."

* * *

Drake was struck again and he flew across the hallway, and Nashi growled.

"Damn, my leg..." She hissed, and Drake saw er rubbing her gash. "See what you did? This is all your fault."

"I'm...I'm sorry" Drake said, but his voice failed him and he went silent.

"That doesn't matter, not anymore." Nashi growled as she lit herself on fire again. "I'm going to rip you to pieces, one limb for every lost friend. How does that sound?"

"Nashi..."

"No! Not anymore of your lies! Die!" Nashi launched herself at him again, and Drake allowed her to hit him. Every punch brought up another memory.

* * *

_"Nashi?" Drake asked quietly as the pinkette stiffened. "Are you okay?"_

_"Fine!" Nashi said, turning with a huge fake smile plastered on her face. Her bangs had obscured her left eye, and that make Drake curious. "How are you?"_

_"What's up with your eye?"_

_"Huh?" Before Nashi could stop him, Drake brushed her bangs out of her face, revealing the huge shiner she had. Drake swelled up with anger as she sat still, covering her eye again._

_"Rocky?" Drake hissed, and Nashi nodded. "I'm going to kill him."_

_"Mavis, you're as bad as Ul"_

_"Ul saw it too?"_

_"No, but a few days ago he trapped me in the rain and..." Nashi trailed off as Drake stormed away. "Drake, no!"_

_"Why not?" He asked angrily. "I cannot stand this!"_

_"Please, don't do this!" Nashi replied. "I can handle it on my own!"_

_"How, you can't even use magic!" Drake yelled in response, causing Nashi to shudder._

_"I know, but..." She sighed. "Just drop it, Drake. Please?" Drake groaned as he fell into the seat next to her and glared at the table, his anger boiling around in his chest._

_"I'm still mad." Drake informed her._

_"I know." She replied. "Just leave him be."_

_"Why do you defend him when he does this to you?"_

_"Because if you defend me he'll just do it worse next time." Drake sighed._

_"One day I'm not going to listen to you. Drake warned. "Then I'll just go and kick his butt."_

_"I'm sure you will." Nashi replied with a small smile. "There for me, like always."_

_"Yeah."_

* * *

Drake reacted without thinking. Nashi got far to close, and Drake grabbed her, punched her in the stomach, and poison exploded around them. Drake stared down at her as she collapsed, Drake's attack having been clearly all she could take. Drake cradled her as she spat up blood, and laughed.

"You're such a fucking liar, Drake." She whispered. "There for my my ass..."

"I'm sorry..." Drake whispered as his best friend died in his arms. "I didn't...I couldn't..." Drake felt tears stinging his eyes as Nashi coughed.

"Shut...shut the fuck up Drake..." Nashi stopped moving, and Drake let out a sob. She was gone. How was he going to explain this? Luckily, he didn't have too. Why?

Because Nashi dissipated like a ghost.

"The fuck...?" Drake asked as he fell back, staring at his hands. All sign of combat had disappeared, as with Nashi's body. "Was that...Was that even Nashi, or just some apparition...?" Drake didn't have time t dwell on it, he needed to find the others. If that Nash wasn't real, then maybe he could still find them.

"I made a promise Nashi. I don't intend to break it."

**Remember guys, five reviews you can do it. Hope you enjoyed!**


	68. The Second Trial

**See? I knew you guys could do it. We got ten reviews! I knew you guys were there. Anyways, enjoy!**

Damien couldn't find a damn thing. Xisplate had disappeared, leaving him by himself, and now he couldn't find anything.

"I'm seriously regretting that job now." He said aloud, growling. "Not worth my time in the slightest. I mean really, what the hell is going on around here?"

"Damien?" Damien paused as he heard someone call out to him. He could recognize the voice, but he put his guard up nonetheless. "Damien, was that you?" Damien stared out at the darkness as the iron dragon slayer stumbled towards him, looking a little confused.

"Elise?" Damien asked warily, not sure if she was another test or not. "Are you...you or another test?"

"It's me." She confirmed, taking a deep breath. "Test? Is that what's going on around here?" Damien nodded, curiosity getting the better of him.

"What was yours?" Damien asked, and Elise shrugged.

"Don't know." She replied quietly, her hair obscuring her eyes. "Some asshole who kept creeping me out." Damien raised an eyebrow curiously.

"You don't know who he was?" Damien asked. "That's strange, the test was our biggest fear." Elise groaned as she held her forehead. "What's wrong, does your head hurt or something?"

"Yeah." She groaned, rubbing her head angrily. "My biggest fear, huh? That doesn't..." She groaned. "Make...make any...fuck, my head!" Damien caught her before she could fall down, and she winced. "He, he said something about...P-phantom Dove..." Damien's eyes widened as his heart twisted. Elise didn't know because she couldn't remember. Her test had been the guy who raped her, and she didn't even know. Damien felt he should say something, but now was not the time for that.

"Well, don't dwell on it." Damien said quietly, standing her up. "You beat it, that's all that matters, right?"

"Yeah, right..." Elise murmured. "Hey, Damien?"

"Yeah?" Damien watched the younger girl stare down at the ground, before she turned to him.

"Is there...something I'm not supposed to remember?" She asked, and Damien held back a choking sound. "I remembered hearing Doranbolt's voice and...me and he..." Damien managed a weak laugh and placed a hand on her head.

"You must be dreaming, Elise." He said with a smile. "Doranbolt never programmed your memories, so don't sweat it. Alright?" Damien watched as Elise nodded slowly and chuckled weakly, and Damien held back a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure of Elise was ever going to remember what had happened to her, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to tell her.

"So," Elise said, breaking away from him. "Just what exactly is our plan now?" Damien shrugged, he had no idea.

"I guess we could just keep on our merry way." Damien replied, doing his best to come up with a plan. "I mean, we still don't have any idea where the others are, or if they're even okay." Elise nodded, staring down the hallway in front of them. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Not in the slightest." She replied. "But I do hope everyone else is okay." Damien nodded.

"Agreed." He replied as they proceeded down the hallway. "I wonder how everyone else is doing."

* * *

Simon wasn't one for emotional comforting, but Ultear seemed to love to give him practice. She'd done the same thing at the graveyard, and now she was doing it again. He just stood there and patted her on the back as she sobbed into his chest, unsure of what to do.

"Uh, Ul..." Simon managed, doing his best to sound caring, although he needed a little understanding of the situation to do that effectively. "I'm sorry about whatever happened, but...we really should keep going." Ultear nodded silently and sniffled as she stepped back.

"Yeah, sorry..."Ul replied, holding herself quietly. "I just...I'm a little stressed out."

"Understatement of the year." Simon said with a small smile. "What, uh... what happened?" Ultear shrugged.

"I want to say I know." She replied. "But...I don't."

"Some form of test?" Simon inquired, wondering if she had gone through the same thing. Ultear nodded.

"Yeah." She said, staring at the ground. "I...never mind, it's a long story." Simon could tell that that was Ul's excuse so she would've have to tell him, but he could tell she was quite shaken up. "Anyway, you haven't seen anyone else yet, have you?" Simon shook his head.

"Nope, no one" He said, staring at the ground. "I hope they're okay, maybe they had to face some sort of test too."

"Probably." Ultear said, turning to stare down the hallway. "Maybe they're down there. Shall we go and look for them?" Simon nodded towards the passage.

"Ladies first." He said with a smirk, and Ultear rolled her eyes as she stepped in front of him down the hallway. Simon didn't know what else lay in their way, but he hoped, for his own and Ul's sake, that it wasn't anything ridiculous.

_Who am I kidding, we're about to see something messed up..._

* * *

Nashi was getting sick and tired of this version of her father's shit talking. He just kept on repeating himself, and it was getting quite annoying to be honest. Nashi sighed as he laughed at another of his shitty jokes, and she stared at him.

"You really have nothing going for you, do you?" She demanded. "I mean really, you're just saying the same thing over and over again."

"Maybe so." he replied with a glare. "But sometimes you just have to hear it. You especially." Nashi rolled her eyes as she stood opposite her father. Both of them being fire dragon slayers, neither could do much attacking that could harm the other. They were just circling each other and shit talking. Nashi had better things to do then be here dealing with this, she'd much rather deal with her real father in public.

That was saying something.

Nashi watched her father intently, trying to figure out what she was to do. She could try and attack, but what good would that do? If this was her worst fear, she could try and get over it normally. Then again, maybe giving her a physical embodiment was the whole point. Overcoming her fear meant beating it up. She wondered if the ancients that used this place knew how fears worked, because this wasn't it. Fears were supposed to be situation specific, not something to just throw at you whenever. It wasn't as if she had much of an option, though. She launched herself forward and punched her father square in the jaw, sending him backwards. She followed up with more attacks, doing her best to prevent her habit of bursting into flames becoming a thing.

"Damn." Her father growled. "You've got spunk, kid. Not bad." Nashi grinned as she ducked underneath his own punch and swept his legs out from under him.

"I learned from the best Dad." She replied with a grin. They went back and forth for a few minutes before Nashi gained the upper hand, knocking him down and feeding him punches, every one making him more and more delirious. Nashi smiled as her final punch broke something, and her father laughed.

"You remind me so much of Lucy..." He whispered, staring up at her. At least, Nashi thought he was staring at her, she couldn't tell. "Maybe you aren't so disappointing." He disappeared, leaving Nashi on her knees in the empty hallway.

"Well." Nashi said. "I suppose I beat the test, now what?" Nobody answered her, so she stood up and stretched, staring down the hallway she'd been heading down originally. "I guess I should try and find the others. I wonder how the others dealt with their problems...Or maybe they didn't have such problems." Nashi shrugged as she took a few steps towards the direction, before footsteps sounded behind her. Nashi whirled and lit her hands alight. "Who's there?" She shouted. She was more than a bit surprised to see Drake walk in from the darkness, and he stared at her with shock written on his face.

"Nashi..." He whispered.

"Drake?" Nashi asked. "What the hell are you..." Nashi was cut off as her best friend tackled her with a hug. "Gah! What the..."

"I'm so glad you're okay." He told her as she stood frozen. "I had this weird apparition appear in front of e of you, telling me everyone was dead, and it was my fault...That I wasn't there for you..." Nashi put the pieces of the puzzle together as Drake kept talking, and she giggled.

"That's adorable." She replied and Drake looked at her incredulously. "That's your worst fear?" Drake looked confused as he released her from the death grip he had on her.

"Worst fear?" He demanded. "What the hell does that mean?" Nashi rolled her eyes.

"The test was how we handled being confronted with what we feared most." Nashi replied, watching hi make an understanding face. "Which means your worst fear was not being there for me and everyone dying...It's cute."

"Not it isn't." Drake mumbled, face going red as Nashi laughed.

"You really don't handle teasing well, do you?" Nashi asked wearily, and he stuck his tongue out at her. "Well, now what do we do?"

"Keep going I suppose." he replied, crossing his arms. "Although I don't have a single idea how long that'll take. Have you gotten any indication of how long this passage is?"

"Nope" Nashi said, staring down it, wondering what was ahead of them. Nashi wanted to say nothing, but she somehow doubted it. She stepped into line with Drake as they continued down the path, and Nashi's heart skipped a beat when someone began to laugh manically, and Drake took a defensive stance.

"Who's there?" He called out, and Nashi watched as the laughter gained a presence, and she felt her eyes widen as the person stepped out from the darkness. tan skin, curly brown hair, and a commanding presence.

"Well well, the useless princess and her lap dog." He said with a smirk. "Quite the tag team, huh?" Before either Drake or Nashi could reply, another voice laughed, one that Nashi definitely recognized.

"They have a lot of magic." it cackled. "I love lots of magic." Nashi watched as the other figure entered from the darkness, he had midnight black hair and a smirk Nashi recognized all to well.

"Apocalypse..." Drake hissed, his fists clenched.

* * *

"Please tell me you know what's going on." Simon said. Ultear sighed and shook her head.

"Not in the slightest." She replied. Simon turned to the scene in front of them in confusion, wondering just what the hell was happening. In more ways than one it was extremely disturbing, but Simon watched as Juvia waved to Ultear.

"Ultear-sama!" She shouted. "Mommy was worried! Did you pack enough spare clothes?" Simon chuckled as Ultear reddened.

"Mom!" She shouted. "Stop it!"

"Mommy was worried about her Ultear-sama! You never know what to do!" Simon was quite certain he'd never seen Ultear so red. It was kind of funny, truthfully. That was, however, until another female voice sounded from inside the darkness.

"Simon!" Simon watched in bewilderment as Ultear stepped out from the darkness, and she looked absolutely destroyed. "Simon! I...I...waaaaaahhhhhh!" Simon watched the other Ultear break down and sob, and he did his best to come up with some sort of response.

"What the hell is happening?" Simon asked weakly, and Ultear shrugged.

"I don't know." She replied. "But I already hate it."

"Ultear-sama! You have a drool stain on your cheek!"

"Gah!"

* * *

Damien was more than a bit confused. They'd encountered, what he assumed was another test, and he was confused as to why Xisplate was over there, in his armor as oppose to the suit. Also, he wasn't sure why King Simon had showed up either.

"Um, what are you doing Xisplate?" Damien asked weakly.

"Nothing." Damien jumped as he turned to his right, Xisplate in his suit now standing next to him. "It's another trial." Elise stared at Xisplate as if she was staring at a ghost.

"Y-you're..." She managed, before Xisplate turned to her and smirked.

"Yes, I'm that Xisplate" he told her. "You know, the one that killed Stephanie." Elise growled as she turned to Damien.

"What the hell is this asshole doing here?" She demanded. Damien sighed.

"He likes to show up for no reason." Damien replied, and Xisplate chuckled.

"Stop acting as if my help hasn't been crucial." He told Elise. "Damien likes to talk a lot of shit."

"Shut up." Damien hissed. "If you didn't show up to offer any insight than shut the fuck up and leave." Xisplate rolled his eyes and faced King Simon and the other Xisplate.

"The second of the ancient trials." Xisplate said. "Is considerably more difficult than the first one. The Trial of Hatred. You can't just beat this one up."

"So, I hate King Simon?" Elise asked. "Seems a little strange, you'd think I'd get someone else."

"Like who?" Elise flinched and rubbed her temples.

"No one..." She muttered, and Damien did his best to ignore her groaning.

"You have to accept what you hate and move on from it.' Xisplate said. "Acceptance is the only way through." Damien turned to stare at the armored demon.

"Fuck me"

**Can we match yesterdays reviews? Five will do, but ten is always better! Leave one if you enjoyed!**


	69. A Little Tale

**Hey guys, guess what?**

**Chapter 69 ;)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy! You guys have been killing it with the reviews, keep it up!**

Saying Simon had no idea what to do was the understatement of the century. His father was one thing, but had he not just said he hated people getting all emotional with him? Now here he was, faced with an emotional Ultear who couldn't stop crying, and he didn't have a clue as to what to do. Ultear (His Ul) seemed to have even less idea then him as too what she was supposed to do. Simon knew Ultear hated it when her mother got all clingy and over worried about her. A light lit up in Simon's head as he pieced it together.

"Ul, I got it." He whispered to her, and she looked over at him wearily.

"Please tell me it'll solve this." She asked hopefully, and Simon couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, I think I know what this test is about."

"Annoyance?" She asked, more than a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Sort of." He replied. "Hatred, that's the test. To see if we can get over what we hate the most." Ultear sighed.

"Somehow now that you said it, it's really underwhelming having my mom over there. What am I supposed to do, beat her up?" Simon shrugged, he honestly had no more idea then she did. "Or is this supposed to represent some bigger challenge?"

"Well," Simon said as the other Ultear broke out into a fresh wave of crying. "If the others are facing the same test, I don't see that being how you pass the test. I mean, the res of our friends have a lot of people to hate." Ultear nodded in understanding and frowned.

"I can only imagine what they're facing."

* * *

Needless to say Nashi was a little bit angry. Actually, it was more like a whole lot angry. It could be said that Nashi was so angry that her anger could blot out the sun, but that wasn't the point. Drake didn't seem to be any better off, and Rocky and Apocalypse were doing what Nashi assumed they were here to do. Piss them off, that was. Nashi didn't know what this test what supposed to be based off of, but she assumed something to do with anger.

"What are we supposed to do?" Drake demanded. "Do we just beat them up again."

"If the test is based off of rage or anger," Nashi said quietly. "I don't think that'd be our best option."

"Can I do it anyway?" Nashi cast her friend a glare that told him not to and he groaned. "But it's Rocky and Apocalypse for Mavis' sake! Let me beat them up a little bit, come on."

No."

"Nashi..."

"I said no!" Drake pouted, and Nashi did her best to ignore the insults she heard Drake muttering under his breath.

"Why not?" He finally asked, and Nashi face palmed.

"If the test is based off of what or who we hate most, why would beating it up solve anything? Isn't the point of these trials to enlighten us?"

"Enlighten huh?" I just thought we were here because our life demands it, but whatever." Nashi rolled her eyes and Rocky snickered.

"Of course the lapdog doesn't get it" he said with a smirk. "Than again, I am surprised little Nashi was able too."

"Shut up." Nashi said, his voice beginning to giver her a massive headache.

"Aw, what's wrong, princess? Did I hurt your feelings?"

"No, I just want you to shut up." Nashi replied, doing her best to reign in her anger. She could see it clearly now, the test was designed to purposefully aggravate the person in question. By tapping in to whatever they may have hated most, the test becomes even harder. Apocalypse interrupted Nashi's train of thought when he laughed.

"You know." he said, pocketing his hands. "Master Jose told me a lot of stuff...especially that your little friend...what was her name again?" Drake growled at the question and clenched his fists.

"Elise." Drake hissed, and Nashi could tell he was using every fiber of his being to restrain himself from attacking. "Her name was Elise."

"Yeah her, whatever" Nashi was also getting a little irritated by Apocalypse, just being himself. "I heard she was raped, is it true?" Nashi caught Drake as he attempted to surge forward, holding him back with ll her might.

"Drake, control yourself!" She shouted, trying desperately to hold him. Drake slowly stopped trying to rush forward, and avoided looking at Apocalypse so he didn't get angry and rush him again.

"Man," Nashi said, sighing as she placed her hands on her hips. "This is going to be difficult. "

* * *

"Come on Ul, you can do it!" Simon watched with baited breath as Ul shied away from her mother, who was currently clinging onto her arm with the dopiest grin Simon had ever seen.

"I...I can't!" Ultear shouted back, trying to run. Juvia was having none of that however, and tackled her daughter down again. "Gah! I can't Simon, seriously! You try!" Simon cast a weary glance at the other Ul, who was rolling around on the ground shooting spouts of water from her eyes as she sobbed.

"About that..." Simon said weakly, "I'm really not good with emotional comfort."

"Then we're going to be stuck here all damn day!" Simon sighed as he walked up beside the crying Ultear, kneeling down next to her.

"Hey, Ul." Simon said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Why, uh...why are you crying?" The test Ul sniffled.

"Because I'm sad!" She shouted, entering another fit of bawling. Simon completely blanked on what to say.

"Uh..."

"I-I-I-I..." Ultear started to cry even harder, and the water level had risen considerably. If he didn't stop her crying soon, he was going to drown in her tears. What a way to go. he looked back at the other Ultear, the one with Juvia clinging to her, and found she was having just as much luck as he. Ultear had to accept and embrace her mothers smothering in order to conquer her hatred of it, and that was clearly not an option for the water wizard.

"Mom, I..." Ultear started, but reddened again as her mothers grip tightened. "This is why we can't have nice things, Mom!"

"Ultear-sama, you're so cite when you tell me I'm smothering you!"

"For the love of Mavis, get off me!" Ultear managed to squeeze out of her mothers death grip and began to run around the hall, Juvia in pursuit. Simon sighed as they ran around, almost tripping on the other Ultear who was currently about to enter another wave of crying. Simon snapped as she did, turning to grab her by the collar of her shirt.

"Shut up!" Simon hissed as he got right in her face,and she sniffled. "Just, just...just shut up already!" It took all of three seconds for her to start crying even harder. Simon paled. "Shit! I'm sorry! No no no no no no I'm sorry!" That didn't help, she just kept crying.

"Nice job, Casanova!" Ultear shouted at him as she dodged another of Juvia's flying tackles.

"You're the one getting chased by your mother! You have absolutely no room to be shit talking me right now!"

* * *

Damien did his best to tune out Elise and Xisplate's conversation as he tried to formulate a plan.

"Oh no, it's true" Xisplate said. "I've seen Hades, a real weirdo."

"Bullshit!" Elise replied. "What did he look like?"

"An old man." Xisplate replied. "Eye patch, long beard, weird obsession with the One Magic. Other than that, nice guy." Elise made an understanding sound before she cackled.

"Alright, how about...Ahah! Makarov!" Xisplate glared at Elise.

"Never saw him." Xisplate replied. So I assume he wasn't on his way to hell. I don't see how though. Old man had so many nude magazines it was insane..."

"How many are we talking about here? I can so use those to blackmail Gramps!" Elise asked with a devilish grin. That was the end of the line, mostly because Damien saw a number on Xisplate's lips.

"Anyways." he interrupted. "Can we talk about, oh I don't know...the fucking problem?!" Xisplate sighed.

"I'm just getting to know your friend, Damien." He said with a dark smirk. "She's a very nice girl."

"Damien are you sure it's his fault Steph's dead?" Elise asked, smiling like an idiot. "He's awesome!" Damien stared at the younger girl as if she'd gone crazy.

"No." He replied sarcastically. "I'm not sure, Elise. I just watched him do it and he laughed while he did it! Not to mention he told me afterwards he couldn't wait to do business again!"

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen." Xisplate said, waving him off. Damien would've punched the demon in the face if he wasn't still trying to think of a way to pass the test. If he had to let go of the hatred he had for Xisplate, they were going to be here all damn day. Elise had already let go of her hatred for King Simon, and that was why she started a casual conversation with the demon in the first place. All he had to do was let go, but he knew for a fact that he couldn't Xisplate had done to much and fucked everything up too much to be forgiven, Damien couldn't even fathom such a thing.

"Look, Damien," Elise said, causing Damien to look over at her. "If you can't just let it go ,even after eleven years, we're going to have a problem. Beisde, he isn't even that bad." Xisplate smirked at Damien who growled.

"Maybe you don't see this the way I do, Elise." Damien growled. "We're talking about the demon who hijacked my body and used it to tear apart my home. Not to mention kill a few people, one of which happened to be my little sister. Now tell me, how should I let go?" Xisplate rolled his eyes.

"Again with the drama" he said, causing Damien to glare at him. "Listen Damien, if you really can't do this, Elise and I can come back. I refuse to waste my time watching you stand there and stare me down." Damien rolled his eyes and jabbed a thumb own the hall.

"Fine, go! I hope you have fun talking about people you've seen in hell!" Elise rolled her eyes.

"Alright, come on Xisplate. let's leave Princess Damien too his hatred." Damien watched with disbelief as his demon takeover followed Elise down the hall, not even sparing a glance back at him.

"What the hell just happened?"

* * *

Elise walked alongside the demon, unsure of what to ask him. Finally, she chuckled.

"Damien's such a pussy." She commented. Xisplate chuckled.

"That he is, that he is." he replied. "You'd think he'd be over it by now." Elise shrugged.

"I don't know, I can't begin to understand how much he hates you. I think you're pretty cool though." Xisplate smiled, a genuine smile.

"You are such a kind girl." Xisplate commented, causing Elise to beam at him. "Such a shame, what happened to you." That confused Elise profusely.

"Wait, what?" Elise asked, causing them to stop in the middle of the hallway. "What happened to me?" Xisplate smirked.

"I forgot you cannot remember yourself." he told her. "Damien has forbidden me to speak of it, even if i only learned from his head."

"Tell me! Please, I want to remember!" Xisplate sighed.

"You cannot, under any circumstances, let anyone know who told you." he warned. "Damien may be a pussy, but he's annoying to listen too." Elise nodded vigorously.

"I promise!" Xisplate smirked.

"Then sit child, and let me tell you the tale of a little guild called Phantom Dove."

**Xisplate you bastard! anyway, sorry for the short chapter, I'm really tired. If there are any mistakes I'm sorry. Hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's get ten for chapter 69! ;)**


	70. Understanding

**Chapter 70! Wow, I'm impressed I've updated so many times. Can we get twenty reviews for chapter 70? If you guys can get it, I'll update again tomorrow! Oh, and I need to tell you guys something. I started writing this fanfic during the Tartarus arc in the manga, so if anything that happens in this story, look at it from the perspective of just after Tartarus, with some estimated end game stuff. Enjoy!**

"You can do it Ul!"

"No I can't!" Simon watched as Ultear squirmed in a desperate attempt to get away from her mother, but Juvia had learned to keep an iron grip on her. Ultear's face was still incredibly red, although that may have been from the lack of air. Or was that blue? Either way, Ultear took a deep breath and sighed, turning to look at Simon.

"Any luck?" She asked. Simon cast a glance down at the other Ultear, who was latched onto his arm, and still crying. The water level had gotten to the point where it was up to Simon's lap, and he was more than a bit unhappy about it.

"No," Simon replied. "She won't even tell me what's wrong, she just keeps crying. A lot like you." Simon cast a smirk at Ultear and she growled in response.

"Fuck off." She managed through labored breaths, Juvia squeezing the life from her. "Mavis, I can't do this! I just can't not hate this!" Simon sighed as the crying Ul's head landed in his lap, and he sighed.

"What?" He asked her irritably, and she stopped momentarily to stare at him.

"I'm sad." She sniffled.

"I know!" Simon shouted, "You've been sobbing for the past ten minutes! I know just how sad you are! Over what is what I don't know!" Simon stared at her for a moment before he saw another sob on the edge of her lips. Before she could, Simon clamped his hand over her mouth, effectively silencing her. "No." He hissed. "Enough crying, you hear me?" Ultear's response was her tears spraying out even faster, hitting Simon in the face and sending him flat on his face. Ultear promptly entered another fit of crying, and Simon stayed face down in the tears so that he may be given a swift death by drowning. It seemed the crying Ultear agreed with him, because she grabbed him and squeezed while she cried, effectively making the air leave Simon's lungs. Simon panicked and flailed his arms, managing to surface and take a breath. "This is getting insane." he hissed. "There was to be something I'm missing."

"Simon..." Simon turned to find Ultear still being squeezed, but he could tell she couldn't breath. "I...I can't..."

"Just turn into water." he told her flatly.

"Don't you... think I..." Ultear couldn't finish her sentence, conserving her air.

"You tried that?" Simon asked, and she nodded her head furiously. "Well, shit." Ultear squeezed him even harder, and now Simon was almost suffocating as well. "Ul, seriously..."

"I'm sad!" She wailed. Simon rolled his eyes, he had to deal with this now, or else they were in trouble. He began to pat her head, doing his best not to scream obscenities at her for all the crying that gave him a killer headache.

"It's alright." he tried, doing his best to comfort her. "I'm here for you, you can stop crying now." Simon was impressed with himself when her crying began to die down.

"I-I know..." She managed. Simon did his best to to soother her with the other Ultear making strangled sounds across the hall, but he ignored her as best he could.

"Everything will be fine." he cooed, "Just stop crying, I'm here for you." Ultear's cries turned into sniffles very slowly, and Simon's heart was beating so fast in anticipation that he felt like he was about to have a heart attack. Luckily he didn't, and the crying Ultear stopped crying and disappeared, as with the water level. "Yes!" He shouted in triumph. "I did it!" He stopped celebrating upon hearing Ul squeal.

"That's great!" She shouted, the rage apparent on her bluish features. "Now can you free me from this fucking apparition before I SUFFOCATE TO DEATH?!" Simon panicked at the rage in her tone, running to help her.

"Coming!"

* * *

Damien still had no idea what to do, and it was pissing him off. he knew full well he couldn't just forgive and forget what Xisplate had done, and now he had to or he was never getting out of here. Xisplate smiled darkly at him.

"What's wrong, Damien?" He asked in a disgustingly sweet tone. "Are you still mad at me?"

"How could I not be?" Damien replied. "Even if that isn't really you, it's close enough..." Xisplate laughed at the response.

"You're so soft-hearted, Damien." he hissed. "That little girl was annoying anyway." Damien growled at the comment about his sister. As true as it may have been, he didn't enjoy hearing it.

"This is literally an impossible test to pass." he said. "I can't forgive you, there's no way." _Then again, _Damien thought. _The longer I'm stuck here the longer Xisplate is alone with Elise... _Damien felt rage flow through him at the thought. He knew the demon well enough to know that he had withheld saying anything revealing with him in the immediate vicinity, but now that he had Elise alone... "Shit, I've got to hurry this up."

"Then you do best to let it go, Damien my boy." Xisplate informed him flatly. "Although given what you've said, I don't see that in the cards for us." Damien thought over his options for a while, before he realized something. In the moment, Xisplate had told him a life was required for his summoning. Xisplate had simply taken the life of the closest living thing, the fact that it had been Steph was completely unfortunate. Damien sighed.

"You didn't target her in particular." He hissed, staring at the ground. "You.. you did what you had to do." Damien felt as if he was being stabbed for saying such a thing. He looked up and noticed the demon fading from view, and smiled to himself weakly. he tore into a sprint, looking for where Xisplate and Elise had run off to. he didn't have dragon slayers senses, but he was descended from one, so his senses were quite focused. He heard Xisplate talking to his left, and Damien tore down the hallway toward them, reaching them.

"And then..." Xisplate said, having garnered Elise's full attention, "We get to where Fairy Tail comes in."

"Hey!" Damien shouted, interrupting him. Damien threw himself in between Xisplate and Elise, glaring at the demon. "What are you guys talking about?" Xisplate looked like a deer in headlights, but Elise was mad.

"What the hell, Damien!" She shouted. "He was just getting to the good part!"

"Good part of what?" Damien inquired.

"Of the Phantom Dove story!" Damien paled as he glowered even darker at Xisplate, who chuckled awkwardly.

"Uh, gotta go." the demon said quickly, disappearing before Damien could tear him a new one.

"What the fuck?!" Elise shouted. Damien had to admit, the pierced girl was rather scary when she was mad. Damien took notice of many piercings he wasn't aware she had, like those ones above her right eyebrow, and the one in her nose. Damien shivered involuntarily. "He was going to tell me that awesome story!"

"Trust me" Damien replied. "That story is not awesome... well all the fights are, but not the story in general."

"How would you know?!"

"I was there!" Damien shouted back. "I killed one of those bastards!"

"And?!"

"Trust me" Damien glowered. "You are not hearing that story. EVER, got it?" Elise pouted.

"Why?" Damien didn't reply right away, mostly because he had no idea how too. What was his reason if she wasn't allowed to know?

"Because." He finally replied, and she rolled her eyes.

"Because why?" She demanded.

"I said so." Damien said flatly. Elise rolled her eyes.

"What are you, my dad?" She demanded. Damien felt no need to reply, so he didn't. He observed the are Elise had stopped in and a thought crossed his mind.

"How do you think the others are doing?" he asked her, glad for the change in topic. Elise shrugged.

"Probably fine." She replied. "How much trouble could they get in?"

* * *

"Pull harder!" Ultear shouted as Simon planted a foot on Juvia's face for more leverage.

"I'm doing my damn best!" He shouted back, pulling as hard as he could. He had his arms latched around Ultear's upper body, and he paled when his hands slipped. Ultear squealed as he backed up.

"What the fuck, Simon?!" She shouted as she glared at him, her face completely red. "You just fucking groped me!"

"I'm sorry! My hands slipped!"

"Slipped my ass!"

"Fuck off, stay stuck in that Juvia trap for all I care!"

* * *

"True." Damien replied. "They're capable of handling themselves."

"Shall we continue?" Elise asked, gesturing towards the open pathway, "Or should I stay here and not know the rest of that story?" Damien rolled his eyes as he began to walk down the hallway. He heard Elise begin to follow after him silently, glad she didn't argue about his own silence. All the better, he wasn't interested in warding off her repeated questions. "Do you think there will be more tests?" Elise asked. "I mean, how much weirder could this get?" Damien shrugged.

"I sure as hell hope not." he told her flatly. "I mean, I don't know how much more Xisplate I can take today"

"What was that, my boy?"

"Fuck..."

* * *

Nashi wished Drake didn't have such raging anger issues. She had to restrain him a total of five more times in the span of five minutes, which she was now holding as a record. She threw her friend down to the ground and stared down at him as he pouted.

"I wish you'd just let me beat them up." He hissed. "This'd be so much easier if..."

"We won't be able to proceed past them if we do!" Nashi shouted, glaring at him like he had a screw loose. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you this before it gets through your thick skull!"

"..." Drake huffed and glared at the ground, and Nashi sighed. Drake's usual response to being wrong was acting so childish, but somehow it still pissed her off.

"Do you have any ideas other than kick their asses?" Nashi tried, hoping her friend could grow up and help her. He shrugged.

"Probably just move past our hatred for them." he replied quietly. "Meaning I'm fucked, because there's no way I'm forgiving that son of a..."

"Drake..."

"What?" Nashi glared at him angrily.

"If we have to face who we hate most, imagine what Ul or shit, even Damien must be going through." Drake stared at the ground, shaking his head.

"Fuck..."

"Yeah." Nashi turned to stare at Rocky and Apocalypse. "We may have it bad, but Damien must be having a really shitty day." Drake sighed, standing up again, pocketing his hands.

"Alright, you go first." he said, and Nashi sighed. She knew she didn't have a choice. She turned to face Rocky, who smirked at her. The mere sight of the man made Nashi's blood boil, but she forced the thought down as best she could. What was she supposed to do exactly? Forgive him? How? She had no idea why he did to her what he did, or why he had been so insistent on continuing. Nashi felt she could not forgive what she didn't understand. Maybe this somehow looped back to her father...

Dad...

Nashi's brain lit up like she did in combat. Now she knew, Rocky was jealous. He'd always been completing jobs and all Nashi had ever done was sit there and get praised for doing nothing. Nashi had not directly caused his hatred for her, his lack of attention from his guildmates and others that always talked and praised Nashi had. She sighed and smiled at Rocky.

"As much as I resent you." She said. "I've come to realize you have your reasons for not liking me. it doesn't excuse all the things you did, but I... I guess I can look past it." Rocky just kept the stupid smirk on his face as he began to disappear, finally gone completely. Nashi smiled. "Yes!" She said, jumping in excitement. "I did it! Your turn Drake."

"Nah" Nashi stared at her friend incredulously as he stared back at her.

"Huh?"

"I already told you, I can't forgive him or even come to understand why he did what he did. Nope, not a chance." They had a staredown for a moment or two before Nashi sighed.

"Do it or else."

"Or else what?"

"I'll beat you up until you do."

"Yeah, okay." Nashi watched as Drake snickered.

"Want to try me?" Drake stopped laughing as fire swirled around Nashi.

"Apocalypse or Nashi? i don't like either option a lot."

**Sorry for the wait, I've been typing so much lately my hands are killing me. Besides that, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Like I said above, let's get twenty for chapter 70! If you leave a few nice words as you're done reading, we can do it easily!**


	71. The Scrolls

**Alright guys, I've come to realize something.**

**Although you guys may see it differently, I'm not a fan of this arc. Don't get me wrong, it's better than what I was going to post originally, but I just can't get the drive to update, especially because of the amazing next arc I have planned and arcs beyond (isn't that right, Digi-fanCatt?)**

**Regardless, I'm going to speed through this arc and the one shots this week, and hopefully we can start this next arc before my march break is over. One reason the chapters have been shorter than I would like is because I'm doing my best to drag this out. I hope we can finish this arc before chapter 75, but I don't know. Enjoy!**

One could say Drake was mad. This was true, but perhaps mad wasn't the correct term. Enraged beyond all physical belief sounded much better anyway. Nashi was telling him to forgive and move past his hatred for Phantom Dove's torturer, and he couldn't find a more appropriate response than laughing in his friends face. Forgive Apocalypse? Drake would have better luck becoming the Prince of Fiore, Mavis. he took a deep breath, and prepared himself as he turned to Nashi.

"Please?" he asked weakly, and the pinkette face palmed.

"No!" She shouted angrily. "You cannot beat him up, it won't work!"

"What if I..." Drake was cut off by a fireball sailing past his head, and he stared at Nashi's angry expression.

"No." She hissed. "Do not beat him up." Drake sighed and cast a weary glance over at Apocalypse, who hadn't moved an inch. Maybe Nashi was right, if he had to beat the man up he would've attacked Drake by now, which he hadn't. Drake just couldn't forgive him thought, not for everything that went down.

"Nashi, I don't think you understand quite well enough." Drake said. "I cannot forgive him. It's not that I'm not trying, I just can't." Nashi sighed and turned to face Apocalypse.

"You'd better come up with a plan then." She told him matter of factly. "Because we'll be stuck here all damn day if you don't." Drake knew she was right, but he couldn't do it. Continuing to tell her so would result in an ass beating, and Drake didn't want that. But he just...

"This is insane." Drake growled, clenching his fists. "What kind of stupid tests are these anyway? I hope to Mavis there aren't anymore."

"We'll never know if you don't grow a pair."

"Shut up, why don't you?"

* * *

Simon watched from the opposite side of the hallway as Ultear tried to free herself from Juvia, but to obviously no avail. She made a face and blew her bangs out of her face, and Simon smirked.

"Give up yet?" he asked her, and she glared at him,

"Not everyone is as accepting as you." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm still mad at you too." Simon choked at her response.

"I told you it was an accident!" he shouted, his face reddening. "Mavis Ul, if you're going to be so damn difficult..."

"Maybe if you didn't cope a feel..."

"Oh. My. Mavis. I'm so done with you." Simon got up and started to leave as Ul made a weird sound. Simon turned to find her at a loss for air, as Juvia had started to squeeze. Simon rolled his eyes and stood there watching, he'd learned already all that his helping did was earn him a frisk of the girl. "Come on Ul, we don't have all damn day" Ultear glared at him as she attempted to free herself.

"I...I already told you that I..." She didn't finish as her face continued to turn blue, and Simon sighed.

"Do you want me help?" He asked weakly, Ultear nodding viciously. Simon sighed as he walked back to her side and wrapped his arms underneath her arms, pulling as hard as he could. he was relatively surprised when Juvia's grip faltered, and Ultear flew out of her and Simon's grasp, right into the wall. Simon paled as she climbed out and glared at him, and he chuckled weakly. "Sorry" He managed, and she sighed.

"it's fine" She replied. "At least I can breath now."

"Ultear-sama!" Ultear dodged Juvia and gave Simon one of the most desperate looks he'd ever seen. He shrugged.

"Just try." he told her, and she paled as Juvia caught her again. Ultear made one of the most determined looks Simon had ever seen on her face and hugged her mother back, squeezing her tightly. Simon waited as Ultear hugged her mother, with quite possibly the weirdest look on her face. Simon was about to make a rude comment about the look on her face when he noticed Juvia beginning to fade away. Soon she became ghostly enough for Ultear to escape, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I did it." She said in disbelief. "I actually did it..."

"You did." Simon confirmed. "Can we go now?" Ultear nodded quickly, speeding down the hallway as fast as she could, Simon doing his best to keep pace with her. They soon reached what looked like a giant door, but it was sealed. Simon noted the twelve holes with lights shining somewhere from within, only one of which was not lit up.

"What the hell is this?" Ultear asked, running her hand down the door. Simon shrugged.

"No idea." he replied. "But there's six of us, and twelve holes..."

"Maybe it signifies the amount of completed tests?" She asked, which made sense to Simon. Six of them with two tests each made twelve.

"So someone is still having trouble." He murmured. "But who?"

"Nashi or Drake, at this point." Simon whirled to find Damien and Elise standing at the far end of the hallway, grinning at them. Simon breathed a sigh of relief as they walked up to them.

"Thank Mavis you guys are okay." he said. "I was worried"

"That's cute." Damien replied. "So, we're waiting for Nashi and Drake?"

"Looks like it" Elise replied, looking at the door. "I wonder which of them is having trouble."

* * *

"I just...fuck!" Drake complained slamming his fist into the wall angrily. He just couldn't find it with in himself to be able to forgive Apocalypse, and Nashi was clearly at the end of her rope as well.

"This is pathetic." Apocalypse complained. "I can understand why I was to torture you, Master Jose sure had his head on straight." Drake growled at the torturers apparition.

"You shut up..." Drake hissed angrily. "I don't have the patience for this." Apocalypse laughed.

"Whatever." he said. "I must admit, the only time I've ever had more fun is when I dealt with those guys who raped your friend..." Drake drew a blank as he stared at Apocalypse.

"What?" he asked weakly, and the man smiled.

"Right," he replied, "i never got around to telling you that story. Well, when Angel informed Master Jose about your friends getting raped, he was onto dealing with them very fast." Drake stared at the dark haired man as he continued. "he decided the best way to deal with it was me taking them out in a very...interesting fashion."

"You..." Drake managed, trailing off as he stared at Apocalypse. "Dealt with the guys who hurt Elise?" Apocalypse frowned and growled.

"More than happy to do so as well" he replied. "That's unacceptable. I even laughed a little as I smashed their skulls in." Drake stared at the torturer with a new found respect. Maybe he wasn't all bad, like Drake had originally thought. being happy to deal with the men who raped Elise put Apocalypse in Drake's good books, even if he was at the very bottom of that list. Drake took a deep breath and stared the man in the eyes.

"I suppose that makes you alright, then" he replied unsteadily. "I...You have my thanks for dealing with them." Drake knew for a fact that was as good as he could do, and waited with baited breath as Apocalypse smirked at him. Drake took a huge breath of relief as the man began to fade away.

"Impressive." Nashi said. "It would appear his dealing with those men cancelled out your hatred for him."

"Whatever" Drake grumbled, pocketing his hands. "Let's just get the hell out of here." Drake began to walk away, and he heard Nashi follow suit, running to catch up. Both remained silent, Drake had nothing to say. He was quite positive he still hated Apocalypse, but knowing he'd dealt with those guys...it quelled some of the guilt in Drake's heart, he knew that. he turned a corner and was met by the sight of the others waiting around, presumably for them. Elise looked up as they approached.

"What took you guys so long?" She demanded, and Nashi elbowed Drake.

"This guys couldn't get past his hatred for Apocalypse." Se told them, and Drake received four sympathetic looks and one confused one.

"Who?" Elise asked, rubbing her forehead, and Drake sighed.

"Phantom Dove's torturer." he supplied for the girl. "He tortured Nashi and I...yeah." Elise nodded and began muttering to herself, before Drake coughed. "So, how did you guys do?" he asked, trying to change the subject. Ultear glowered in Simon's direction, who cowered.

"Simon is in hot water with me right now." She replied in a dark tone, and the requip mage seemed rather terrified.

"I told you." he hissed. " I didn't mean to grab you, I only tried to help!"

"Sure, sure." Simon rolled his eyes and turned away from her, obviously done with their conversation. Damien chuckled.

"I had to deal with Steph and Xisplate" he said, obviously doing his best to sound nonchalant about it. "No big deal." Drake rolled his eyes.

"I had some creepy dude and King Simon" Elise pointed out, and Drake decided to take a quick listen into Elise's thoughts, instantly getting a mental image of said creepy dude, and he nearly threw up. That creepy dude was the one who raped her, and she didn't even know. Doing his best to ignore them, Drake turned his attention towards the door, which had twelve glowing lights on it.

"What's up with this door?" he asked, and Simon shrugged.

"We think it correlates to the number of trials completed, as per twelve lights." he told Drake. "Now that you guys are here, we can probably open it."

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Nashi demanded, stepping forward to open it. "Let's get these scrolls and bounce, I'm tired of this place." Drake followed the others inside the doorway, ad watched as it slammed shut after them.

"Well, shit" Damien said, rubbing the back of his head. "No where to go now but forward."

"Like going back brought us anywhere" Ultear replied, turning to continue. The continued down the hallway silently, and Drake took note of the inscriptions on the wall. None of them where legible, but he felt like they were a warning. Drake could see a dim light at the end of the tunnel, and he hoped that was a way out as well as their objective, as he really needed to get payed.

"I think we're here." Simon said as they approached the altar, and Drake could see three scrolls stacked on top of each other neatly. Simon made a grab for them and stashed them in his magical inventory, and he grinned. "Now, anyone see an exit?"

"Nope" Nashi replied, turning around and looking for one. "Although I feel like we're missing something." As if on cue, a very faint laugh could be heard from the opposite isde of the room, and Drake paled at the voices.

"Wow." One said. "Aren't we pathetic."

"Right?" Another asked. "Truly unbelievable."

"Let's just kill them and be done with it." Another hissed. "It'll be faster."

"Patience." Another, a man, spoke. "We must address them formally."

"That's so lame though" Another complained, and Drake knew the voice all too well.

"Shut up and let's get this over with" The six voices emerged from the darkness, and Drake choked on his spit.

"Us?!"

**Interesting turn of events, huh? Like I said, I'm just finishing this arc out as fast as I can, I really don't like it. That and the next one is so good, I'm so hyped...**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	72. Your Inner Self

**Back again! I've decided to just end this arc today, and just get it out of the way. I'll post a one shot today to make up for this quick ending. Enjoy**

Nashi tried to convince herself they were looking in a mirror, but she wasn't. The other her wasn't following her motions, and had glowing red eyes as oppose to hers.

"What the hell is it now?" Elise hissed.

"It's us." Simon muttered. "What are we supposed to do now?" The other Simon laughed, requipping into an armor set Nashi had never seen before. Simon must have however. "The...Nakagami armor?"

"So you do know what this is?" The other Simon laughed. "The armor you can't access because it uses so much magic, right?" Simon didn't reply, but the other Nashi laughed.

"Can we please just hurry this along and beat them up?" She demanded. "I'm getting really bored." Nashi watched as the other her ripped her shirt sleeves off, and she choked. Bright red scales lined her arms. Elise and Drake looked very similar, and Nashi could hear her friends tense up.

"What the hell is even going on right now?" Damien demanded. "How are we supposed to win this fight?" The other Damien crossed his arms with a devilish grin.

"Well you see, me." he said. "I suppose you should know what this test revolves around. The trial is seeing yourself and defeating yourself at your strongest, so that you know your own weak spot." he raised his hand and a black magic circle appeared there, and Nashi paled. "Defeating yourself at your best proves you still have space to learn." The other Damien took over into Xisplate, and the other Ultear's body turned into water.

"I don't like the sound of this." Nashi muttered.

"But's it's possible." Ultear replied, taking a battle stance. "I feel bad for you guys, all that Dragon Force and armor and Xisplate... then there's me." Nashi had to agree, Ultear had the easiest time out of all of them. Before Nashi could reply she was tackled by the other her, who's intense body heat actually burned a little. _This is what Dragon Force feels like... _Nashi kicked her herself away only to get a fireball in the face, one that actually burned. it burned going down as well, and Nashi flinched as she finished eating it.

"Ow." Nashi muttered as she began to grapple with herself, the other he having the upper hand due to Dragon Force. She could see Drake flying into the wall out of the corner of her eye, and Elise throwing herself into the ground.

"Rule number one of combat" Nashi heard her other self say, and a fist connected with her stomach, sending her flying backwards. "Don't get distracted!" Nashi clutched the burn mark on her stomach as she stood. Damn, she looked terrifying in Dragon Force, pretty close to demonic. Nashi flinched as her burned stomach continued to cause her pain. Although she hadn't ever had trouble with fire, Nashi had never been burned before. It really hurt, as she found out.

"This is not cool" Damien growled somewhere behind Nashi. "What the hell are we supposed to do if this test puts us at our most powerful, and tells us to beat ourselves up?!"

"There has to be some kind of trick." Simon replied, wiping blood from the side of his mouth. "Something we're just not seeing, but what?"

"Hell if I know!" Elise replied, tossing her Dragon Force counterpart across the room. "All I know is that I'm not in the mood for this!" Nashi had to agree with her friend,today had put her in a shitty mood. Tackling herself self into the wall and doing her best to fight her other selves rapid motions, Nashi felt herself lagging behind as she flew across the room. Recovering just in time to be punted back into the dirt, Nashi growled as she was pulled up by the hair, her other self laughing darkly.

"Look at how weak you are" She hissed at Nashi. "Can't even enter Dragon Force without a huge amount of magic. How pathetic am I?"

"Pretty, bitch" Nashi hissed in response, which earned another kick in the stomach. Nashi coughed up blood as she managed to get up, glaring at her other self. "Something we're missing..." She muttered under her breath. "Simon's right, there must be a clue to this damn test...but what...?" Getting another punch in the face didn't help, and Nashi's pathetic counterattack consisted of a few attacks thrown out there in hopes she'd hit something, but hit nothing. Nashi jumped back as she was roared at. the intense heat singeing the small amount of hair on her arms.

"What are we missing?" Drake demanded as he dodged some poisonous scales flying at him. "Seriously, I can't..." Drake was cut off as he flew into the wall, not finishing his sentence. Nashi went on the defensive, doing her best to dodge her other selves lightning quick attacks. Kicking her in the stomach granted Nashi some time to think, and she thought as hard as she absolutely could.

"Mavis" Nashi heard as the other her stood back up. "Still got some fire in you, huh? No matter, I'll prove I'm not useless, I'll show everyone..." A light bulb lit up in Nashi's head, it all made sense now. They were, in a sense, literally fighting themselves. these shades had all of their attributes, right down to how they thought. It was worth a try, wasn't it? Nashi laughed and did her best to act easy going in the situation.

"Prove to who?" Nashi asked. "There's nothing to prove, you're downright useless." Nashi watched as the other her growled angrily. Bingo.

"Shut up"

"Why? You know it's true. Even dad said so." Nashi saw that her comment had surprised her shade.

"D-dad?" She asked weakly.

"Yeah, he told me straight up." Nashi coughed. "Something along the lines of how useless you were and that he was so disappointed he wanted nothing to do with you."

"Shut up, that's not true!"

"Oh yeah?" Nashi watched as she made a face. "Why would I lie about this to you, you're me."

"I...I..." Nashi watched as her shade struggled with what she was saying, but Nashi wasn't done yet.

"And you sure as hell won't be proving it to Rocky." She joked, and her shade's eyes widened.

"Shut... shut up" She managed, and Nashi laughed.

"I really do understand why he hates us, we're so pathetic."

"Shut up! I'm not pathetic, I'll prove it to yo..." Nashi had taken her chance, rushing forward and slamming her fist into her shades chest. She felt her fist go clean through, and smiled as the shade, along with the many burns on her body, disappeared.

"Guys!" She shouted, whirling around to find her friends still fighting their own shades. "it's a true test of how well you know yourself!"

"And?!" Ultear demanded as she had an icy sword fight with herself.

"Use what you learned during the other trials!" Nashi replied. "Talk down to them, it's the only way!" Drake laughed as he wiped poison from the side of his mouth.

"I have to shit talk myself to win, huh?" he asked. "I have the weirdest life, I swear." Drake pocketed his hands and smirked at his shade, who looked confused.

"What?" it demanded.

"Just relishing it knowing you fucked up." Drake replied. "With, y'know, protecting Nashi." Drake's shade whirled to face Nashi, and his eyes widened.

"Wha..."

"I mean you promised man, what's the matter with you?"

"I..."

"No excuses, you fucked up, that's it." Nashi watched as Drake's shade had an internal struggle, and Drake laughed. "And on top of all of that, you couldn't protect them from Apocalypse either. Mavis man, what are you doing?" Nashi nodded at Drake viciously, and he rushed forward and figuratively ripped his own heart out, his shade crumbling into nothingness. Elise took a deep breath, and Nashi felt bad for her. She must've had no idea what to do.

"I, uh..." Elise began, sounding uncertain. "I can't believe you" She finally managed, and her shade looked confused.

"Why?" It demanded.

"You're afraid of... that creepy guy? Seriously, I don't get you." Nashi wanted to laugh, partially because Elise wasn't kidding. She honestly had no idea. Her shade seemed to however.

"Shut up!" it shouted. "You may have forgotten, but I didn't! I remember everything..."

"Still, he was a fucking pushover. On top of that, he seemed to be relishing in the fact that you were scared of him. ugh, why? Just why?" Elise hadn't addressed her hatred trial, but it appeared she didn't have to. She defeated her shade easily enough, and Simon sheathed his blade upon seeing their success.

"I want to beat you up." Simon told his shade. "But honestly I just feel bad for you" Simon's jab seemed to work, and his shade lowered his own blades.

"Why?"

"Because you're dad doesn't even love you." Nashi noted the disbelief on the shades face, and Simon capitalized on that, laughing. "I can see you don't believe me, no matter. it makes no difference to me, truthfully. I just feel so bad for you. Maybe that has to do with your inability to comfort people when their upset around you, huh?"

"I..."

"No you don't, don't lie. You're one sad human being, it's quite sad. How does that make you feel?" Simon didn't give his shade the moment he needed to reply, as he had rushed forward to run him through. Only Ultear and Damien remained, but they were still fighting. Ultear jumped back and smirked.

"I like how strong you are." She complimented. "Is that all because of her?" The shade reacted very poorly, growing even more aggressive.

"Don't act like you miss her!" It shouted angrily. "You moved on the minute she died! I didn't!"

"Well, you're so scared of Zindo, too. I mean, he's not even all that tough."

"I..."

"And seriously, who hates their mother? What's the matter with you? She's just showing how much she loves you."

"Well..."

"No no no, no excuses. You're really sad for hating something so trivial." Ultear took her chance, freezing her shade solid as it contemplated her words. That left, Damien, who seemed to almost be waiting for the chance. he deactivated his takeover and crossed his arms, sighing deeply. His Xisplate using shade paused.

"What's the matter?" it demanded. Damien shrugged.

"Ah, you know, it's just sad. Older brother kills his younger sister. Shame" Damien obviously struck a chord with the shade, who flickered in irritation.

"It wasn't me, you know that..."

"I do, I do. What do you think she would think though?"

"Wah?"

"Who would she blame for what happened? She was young, she wouldn't know any better. She most likely blamed her foolish Oniichan..." Nashi wasn't an expert, but it sounded like Damien was also struggling in not believing the same thing, even after the tests. "And on top of all of that you're afraid of that demon? Instead of dealing with it? Ugh, whats wrong with you?"

"I don't even..."

"Soul Extinction!" The blast tore apart the shade, completely, leaving the six of them standing alone in the room.

"Well." Nashi said with a grin, placing her hands on her hips. "I think you all owe me."

"We don't owe you anything" Elise replied.

"Nope" Drake replied.

"Not a thing." Simon said.

"I'll give you a piece of gum" Damien offered.

"Nothing" Ultear said. Nashi frowned at her friends, who all grinned at her like a bunch of idiots.

"You all suck"

**I hated this arc, so I just hurried up and offed it before I couldn't update anymore because I hated it. Anyways, I will post a one shot later today to make up for this shitty arc, but trust me, this next arc? Damn, I'm so hyped. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! let's try and get five!**


	73. Blown Off

**Like I said, one shots! Enjoy!**

Drake whistled to himself as he walked up the hill towards Fairy Hills. He was going to see if Nashi wanted to hang out with him today, or if anyone wanted to honestly. He had nothing better to do today anyway. He entered the lobby and walked up the stairs, pausing at the second floor and walking towards Nashi's door. He squeezed past a few girls from the guild and knocked on her door, waiting impatiently as the pinkette called for him to wait a second. Drake did so, and redrew his attention to the door as it opened.

"Hey Drake." Nashi greeted, brushing her hair. "What's up?"

"Well," Drake replied, shrugging. "I was bored, so I decided to come and see if you wanted to hang out with me today." Nashi made what looked like an apologetic face, and Drake flinched. "What?" He asked curiously.

"Well, I would." She said. "But I kinda told my Dad I'd um... go on a job with him today." Drake purposefully acted insulted, but truthfully he really wasn't. "Sorry." Drake sighed and waved her off.

"Nah, it's fine" he said. "I understand, you two gotta bond and all of that. It's cool."

"Really?" Drake didn't know why she was asking, of course it was.

"Psh, yeah. I'll see you later." Nashi nodded and closed her door, and Drake did his best not to sigh audibly. He walked down a few more doors to Ultear's room, and knocked on it, waiting for the girl to open it. She did, and looked a little confused.

"Drake?" She asked. "Can I help you with something?"

"Well," Drake replied. "Nashi said she was busy today, so I figured I'd ask you if you wanted to hang out." Drake grinned like an idiot at her and she chuckled. "So, how abouts it?"

"I appreciate the offer, Drake." She replied. "But, I can't." Drake frowned. Seriously?

"What do you have to do?" He demanded.

"My Dad wants me to go to Crocus with him for something" She replied absentmindedly. "I don't know, but he says I have to. Sorry." Now Drake felt pushed off. He wasn't going to say anything though.

"Ah, uh, okay." Drake managed t say, with Ul smiling at him weakly. "Well, uh, grab me a souvenir or something, okay?"

"Yep, totally." Ultear shut the door, and Drake stared down at the ground. he felt an elbow connect with his back, and he turned to find Elise walking away, covered by nothing but a bath towel. She'd just come out of the shower, apparently.

"Hey, Elise?" he called hopefully.

"Don't get your hopes up, Cyanide Breath" She called back. "I heard you asking Nashi and Ul, and I'm busy too."

"Doing what?!" Drake demanded. Despite what she'd try and tell you, Elise was never busy unless she wasn't around. She never did anything that would make her busy.

"My Dad and I are going up to the western mountains to see how many boulders we can break before we break a few bones!" She replied, more excited than she should've been.

"Right..." Drake replied slowly, staring at the ground. "You and your Dad..."

* * *

Drake hadn't looked up since he'd left the dorms, he was far to upset. All of them had blown him off for their Dads. Drake wasn't mad, jealous was a better way up putting it. Even Nashi could spend time with her Dad now, and Drake couldn't.

"Useless asshole..." Drake muttered to himself. "Never here for me...some Dad you are..." Drake turned to enter the guild, and slammed right into someone, who caught him and straightened him as he fell.

"Mavis, Drake." Damien said, slinging his bag back over his shoulder. "Watch were your going."

"Sorry." Drake muttered. Damien frowned.

"What's wrong man? You look upset." Drake sighed and looked up at Damien.

"All the girls blew me off for their Dads." he replied, grinning weakly. "You wanna hang out?" Damien rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and Drake rolled his eyes. "Of course your busy with Gramps, I shouldn't have asked."

"Sorry." Damien said. "Believe me, I would kill to get out of this, it's some shitty counsel meeting for the _entire weekend. _Dad says I have to go and see how he represents the guild or some shit so I can do it when I'm the Master. It's bullshit, if you ask me."

"But inescapable." Drake said, even more jealous now. he'd even settle for a shitty weekend if it meant he could see his dad. "Whatever, I'll see you later Damien" Drake entered the guild without another word to the takeover mage, taking a seat at a table by himself, resting his head on his. "This is stupid." he muttered. "Everyone else gets to hang out with their Dads but me."

"Hey Drake" Drake looked up curiously to find Simon sitting down next to him, and Drake felt confused.

"Hey." Drake greeted. "Why are you here? Aren't you going to hang out with your dad?" Drake felt stupid as soon as he said it, as Simon cast him a slightly hurt look, he paled. "Shit, right. Sorry man."

"It's alright." Simon said quietly. "I was about to ask you the same thing." Now Drake was even more confused.

"But..." he began. "I'm in the same boat as you..." Drake turned to look at Simon to find him smirking at him, and Drake rolled his eyes. "Very funny, asshole"

"Yeah yeah" He said slowly. "They blew me off too."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." Simon sighed as he stared at the table. "They probably didn't tell you that so that you didn't get let down or anything."

"They didn't have to tell me they told you the same thing to let me down." Drake and Simon remained silent, and Drake wanted to say something, but he didn't know what. he and Simon weren't the greatest of friends, even though they'd known each other forever. They'd always really only interacted through the others, so Drake wasn't sure what they were going to do.

"Anyway," Simon said, breaking the silence. "What should we do?"

"I don't know." Drake replied slowly, "Maybe we could...go on a job?" Simon shrugged.

"Sure, why the hell not?" Both of them stood and walked to the request board, and stared at it curiously. "Remember," Simon said. "Look at the rewards split two ways, not six." Drake laughed with a smirk.

"That certainly sweetens the deal" he said, rubbing his hands together. Simon took a flyer off of the board and read over it, showing it too Drake.

"What do you think?" he asked, and Drake read the flyer carefully. Nothing to dangerous, just some guy wanting them to retrieve something important that was stolen. The reward was incredibly handsome for such easy work, just about 150,000 jewel each. "Good enough."

"Yeah, let's go." Simon walked the flyer over to Mira, who smiled as they approached.

"Just the two of you today?" She asked, and Simon nodded.

"They ditched us." He told Mira, who nodded understandingly. She wrote them off for the job, and Drake followed Simon out of the guild.

"Alright," Drake said. "So, we're splitting the reward 70-30 for me, right?" Simon laughed.

"In your dreams."

* * *

"Drake. Wake up." Drake lifted his head lazily to find Simon looking at him.

"Is it over?" Drake croaked weakly, and Simon nodded.

"Yes, the trains done moving." he replied. "Come on, we gotta go." Drake nodded and stood unsteadily, following Simon out of the train and into town. it was one of those towns that Drake had never heard of, but leave it to Simon to find a train, of all things, to get them there. Simon weaved in and out of people as he walked in the direction of where the client lived, and Drake made a face as Simon stopped in front of a mansion.

"Is this it?" Drake asked as Simon pushed the gate open.

"Apparently." Simon replied. "Don't do anything stupid, if he lives in a place like this he's probably a pompous asshole." Drake nodded in agreement. They reached the door and Simon rang the doorbell, one of those really expensive ones too. Drake waited will baited breath for who to answer the door. His hopes for an attractive maid were dashed when a middle aged man answered the door. Drake also didn't appreciate the dirty look he gave Simon and him.

"Can I help you?" he asked snobbishly, and Drake snickered.

"We're here on the job your boss put out." Drake took a quick listen in on the mans thoughts and frowned. "And you can do without the insulting there, buddy. We're here to help." The butler looked shocked.

"I didn't say anything." he said, astonished.

"Yeah, he does that" Simon excused. "We're the wizards from Fairy Tail, here to help."

"Please, follow me." Simon cast Drake a dirty look as they entered the mansion, and Drake shrugged.

"What?" he asked in a low tone as the butler lead them up a flight of overly fancy stairs.

"Can you not be a dick with your sound magic?" Simon asked. "I know it's your thing and all, but not now."

"Oh come on. This guy has such huge stick up his ass I couldn't resist." Drake chuckled. "What a weird guy, seriously."

"Just behave, Drake" Simon warned.

"What are you, my mom?" Simon didn't reply to that jab and Drake chuckled as they were lead through a door, and an older man was sitting near a fire.

"Sir," The waiter said. "The wizards have arrived" Drake noted how the older man seemed to look very happy to hear that.

"let them in, let them in! The butler stepped back, allowing Drake and Simon in. They stood behind the older man as he poured himself a glass of whiskey, taking a long drink. "I'm glad you're here." he told them. "I was at the end of my rope with local services."

"Care to tell us what happened?" Drake said, pocketing his hands.

"My daughter." The man said. "My daughter has been kidnapped. "The army won't help, says she ran away. I know she didn't though, she's been taken."

"Do you know by who?" Simon asked curiously, and the man nodded.

"Some bastards have been loitering around town lately." he said, "Been talking about a lot of things bandits would. Robberies, killings, etc. I'm willing to bet it was them."

"Interesting." Drake said with a laugh. "I love beating up assholes." No one responded, so rake just coughed awkwardly. "Do you have any idea where they're stationed?"

"No clue." he replied. "However, a group of them hang out at the cafe near the towns entrance, so go there and find out where they're going. Go!" Simon turned on his heel to leave, so Drake followed suit. Drake entertained himself by flipping the butler off when he wasn't looking.

"What do you make of this?" Simon asked as they left the mansion, and Drake shrugged.

"Bunch of idiots who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground kidnapped the wrong girl." he replied. "We'll find these assholes, follow them to their hideout, knock some heads, blah blah, so on and so on, you get the idea" Simon nodded as he knelt down behind a bush in the square, and Drake stared at him like he had a screw loose. "What are you doing?" Drake demanded. Simon rolled his eyes and dragged him behind the bush.

"Over there!" Simon hissed, pointing towards several shady looking characters near the center of the square. "I'm not expert, but I'm pretty sure that's them. How are we supposed to hear them from over here?" Drake stared at Simon as if he had a screw loose and face palmed.

"Simon." he said. When the redhead turned to look at him, Drake tapped his ear. Simon paled and laughed awkwardly.

"Right, my bad" he excused, and Drake rolled his eyes. Pinpointing his hearing, Drake listened in on their conversation.

"Can we just go?" One asked angrily. "Seriously, let's just go."

"Agreed." The sleezy looking one said. "We spent too much time here, especially after we got that girl."

"Alright you bunch of pussies" The last one, who was apparently the leader, growled. "We'll go, jeez. You guys gotta calm down." They began to leave, and Drake motioned for Simon to move up after them. They could look relatively normal until they followed them outside of town, and Drake could hear them muttering to themselves about being followed.

"Slow down." Drake warned. "They're on to us." Simon nodded and slowed his pace, and Drake noticed they were much more relived as he did. Drake heard them enter a cave, and he followed Simon up a ledge where they could see the entrance. "So," Drake asked, nudging Simon. "Oberon and his trusty dragon companion gazed upon the enemy fortress, planning their next move before they delved into the depths to save the damsel in distress." Drake finished his monologue and found Simon staring at him with a bemused smile.

"is that an excerpt from your new book?" he joked, and Drake grinned.

"Hell yeah man. I'm gonna talk to Lucy, see if she'll write me one. I'll be famous." Simon snorted and rolled his eyes and he turned back to jump over the ledge. Drake followed suit and landed next to Simon, who approached the entrance slowly.

"Alright, here's the plan." Simon said. "We'll be careful not to alert anyone if we don't have to, and if we do, destroy everyone, got it?" Drake grinned devilishly.

"Can do." Simon grinned and pushed the wooden door open carefully, walking inside slowly. The cave was dark and smelled wet, and Drake did his best to warn Simon about puddles that may alert someone should they be stepped in. They walked on for quite some time without encountering anyone, and Drake began to worry. The echo in the cave made it so he could hear people moving around, but the echoes in the cave made it difficult to pinpoint where they were.

"Where the hell is everyone in here?" Simon demanded. As if on cure, smoke burst up around them, smoke that caused Drake's eyes to burn. he closed them and began to cough as he heard laughter spring up around them. "Shit!" Simon shouted. "You alright Drake?"

"Yeah," Drake replied, his eyes stuck shut from the burning.

"Look at these guildies" A man snickered. "Blinded because they didn't know any better that we knew they were following us." Drake felt himself go back to back with Simon, and the man continued. "Now we'll kill you while you can't even fight back."

"This is bad, Drake" Simon hissed through his coughs. "I can't fight them if I can't see."

"Calm down, I got this"

"How?!"

"You'll have to shut up and do exactly what I tell you, got it?"

"I...alright, shit..." The men advanced, and most drew swords or clubs. Drake pinpointed his hearing as best he could, glad they were in an open chamber. He focused as hard as he could, and the bandits charged.

"Draw a sword and swing left!" Drake shouted, and he heard Simon block. "Duck and swing at a 45 degree angle upwards!" Simon did as he commanded and Drake heard the bandit get disarmed with a smile.

"Holy shit..." Simon whispered.

"Don't get distracted!" Drake shouted. "Duck forward, sweep your arms out at 32 degrees to knock them over!" Drake did his own fighting with the sound magic, but Drake was far more used to it, Simon was fighting on Drake's command. "Requip into lightning emperor armor and spray lightning around us!" Drake ducked as he commanded Simon to do so and he heard the men cry out in pain as they got electrocuted.

"What the hell is happening?!" Someone shouted. "They can't see, but they're still fighting back!"

"Shut up and get them!"

"Requip into a long sword and swipe into an 56 degree angle downwards!" Drake coughed out, and Simon obeyed. "Now use a mace and break three weapons to your left; one at 72 degrees, one at 54 and another at 27!" Simon listened to every command to a fault, successfully taking out every bandit he could. Drake knocked back more than his fair share of men, and turned when he heard several running at Simon.

"Simon, Flight Armor set and jab three different times to your right!" Simon obeyed, and the men fell over from the attack. Simon backed up to Drake, who laughed. "if we keep this up, we got this easy!"

* * *

Drake laughed as he jumped up and down, stretching after the fight. Simon was rather elated as well.

"That was some pinpoint hearing, Drake" Simon said. "Good job, without you I'd have been toast."

"I know, aren't I awesome?" Drake held up his hand for a high five, and was surprised when Simon gave him one, rather enthusiastically. "Now, shall Oberon and his trusty dragon companion rescue our fair maiden?"

"Wasn't she a damsel in distress outside?" Simon asked with a grin, which Drake returned. The two of them proceeded in silence. Drake sighed and pocketed his hands.

"I gotta say Simon," he spoke up. "We have to hang out more, we get each other."

"That we do." he agreed. "We make a great team, outside of the big one obviously." Drake nodded and placed his hands behind his head as they walked, and soon he picked up on a person with his hearing: small, frail, and calling out for help. He took off running and he heard Simon do so behind him without another word. Drake rounded the corner and found the cell, with a teenage blonde girl crying out for help.

"Hey, are you okay?" Drake asked as he knelt down in front of the cell. He knew what it felt like to be caged like an animal. The girl was staring at him wide eyed, and Drake did his best to look like a friendly face

"Are you...?" She managed.

"Here to rescue you, yes." Simon said, slicing the doors lock off and opening it. The girl crawled out and Drake lifted her up and helped her walk. He had to admit, he was slightly off put by her staring.

"What is it?" Drake asked, trying to not sound irritated.

"What's your name?" The girl asked warily, and Drake smiled.

"Drake" he replied. "Drake from Fairy Tail, at your service." She seemed extremely out of it, but Drake shrugged it off. It was probably nothing. She was in a pretty bad shape, Drake was surprised that she could even speak.

* * *

"Well that was depressing" Drake cast a look over at Simon s he said that, wondering what he meant. "That whole situation, I mean."

"Oh, yeah." Drake agreed, "That whole 'military won't help me' was pretty stupid. Glad we could help him."

"Yeah" Simon said with a smirk. "Now we just have to ride the train home." Drake choked and stared at Simon, who smiled back with a laugh forming on his face.

"You're the devil"

* * *

Nashi sighed as she walked down to the guild. She felt bad for blowing Drake off for her Dad, she hadn't exactly done it nicely. From what she'd heard, everyone had had a similar engagement that day, ad everyone had to turn Drake down. Nashi hoped he wasn't mad at them. Nashi saw him sitting by himself with a drink, and she bounded over to him, crashing into him as she landed in the seat next to him.

"Shit!" he shouted, spilling a little of his drink. "Put the brakes on sooner Nashi, Mavis."

"Sorry." Nashi said, grinning at him, and he made a confused sound.

"What's got you so happy?" he asked, taking another sip as he looked at her.

"Well, I am free today..." Nashi said, and Drake didn't seem to catch on. "And I feel bad about blowing you off a few days ago, so..."

"Ohhh." Drake said as he understood. "Now I got you, alright." Nashi laughed and re-positioned to sit more comfortably.

"So what do you want to do?" Nashi asked, and watched Drake make a face. "What?" She asked curiously.

"Well, the problem with that is that I have a prior engagement I was about to go and do, so..." he made an apologetic face, and Nashi frowned.

"With who?" She asked, no one else but her was back yet except Elise, but she had a broken wrist.

"Drake!" Both of them turned to find Simon leaning against the door with a grin on his face, waving a flyer around. "What are you waiting for dude, we gotta go!"

"I'm just talking to Nashi, hold on!" Drake called back, which earned a smile and an eye roll. "Sorry Nashi, I gotta go." Patting her on the head, he got up and ran to Simon, who laughed at something he said and wrapped Drake into a one armed hug, both of them leaving the guild. Nashi sat there for a moment, stunned.

"What the..." She tried. "Did he just blow me off for Simon?"

**Yes he did Nashi, yes he did. I like this chapter more than that whole previous arc, so you know that says something about it. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	74. Terra

**Hey, back again! Today we're with Damien and a few others, enjoy!**

Damien wanted to kill himself. He hadn't been lying to Drake when he said that he'd kill to get out of this damn council meeting, it was putting him to sleep. Apparently not just him, either. It would seem that Ichiya had dragged Mami with him as well, and Jura his daughter who Damien had never met before. The girl was older than both him and Mami, so it was no surprise. She had probably been doing jobs when Damien had lost control.

Speaking of Mami, Damien was extremely jealous of her, because she got to sleep. Ichiya wasn't paying the least bit attention to his daughter, who had her head down on the table. Damien had busied himself with watching her back rise and fall rhythmically as she slept, but it was more like a lullaby. Damien began to drift off again before he got another shock to the thigh from his father, who was seated next to him. Apparently his father cared a lot more about this meeting than Damien did, which came as no surprise. Jura's daughter, whatever her name was, was also drifting off, and Jura kept her awake as well. Damien caught the girls eye, and watched as she brought a finger pistol up to her temple and pretended to blow her own brains out. Damien smirked and nodded in agreement as the meeting went on.

"And," The man giving the presentation said. "this concludes this part of the meeting. We will reconvene in an hour, so please go and mingle." Damien practically bolted from the room and took a deep breath of the lobby, which smelled like coffee and more fun than the meeting. Damien stretched as his father left the meeting as well, and he sighed.

"You know Damien," he said. "You could take a little bit more interest in the meeting" Damien turned to stare at his father incredulously.

"You have to be kidding." he told his father flatly. "That was the most boring thing I've ever been subjected to. Mami fell asleep for Mavis' sake!" As if on cue, the master of Blue Pegasus and his drowsy daughter appeared next to them.

"Meeeeennnn" Ichiya said as he posed. "The parfum of greetings."

"Hey Ichiya" Damien's father greeted.

"Master Ichiya." Damien said, turning to the ginger haired girl next to him. "Mami." Mami yawned in response, and Damien snickered.

"Master Laaaaaxus" She said while yawning, waving to Damien's father. "Damien."

"Sleepy Mami?" Damien asked

"Yes." Damien watched as the girl lost her balance and almost fell over because she was so tired. She managed to regain her balance as Jura and his daughter walked up to them.

"Good to see everyone." Jura said with a smile, casting a glace at Mami. "Awake, that is." Mami waved him off as Jura smiled. "Where are my manners, though?" he turned to gesture at his daughter. "This is Terra." Terra smiled at Damien and held her hand out for him to shake, and Damien did so.

"Terra." He greeted. "I'm Damien."

"I know." She replied, whipping her black hair over her shoulder. "I've heard all about you." Damien raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked. "Anything good?" She laughed, which Damien didn't take to well. Terra turned to Mami.

"Hey Mami" Terra said with a weak smile. Mami yawned and waved back.

"Terra."

"So anyway," Damien said. "I was just saying how boring that meeting was."

"Right?" Terra agreed. "I thought I was going to die." Damien laughed. Terra didn't look much older than him, maybe 20. You could barely tell she was Jura's daughter, she clearly resembled whoever the mother was more. The only thing that identified her as Jura's was her skin color and hair.

"Well," Damien said to his father. "I'm skipping out, so don't wait up for me." He got an eye roll in return, so Damien began to walk away. He figured he was doing so alone until Terra appeared next to him, and Mami to his left.

"I'm glad we got out of there." Mami said. "I was going to hibernate if it didn't end soon."

"Lucky." Damien replied. "Every time I dozed off I got six thousand volts to the leg."

"And I got stabbed in the ass by rocks." Terra emphasized her point by rubbing her ass. "I'm still sore." Damien snickered as the got farther and farther away from the meeting hall, which allowed Damien to wake up a bit more than he had been before.

"So, quick question" Mami said, turning to face the both of them. "You two have never met before today, right?"

"Nope." Terra replied. "Of course I've heard the stories though."

"I'm still curious as to what stories you mean by that." Damien said weakly, and Terra winked at him. Mami chuckled darkly.

"So which one of you is more powerful?" She asked, and Damien stared at Terra before she laughed.

"Me, obviously." She said, and Damien choked.

"I doubt that." Damien snapped. "I'd destroy you." Terra turned to glare at him.

"That a challenge, Dreyar?"She demanded, uncrossing her arms.

"You bet your sore ass it is, Neekis." Damien replied.

* * *

Damien stood opposite of Terra in an open field away from town, preparing to kick her ass. Truthfully, Damien knew they were very close in power levels, she was Jura's daughter. She had two years on him as well, so that wasn't good. It had been Mami's idea to distance themselves from the city, so that they didn't destroy something.

"Ready you two?" Mami called from the sidelines.

"Yeah" Terra replied.

"Got it." Damien said.

"Alright!" Mami shouted, raising her hand between them like a referee. "This is a first to fall match between Damien Dreyar and Terra Neekis. No cheap shots, name calling, and in Terra's case, below the belt attacks." Damien flinched at the thought of Terra going for a low blow. "Go!" Damien took that as the battle had begun, so he took over into his demon form and launched himself at Terra, who blocked him with a wall of rock. he unfurled his wings and flew around it, kicking Terra in the stomach.

"Impressive." She said, gracefully flipping and landing atop a pillar of earth. "The stories do not do your strength justice, Damien."

"Wish I could say the same." Damien replied. "But I didn't even know you existed until half an hour ago."

"Hm" Terra hummed. "Well there is one story..." Damien froze as she grinned. "Although I'm sure you've heard that one enough."

"Trying to provoke me, Neekis?" Damien demanded. "Nice try, but I'm not unleashing him, not again."

"Suit yourself." Terra replied innocently. Pillars rose underneath Damien and he flew into the air, and they rose after him and he blasted them all to pieces. he raised both of his hands above his head and felt the energy focus their.

"Evil Explosion!" He shouted, the spirit bomb launching towards Terra. The earth mage blocked it with another wall of earth, and Damien used the resulting smokescreen to attack her through it, and they both flew through the air as they grappled. Terra smiled at him.

"What was the story again?" She asked. "Something about your little sister?" They flew apart and landed near where they started, and Terra crossed her arms. "Quite sad if I recall"

"She's provoking you." Damien cast a glance to his right and found the suit clad demon standing next to him. "Unless you want me to kill everyone in the immediate vicinity, do not let her."

"I don't intend to." Damien growled in response and turned back to Terra. "I'm not going to bite, Terra." He said with a grin. "You can fish all day, but I won't bite." Terra sighed.

"You don't match up to me without him." Terra said sadly. "Shame, I was hoping for a workout today."

"Her hubris is her weakness" Xisplate warned. "Very full of herself, that one." Damien nodded, but he had no idea if Terra was bluffing or not. On one hand, she may have been right. Damien may have been weaker than her without Xisplate. Or she was bluffing, either way Damien wasn't going to take the bait. he flew at Terra again and hit a wall of rock, but tore through it as she attempted to stop him. He grabbed her, but she disappeared underground, reappearing behind Damien and a huge pillar of earth slammed into his back. Damien recovered in time to launch beams of magic at Terra, who met each one with another pillar of earth. Damien became encased in rock walls as they rose around him, but he flew out and launched himself at Terra, who hadn't been ready for his speed. Throwing her up into the air, Damien nailed her with another blast, but she still landed gracefully and smirked.

"I'm impressed you're lasting so long without it." Terra said. "It's been far to long since someone gave me a decent fight."

"Just wait until I get serious." Damien replied with a grin. "Then I'll show you my real strength."

"Just like you showed Steph?" Damien paled and stared at Terra. who grinned darkly. "Aw, what's wrong Dreyar? Did I strike a nerve?" Damien did his best to stop the flow of anger to his heart and brain, but nothing happened. "From what I heard, you sure showed her what you were made of."

"Terra, enough!" Mami called from the sidelines as Damien reverted to his human form. "That's low!"

"What?" Terra called back innocently. "I'm just saying he won't fight me seriously! If he just used that form that gave him the courage to murder his little sister..."

"ENOUGH!" Damien shouted, staring at the ground, bangs obscuring his eyes. "You want power, Terra? I'll show you power!" Damien raised his right hand an all to familiar black magic circle appearing there.

"Damien, wha..." Xisplate started.

"Takeover: Demon Xisplate!"

* * *

Laxus was just as bored as Damien had been, but he'd never tell his son that. That would just encourage him, which was not something the young man needed to be in that situation. He yawned as the meeting continued, wondering what his son and the girls were getting up to. His question was answered as the meeting hall shook, darkness covering the room. Laxus paled.

"No..." He muttered, bolting front the room and out into the city. "Damien, don't..." Laxus was right, unfortunately. The black energy was circulating from an area away from the city, dark energy Laxus recognized all to well.

"What is that, Laxus?" Jura asked. Laxus didn't have the strength to reply, he was to in shock. "What's happening?"

"Meeehhhnnn" Ichiya said, hopping up onto the balcony. "The magic seems to be coming from that area of the city."

"Damien..." Laxus growled, clenching his fists. "What the hell is the matter with you?!"

* * *

Damien knew he was causing a scene, but he didn't care. Terra had angered him. She wanted to fight Xisplate? She damn well could.

"Damien, stop!" Mami shouted. "She's just trying to make you angry!"

"It's working!" Damien shouted back. Black magic had begun to leak from Damien's figure, and the area gradually became darker and darker. Anger was all Damien could feel. Terra looked absolutely terrified. "Well, Terra?! Is this what you wanted?!"

"I..."

"You want to see the monster that I live with day in and day out?! Here you go!"

"Damien, calm yourself" Xisplate warned next to him, but the image of the demon had begun to flicker as Damien used the takeover. "As much as I love destruction, you're letting your anger control you." Damien didn't intend to listen, he was far to mad.

"Damien, I..." Terra began, but was cut off as the area darkened even more. Even the sun had disappeared from the sky above them. Terra dropped to her knees as the amount of magic swirling around increased. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to anger you..." Damien felt something in the back of his head register that she was apologizing, and he looked up at her. For someone who was so full of herself, she sure seemed terrified.

"Really?!" Damien hissed.

"Yes! I can't beat that! You win!, I'm sorry!"

"I win?!"

"Yes!"

"Alright." Damien ceased the takeover and the whole area lit up at once, blinding him temporarily. When he could see again, both girls were staring at him incredulously. "What?" He asked. Even Xisplate stared at him in shock.

"What the..." Mami asked weakly. "But you were just about to kill us!" Damien crossed his arms.

"Well..." He said slowly, before looking up at them and smiling. "It was all a huge bluff so I could win!" Both girls fell over in surprise, and Damien laughed.

"That doesn't count!" Terra shouted angrily. "You tricked me!" She got right up in Damien's face as she did, and Damien smiled

"But you conceded defeat, which means I am the winner." She growled, and clenched her fists angrily, and Damien laughed.

"Technically, he's right." Mami called from the sidelines. "You did say he won!" Terra sighed and took a moment to calm down, before she chuckled.

"I've never been so scared." She said weakly. "I really thought you were going to use it and lose control again."

"Please, I'm not retarded." Damien replied. "I told myself I'd never use him again, but a scare tactic is all fair game." All three of them broke out into laughter, until Damien heard people approaching. he turned just in time to get a fist to the face. he was grabbed by the collar of his coat and lifted up, and he saw his fathers angry face staring back at him.

"What in Mavis' name is the matter with you?!" he yelled right in Damien;s ear, and he flinched. "Using that thing again?! I told you never to do that!"

"Dad, chill out!" Damien shouted back, getting in his own father's face. "I didn't do anything!"

"Bullshit!" He shouted back. "The whole city say the light show going off from over here! Why would you ever..."

"Dad, calm the fuck down! I was just kidding around!"

"Don't kid around with shit like that! You could have killed someone!"

"I wasn't serious!"

"It doesn't matter!"

"If I could interject here" Terra spoke up, causing both men to whirl on her. "It's my fault, I kind of taunted him about it, so..."

"Yeah!" Mami agreed happily. "It's all Terra's fault!" Terra face palmed at her words and Damien was released.

"Well.." Damien's father said slowly. "Don't do that, he's dangerous like that."

"I know" Terra replied. "I wasn't thinking clearly."

"Well now that that has been sorted out." Jura said. "We should return to the meeting hall for the next meeting." Damien choked, Terra sighed in exasperation, and Mami fell over, completely asleep. "Come on, let's go." Damien knew they didn't have a choice, so he slung the unconscious Mami over his shoulder and they began the walk back to the hall, Damien taking his sweet time.

"Very smart, Damien." Damien turned to find Xisplate standing there, smiling. "I told you her hubris was her weakness, so you tested just how firmly she believed what she said." Damien nodded and chuckled.

"I know." He replied. "I must say though, it took all I had to act so angry. I was trying not to laugh."

"You even had me going, too." Xisplate commended. "Very astute of you."

"Thanks, I think." Damien replied.

"Who are you talking to, Damien?" Damien looked ahead of him to find Terra staring back at him curiously, and he paled. She couldn't see the demon, obviously, so to her he was talking to himself. he attempted to laugh it off.

"Nothing, no one." he replied. "Your crazy Terra." Terra glared at him.

"Coming from the guy who bluffed about going ballistic and killing everyone around him because I taunted you."

"It worked, didn't it?"

**hehe, bet I had you guys going, didn't I? Well, next arc starts next chapter! Get hyped! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	75. A New Enemy

**Oh, new arc! Some staple characters will be revealed in this arc, so exited. Enjoy!**

Nashi knew he was back when she saw the airship floating above the guild hall from her dorm room. He very rarely came around, so she knew it was something important. it wasn't Erza or Simon's birthday, so that wasn't it.

What other reason did Uncle Jelly have to come home?

Nashi smiled at the thought of her 'uncle'. Jellal was one of her favorite people, just because he was that uncle who spoiled everyone. Simon was obviously at the top of this list, but Jellal treated everyone like his own. Nashi bounded down towards the guild hall, hopefully he wasn't on his way out. Right when she got to the front door, she ran into a man wearing Crime Sociere's cloak. Upon running into him, his hood fell down, revealing his black and white hair.

"Oops." Nashi said with a laugh as the man stumbled back. "Sorry Macbeth, wasn't watching where I was going."

"No shit." The man replied, staring at her. "Watch it next time."

"Will do." Squeezing past the reflector mage and into the guild hall, Nashi found Jellal near the bar, speaking to Erza and Nashi's mother. Both women saw Nashi sneaking up behind Jellal, and she signaled for them to be quiet. As soon as she got close enough, Nashi launched herself at Jellal, latching onto him.

"Gah!" He shouted in surprise and Nashi laughed manically. "What the fu...Nashi? Is that you?"

"Long time no see, Uncle Jelly!" Nashi shouted as he danced around, trying to get her off of his back. "How are you?" Nashi could tell Jellal was holding back a laugh.

"I've been good." he replied. "How about you, kid?"

"I've been on fire!" To emphasize her point, Nashi lit her hands on fire, causing Jellal to panic. Finally getting thrown off by Jellal, Nashi smiled up at him as he smiled down at her.

"Magic huh?" he asked. "Where'd you learn that?"

"Dad." Jellal seemed surprised.

"He's back?"

"Yep!" Nashi pounced back up onto her feet. "And some pretty crazy stuff has happened recently too!" Jellal laughed and ruffled Nashi's hair.

"You'll have to tell me all about it later." he told her. "I can't stay long, so I just came to say hi."

"You're to modest, Jellal." Nashi and Jellal turned to find a pink haired woman there, and she smiled at Nashi. "Good to see you up and moving, Nashi!" Nashi smiled weakly at her, before laughing awkwardly.

"I feel like I should remember you." Nashi told her. "But I don't." The woman made a face before laughing.

"Understandable" She said. "Last time you saw me while you were conscious was when you were really little."

"When I was conscious?" Nashi asked weakly.

"I was the one that got you guys out of the Phantom Dove situation." She said. "Meredy." Nashi had very vague memories of a woman named Meredy, but now she could place the name. Jellal's second in command, bubbly, nice, all of that.

"Nice to see you, Meredy." Nashi told her. Nashi was about to say something when Ultear appeared over her shoulder, smiling at Jellal.

"Hey Jelly." Ultear greeted, then cast a glance over her shoulder. "Meredy." Nashi caught the almost sad look Meredy gave Ultear.

"Ul." Meredy replied quietly. Nashi knew Meredy had been close with the original Ultear, so the hint of sadness in her tone was understandable.

"Hey Ultear" Jellal said with a smile. "How are you?"

"I'm alright, what's up with the visiting, you barely do that." Jellal shrugged.

"We were on our way to take out some dark wizards and we passed by." he replied. "Figured we'd stop by." Ultear smiled.

"I'm sure Simon will love you see you." She joked, which actually made Jellal laugh.

"Where is my son, anyway?" He asked.

"Probably still asleep." Nashi replied.

* * *

"Come on Simon, you're going to see him!" Drake did his best to drag the requip mage out of bed, but he was holding on with all of his might.

"No!" He shouted. "You can't make me!" Drake sighed in exasperation as Damien appeared at his side.

"I tied the rope to the tree." Damien told him, handing Drake the end of said rope. "Tie it around his body."

"You sure?" Drake asked, and Damien laughed.

"Trust me, this'll be great."

* * *

"Yeah, he is a pretty heavy sleeper" Ultear agreed, releasing Nashi from the one armed hug she'd been in. Jellal shrugged as a deep voice laughed.

"Jellal, you bastard. How have you been?" Nashi turned to find her father walking up to them, and Jellal chuckled.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" He asked, clasping Natsu's hand. "Is that Natsu Dragneel?" Nashi's father laughed at the comment and the men released each others hands.

"Yep, in the flesh." he agreed with a laugh.

"Good to see you back Natsu" Jellal said, casting a glance at Nashi. "I'm sure you were a little shocked when you came back." Nashi reddened a little at the memory and her father laughed again.

"That's putting it nicely, Jellal." he replied. "More like stunned beyond all reasonable belief. You seen Simon yet?" As if one cue, a huge explosion sounded in the distance, and Nashi turned just in time to see a tree crash outside the guild and Simon, who for one reason or another was tied to said tree, flew into the guild and landed on his face. Damien and Drake landed in the doorway and burst into laughter upon seeing Simon face down.

"Bulls-eye!" Damien shouted, giving Drake a high five. "I told you it'd be awesome!"

"I hate you both" Simon grumbled as he stood shakily. He made eye contact with Jellal and nodded. "Dad."

"Simon." The silence lasted for far to long, and Elise cackled, turning her arm into a sword and swinging it back and forth between Jellal and Simon.

"Look guys!" She said. "I can cut the tension!" Nashi snickered as Simon shoved Elise away from him. He didn't make a move to hug is father or anything, and Nashi knew where he was coming from. She hadn't done any of that when her father first showed up again. Jellal coughed awkwardly.

"Anyway." He said. "it's good to see you all again."

"My dad here?" Drake asked. Nashi knew Drake didn't want to sound hopeful, but he did anyway.

"No," Macbeth answered from near the door. "He's already on the trail of those dark wizards." Drake nodded, and Nashi felt bad for him. As oppose to Simon, Nashi knew Drake missed his dad, a lot more than he was willing to tell anyone.

"Yeah." Jellal said. "Which reminds me, we should probably..." Jellal stopped abruptly and made a weird face, before whirling on the door. "Macbeth! Reflectors around the guild, now!" Macbeth answered with a lightning fast response. Nashi saw the reflectors go up just in time to stop a huge swirling typhoon of black magic that would have hit the guild and obliterated it careen of to the right back into the sky. Everyone ran to the doorway and saw a few dots jumping away across the rooftops of Magnolia, and Jellal raised two fingers to his forehead to use telepathy. "Sawyer, after those two!" Nashi saw a black dot jump from the airship above and zoom after the two culprits that attacked them.

"What the hell was that?!" Erza demanded, and Jellal growled.

"Someone just tried to take out the whole guild in one go." he replied. "Not sure who, but whoever it was must not like you guys."

"That doesn't exactly narrow it down, Jellal" Gray pointed out. There was silence until the dot that went after the attackers returned. A man with a very pointy nose appeared in the doorway, and Nashi vaguely recognized him from King Jellal's council from Edolas.

"Did you find them?" Jellal asked, and he shook his head.

"The were fast." Sawyer replied. "Faster than I anticipated. I wasn't able to catch them, but their cloak got caught on a tree a few miles outside of the city. "There was this insignia on it, so I figured I'd take it back. Sawyer tossed the cloth to Jellal, who unfurled it and stared at it curiously. Nashi looked over his shoulder and instantly felt confused. It featured two blades crossed over each other and a horned head over them, a morphed skull and crossbones.

"What is that?" Nashi's father asked.

"No idea" Jellal replied. "It's most likely a dark guild." Nashi paled. Dark Guild? That sounded bad. Especially after her last encounter with one.

"Well whoever it was." Master Laxus said. "They clearly have some kind of death wish." Little by little everyone dispersed, and Jellal had Macbeth stay on point in case they were attacked again. Nashi was sitting by herself, playing with the mug in her hand.

"It's the Balam Alliance." Nashi jumped and turned to find Drake sitting next to her, and she frowned at him.

"How can you tell?" She asked wearily.

"Jellal was talking about it with Sorano." Drake replied. "She confirmed it for him, it's the Alliance." Nashi knew that Sorano had worked undercover for Jellal in another Alliance guild, so she'd know.

"It's our fault" Nashi told him. "If we hadn't been captured, then Phantom Dove wouldn't have been destroyed, which means this new dark guild would have never had been given reason to attack us."

"Ah, don't blame yourself." Elise said, sitting on her opposite side. "Shit happens."

"Uh huh." Nashi replied, sticking her tongue in her cheek. She neglected to say Elise was the reason they'd been captured at all, partially because that may have been the straw that broke Doranbolt's programming.

"So," Damien said, approaching from the other side of the table. "We're gonna deal with this, right?"

"What are you suggesting?" Nashi asked.

"Well," Simon said, appearing over Damien's shoulder. "The airship is currently docked, with every member of Crime Sociere except the pilot down here." Nashi could see what Simon was getting at and she grinned darkly.

"Are you suggesting we stow away with your dad?" Nashi asked, and Simon chuckled.

"Exactly." he replied. "I heard him and Sorano discussing it. She knows where it is. We stow away go to where it is, knock some heads, and come back like nothing. Easy." Drake laughed.

"I like how you think, Simon." Nashi complimented, and a strand of water fell from the roof, materializing into Ultear.

"I found a broom closet we can stow away in." She said with a grin. "Ready guys?" Nashi jumped to her feet with a grin.

"Let's do this."

* * *

He growled to himself as he walked back into the meeting chamber, his partner is crime close behind. They knelt in the center of the chamber, and waited as their Master walked towards them.

"You're back." he spoke. "I trust you were successful?" He grimaced and shook his head.

"No Master." he said quietly. "Crime Sociere was there, I couldn't..."

"So you both failed?" He gulped and nodded his head once, and he heard his Master growl. "I sent you both in good faith that you could complete this mission. I see that was a mistake, now wasn't it."

"Master," His partner spoke up. "the reflection mage was there. Our attack was not stopped, merely deflected. Had he not been there..."

"Silence!" he flinched as the attack struck them both in the back. "You failed, there is no more to say. Leave me before I kill you both" He got up and left behind his partner, doing his best to leave as fast as he could. "Oh, and Katsuchi?" Katsuchi flinched and looked over his shoulder at his Master, who was giving him a deadly look. "You will do well to not mess up again. Otherwise you will face my wrath. Understand?"

"Yes, Master" Katsuchi replied quietly, turning and leaving the chamber before he could anger his Master again. Sighing as he got far enough away, Katsuchi looked down at his hand, which burst into black flames. "I'm more than strong enough." He hissed to himself. "I'll show you Master. First Fairy Tail, and then Crime Sociere. Both will fall to the fire of the Gods."

**Boom! I'm so hyped for this arc, I gotta say. And yes, Nashi and the others are stowing away to deal with this themselves. I want this team to come into it's one and deal with it's own problems, so here we go.**


	76. The Crash

**Guys, I'm not going to say anything about the unhit review goal but...**

**seriously?**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

Jellal sighed as he stepped up the command post of the airship. As fun as their visit to the guild had been, they know had to take a detour from their original goal to take care of this Balam Alliance guild, which Jellal was not willing to argue about. Since Sorano had all the info they needed on the guild except members, they could wipe it out and continue.

"Macbeth." Jellal called out to the black haired man looking out the window. "Get me an archive link to Erik, I need to talk to him." Macbeth rolled his eyes and used his archive and began typing rapidly. Before long the back of the Dragon Slayers head appeared on the screen.

"Erik" Macbeth called out, causing the man to jump. He whirled and glared at Macbeth with his one good eye.

"What the hell, Macbeth?" He growled. "I wasn't listening."

"No shit." Macbeth replied as Jellal walked over.

"Erik, where are you?" Jellal asked, and he rubbed the back of his head as he looked around.

"I don't know." He replied. "Somewhere near the target, why?"

"Because we're taking a little detour." Jellal replied. "New Balam Alliance detour. Think you can make it?" Erik whistled.

"New Balam Alliance?" he asked. "Sounds like a party. Any particular reason?"

"They just attempted the lives of everyone in the Fairy Tail guild hall." Jellal could sense the flicker of anger on the mans face. Understandable, his son had been there. "Sor knows where to go, so we're about to kick some ass. So, can you make it?" Erik hummed as he thought over Jellal's request.

"Don't know." he replied. "I'll see if I can, but I won't make any promises. Get emo-boy, er...Macbeth to send me the location." Jellal nodded at Macbeth, who uploaded the area to Erik's head with his archive, and he nodded. "I'll do my best. See ya." Macbeth cut the connection, and Jellal wandered over to there pilot, who was commandeering the airship.

"How're we looking, Erigor?" he asked the white haired man, who chuckled.

"We'll be there shortly." He replied. "So get your game faces on people, we'll need to look threatening." Jellal nodded and made a face as the screen in front of him rang, someone was contacting them from the ship. He accepted the message and Sorano's face appeared on the screen.

"Sor?" Jellal asked with a strange look on his face. "What's wrong?" Sorano sighed.

"Words cannot expressed." She replied. "Richard should almost be there, so..." Sorano was cut off as the door to the center opened, and Jellal turned to find a rather interesting sight. Mainly, the six teenagers sprawled out on the floor in front of Richard.

"What the hell..." He asked as they sat up. "What are you six doing here?" he demanded, crossing his arms.

"Well..."Elise began, before she brandished a finger at Simon. "it was Simon's idea!" Simon turned to stare at her in disbelief.

"You ratted me out already?!" He asked angrily, and Elise nodded. Jellal sighed.

"I can't believe this." he said angrily, causing them all to flinch, it occurred to Jellal they'd never seen him angry. "This entire airship is dangerous, not to mention where we're going!"

"Exactly." Damien replied. "We want to help." Jellal stared at Laxus' son like he had a screw loose.

"Help?" Jellal demanded. "Us. Well, sorry to disappoint, but we don't need..."

"Get down!" Erigor shouted. Jellal turned just in time to see a huge column of black energy coming right for the cockpit, far to close for Macbeth's reflectors to be activated. Jellal threw himself on the ground as the airship was impacted, smoke immediately coming up from their left side.

"What the hell was that?!" Macbeth demanded.

"Devil Advocate must have seen us coming!" Erigor replied, tapping on the keyboard at an inhuman speed. "The left engine is out completely, and we're going down fast!" Erigor turned his attention back to the sky, which was quickly becoming the forested area below. "Hang on, all of you! He shouted. "This landing is going to suck!" Jellal whirled to the younger generation that had collapsed to the floor.

"Hold on to something!" He shouted. "This is going to suck, a lot!" They all tensed and held on to either the ship or each other, and Jellal rushed back to Erigor's side as he tried to control their descend. "How bad is this landing going to be?" Jellal asked, and Erigor chuckled.

"Remember Enca?"

"...Shit."

"Yeah," Erigor laughed like a madman. Jellal often question how sane Erigor was, maybe the counsels prisoners had driven him insane. "Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking!" he roared as they plummeted to the ground. "If you look out the front window you will see we are descending at a rather intense rate, so if all the passengers would please hold on to all of their appendages and various other detachable body parts as we land, it'd be appreciated. That is all!" Jellal was about to make a comment about his speech as the bottom of the ship hit the trees, and Jellal was deafened by the metal getting ripped apart. The floor collapsed beneath him, and everything went black.

* * *

The first thing Damien realized was that he was in a lot of pain. He could hear fire crackling somewhere near him, but where he couldn't say. He slowly cracked his eyes open and looked around, and he found that he was sitting near a pile of wreckage. Slowly sitting up, Damien growled in pain and clutched his forehead, which was bleeding. His clothes were torn to hell, and he had blood coming from most of those cuts.

"Where the hell?" he asked slowly, staring at the wreckage. "What happened?"

"Good, you're awake." Damien whirled to find the pink haired woman, Meredy, sitting up against a tree. She looked just as bad as he did, and she struggled to keep her eyes open. "How are you?"

"Alive." Damien replied, slowly standing. "Where are we?"

"I'd tell you if I knew" Meredy said, massaging the wound on her leg. "It would appear we landed with the majority of the airship, so that's a good thing. Shelter." Damien turned to the smoldering wreckage.

"Is anyone else in there?" He asked, and Meredy made a worried sound.

"I don't know." She replied unsteadily. "I crawled out and saw you under a sheet of metal, so I freed you. The others may be stuck in there, though." Without another word from the woman, Damien jumped up to the open door he could see, squeezing past fires and metal to see if anyone else was stuck inside.

"Hello?" Damien called out. "is anyone in here? Guys?"

"...Over here, kid." Damien followed the voice and found Sorano, with her leg stuck under what looked to be the remainder of the control panel.

"Are you okay?" Damien asked, and Sorano growled.

"I'm fine." She hissed. "Check on Jellal, he's over there!" Damien turned and saw Jellal lying down, unconscious under a fuck ton of metal. Coming to the mans aid, he saw Jellal was pierced through the midsection by a shard of metal. Nothing life threatening, but it was a big problem. "How is he?" She called weakly.

"Bad." Damien replied. "Is there any medical supplies on this airship, he's going to need it." Sorano flinched in pain as she attempted to free herself, but to know avail.

"There's..." Damien felt a rock settle in his stomach as the woman struggled to form her words. "There's medical stuff near the back of the ship...I don't know if it survived the crash, though..." Damien walked over to here and freed her from the metal, and walked her over to Jellal.

"Think you can carry him?" he asked, and Sorano nodded.

"Yeah, the exit's right...right there." Together they freed the blue haired man and Damien guided them towards the exit, before turning and running to the back of the ship. Pushing more of the smoldering wreckage out of his way, Damien pushed his way to the back, where he was met with another friendly face, this time of the big guy, Richard.

"You okay, Richard?" Damien asked, and the man nodded weakly.

"Yes..." he replied weakly. "I was looking for the others, do you know where they are?"

"Sor, Meredy, and Jellal are okay." he replied. "I need to find meds, do you know where they are?" Richard pointed back the way Damien was already going, and Damien pushed his way to the infirmary. Finally finding the area he was looking for, Damien pushed the door open to find Macbeth inside, stitching up a hole in his arm. Sawyer was standing next to him.

"Hey kid." he growled as Damien entered. "You alright?" Damien nodded as he began to gather up a bunch of supplies, hoping he'd gathered enough t help the others. He was no Wendy, after all. "Where's everyone else?"

"Crime Sociere seems to have survived." Damien almost threw up when he realized he'd seen none of his friends yet. "I don't know about my friends, though..." Picking up a medicine bag to his right, Macbeth followed Damien back outside and to the others, where Sorano had laid Jellal down on a blanket she'd found. They had found the pilot, Erigor, as well, who looked almost worse than Jellal.

"Thank God." Meredy said happily as Damien and Macbeth jumped down. "I was worried you couldn't find anything." Damien knelt down net to Jellal and opened up the bag, pulling out a needle and thread."

"Meredy, come here." The woman obeyed and crawled to the opposite side of Jellal, and Damien looked up at her. "I need you to make sure that Jellal isn't gravelly wounded." Meredy nodded and ripped open Jellal's cloak, revealing the wound much more openly. Damien flinched at the sight, it was bad. Really bad. "Alright, I need you to do your best to sew that up, alright?" Meredy nodded weakly and took the needle from Damien, who than crawled over to Erigor. "Sorano, come over here." At first the woman didn't reply, she just stared at Damien. "Sorano, I need you to..." Damien watched as the woman collapsed, and Macbeth caught her before she hit the ground.

"Damn it Sor..." he hissed at her as he laid her down gently, and Damien growled.

"Alright, Sawyer, come here." The speedy man didn't argue, and Damien told him to do the same process as Meredy, who was still stitching. While Sawyer did that, Damien strode over to Sorano, who was out cold.

"I think she has a killer concussion." Macbeth said, slowly rubbing the hole in his arm. "What do we do, kid?" Damien didn't reply right away, he didn't know how to answer that. He needed everyone here, himself included, so he couldn't search for his friends.

"Shit, just..." Damien took a moment to clear his head, or do so as best he could. "Wrap her head up and keep her still, we can't do much else for her right now." Macbeth nodded and Damien turned back to find Meredy finishing up the job he'd given her, so Damien returned to her side.

"I did it" Meredy told him with a weak smile, and Damien did his best to smile now. Damien wasn't sure if Meredy was slightly concussed or not, but he knew she was slightly childish. Maybe this was her way of coping with the situation.

"Good job Meredy." He praised. "Jellal's gonna be alright...wait." Damien jumped up and looked around, "Where'd Richard go?" Meredy made an incomprehensible sound, so Damien growled in frustration. He was doing his best to not lose his cool, but he was currently a man short in a survival situation with three very bad injuries, a limping speed wizard, another mage with a hole in his arm, and a slightly concussed woman child. He was one bad thing away from snapping.

"I think he went off to look for the others." Macbeth answered. "He's way to nice like that." Damien nodded and turned to survey his situation. He sighed at the sight.

"We're so fucked if we get attacked."

* * *

Nashi awoke in a puddle, and she jumped a little as she did. Looking around curiously, she found herself in the forest, resting in a small clearing. When she tried to stand, her leg screamed in protest.

"Ah, fuck..." She hissed, gripping her wounded leg. "Whoever the fuck attacked me is going to get it..."

"That'd be me." Nashi whirled and found the man in question standing behind her, his arms crossed. He had blonde hair and striking red eyes. He looked very well kept despite being in the middle of the forest, and Nashi struggled to her feet.

"You..." Nashi managed. "You attacked the airship." He chuckled as he stepped forward, and his bare upper arm and shoulder came into view, where the same emblem as the cloak rested. "You're in..."

"Yeah, I am." He replied. "Katsuchi of Devil Advocate, at your service."

"Devil Advocate?" Nashi asked weakly. "That's the name of your guild?"

"Yeah, it is girly." He chuckled and uncrossed his arms. "I have to say, I'm impressed you survived that fall, not many could do that.

"Fuck off." Nashi growled, doing her best to look threatening, but he chuckled.

"Now now, don't be like that. After all, I had all the time in the world to off you while you were out, but I like to talk to my opponents, you know?" Nashi wanted nothing more than to smack Katsuchi in the face, but she neglected to do so. He looked crazy strong, and Nashi wasn't willing to contest that. Of course, her father's side pushed through.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Nashi shouted, the gout of fire racing towards the man, who laughed as it engulfed him. Nashi watched in bewilderment as her flame disappeared, right into Katsuchi's mouth. "W-what?" Nashi managed weakly. "Your...Your a Dragon Slayer too?" Katsuchi laughed at her words, his body erupting in black fire.

"Dragon layer?" he asked. "No, nothing so barbarian, I assure you." he grinned darkly at her. "Although I must admit, it's been years since I ate fire that tasted so good."

"What are you?" Nashi managed, which earned another laugh.

"Perhaps I should have stated my full title when I first greeted you." he said warily. "I am Katsuchi of Devil Advocate, the Fire God Slayer."

**Cliffhangers, amiright? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	77. Heaven vs Hell

**Back again, with another new chapter! Enjoy!**

Drake was pissed. Firstly, he'd never been in so much pain, and when he was in pain he tended to get angry as a defensive response. He was pretty sure he`d broken a rib or two, and that he was more than a little lost.

"Fuck," he hissed as he massaged his stomach. he had managed to prop himself up against the rock wall behind him, and he had his hand over his ribs, feeling the break he knew was there. Drake sighed and blood dripped from his nose onto his pants. He was unsure as to what had happened after he'd blacked out during the crash, but he could only assume he'd been swept away by the undertow of trees and various other objects. Quite honestly, he was lucky he'd only gotten one broken rib, hell he was lucky to be alive. "Where the hell am I?" No one answered him. Drake hissed and rubbed his nose, which stained his hand with blood. "Mavis, I'm in pain..."

"Ah, poor baby." Drake jumped slightly at the voice he didn't recognize, and looked up quickly,trying to find who it was. He should've been listening, he was a fool for not doing so. he watched as a woman, maybe eighteen or nineteen, walked out from the forest and towards him, and their eyes met. She had bright purple eyes and darker purple hair. She had a white cloak covering her body, which separated as she uncrossed her arms, revealing an A-class body in nothing but black shrt shorts and a black tank top. Her eyes widened as she stared at him.

"Who the hell are you?" Drake demanded, doing his best to stand through the pain. Her face reddened and she squeaked.

"I'm...I'm..." She made a weird sound and whirled around, hugging herself. "Damn it Azzie, pull yourself together!"

"Azzie?" Drake asked, and she jumped at the sound of his voice. "Is that your name?"

"Uh...uh..." Azzie whirled back to face him, a combination of serious and nervousness plastered on her face. Truthfully she just looked constipated. Drake didn't have the strength to listen in on her, so he didn't. "I, uh...ugh!" She bounced up and down a little, she looked a little childish.

"Are you feeling okay?" Drake asked. Azzie didn't reply right away, and she played with her hands.

"Um..." She managed, twirling her hair around her finger. "Ahhh, I'm okay..."

"Well in case you haven't noticed." Drake hissed, clutching his stomach. "I'm in a lot of pain, so..."

"Right! shit, alright, um..." Azzie lifted her hands, and Drake's eyes widened. Their, right on her midsection, was the emblem that had been on the cloak Sawyer had retrieved.

"You..."Drake hissed, backing up as she approached him. "You're in that guild that attacked us..." Azzie flinched and looked down at her stomach, where the dark purple mark was. She yelped.

"No no no no no no!" She said, waving her hands back and forth. "I...I didn't, that was Katsuchi and Tetsu...damn them!" Azzie growled and whirled around again, clenching her fists. "Why did they have to be so loyal, doing what they're told...ruining my chances...gah!" Drake watched Azzie argue with herself, he wasn't exactly sure what to do. On one hand, he could attack, and most likely lose, or he could roll with the punches.

"Are you or aren't you?" Drake demanded. Azzie blushed as she turned to stare at him. "I don't have time to watch you argue with yourself, believe it or not."

"Well, I am.." Drake growled and she flinched. "But I was against attacking you and your guild, I swear!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes, I'm telling the truth!" Drake watched her for a moment, before he sighed. He had no idea what to do, and it worried him. Drake watched as she moved towards him, but he backed up instinctively.

""I can't trust you..." Drake hissed, activating his sound magic. "I can hear the truth , you were all for it."

"S-sound magic?" Azzie asked weakly, and Drake nodded, which caused her to redden and slap her own face profusely. "Stop! Stop thinking about it Azzie!" Drake was seriously beginning to wonder what was wrong with this girl, but he had been bluffing about the sound magic.

"Alright, well." Drake rubbed the blood on his hand on his pants and faced her again. "I don't know what you're doing out here, but..." Azzie groaned.

"That's right..." She moaned. "I have orders...eradicate any of the crashes survivors...damn, you're pretty cute too..." Drake did his best to ignore the cute comment and coated his hands in poison, preparing for her attack. Azzie, however, took a more defensive stance. They watched each other for a moment, before Drake decided to attack.

"Poison Dragon's Scales!" He shouted, the projectiles flying true towards their target. Drake watched in astonishment as the scales reached Azzie and she waved her hand. They dissipated into thin air. Silence fell upon the pair. "Uh, that wasn't supposed to happen..."

"It was my magic." Azzie said, whipping her hair out of her eyes. "Dispelling magic completely negates your attacks, so no can do, cutie." Drake flinched as he attempted to move. In his current condition, their was no way he could do a damn thing. A ranged fight had been his last hope due to his current situation, so now he was in an even bigger jam.

"And here I thought you were just a pretty face..." Drake growled, causing her to redden quire furiously.

"S-say what?"

* * *

Simon was pretty sure he should have died. When he had awoken after the crash, he was lying on a ledge overlooking a huge cliff, looking out over the forest. he could see the trail that the airship had made during the crash, he could see it from up here, seeing as it had apparently taken a nosedive off of the cliff he awoken on, which was when he'd fallen out. Somehow he'd managed to fall out with little to no injuries, which was good. After he surveyed the crash for a little longer, he stood and began to walk into the forest, hoping to find someone else he could talk too.

"I hope everyone's okay." He said aloud, stepping over a bush as he continued. "It'll suck if anyone died..." Simon trailed off and starred back the way he came, considering just flying down to the wreckage and trying to find someone. Before he could however, he was blindsided by an explosion of dark purple. Flying out of the way, Simon landed and watched as a figure dressed in black stepped out of the darkness. He had dark blue hair and a scar running from his left eye to his right cheek, and his eyes were bright green.

"I would find you, of all people." he said slowly, pocketing his hands. "Opposites attract, I guess."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Simon demanded. The man chuckled.

"Simon Scarlet." he said, and Simon's eyes widened. "Son of Erza and Jellal, uses requip and heavenly body magic." Simon did his best to recover from the completely right information.

"Doesn't take much to know me." Simon said with a cocky smirk. "I'm the son of the Titania of Fairy Tail. My name tends to get around. Besides that, what about that makes us opposites?"

"Our magic." he replied, closing his eyes. "Heavenly body magic, and Hellenization body magic." Simon didn't know what that meant, but he didn't like the vibe this guy was giving him.

"I'm not sure what you're getting at." Simon growled. "But I take it your the enemy. Meteor!"

"Asteroid!" Simon watched in amazement as his opponent not only matched his speed, but surpassed it, speeding ahead of him into the sky and turning downward. "Hell's Wrath!" Twin beams spawned in his hands and roared towards Simon, knocking him out of the air and into the dirt. His opponent laughed as Simon struggled to stand.

"What the hell was that?" Simon demanded. "You out sped me..."

"Everything was an opposite, Simon." His opponent replied. "Good and evil, light and dark, yin and yang, black and white, Heaven and Hell." He raised his hands, a dark aura animating from him. "My Hellenization Body Magic is the opposite of your Heavenly Body Magic. And far stronger, might I add." Hellenization Body Magic? Simon had never heard of it, so he decided to address that.

"Stop bullshitting me." Simon hissed, crawling up to stand on two feet. "I've ever even heard of that magic."

"In terms of magic," he replied. "It's a relatively undiscovered one. You can only find magic's true strength by delving into the very depths of it, Simon." Simon had heard of such talk, his parents always told him about Hades and his research into the depths of magic. This was getting worse and worse by the minute. " however, no one from a legal guild would take the time to look into the true power of the magic they wield, to uncover untold potential. I'm sure all of my preaching is giving you a headache, guildie." Simon growled and clenched his fists, doing his best to formulate a plan. He could still use requip, but if this guy could out speed and outmatch him with magic, what good would that do?

"I don't believe you've told me your name yet" Simon said with a weak grin, and the other man chuckled.

"Of course, pre-destruction formalities." he said, wiping his blue hair out of his eyes. "My name is Icas, you'd do well to remember that while I grind your head into the dirt." Simon laughed genuinely and stood tall, matching Icas' dark look.

"I don't know if you've heard, Icas," Simon said in a deep, threatening tone. "But it's bad for ones health to attack Fairy Tail. Just ask the last Balam Alliance, I'm sure they'd be more than willing to tell you." Icas smiled darkly as his body was enveloped in dark energy. Simon did the same with his own heavenly magic.

"I like you Simon." Icas said as the area around them began to shake, trembling before the raw magic both were exuding. "Maybe I'll keep you around to destroy every once and a while."

"Thing about that is," Simon hissed as their magical aura's disappeared. "I hate being told what to do." Both of them rushed forward and tackled the other, good versus evil, light versus dark, white versus black, yin vs yang.

Heaven versus Hell.

* * *

Elise felt the explosion from her distance, even though she was far away from it. She recognized Simon's warm heavenly light, but the other felt cold and evil. he must have found an asshole from the dark guild they were chasing and engaged in combat. Elise smiled at the thought of kicking someone's ass for what had happened. Elise did not intend to allow them to get away with attacking her guild, friends, and family. Then downing Crime Sociere's airship and possibly killing them all. Nope, not a chance for that. Elise wasn't unscathed from the crash, she had a few cuts and bruises here and there, but otherwise she was fine.

"You felt in too, huh?" Elise whirled to find, a man with black hair standing behind her, watching with piercing blue eyes. He radiated trouble, an aura that Elise liked.

"Yeah." She agreed. "Looks like our people have begun to fight." He nodded and cast a glance over at the light and dark light show off in the distance on top of the cliff. Elise had to admit, watching Simon and his opponent tackle each other in mid air was pretty entertaining. "So, you are?" Elise asked, casting him a look. He grinned at her, an actual smile.

"Tetsu." he replied. "You?"

"Elise." She replied, giving him a smile as well. "Devil Advocate?"

"Fairy Tail?"

"Yep/yep" They replied at the same time, and smiled at each other again.

"I suppose that makes us enemies." he said, and Elise nodded.

"I guess it does." She said, taking an offensive stance, Tetsu doing the same. They stared at each other for a minute before Elise charged forward. She attacked with her clubs, but Tetsu grabbed them. Elise watched as he licked his lips.

"Damn, that looks good." he said wistfully. Elise watching amazement as he took a bite, A BITE, of her club, chewing it happily. "I was right!" he proclaimed happily. "Tastes incredible!" Elise stared down at her club with the huge bite mark in it, and looked back at her foe.

"How did you...?"

"I'm sure you as a Dragon Slayer are aware," Tetsu said, finishing his snack. "That slayer-type mages can recover magic power by eating their element." Elise's eyes widened with that information.

"You're..." She managed. "You're a slayer? Of what?" Tetsu grinned widely at her, and Elise didn't return it that time.

"I hate to brag, but..." he laughed, putting his hands behind his head. "My formal title is Tetsu of Devil Advocate, the Iron God Slayer."

**And with that, Katsuchi's partner is crime is revealed! I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	78. Demonic Confrontation

**Back again! I hope this arc lasts at least 15 chapters, but we'll see. Enjoy!**

Ultear had absolutely no idea where she was, which wasn't good. She didn't know where anyone else was either, which was even worse. Luckily, Ultear had turned into water as the airship crashed, so she hadn't been injured as she had been swept away. She'd landed in a clearing, and she'd recovered in time to watch the airship finish crashing, although it was far away. Ultear sighed and began to walk in the direction of the airship, hoping that she could find someone to help or talk to.

"I wonder what the hell that thing that hit us was." Ultear wondered aloud. "Probably from the same asshole that attacked the guild. Wait until I get my hands on you..." Ultear sighed and crossed her arms, walking at a brisk pace. "I hope nobody died, the only reason we were hit was because we distracted them..." Ultear made a face. "Mavis, this is bad..." Ultear was cut off as her old leg wound twitched in pain, and she groaned. Wendy had told her that it would never fully heal, she'd always get random jabs of pain from it. It still irritated her, though. "I swear, if I could go back to when this didn't hurt..."

"Shall I allow that for you?" Ultear jumped as the second voice spoke to her. She watched as a white haired women walked out of the tree line in front of her, and the women smirked at him. "Because I could do that for you." Ultear wasn't sure if she was supposed to be tensed up or not, but she was regardless.

"Who the hell are you?" Ultear demanded, and the women smiled, although there was nothing warm about it.

"I'm called Maya by my peers." She said, blushing. "And my beloved. Although that is irrelevant. Are you prepared for combat, Fairy Tail mage?" Ultear gave her, apparent opponent a quick up and down check, finally deciding she wasn't all that dangerous looking. he looked rather young, wearing matching blue clothing.

"Yeah, alright." Ultear said, grinning as she weighed the odds, which felt in her favor. "Go ahead, I can assure you that you won't win." Ultear watched as Maya grinned, holding her hands out.

"I wouldn't speak so soon, fairy..." She said, energy gathering in her palms. Before Ultear could react, she felt herself being effected by the magic. Ultear didn't know what was happening, the magic made it seem like she was shrinking.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Ultear asked, squeaking as her usually deeper and developed voice came out a squeak. She looked down at her body and found that she had indeed shrunk, her clothes hung off of her awkwardly. Ultear began to panic as she quickly made a mirror out of ice. Or tried to, rather. It came out ridged and hard to see through, but Ultear could see what had happened.

She looked about seven years old.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" Ultear shouted angrily, doing her best to sound angry as her seven year old voice yelled. Maya laughed.

"My magic if often referred to as the Law Of Retrogression." She replied as Ultear attempted to storm towards her, her movements awkward due to her being used to being seventeen, not seven. "Don't be upset, all I've done is reversed your physical, magical, and other aspects to that of the seven year old you." Ultear had heard of that magic from Erza, how a man named Doriarte had used it years ago. "I'd try and get used to it, I don't think I'll be losing anytime soon." Ultear knew that now she was in trouble. She would've been able to take this girl on if she wasn't a single digit age again.

"As if my day could get any worse..." Ultear cursed under her breath. "Maybe next someone will fall from the sky and attack me, that'd be great..."

* * *

It was quiet, far to quiet for Damien's liking. Since he'd pulled Jellal and the others from the wreckage he'd taken to setting up a small base camp for them, as he knew that they would be stuck here a while. Sawyer and Macbeth were the only two who were capable of moving as of present, and they had taken to stalking around the perimeter in case anyone decided to attack. Meredy was awake as well, but she was rather irresponsive at the moment, so Damien opted to allow her to stay at Jellal's side instead of asking her to patrol. Richard was still no where to be seen, and Macbeth had already tried to get him in archive, but couldn't. It was as if the big ginger haired man had disappeared, which Damien found hard to believe. He wasn't trying to be rude, but Richard was a big guy, he couldn't just disappear.

"Hey, kid." Damien had learned Macbeth preferred to call him kid instead of his name, so he turned to face him. "How's Jellal doing?" Jellal turned to the unconscious blue haired man, and frowned. Jellal hadn't gotten any better, if anything it was worse.

"I can't tell." Damien replied, walking over to stand next to Meredy, who still hadn't moved. "Hey, uh, Meredy?" He asked slowly, but the girl didn't respond. "I know you're worried and everything, but I need all the help I can get with setting up some sort of shelter around here, so..." He trailed off in hopes the woman would get the hint, but she didn't. Damien sighed and was about to leave when Meredy sighed.

"Damn it, Jellal..." She spoke angrily. "Sop fucking around and wake up...I've told you a million times this job would kill you, but I didn't mean it...What would I do without you, huh? Where would I be?" Damien listened the Meredy talk to Jellal with a frown on his face. He needed her to focus, regardless of how worried she was. Damien stopped when he heard Sawyer return.

"Anything?" Damien asked him, and the man nodded.

"I did see a fight break out in the air." he said, pointing upwards, and Damien noted to dots tackling each other in the distance, one light the other dark. "I assume that's Jellal's kid and some Devil Advocate scumbag." Damien nodded as the dots disappeared into the distance. he had faith in Simon, but he was still worried. At least He knew now Simon was alive, that was good.

"Alright." Damien said quietly. "Just...fuck, just try and help me with this shelter building crap." Sawyer nodded and raced into the airship, presumably to collect metal to do as instructed. Damien wasn't sure why Jellal's guild was listening to him, but it really didn't matter. All that mattered right now was survival, revenge could come later. Damien turned to face Macbeth as he cursed and closed his archive. "Whats wrong?"

"Richard still isn't answering." Macbeth replied angrily. "And I can't connect to Erik either."

"Drake's dad?"

"Sure, I think." it occurred to Damien the other Poison Dragon Slayer had no been present when they'd snuck aboard, nor during the crash. it didn't really matter where he was, there was a very small chance he'd show. "This day just keeps getting better and better." Damien managed a chuckle.

"Agreed."he replied. "Why don't you go and help Sawyer?"

"Who put you in charge?" Damien was grateful Macbeth had half a brain, but he also had a response.

"I'm sorry, did you want to try and coax Meredy to do something?" Macbeth made a face before he sighed and walked over to help Sawyer rip bits of the airship off of the deformed wreckage.

"My my," Another voice said, and Damien sighed. "Quite the little camping trip you have here, Damien." Damien cocked his head left and stared at Xisplate, who stared back.

"What?" Damien asked lowly, fully aware he was still close to those who could hear him speaking. "I'm busy."

"While all of your friends are currently about to butt heads with Devil Advocate, and you're camping. Such a great friend, Damien." Damien turned to face the demon fully, giving him a surprised look.

"They're all okay?" Damien asked weakly, and Xisplate shrugged indifferently.

"Okay is a very loose term here." he replied, crossing his arms as he watched Sawyer and Macbeth work. "Nashi and Elise are currently outmatched, Drake was acquired himself a fangirl who can't decide where her loyalties lie, Simon is currently fighting his polar opposite, and Ultear is seven years old. Questions?" Damien sighed.

"Too many to get a clear answer out of you." Damien replied. "I'm still not sure why I even listen to you, I hate you." Xisplate shrugged.

"Not taking your worst enemies advice makes you either a fool or smart, which does this make you, Damien?" Damien opted to remain silent on the subject, hoping the demon would leave him be. Xisplate was right, obviously, but what made Damien trust him completely? It unnerved him. "Either way, I'd prepare yourself, Damien. I'm getting a bad feeling about this guild, and by that I mean you should take that very seriously."

"Why?" Damien asked, now very nervous. If something about this guild was enough to make Xisplate edgy, he by all accounts should of been downright terrified. Xisplate made a face, muttering to himself.

"It can't be..." Damien heard the demon mutter. "He isn't...ugh, bastard..." Xisplate turned to face Damien, a look way to serious for Damien's liking. "You stay put for now." he said. "I have to check up on something." With that, the demon disappeared, leaving Damien to his own thoughts. Damien didn't know what had just transpired, but he didn't like it.

"Fuck..."

* * *

Xisplate stormed through the demon world, the deathly aura he exuded making the souls that wandered the halls of the 10th Circle of Judgement shy away in fear.

"Bastard..." Xisplate growled. "What the hell does he think he's playing at?!" Xisplate reached his destination and kicked the door down, causing the other demon lord within to panic.

"Shit!" He shouted as Xisplate stormed in. "...Xisplate? What's up man, been too long!" Xisplate watched as his comrade held out a hand for him to shake, but he shoved it away. "What's up your ass?"

"Do not fuck with me, Vantros." Xisplate growled as the other demon lord got up and walked around the desk to speak with him. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Vantros growled at Xisplate, before he sighed.

"I don't have the faintest idea..."

"I said do not fuck with me!" The deathly aura increased in power, and Vantros flinched. "You know as well as I that a fight between lords..."

"Oh, that." Vantros sighed. "A bad coincidence, sadly. They'll have to sort it out themselves." Xisplate stared at his nonchalant demon colleague like he was going insane.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" Xisplate hissed, grabbing Vantros by the collar of his cape. "If a fight between demon lords broke out, it would be a god damn bloodbath!" Vantros laughed darkly.

"Fantastic!" he said with an evil smirk. "I'll be sure to give my cohort directions" Xisplate growled as Vantros laughed.

"You know as well as I what those kids are destined to do." Vantros groaned as Xisplate lectured him. "if any of them die before seven months from now..."

"The Olympians have already won, I got you." Vantros said, throwing himself back down in his heather chair. "And if they win, then our world crumble becuase they're assholes..."

"Exactly! So what in the fuck..."

"I don't know who things go with you and your host, Xissy." Vantros threatened. "But I have no control over my host. Although I've heard different from you..." Xisplate did his best to control his rage as Vantros prodded him. " can't stop him should he chose to attack... what the hell was your host's name again.

"Damien" Xisplate growled. "His name is Damien."

"Right. Well, sorry Xissy, if it comes to a fight between lords, neither of us can stop it." Vantros acted as if they're conversation was done, but Xisplate grabbed the other demon by the collar of his chest plate, glaring at him angrily.

"If you or your fuckhead host come within even 500 miles of Damien," Xisplate threatened angrily. "I will not hesitate to fucking destroy you, you understand _Vanny?!" _Vantros growled and shoved Xisplate away from him, and the two stared at each other angrily.

"Have you lost your demonity, Xisplate?" Vantros asked angrily. "Why do you care so much about destinies and fate and..."

"Because if even one of those children dies before the Olympians make their move," Xisplate repeated. "The fight is over before it even begins. Do not mistake my protecting them as acceptance, I want nothing more than to off all of them, but we need them." Vantros nodded and sighed.

"I'll see what I can do." Vantros replied. "Don't expect a miracle, though." Xisplate whirled and left the room, leaving the other lord to his own thoughts. As soon as he was out of earshot, Xisplate growled angrily.

"It's going to be a massacre..."

**Well, this is bad, huh? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	79. Why Me?

Nashi was more than certain she was screwed. Without her fire, she really didn't have much, and this Katsuchi guy sure as hell negated her. She did pride herself in pretty good martial arts skills, but without fire she was nothing. Katsuchi sighed.

"Truthfully I rather not being doing this." He told her flatly. "If we'd met under different circumstances, maybe we could have been friends." Nashi couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped her lips.

"Friends?" She managed to choke out. "I'm sorry, but somehow I doubt that."

"How so?"

"You're in a dark guild, for one." Nashi hugged herself at the memories that flooded her brain. "I have bad experiences with them." Katsuchi nodded and made an apologetic face.

"I heard about Phantom Dove." he said, smiling weakly. "My sincerest apologies, it must have been hard on all of you."

"Your sincerest can't mean much" Nashi pointed out. "I bet you use any excuse you can to do what you want." Katsuchi rolled his eyes.

"I love how you assume I'm an egotistical asshole just because I'm in a dark guild." he said quietly. "I can assure you Devil Advocate is one of the strangest dark guilds you'll ever see." Nashi made a face as she continued to massage her wounded leg.

"Really?" She asked, which earned a nod. "How so?"

"Well," Katsuchi said, raising his hand to count off his allies. "There's Azzie, who's all over the place all the time, but she's a nice girl. Tetsu's not right in the head, I swear. Maya has this weird crush on me even though I've told her she's too young for me a million times. Icas thinks he's the reincarnation of Satan, always preaching his horseshit. There's me, who always seems to fuck everything up. Taisho's fucked, I'm serious. The man is not normal. And finally, there's Master Kronos..." Nashi watched the God Slayer shiver. "The man is ruthless. Even if by some miracle you make it through me, he's unstoppable." Katsuchi watched Nashi rub her leg and frowned. "Your leg still hurt?" he asked, and Nashi glared at him.

"No," She replied sarcastically. "I just got shot out of the air by your dumbass, fell several hundred feet at terminal velocity in a metal deathtrap, and now my leg is killing me. No big deal." Katsuchi glowered at Nashi.

"You got an attitude in you, eh girly?" he asked. "Maybe you didn't get the bit were I could have offed you if I wanted too while you were unconscious."

"But you didn't." Nashi pointed out, and watched as Katsuchi deflated.

"Exactly." he said, quick to recover. "Meaning I'm a nicer guy than you're giving me credit for." Nashi almost fell over from his words, but he did have a point. "So, what's your name?" Nashi stared at him curiously. Although she just wanted to beat him and be done with it, he was a rather interesting foe. he didn't seem very interested in fighting her, which seemed strange.

"Nashi." She replied, "Nashi Dragneel."

"Dragneel, huh?" he asked, and Nashi nodded. "I know the name, you should be a little powerhouse, huh?"

"So people tell me." She replied, finally feeling the pain in her leg soothe. "I like to think of myself as an up and comer, though."

"Right." he said. "So, are we going to do this or not?"

"What?" Nashi stared at Katsuchi as he stared back with a raised eyebrow.

"You know, the fight." he replied absentmindedly. "That we have to do and I have to win, or I've fucked up again?" Nashi face palmed, and she heard Katsuchi laugh awkwardly. "What?"

"I don't even know what to say to you anymore." She replied, igniting her body. Katsuchi did the same and Nashi almost cowered at the heat. "So I'm just going to kick your ass and be done with it." Katsuchi laughed and the fire around him intensified.

"A mere dragon cannot best a god." he replied. "Show me what the Dragneel name grants you!" Nashi responded by throwing herself forward and attacking Katsuchi quickly, who blocked all but a kick to his stomach, which sent him flying back. Nashi jumped up to a tree branch and used it to propel herself at Katsuchi even faster, but he stopped her punch with his own, sending out a shock wave of red and black fire that obliterated the surrounding trees. Nashi backed up and threw a fireball, which was engulfed by the black one Katsuchi threw at her and she flew back and broke a tree.

"Fuck..." She said, feeling her skin burn from the black fire. "That burns, and it feels weird..." Katsuchi laughed as she stood.

"The fire of the Gods destroys everything." he told her, and Nashi rolled her eyes.

"I've fought dragon mechs that looked tougher than you." She flew towards him again, sliding underneath the gap between his legs and kicking him in the back. Katsuchi twirled in mid air and a tendril of black fire flew towards her, knocking the air out of her.

"You sure got some fight in you, girly." Katsuchi said with a dark smile. "But as I said, your fire is insignificant to mine." Nashi growled.

"Fire Dragon Roar!"

"Fire God's Bellow!" The two columns of fire met halfway to their target and exploded, throwing both mage backwards. Nashi recovered first and grabbed Katsuchi by his black coat, throwing him through a tree and following him, grappling as they went. they separated and flew across the now scorched clearing, and Nashi raised her hands above her head.

"Fire Dragon Brilliant Fame!" She shouted, throwing the fireball at Katsuchi, who raised his one hands.

"Fire God's Kagutsuchi!" the fireballs met again, this time exploding upward into the sky. Once the attacks died away, Nashi was panting. Katsuchi was not, however. "getting tired, girly?" he asked with a smug grin. Nashi glared at him.

"What was..." She began, her panting cutting her off. "The point... of asking my name...if you're just going to call me girly?" Katsuchi shrugged.

"Icas likes to call it pre-destruction formalities." he replied. "I just asked so I'd know. Maybe I'll send that scarf back to your dad in a box!" he laughed, and Nashi growled. Katsuchi wasn't ready for her to rush him again and tackle him to the ground, feeding him punches. He kicked her off of him, but Nashi was ready, her feet connecting with his chest, causing him to fly back and through several burned trees. "Damn." he hissed as he stood. "I wasn't wrong about that attitude, was I?" Nashi replied by tackling him again, this time with her body on fire, sending them into the air.

"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" Nashi drove her head into Katsuchi's stomach, driving him back down into the earth and creating a crater. He shoved Nashi away from him and raised his left hand.

"Fire God's Death Scythe!" A scythe appeared in his hand and he swiped it at Nashi, and she acrobatically jumped away from the sharp fiery blade. Jumping in and out of the trees, Nashi flew at Katsuchi again and he grabbed her by the neck, glaring at her. "Enough of your acrobatic bullshit." He hissed as his grip intensified. Nashi watched him raise his left hand, enveloping it in fire. "Fire God's Steel fist!" The attack drove Nashi into the brush, and she climbed to her feet, ready to block the oncoming second punch with both her hands. Headbutting Katsuchi, she blew flames at him, and his deflecting the attack caused the tree behind him to collapse on top of him.

"You poor guy." Nashi joked as Katsuchi struggled to free himself from under the tree. "Looks like this girly inferior Dragon Slayer is about to win." her taunting caused Katsuchi to avoid her gaze, his blonde hair obscuring his eyes. Before Nashi could finish him off, he erupted in a column of black fire, and the tree melted away into nothingness.

"I refuse..." Katsuchi growled in a dark tone, "To lose to a fucking Dragon Slayer!" He tackled Nashi with the black fire, which seared the little bit of hair she had on her arms off. Katsuchi threw her into the sky and followed her, preparing to punch her. Nashi ducked and got him in the gut with a kick, and she grabbed the collar of his black coat as they fell to earth. As they connected, Nashi got right in his face as he tried to recover from the fall.

"And I refuse to get taken out of the fight and let my guild do all the fighting for me...again."

* * *

"Poison Dragon Roar!" Drake watched hopefully as his attack sailed towards Azzie, who repeated the process of waving her hand and having it dissipate into thin air. "Fucking hell woman!" Drake shouted in frustration. "Just how the hell are you beatable?!" he watched Azzie giggle and shrug.

"Master Kronos-sama says I'm very good." he replied earnestly. "So do the others, although I don't see it." Drake was about to reply when a column of red and black erupted in the distance, and Azzie clapped her hands together happily. "And it would appear Katsuchi-sama was started to fight as well." Drake didn't really care who Katsuchi was, but whoever must have been fighting Nashi, he'd recognize that fire anywhere.

"This is insane..." Drake hissed. "Nashi's in trouble, and I can't do a damn thing..."

"Nashi?" Drake looked up as Azzie made a face. "Who's that?"

"A girl I know." Drake replied, seeing no need to lie to her. She wouldn't remember after Drake knocked her upside the head a few times. "She's probably fighting Katsuchi, and she may need help." Azzie pouted.

"Why do you care so much?" She asked coldly, and Drake raised an eyebrow at her.

"Because we're close?" Drake asked it more than told her, and watched her cheeks puff up in irritation. "And if she's in trouble, I worry about her."

"Drake-sama is close to this Nashi girl." Drake's sound magic picked up. "I must be rid of that girl, for Drake-sama..."

"Hey." Drake interrupted, and she looked up. "Don't even think about running off after Nashi to distract me." Azzie reddened and began to slap herself silly again, and Drake groaned. Why did he always get the weirdo's? "Plus, you aren't going anywhere until you've dealt with me, so get the hell over here and attack me!" Azzie watched him with weird eyes that Drake didn't appreciate, before she sighed.

"I don't want to do this, you know." She called out, and Drake watched her curiously as she held her hands over her heart. "I do what I'm told, or Master Kronos-sama gets angry with me..."

"Master Kronos sounds like a grade A dick." Drake informed her, and her eyes widened with shock. "What?"

"Y-you just insulted Master Kronos-sama..." She said darkly, white magic glowing from her body, and she growled. "Nobody insults Kronos-sama in front of me!" Drake was not prepared for Azzie to run at him and punch him in the face. His injuries from the crash didn't allow him to do anything but get knocked on his ass, and Azzie could sure hit hard.

"Mavis, alright!" Drake hissed as she backed up a bit. "I'm sorry for insulting your Master who ordered a hit on my family and gets mad f you screw up once." Azzie sighed, turned a bit to the left to look at the trees, and hugged herself.

"Thank you."

"...No problem." Silence befell the pair, and Drake wasn't sure if he was supposed to attack her or talk to her. At this rate he wasn't sure it mattered. Azzie turned back to face him.

"I, uh..." her face reddened a bit as they made eye contact, and Drake hear her heart rate speed up a bit. What in Mavis' name was up with this girl? "I don't exactly care for inner guild violence, so just walk away and I'll pretend I never you." Drake crossed his arms and glared at her.

"So you can go to Katsuchi and gang up on Nashi?" he asked, which made her pale. "Nice try gorgeous, but I can hear everything you're thinking." She reddened at gorgeous, but paled again at the end of his sentence.

"Everything?" She asked quietly.

"Everything." Drake confirmed. She panicked and grabbed her temples in desperation.

"Don't listen!" She hissed. "Not now!" She shouted angrily, and Drake stared at her in confusion. All he could hear was her rapid heart beat, anyway. "I don't want you to hear this!"

"Alright, whatever..." Drake watched her for a moment as she attempted to look serious, before her face began to redden again the longer she stared at him. "Are you sick or something?" Drake asked, the curiosity killing him. "Cause your face keeps getting really red."

"Gah!" Azzie threw her cloaks hood over her head, hiding her face. Or so she thought, the red was literally glowing from under it. "No I'm not!" Drake was slowly but surely reaching the end of his patience.

"Why?" Drake asked, staring up at the open sky as Azzie had another episode. "What did I ever do to you, Mavis? To deserve this? Huh?"

**You're just to sexy for Azzie to handle, Drake. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	80. Bested

**Eighty chapters? Shit, I'm impressed with myself. Can we get maybe... over ten reviews for eighty chapters? I feel that's a fair bargain. Anyways, let me address a few things with you guys before we start today.**

** I have writers block. I said this in the most recent chapter of Partners, but my update drive right now is rather low. I don't feel like writing, but I force myself to sit and do it so I don't abandon these stories. I may not update a lot for the next maybe, week or so, just until I recover.**

**Enjoy!**

Elise was getting really sick and tired of getting eaten by Tetsu. Now before any of you get the wrong idea, Elise meant her attacks and how he seemed to be starving. Every time she came at him he ate her club or her sword or whatever else she threw at him, and it was getting to the point where Elise's rage was overthrowing her common sense. She was one eaten attack away from punching him in the face without it when he laughed.

"Stop." he said after he was done laughing. "I...fuck, I can't eat anymore!" Elise felt her veins bulge out of her temple.

"Than let me hit you!" She shouted back angrily, and he snickered. "And while I'm at it, stop fucking laughing!"

"But where would the fun be if I stopped?" he asked innocently, his hands behind his back. Elise was ready to slap a bitch.

"This is a fight!" She shouted in exasperation. "You're not supposed to enjoy it!"

"I learned a long time ago fighting isn't fun without making the effort." he replied, crossing his arms as he watched Elise tense up at the motion. "I can tell you don't share that regard, do you?" Elise raised an eyebrow as Tetsu sighed. "To bad, I hoped we could enjoy this."

"I mean..." Elise scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I get the feeling your own guildmates don't share that regard."

"Well, you got me there." Tetsu said with a smirk. "Pretty and observant? You're the whole package aren't you?" Elise smiled back at him, loosening up a bit. "And although it may not seem like it, it's been a long time since someone was lasted this long in a fight with me. Outside of Devil Advocate, of course."

"Speaking of Devil Advocate." Elise said, "What's your deal? What exactly are you after by attacking us?" Elise watched as Tetsu shrugged indifferently.

"Hell if I know." Tetsu replied. "I don't listen to Master Kronos' rambling, you'd be better off asking Icas. I usually get Azzie to debrief me before I go and do whatever it is we do." Elise nodded and looked around the clearing. Although Tetsu had eaten the majority of her attacks, she had knocked down several trees in the process of attacking. "Of course you could ask Kronos himself, but that'd be suicide."

"How so?"Elise asked.

"I assume you're aware of your own Master's strength?" Tetsu asked, and Elise nodded. She'd have to be retarded not to. "Triple that, and you've got Master Kronos."

"T-triple?"

"Yep." Tetsu sighed. "Although I won't lie, he's a bit of a dick. When Katsuchi and I fucked up attacking your guild..."

"That was you?!" Elise demanded

"Irrelevant." Tetsu replied. "As I was saying, he nearly offed the two of us on the spot. I assume the only reason he didn't was because he spent so much time training us to use our magic." Elise nodded in understanding, or at least tried too. She couldn't fathom her own Master threatening her, Gramps was far to kind to even understand.

"Even so," Elise replied, staring at the ground. "Killing you both? Does he threaten that often?" The hollow laugh that came out of Tetsu gave Elise shivers.

"Threaten?" he asked. "Our newest member, Maya, was added after he offed our last member. Poor, poor David..." Tetsu sighed. "Anyway, you want to keep fighting, or...?" Elise chuckled.

"I'm not sure that I can beat you." Elise replied. "But If I do, now that I know what'll happen, I won't even feel good about it." Tetsu nodded, and Elise watched as his body coated in black, shiny scales.

"Even so." Tetsu replied. "I'm not afraid of Kronos right now, but if Taisho catches me messing around/.." Tetsu growled. "Yeah, fuck that. Sorry Elise, but this has to happen." Elise didn't know who this Taisho was, but apparently he was bad news. Before she could ask him another question, Tetsu rushed her with his arm turning into what looked like her iron club. Elise turned her body into iron before he reached her, and smiled in satisfaction as her scales deflected the blow.

"Nice try." Elise said as he jumped back. "But the scales of the Iron Dra..." Elise gasped as she felt her scales crack and stab her in the stomach. She allowed the scales to fade as she clutched the now bleeding wound, and Tetsu sighed.

"The iron of the Gods destroys all it strikes." Tetsu told her as his arm turned into what looked like a katana. "Iron God Katana!" He swung the thin blade quickly, and Elise ducked just in time to hear it slice through the air over her head. Looking back, Elise watched the trees behind her fall, their trunks cleaved clean through like it was butter.

"Iron Dragon Sword!" Elise swung her sword at Tetsu, who swung back. Elise cried out in shock as her own blade cut clean in half as well, and the destroyed end of the sword fell to the ground. "Shit..." Elise hissed, massaging her hand. "Careful where you swing that damn thing..." Tetsu chuckled as his arm turned back from the katana.

"Sorry." he replied quietly. "But I'm not in the mood to get wrecked by Taisho, so..." he rushed at Elise again, throwing her back into the lumber pile he had created with his katana. Elise though quickly and swung one of the trees at him as he jumped her, throwing him back. Elise dodged another swing from his katana and grabbed the upper half of his arm, her fist getting coated in iron.

"Iron Dragon Hard Fist!" She punched him in the arm, which caused the iron around her fist to snap and Tetsu's to make a metal o metal sound.

"Oh," Tetsu said with a grin as Elise backed up. "I forgot. The armor of the Iron God deflects all magical and none magical attacks, it is perfectly impenetrable."

"Of course it is." Elise replied with a growl. "Anything else you want to throw out there before I lose?" Tetsu placed an armored hand on his chin, humming as he thought.

"Maybe that I can't spare you should you lose?"

"...shit..."

* * *

Simon soared through the air as fast as he could, doing his best to evade the dark beams of magic from behind him. He looked to his side as Icas' face appeared there.

"I told you Simon!" He shouted with a laugh. "You can't run from me!" Bringing his foot down on Simon's back, Simon recovered just in time to avoid hitting the ground.

"Requip!" Simon shouted as he dodged in and out of the trees. "Soaring armor!" The speed boost from the leopard skin armor gave Simon the advantage, slamming the hilt of his rapier into Icas' back and his face into the dirt. Icas few out of the way as Simon struck again. Simon kept the dark dot in his vision as they weaved in and out of the forest, before they both sailed back up into the sky. Icas laughed.

"Speed boosting armor?" he asked. "I must say, that will give you an advantage in the speed game."

"I will defeat you." Simon replied, flicking his rapier in anticipation for an attack. "Just a matter of when." Icas chuckled.

"We have all the time in the world, Simon." He replied. "Do you think your guild will come and save you from the dark guild this time? Like how they dealt with Phantom Dove?" Simon raised an eyebrow at the mage opposite him.

"Is that what this is about?" Simon demanded, his rage building at the thought. "Revenge for Phantom?"

"Mostly." Icas replied, crossing his arms as they hovered three hundred feet off of the ground. "Master Kronos also said something about demons, but he wouldn't elaborate." Simon wasn't sure what it meant either, but he hoped that had nothing to do with Damien. The poor guy had enough of his own personal demons, both metaphorical and literal, he didn't need anymore. "I'm more than certain that, right now, you're friends are getting torn apart by my guildmates. Judging from the magic I saw going off as we fought, both Azzie and Katsuchi have begun, and Tetsu seems to have as well."

"We'll drop every single one of you." Simon hissed, requipping his rapier into his Fire Emperor sword, "And once we've done that, we'll take out your master! Once we've done that, I can guarantee I'll go home, have a drink or fifteen, and forget all about you. You want to know why?" Simon watched Icas fume, it was rather funny. "Because you're irrelevant." Icas grimaced.

"Coming from the son of Titania and Fernandez." He hissed in reply, charging Simon with a speed he had not seen yet. Simon had been unprepared, and flew back. he did his best to fight of Icas' repetitive attacks, but his speed increased with every blow. Pretty soon, Simon could barely see the fist before it connected with his face. Trying to gain some distance, Simon ducked back under the tree line and waited until Icas was near, and lashed out with a sword strike that cut his cloak off. Icas had dodged it, and smirked at Simon. "Peekaboo." He said as he slammed his fist into Simon again, sending him through more trees.

"Requip! Adamantine armor!" The advanced defensive armor helped Simon deflect the blows from Icas, but the speed impediment didn't help. Icas dodged another sword slash and blasted Simon with his hell magic, which Simon met with his own ray of light. The beams exploded and sent up a smoke screen that gave Simon enough time to requip back to his normal clothes. At this rate, this requip was just going to waste his magic. Icas and Simon tackled each other with their respective body magic encompassing them, and Simon felt the cold embrace of hell as Icas overpowered him. Icas gained the upper hand and throttled towards the ground, slamming Simon into a crater. Simon struggled to breath as Icas laughed darkly.

"I already told you, Simon." he said. "my magic is far stronger than yours by default, you cannot win."

"Tell that to someone who cares about odds." Simon managed to hiss as he got air back into his lungs. He managed to stand on two feet and panted heavily, glaring at Icas from under his bangs.. "Because no matter how many times you and your 'superior magic' throw me into the dirt, I'll stand back up. I don't care what it takes to beat you..." Simon stood tall, his bangs no longer obscuring his eyes. "I will defeat you, and brutally so for compensation of the airship, and my father!" Before Icas could retaliate with another biting remark, Simon tackled him through several trees and off of the cliff Simon had seen earlier, and he drove Icas' back into the cliff side.

"Bastard..." Icas hissed as Simon throttled him in the face, sending him through the rocks. Simon drove him even further through them with beams of heavenly light, but Icas flew back out and the two continued to grappled through the air.

"Enough of this!" Simon shouted, backing up a bit. Dashing through the air, he created a constellation. Icas smiled darkly. "Be judged by the seven stars above! Grand Chariot!" Activating his spell, Simon watched Icas draw a different symbol in his own magic as Grand Chariot ruched towards him.

"Receive judgement from the twelve circles!" Icas shouted. "Demon's Judgement!" The dark rays met the light rays, and another smoke screen went up. Simon waited with baited breath as the attacks continued to try and push through. Simon gasped as Demon's Judgment won and struck him directly, sending him careening back to earth.

"H-how..." Simon whispered as Icas landed in front of him. Simon watched the blood drip from his nose quietly, and Icas approached him. "How do you keep besting me...?" Icas grabbed a fistful of Simon's hair, and lifted his head so Simon was forced to stare at him.

"I told you." Icas growled darkly. "Heaven cannot best Hell. Such is the way the world works." Icas formed a ball of darkness in his hand, and laughed. "Heaven always comes up short, Simon!" Simon watched the ball grow, and Icas threw him back down to the ground.

"Shit..." Simon hissed, staring up at the open sky. "Looks like I fucked up, Dad..."

_BOOM!_

**...Simon? Haha, more cliffhangers! Like I said above, can we get 10+ reviews for eighty chapters? I think we can, so leave one if you enjoyed!**


	81. Arc List (Minor Spoilers)

**Hey guys, very important stuff below! So after going through my notebook of awesomeness, I decided it was time to tell you guys the outline of this story, by listing off the arcs below. I've done my best to not spoil them through their names, and of course the first few are already complete. See you at the bottom!**

**1\. Natsu**

**2\. Enchanted Blades**

**3\. Phantom Dove**

**4\. Edolas**

**5\. Trials**

**6\. Devil Advocate**

**7\. S-class Advancement**

**8\. End of the World**

**9\. GMG**

**10\. Kronos**

**11\. Skylancer**

**13\. Olympians, pt I**

**14\. Regroup**

**15\. Olympians, pt II**

**16\. Purgatory**

**17\. Two Halves of One**

**18\. Drake**

**19-21. The Circles of Hell**

**22\. Demon Lords**

**23\. The War with The King **

**A few things. One, 19-21 is arcs 19-21. I've decided to do my best and compact them so that I don't waste my time with their content. Two, if you guys are seeing this as of November 2015, I've removed an arc, Academy, and moved several others around from the previous list that was here. This is because I was not a fan of Academy and removed it, as it had next to no story relevance. The others were moved around to fall into place with end game content.**

**And finally, arc twenty-three, The War with The King, is the final arc. The end of the story. And I'm dead serious.**

**This list may or may not be updated again in the future,and I will alert you guys to such an update if and when it happens.**

**I decided to do this so that you guys can have a general outline of where this story is going and how long it'll be. Judging from this list, keeping all arcs at a 20 chapter minimum, we still have 200+ chapters to go.**

**I know this may seem like a waste of a chapter, but I decided to get this out there before we got halfway done. Which arc are you guys most excited for, based on the titles? Tell me in a review or PM, I just thought I'd put this list up.**


	82. Cat Fight

**I'm not going to point out that that last chapter had the most reviews in a while...**

**Enjoy!**

Simon was pretty sure that blast should have killed him, but he could still hear his own ragged breathing. Slowly opening his eyes, he could see why he'd survived the attack. A wall of mud had risen up in front of him, taking the attack head on.

"What the...?" Icas began, staring at the wall. "Since when can you use earth magic, Scarlet?"

"I can't..." Simon replied warily, watching the mud wall collapse back into the ground. Before either man could attempt to do something, the earth beneath Icas collapsed into quicksand, disabling his lower half.

"Where in the hell..." Icas hissed, flying out of the trap and floating a few feet off of the ground. "Who's there?!" He shouted angrily, observing the tree line behind Simon, "I know someone's there, Scarlet can't do that!" Simon was about to attack when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"Rest for a moment, Simon." The voice said. "I shall be his opponent."

"Who the..." Simon began, before the person in question stood in front of Simon to face Icas.

"You, dark wizard!" Richard shouted. "I shall be your opponent!" Simon watched as Icas raised an eyebrow.

"My opponent, huh?" he asked, smirking. "You...I recognize you now. Hoteye of the Oracion Seis?" Richard growled, raising his fingers to his eyes.

"Do not address me by that filthy name!" he shouted. "My name is Richard, of Crime Sociere!" Icas rolled his eyes as he dodged the mud that launched up at him.

"Of course, how could I have forgotten." he said, smiling at Richard. "The Oracion Seis lost to Jellal Fernandez and joined his guild...pathetic, if you ask me." Richard didn't reply, instead he launched more mud at Icas, this time managing to grab his foot and drag him down to earth, swallowing him in the mud. As Simon listened to Icas screaming profanities, Richard turned to him.

"You must flee while you have the time, Simon." he warned. "This is an enemy you cannot best."

"Don't talk down to me like I'm a child." Simon hissed in reply. "I can take this guy, just get out the way!"

"Don't be childish if you wish to be treated like an adult." Richard replied calmly, piling more mud on top if Icas with a wave of his hand. "This is the one enemy you cannot best with pure will, Simon. His magic surpasses yours."

"How does everyone know that but me?" Simon demanded, struggling to stand. "I can take him..."

"No, you can't." Richard replied, watching Icas struggle. "His magic feeds off of his evil intent, which I'm sure you've realized he has a ton of. This, in turn, means your feeds off of the opposite."

"Richard, I'm good for it!" Richard rolled his eyes a Icas managed to free himself, growling.

"You two have become quite a problem." he hissed, looking at Richard. "If you really wish it to be so, I can kill you before I off Scarlet!" Icas tackled Richard away, leaving Simon by himself in the clearing. He sighed and rested on his arms.

"This sucks."

* * *

"Gah, this sucks!" Ultear shouted angrily. She struggled to stand on her feet as Maya watched with a small smile on her face.

"Having trouble?" She asked innocently, and Ultear glared at her.

"This isn't even fair." She hissed. "I can't fight you like this!"

"I do believe that's the point." Maya replied, checking er nails calmly. While she could check her nails, Ultear couldn't walk straight. Some fight, huh? She watched Maya stand some distance away from her, casually going about her business as if Ultear wasn't even there. Technically speaking, she wasn't. At least not the Ultear that could do anything, anyway. Being so young meant she couldn't do anything. Ultear sighed and tried to cross her arms, and growled as even such a simple motion required the utmost of attention to do. "Ugh, how the hell is this magic beatable?!" She hissed angrily. She'd been told the stories, but she couldn't remember how Doriarte's magic had worn off. Explosions sounded in the distance, and Maya sighed happily.

"It sounds as if my beloved has begun to attack." She said, almost turning into love struck goo.

"Your beloved, huh?" Ultear asked, looking for any sort of weakness. "Who's that?" Maya sighed happily again, hugging herself.

"Katsuchi-sama." She said, blushing at saying the name. The mere thought of this Katsuchi seemed to be enough to make her swoon. "he and I are destined to be, even if he himself doesn't realize it." Ultear was about to come up with a witty remark when her body began to feel weird. Ultear didn't know what the opening had been, but she had to keep Maya on the subject of Katsuchi.

"You love him that much huh?" Ultear asked curiously, smiling darkly. Maya nodded.

"Oh God yes." She said quietly. "He's so hot in everything he does...pushing me away, telling me I creep him out, catching me in his closet..." That was all she needed, and Ultear's body sprung back to normal size. Quickly using it to her advantage, Ultear ran forward and slammed an icy blade into Maya, sending her into a tree. She crawled out and growled. "Damn, I let you get my emotions out of control, so the magic wore off..." Ultear smiled with the knowledge, knowing that was all she had to do. Moving quickly, Ultear dodged a punch and slammed her fist into Maya, but was surprised to feel her foot connect with her midsection. Both girls landed upright, and Ultear paled when Maya raised her hands.

"Man." Ultear commented before the magic started. "I wonder how how Katsuchi's clothes are ripped right now..." She watched with a smile as Maya went to Lala land. "Water Nebula!" The torrent of water threw Maya away, and Ultear followed the trail of water and found her in a heap with hearts in her eyes. "Mavis, what is up with this girl?" Ultear asked as Maya shook her head quickly and stood up.

"I can't lose.." She hissed, shaking her head to clear the images of Katsuchi from it. "Master will be furious if I lose to a Fairy..." Maya opted for a close quarters engagement, putting Ultear on the defensive as the younger girl assaulted her.

"Ice Make: Shield!" The ice appeared in her hands, but Maya raised a hand at it, and it melted in Ultear's hand. "What the..."

"My magic isn't limited to living things" Maya reported. "I simply turned your shield's abilities back to mere water." Maya laughed, but Ultear smiled as the melted shield whipped around her.

"I don't know if you were too busy fantasizing to see it," She began, "but my magic isn't limited to water."

"Huh?" Maya asked, but another torrent slapped her in the face. "Ow! That hurt!" Ultear rolled her eyes.

"That's kind of the point." She replied quietly. She blocked an oncoming attack and grabbed Maya by the wrist of her right arm, slamming her into the ground. Ultear's feet were swept out from under here and she rolled around on the ground with Maya, attacking and insulting each other.

"Bitch!"

"Slut!"

"Skank!"

"Stalker!" Maya gasped as she and Ultear separated.

"Mine and Katsuchi's love is pure!" She shouted angrily.

"It sounds like he wants nothing to do with you!" Ultear roared in response. Maya smiled and crossed her arms.

"You're just mad that you don't have man of your own." Ultear went red at the insult and stared at Maya with wide eyes.

"I...I..." Maya giggled at her inability to say anything.

"I bet you can't even get up the courage to tell him so, you're so hopeless." Ultear clenched her fists and growled.

"I would rather live my life without a man..." Ultear began. "Than scare them all away by being a _creepy, prepubescent bitch!" _Maya gasped again and threw herself at Ultear, and they rolled around some more. Ultear had never been so angry, and her rage made the hair pulling and the slapping feel all the better to do.

"I have a man!" Maya shouted as Ultear pulled her hair.

"Your far to young to even give a shit!" Ultear screamed in reply. "I bet you aren't even old enough to say the carpet matches the drapes!"

"You slut!"

"Speak for yourself!"

* * *

Damien had been more than distracted by the demons abrupt disappearance, and even more so when he reappeared frowning.

"What's the matter?" he asked curiously, and Xisplate didn't even acknowledge his presence. "Hey, Xisplate. Earthland to Xisplate, hello?" Xisplate jumped a bit as Damien waved a hand in front of him curiously, and stared back at Damien.

"What?" He demanded. "I was thinking"

"About whatever you were mumbling about before you left, correct?" it took Xisplate a moment before he nodded to confirm so. "What about, exactly?"

"Irrelevant" Xisplate replied quietly, uncrossing his arms to stride closer to the wounded, and Damien followed. "All you need to know is that you may need to defend these people." Damien tensed involuntarily, the way Xisplate said it worried him.

"From what, exactly?" Damien demanded, earning another silence. "Mavis damn it Xisplate, if you aren't going to tell me what I need to know to properly defend myself..."

"A mage from Devil Advocate." Xisplate replied, glaring at him. "I know not when or where he'll come, but be ready." Damien nodded and Xisplate disappeared, which allowed Damien to calm down a bit.

"Sawyer, Macbeth" Damien called out, which caused both men to look up at him. "Set up around the perimeter in case someone comes looking for us."

"Anything to look for in specific?" Sawyer asked, and Damien shrugged.

"Anyone you don't recognize and appears to be looking for trouble." Damien replied, and both men headed off in different directions. Damien sighed as they disappeared. "I don't know what I'm supposed to expect, but I hope it's something I can handle..."

* * *

Kronos took a long sip of his wine as he waited for him to come. It was only a matter of time at this point, mainly because he must've realized his guildmates were gone. Counting down from three in his head, Kronos smiled as Taisho busted the door down and stormed into his office.

"You mind telling me, Master Kronos." Taisho demanded, slamming a fist down on the table. "Why the fuck everyone but e was ordered to deal with our enemy?! I'd fucking destroy them!"

"Patience, Taisho." Kronos hissed, causing the other man to stiffen. "Your mission will be given in due time, your power would be too much for our wounded enemy to attempt to handle. I prefer a game of sorts as oppose to complete destruction." Taisho growled as he sat down in the chair opposite the desk, and rested his head on his hand.

"I don't understand you." Taisho finally said. "We're talking about Crime Sociere and Fairy Tail, two of the most dangerous guilds in Fiore." Kronos nodded, and Taisho continued. "So why, pray tell, are you so lax about this?"

"Our enemy was in an airship." Kronos replied. "One I saw Katsuchi successfully knock out of the sky and somewhere into the valley. As we speak, your guildmates are carrying out their orders to eliminate them all as quickly as possible and return together or not at all."

"What in the fuck are you going on about Master?" Taisho growled, the temperature dropping a bit. "Just let me go and clean this up, for fucks sake!" Kronos sighed and walked next to the chair, placing a hand on Taisho's shoulder.

"All in due time." he replied. "Now, in the mean time, fetch me more wine, will you?" Taisho growled incoherent insults before he got up and left the office, and Kronos sighed. He knew that Taisho was impatient, but allowing him out would just make the game far less enjoyable. "The game must be enjoyable, or all I may as well do it myself..."

"Fucking hell!" Taisho shouted somewhere down the hall.

"My apologies if we leaves on his own will, Fairy Tail..." Kronos murmured as he sat down slowly, stroking his beard. "That demon within him makes him so angry all the time...although, if my intel serves correct, you may have one of your own...two demon lord takeover mages fighting each other..."

**And, there we go! I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! If we get eight, we'll hit 400 reviews! So, let's get eight reviews!**


	83. Hearing Everything

**So apparently, you guys are loving this arc. That's great to know! I hope you guys stick around until the end, because it only goes up from here!**

Nashi was exhausted, and she was quite pleased to report the same for Katsuchi. Their fiery battle had incinerated the area around them, wherever they might have been, and both of them had done equal amounts of the damage. Nashi wasn't sure if she was just that good or Katsuchi was just that worn down, but it really didn't matter either way. Katsuchi cracked his back and laughed.

"I don't think I've ever had so much fun fighting with someone in a long time." he told her, smiling toothily. "Even if your fire is weaker than mine, you're more than a handful in combat." Nashi chuckled. It sounded like a genuine compliment, even from her enemy.

"I'd be more flattered if you weren't trying to kill me." Nashi said, and he laughed. "But given the circumstances, I don't think I should be at all."

"You really got to loosen up a bit." Katsuchi told her. "I know this is a deadly fight and everything, but smile every once and a while. I'm sure such a pretty young girl has a nice smile."

"Now your plan is to hit on me?" Nashi gave him the smile he asked for, and continued. "Although I do appreciate the comment about how pretty I am."

"Most girls do." he said, crossing his arms. "I just hope you aren't creepy if you have a crush on somebody."

"Like anyone you know?" Nashi asked devilishly, and Katsuchi choked. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Maya is weird as fuck, alright?" Katsuchi said angrily, "I've found her in my closet more than once, and believe me, more than once is far too many times."

"I have no idea what that feels like." Nashi said, giving him a sympathetic look. "Although I've heard more than my fair share of stories about it." Katsuchi grumbled something incoherent, before he sighed.

"Enough about me and my problems and let's just finish this." he said, and Nashi grinned.

"So you can get back to your precious Maya?" Nashi asked innocently, and Katsuchi growled.

"And you wonder why I'm trying to kill you." he said, before boosting forward with his fire and slamming into Nashi, sending her backwards through the burned forestry. Nashi recovered and swung the burned trees at him, most of which he toasted before they touched him. Kicking him in the stomach as he got close to her, Nashi tackled him into the ground and waited as he recovered, slamming into her. They went straight up as they slammed into each other, each attack propelling them higher and higher. They reached rather high before Katsuchi slammed a black fireball right into her face, and she fell a few feet, before Katsuchi pushed her even farther down.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Nashi shouted, creating space between her and the God Slayer. Katsuchi soared through the flames and slammed his fist into her face, sending her back to the earth. Nashi recovered just into time to block an oncoming fireball, and threw a few of her own as Katsuchi descended. he landed opposite her, and raided both hands.

"Fire God's Death Scythe!" the black blade appeared in his hands again, and Nashi just barely avoided it as he swung it around. Jumping over the blade, Nashi ran along it to Katsuchi, punching him in the midsection and kicking him in the face. As he flew backwards, Nashi boosted forward, slamming her head into his stomach. Landing on top of each other in a heap, Nashi rolled off of him and stood, as did he.

"Mavis above." Nashi said, panting. "You're no joke, huh?"

"Neither are you, apparently." he said. "This has gotten the adrenaline pumping. I hope you know, this is personal now."

"Personal?" Nashi asked curiously. "Why?" Katsuchi laughed at her question.

"Because I've never lost to anyone." he replied. "And I certainly don't intend my first loss to be to a girl Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail, of all things." Nashi grinned as his body erupted in black flames.

"Then looks like we both have a vendetta." Nashi said, her own body lighting up. "Because I've never lost either." Katsuchi grinned at her response as they stepped closer, butting heads as they did.

"Well well, Nashi from Fairy Tail." he said. "Are you prepared to lose?" Nashi chuckled as they got even closer, now nose to nose.

"Are you, Katsuchi of Devil Advocate?"

* * *

Elise dodged another swing from Tetsu's katana and leaped in between the trees he hadn't yet knocked over, looking for any kind of opening she could find. With Tetsu' amazing range with that blade and the impossible to crack armor, Elise was quite certain this was a fight she wasn't winning. No matter how hard she hit him, his armor just blew her back is if her best wasn't good enough, and at this rate, nothing was good enough. She landed back in the clearing to find Tetsu cleaning off his armor.

"Oh, you're back." he said absentmindedly like her presence didn't effect him whatsoever. That only pissed Elise off even more, and she watched as he took a more offensive stance. "Can it be you've finally found my nonexistent weak spot?"

"Gimme a minute" Elise replied, and Tetsu nodded. Elise regained her breath as she observed the black armor, and it reflected the afternoon sun in her face. There had to be something Elise hadn't tried yet, but it was a repeat of the Dorma Anim. She was going to need a huge power up to dent his armor, let alone crack it enough to do any real damage. Elise's eyes fell to his lower half, and a light bulb went off in her head. "Alright, can I try something?" Tetsu grinned and held his arms out wide.

"Give it a shot." He replied cheekily. Elise walked up right in front of him, and smiled at him. She got a smile back, and that was when she decided to drive her foot into his nuts. Tetsu flinched and made a pained face as Elise retracted her foot.

"Nothing?" Elise asked sweetly, watching him shiver.

"I'm...I got...I got it..." Tetsu couldn't keep up the facade any longer, and he dropped to his knees in pain, squealing like a little girl. Elise watched in amusement as he looked up through the pain. "Why would you do that?" he asked weakly, his voice an octave higher than before. Elise giggled and shrugged.

"You said you had no weak spot, it should've been a walk in the park for you."

"I wasn't expecting a nut shot, you crazy bitch..." he hissed, massaging his man parts. Elise watched with very little pity as he managed to stand, the armor all but gone. "Now, can we keep going?"

"Are you good?" Elise asked curiously.

"I may never have kids, but otherwise I'm recovering." Elise nodded and drove another foot into his nuts, and she couldn't even hear his voice anymore as she screamed in pain. "Why...why..." Elise was too busy smiling down at him to notice his hand materialize into a club, slamming her right in the face and throwing her back with such force she flew several acres before colliding with something.

"Ow, what the fuck..."

"...Elise?" Elise knew that voice, and she looked around curiously.

"Who said that?" She demanded.

"Down here..." Elise looked down to see who she had collided with, and paled.

"H-hey, Nashi...what's up with you?"

* * *

Drake was doing his best to run through the forest when a very high pitched scream deafened him.

"Mavis above!" he hissed as the screaming continued. "What poor sap just got a nut shot from Elise?" Drake had his fair share of scars from her, he knew all to well how hard she could punt. "I'm going to go deaf, I swear to Mavis..."

"I found you, Drake-sama!" Drake had just enough time to run away from the tree he was leaned up against to dodge the fist that went through it a moment later. "Where are you running, Drake-sama? You're love...gah! I meant your opponent! Your opponent it over here!" Drake rolled his eyes as Azzie rambled on about whatever it was she rambled about, quite honestly he wasn't listening. Even in his weakened state, he managed to dodge more attacks from behind, finally trapped up against a tree. Azzie smirked at him as she approached him. "What's the matter, Drake-sama?" She purred, and Drake backed up against the tree as she approached.

"I'm wounded bad in a forest with some crazy bitch who wants me dead." Drake hissed. "Do me a favor and tell me what's wrong." Drake watched in bewilderment as Azzie clutched her chest, staring at him in shock. "What now?"

"I...you..." Azzie dropped to her knees, staring at the ground. "You think I'm a crazy bitch?" Drake was now completely unaware of what to do, and he didn't like how crushed she looked. "I cannot believe the righteous Drake-sama thinks so lowly of me..."

"Hey." Drake called out. "I'm sure you're a nice person and all, but you're trying to kill me, remember? Anyone who tries to kill me is immediately a crazy bitch, no matter what way I try and look at it." Drake felt bad he'd crushed her so, and he watched in bounce up happily.

"Thank goodness!" Azzie exclaimed. "For a second there I thought you hated me." Drake sweat dropped as she blushed at him.

"Have you ever been tested for mental disabilities?" Drake asked. "genuinely curious." Azzie giggled.

"You're so funny, Drake-sama." She said, and Drake face palmed. "No, I am in perfect health." Drake could sense she was doing her best to avoid looking at him, and he watched her fidget under his gaze.

"Hey," he called out, getting an idea. "Look at me." Azzie did as she was told, and Drake moved quickly. He swiftly grabbed her wrists and reversed their positions, Azzie now pinned up against the tree and Drake holding her there. She blushed furiously at the contact and did her best to avoid being in his face.

"W-w-what are you d-d-doing, Drake-sama?" She asked weakly, and Drake listened as hard as he could. Ever since the fight had begun, Drake had been hearing her regret in attacking him, how she doubted every blow she went for. Drake was far to curious about it now, he had to know why.

"I can hear you." he told her, and she squealed, face as red as Erza's hair. "Everything, I can hear it all..." Drake rolled through all of the fangirling bullshit and finally found what he was looking for, grinning as he listened to it. All of Azzie's doubts rolled over him like a wave, and he found himself living the doubt, seeing exactly why she doubted herself.

* * *

_"Useless Bitch!" Drake watched as a white haired man threw a young Azzie around like it was nothing, tossing the young purple haired girl this way and that. She was bleeding from her upper lip and nose, and had bruises all over her face._

_"I-I'm s-s-sorry, Master K-K-Kronos-sama..." She whispered, and her master glowered at her._

_"Sorry isn't good enough." he replied, twisting her arm in a painful manner. "You must learn, Azzie. Without learning, you are a worthless child abandoned by her mother."_

_"I-I'm s-sorry..."_

_"I don't want to hear it!" Another slap, and Drake watched in astonishment. "Now, go to the dorms. If I hear another peep out of you, I will kill you." Drake watched Azzie limp from the room, and he followed her as she limped down the hallway, before two voices came closer._

_"And then I..." the young blonde boy paused as he saw Azzie and his eyes widened. "Azzie?! What happened to you?!"_

_"I-I-I'm sorry..." Azzie mumbled. "I-I-I failed Master Kronos-sama..."_

_"Did he do this to you?" The black haired boy asked, and Azzie nodded. "Bastard!"_

_"Calm down Tetsu" The blonde boy said, and his friend stared at him in shock. "Master Kronos will kill you."_

_"He can't just..."_

_"P-P-please don't t-t-talk like that, Tetsu-sama." Azzie whispered. "I-I-I'm f-f-fine, really." Azzie pushed past both of them without another word, and Drake heard her final words. "I will kill Master Kronos by myself, I don't want either of you to get hurt..."_

* * *

_"Whatever is the matter, Azzie dear?" Master Kronos asked as Azzie sobbed into the armrest of the chair in his office._

_"My...my boyfriend broke up with me!" Azzie wailed, and Drake watched Kronos stare at her._

_"And?" he asked, causing both Azzie to stop crying and Drake to clench his fists. This guys was supposed to be Azzie's master. "What does this have to do with me?"_

_"I..." Azzie began. "I thought...maybe you'd help me through it..."_

_"Why should I care?" Kronos asked. "What man would ever want a disgraceful failure like yourself?" Drake growled as he watched Azzie's eyes well up with tears._

_"But you're supposed to care..." Kronos sighed and turned his chair to face the window behind him._

_"Maybe the beatings you received as a child didn't get it through to you, so allow me to jog your memory." Drake watched as Kronos faced Azzie. "I do not care about you, or your pathetic teenage problems. All I care about are results, do you understand me?" Drake was prepared to throttle Kronos until he remembered he wasn't actually in the room. Azzie sniffled and stood, her purple bangs obscuring her eyes._

_"Yes, Master Kronos-sama..." Azzie walked weakly to the exit, and Drake heard her sigh as she opened it. "You'll get yours some day, Kronos. Just you wait until then..."_

* * *

Drake was brought back to reality as Azzie began to squirm in his grasp, and he watched her with new found respect, and almost to the point of trust.

"Woah.." he whispered, silencing Azzie. "That's a lot of shit I just heard.." Azzie began to wail in desperation.

"I'm sorry!" She wailed. "I really don't want to do that to you, I was just..."

"What?" Drake asked, temporarily confused. "Oh for fuck...not that! I heard your memories, why you don't trust your guild.

"Huh?" Azzie asked weakly, before her eyes widened. "oh my go...you heard that?" She whispered, and Drake nodded. "No one was ever supposed to know...I wouldn't tell a soul, I swore..."

"Azzie." Drake spoke softly. "You don't want to do this, I heard it all. You're just listening to him so that..."

"Stop!" Azzie screamed, her eyes full of rage. "I will not betray Master Kronos-sama! He gave me everything I have!" Azzie kicked Drake off of her, and Drake growled.

"He gave you it all alright! he shouted. "He beat you! He told you you were worthless! You've been plotting to kill him since..."

"ENOUGH!" Azzie screamed, her body beginning to glow with white light. She had both hands over her ears as she shouted at him. Shut up shut up shut up shut up! I will not! I WILL NOT!" Azzie launched herself at Drake and punched him right in the face, and her glowing hand made the punch hurt even more.

"Fuck!" Drake yelled in pain as he flew back onto his ass. "What the hell was that?!"

"my dispelling magic can manifest in a physical form." Azzie replied darkly, her eyes obscured by her bangs. "Meaning that wherever my magic touches you, the magic in your body in instantly dispelled from that area, causing you a great deal of pain!"

"...S-seriously?" Drake demanded. Azzie nodded and gave him one of the most menacing looks Drake had ever received from under her bangs.

"Are you prepared to die, Fairy Tail mage?"

**Poor Azzie, huh? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	84. Hitting the Fan

**Sorry about the lack of updates, writers block has been a bitch! Enjoy!**

Richard knew there was no chance he was winning this fight. He'd only distracted the dark wizard long enough to buy Simon tie to escape. Perhaps if he was at his full strength the fight would be going differently, but the crash had done a number on him. The other man laughed.

"I can't believe my luck!" he shouted with joy as he floated down to touch the ground. "Not only will I destroy Simon Scarlet, but Hoteye as well! Icas, you're so lucky! say it with me, Hoteye!"

"What did I tell you about that name?!" Richard roared, the ground responding to his rage. It slammed into Icas, who moved to fast for it to catch him. The younger wizard laughed manically.

"Too slow, Hoteye!" he laughed, slamming a fist into Richard's face. Richard tried to recover as fast as he could, but Icas was faster. "But while I taunt you, answer a question I've been thinking about." Richard sighed, maybe the question could buy some more time.

"What?" he demanded. Icas shifted to float leisurely around, picking at his fingernails.

"Why is it that, the might Oracion Seis, lost to one man?" he grinned devilishly at Richard. "There was six of you, and one of him. Meredy didn't even fight for Gods sake!" Richard sighed again, struggling to stand.

"For one thing," Richard growled. "Four."

"Huh?" Richard looked up to face the blue haired wizard.

"I did not fight Jellal back then." he hissed, watching his face contort with confusion. "I didn't wish too. He was right, we were wrong."

"Bah, moron. Probably why you guys lost. Wait, you said four."

"Hmm, I did. Probably because right before Jellal and Meredy showed up, Erik killed Brain."

"Did he now?" Icas asked, doing little spins in the air, all while keeping his eyes on Richard. "Why is that?" Richard clenched his fists at the thought of his former master.

"Try being used by a man for almost twenty years." Richard replied quietly. "And then come and see me. Although, at this rate, you can."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Richard laughed at the question. A good hearty one that caused Icas to frown.

"You don't honestly think that your master cares for you, do you?" Richard asked, watching the young man quietly. "I mean, there's no way he could." Richard was surprised to hear Icas laugh.

"I know perfectly well he doesn't care!" He said with a smile. "Why would he? Everyone in Devil Advocate is a runaway. Not one of us is here because Master Kronos loves us, that'd be absurd." Chuckling, Icas wiped his hair out if his eyes and continued. "Besides, it doesn't matter to us if Master Kronos loves us or not. Once we obtain the Demons magic and harness it, we can put an end to all our enemies. And guess who we plan to start with?"

"Fairy Tail." Richard replied, earning a confirming laugh. "Then everyone else, right?"

"You're smarter than I thought, fatty." Icas said, and Richard growled. "I grow tired of this conversation, and fight in general. "Come, let me destroy you so I can return to Scarlet." Icas hadn't been paying attention, so Richard had grabbed him with more mud, pinning him to the ground. Richard walked over to his side, glaring at him.

"I will die before I let you lay a hand on Jellal's son." Richard got in his face and smiled. "O owe Jellal that much, don't you think?" Icas smirked.

"Good to know you're all fired up, fatty. Now, how about I stop playing around?!" Richard was about to ask before the Hellenization magic tore through the mud and Icas tackled him, sending him through another tree. Icas began to pound Richard senseless, and Richard couldn't keep up. As he was attacked, Icas punctuated each punch with a word. "I'm. Not. Some. Fucking. Pushover!" Blasting him up into the air, Richard turned to find Icas already there, a blast of purple magic hitting him square in the chest. As he hit the ground, Richard could feel his body slowly going irresponsive. He could no longer feel his legs, and his sweat was cold. _Effects of his magic, maybe. _As he tried to stand, pain shot down his spine like electricity. The crash of the airship had been to much, Richard couldn't operate. Icas sighed.

"What?" Richard managed.

"I was kind of expecting more from one of the Oracion Seis." He said flatly. "Even more so as someone from Crime Sociere. How is it you can already barely move?"

"The airship crash" Richard replied weakly, struggling to stand. "I was in that, remember?" Icas laughed in response.

"My bad, I forgot!" he said. "I was with Katsuchi when he hit you, fucking bullseye! I owe him a drink after this, bastard." Icas, raised both hands above his head, and they began to glow. "Now then, how about you say...hahahaha! Yes, yes! Give me a prayer, Hoteye! Give me your only prayer!" The Oracion Seis references were pissing Richard off, but he couldn't do anything about it now.

"Alright." Richard sad as the ball of swirling energy grew larger. "My only prayer is that someone stands up to you and beats some sense into your ass, because quite frankly it's a bit much."

"Was that directed as an insult, Hoteye?" Icas asked, a serious expression on his face. Richard only chuckled, which caused Icas to do the same. "I like you, you got spunk! Too bad I have to turn you into ashes! Say hello to Brain for me when you get to HELL!" Laughing at another of his own jokes, Icas threw the spirit bomb at Richard, who didn't have enough strength to move. Right as the attack was about to hit him, Richard saw another bal of swirling magic, this one gold in color, connect with the other one, sending it off course and missing Hoteye by an inch. Both men turned to find Simon stumbling out of the forest, glaring at Icas.

"Simon, get back!" Hoteye shouted. "Don't attack him, I already told you..." Richard stopped and watched as Simon took an offensive stance in front of him.

"I know." he replied calmly. "He's stronger than me."

"Then why are you..."

"But if I sat back and watched someone take a proverbial bullet for me, I'd never live it down." Simon cast him a smirk, one Richard saw all to often from another man. "Even if I die, then I died protecting someone." Simon was about to continue when Icas laughed even harder than before, clutching his gut.

"Lord above, that was rich!" he shouted manically. "Great joke Simon!" Icas began to glow with hellish magic, and Richard shivered at the murderous look on his face. "Getting in the way of my fun with cost you dearly, Scarlet." Icas flew forward at an incredible speed, raising a fist to punch Simon. Richard looked down as it made contact.

"I already told you..." Richard looked up in astonishment at the voice. Simon had grabbed Icas' fist before it made contact. "You've pissed off the one guild that you don't want to piss off!" Simon finished his sentence by slamming his other fist into Icas' face, sending him backwards. Rocketing after him, Richard watched as a golden dot raced the black one through the sky, and he chuckled.

"You are every bit as brash as your father, Simon."

* * *

"Your forehead looks like an asshole!"

"I'm sure men find an asshole more attractive than you!" Ultear separated from Maya and glared at her, as did the younger girl. This fight was amounting to absolutely nothing, all she'd succeeded in doing was getting a few scratches, Maya as well. Ultear stood and sighed.

"I have better things to do than hang around here and talk to a little girl." She informed Maya flatly. "Just do me a favor and lie down and act unconscious. If anyone finds you, say you're defeated." Ultear had begun to walk away when she heard an growl, very similar to that of a wounded bear.

"Don't walk away from me, you whore!" Maya shouted, tackling Ultear from behind and pulling at her hair. Ultear, obviously, did the only sensible thing.

She turned and ripped her clothes off with an icicle. Maya screamed and covered her naked torso, face completely red.

"Ah, what's wrong?" Ultear asked sweetly. "Embarrassed? No doubt, you're so flat I could confuse you with a boy." Ultear laughed at her own joke and Maya whimpered pathetically. "Don't get childish on me now, you can't insult my womanhood and fall over in a heap at the first sign of nakedness."

"You wouldn't fight without a shirt!" Maya shouted, and Ultear rolled her eyes.

"No?" She asked. "I'm a Fullbuster, stripping is my specialty." Laughing as Maya got even more flustered, she continued, "And unlike you, many men have seen me without a shirt on."

"And you tried to tell me you weren't a slut..."

"I'll have you know barging into my room while I'm changing doesn't make me a slut!" Ultear shouted, being reminded of Damien entering without a second thought. Then again, she really hadn't cared all that much, but it was the principle. "Mavis, you're irritating."

"The feelings mutual, trust me." Maya said weakly, standing up. Ultear watched as she tied to remainder of her shirt around herself, ready to attack again. Ultear wasn't ready for another retrogression, and she fell over. "Ha! Who's flat now?!" Ultear supported herself on her elbows and sighed, blowing hair out of her eyes.

"Couldn't I have gotten an actual fight?" She asked herself weakly. "Nooo, I'm the one who gets a prepubescent girl who probably thinks the way to a mans heart is hiding in a pile of his dirt clothes...fucking weirdo..."

* * *

Damien watched the clearing next to the airship wreckage weakly, doing his best to spot anyone that wasn't Macbeth or Sawyer. Xisplate had gone all but silent on the topic of who or what would be sent after them, and Damien didn't feel good knowing that the first Damien actually wanted to talk to him, he disappeared. Leaving him alone went he wanted to be? Nope. But when Damien needed to talk to him? No where in fucking sight. Sighing, Damien turned and walked back to Meredy, who was still at Jellal's side.

"Meredy." Damien called out, but the pinkette didn't reply. "Meredy, hey. Hello?" Damien's questioned was answered when Meredy fell over, concussed and out cold. Growling to himself, he straightened her out and made sure she was as comfortable as possible. Macbeth had already confirmed Meredy had a concussion, but she had tried her best to stay conscious. Obviously that hadn't worked. "For fuck sake, where is everyone?" Damien asked, turning his head over his should to look at the forest.

"Uggghhh..." Damien snapped his head back to find Jellal opening his eyes slowly, and he smiled.

"Thank Mavis!" Damien said as Jellal looked around. "Thought you'd be out longer."

"What happened?" Jellal asked, rubbing his forehead.

"Shit happened." Damien replied. "So far it's still hitting the fan."

"...Great." Jellal tried to sit up, and flinched in pain. "Ow, fuck..."

"Easy there, Master Fernandez." Damien said, pushing Jellal back down. "Mer and I had to patch you up, you're still not fit to move."

"How bad is it?" Jellal asked weakly. Damien peeled up the cloak to look at the stitched up area, frowning.

"Bad." Damien replied. "Just stay still, would you?" Jellal nodded and cocked his head left to look out at the base camp Damien had constructed, and frowned.

"Where is everyone?" He asked, meeting Damien's gaze.

"Well, Sawyer and Macbeth are patrolling the perimeter," Damien replied. "Sor, Meredy, and Erigor are out cold as you can see. Richard ran off right after he got out of the airship, looking for my friends. All of which, mind you, are being attacked."

"Anything else I should know so I can worry about it too?" Jellal asked sarcastically.

"Yeah." Damien replied. "I don't know where or when, but someone will be coming for us." Jellal covered his eyes with an arm, not replying to Damien. Sighing, Damien stood up again, and hid underneath the sheet metal he'd set up to shield them from any rain or anything. He watched Jellal mutter something to himself, and sighed. "I hope this threat you talked about isn't too much, Xisplate. Otherwise, it'll be the second time I've failed people because of you..."

_Do not speak of me like I can't hear you, boy."_

"..Shit."

**And, another chapter down! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	85. Three Lifetimes

**I'm sorry for the wait guys, holy shit! However, I come bearing gifts, as I'm going to post an extra long chapter today!**

**Enjoy!**

"Fancy seeing you here." Elise said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head as Nashi fumed at her. Nashi was about to launch another offensive when she'd been blindsided by her friend, which was the last thing she expected to happen.

"Could you hurry up and get the hell off of me?" Nashi asked irritably, which made Elise comply quickly. Standing up next to the other dragon slayer, Nashi noticed Katsuchi's look of confusion.

"What the hell just happened?" he demanded. "Two of them, all for me?" He laughed. "Man, however was supposed to deal with you did a shitty job, black hair."

"Fuck off Katsuchi!" Another voice shouted. Nashi looked to the left to find a black haired man jumping off of a ridge, glaring at Katsuchi. "You talking shit bro?" he demanded. Katsuchi snickered.

"And what if I was Tetsu?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, and Tetsu raised his hand to his chin to think.

"Ah, whatever." Tetsu replied. "So, the pink one yours?" Katsuchi nodded.

"Yeah, and we were having a mighty fun time until you and iron face over there ruined our fun." he told Tetsu, who took his turn to snicker. Nashi watched them bicker before she leaned over to Elise.

"He a problem?" She asked, and Elise nodded.

"Iron God Slayer." She replied. "You?"

"Fire God Slayer." Nashi said, crossing her arms as Tetsu put Katsuchi in a headlock. "Did you find any useful weakness?"

"Nutshots." Nashi gave Elise an incredulous look, who shrugged. "What? it was all I had."

"Hey!" Nashi turned back to find Tetsu being the one addressing them. "No strategics behind our backs! We're busy!" Nashi noted that Tetsu's definition of busy seemed to be holding Katsuchi in a headlock, who finally freed himself.

"This certainly makes for an interesting situation, huh Nashi?"he asked. "A two on two, the better team."

"It would be." Nashi replied, putting her hands on her hips with a smirk. "if it weren't already obvious." Nashi's plot failed when Elise rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"Oh, Nashi...shouldn't you be saying we're stronger?" She asked, and Nashi face faulted.

"I was!" She hissed at her idiotic friend, who made an O with her mouth as she realized the fact. "But you didn't seem to see that until it was too late!" Elise smiled sheepishly, and Tetsu laughed.

"Yeah, I like this!" He said, his body turning a shiny black color. "Let's do this!" Nashi prepared herself for the new battlefield. She felt better having someone at her side, but someone by Katsuchi's as well didn't help anything. Nashi was too bust thinking to be ready when they both ran together, Katsuchi's fist slamming into her stomach. Doing a back flip to avoid his next attack, Nashi ducked as Tetsu sailed over her head, grabbing his foot as he passed and throwing him back at Katsuchi, both slamming into each other. Elise took her chance as they landed in a heap, slamming both her clubs into them. Tetsu recovered first, his right arm turning into a think blade and he swiped it at Nashi, who ducked. He was bringing the blade back around, and Nashi slid out of it's range, launching fireballs at the other iron slayer to deter his progress. Nashi watched in disbelief as her attacks fizzled out against his black armor, which caused him to chuckle. "I really was hoping for more than a few dragons." he said wistfully, smirking at Nashi. "Although not everyone is as powerful as me."

"..." Nashi decided it was in her best interest to remain silent, knowing all that responding would do was get her another remark about power. She could see Elise doing her best against Katsuchi out of the corner of her eyes, and all the girls attacks melted before they even got close. Nashi dodged a few more swings from the katana and made her way to Elise and Katsuchi, tackling the god slayer down. he kicked her off and the two of them punched at each other until Elise slammed her club into Katsuchi's face, sending him flying away.

"Get Tetsu!" She told Nashi quickly. "We have to try something else!" Nashi nodded and faced the opposite way towards the other iron slayer, who was still covered in iron armor. Rushing towards him to prevent anymore swings from his katana, Nashi attempted to do anything to the armor. Slamming her fist into his chest, she heard a satisfying crack.

"Ow." Tetsu said, staring down at his chest. "That hurt." Nashi followed up with another quick punch, forcing him back slightly. Nashi was caught off guard as he rushed her with a club ready, slamming it into her stomach, which knocked the air out her. He uppercut her into the air, which allowed Nashi a brief look over the battlefield. Elise was holding her own just fine, opting for a closer, less iron attack pattern to leave Katsuchi guessing. Nashi torqued back to the other man, raising her hands over her head.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" She shouted, launching the fireball at Tetsu, throwing up a huge smokescreen. Nashi landed just in time to get another club to the stomach, effectively leaving her even more breathless than a minute ago. Crumbling into a heap on the ground as she attempted to get air into her lungs, Tetsu frowned.

"Did I break you?" he asked. "hey, Kat! I broke her!" Nashi heard Katsuchi grumble incoherently and Elise landed next to Nashi.

"You knocked the wind out of her." Katsuchi told his friend. "She probably can't breath."

"Yeah," Tetsu agreed quietly. "Want to finish this, or...?" Katsuchi laughed, one absent of the malice from before.

"Are you kidding?" he asked. "I've never had so much fun fighting people. Let's see if they can pull some kind of miraculous comeback, just for fun. Jell, I may even spare them once we win." The God Slayers continued their conversation as Elise placed a hand on Nashi's shoulder.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," Nashi managed to say after she got oxygen to her lungs. "We need some kind of plan, or we're screwed."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Elise replied, earning a glare. "Got any ideas?"

"No, I tried everything while you were elsewhere."

"You didn't try everything." Nashi watched Elise carefully, trying to discern if she was serious.

"We missed last time, and Drake was there last time." Nashi replied quietly.

"We don't need Drake, and we won't miss." She reassured. "Plus, they're distracted, it's our only chance."

"Alright, alright..." Both girls took a deep inhale of breath, doing so as quietly as they could so that they wouldn't alert the God Slayers.

"Iron Dragon..."

"Fire Dragon..."

"ROAR!" The columns of magic combined on their way to the target, causing a huge explosion as they did so. Nashi smiled at the results, knowing full well that they had caught their opponents off guard. She was about to celebrate when a chuckle pierced the sound of the fire burning.

"I already told you, Nashi..." Katsuchi growled, his silhouette visible through the flames. Nashi watched the fire begin to get sucked in, as Katsuchi ate her fire. "Your fire in inferior to mine." Tetsu stood next to Katsuchi, armor smoldering but otherwise unharmed, and chuckled.

"You ladies would've had us good." he informed them. "Thankfully our magic is superior, so it didn't really hurt that much." Nashi gulped as they stood tall above her and Elise, recharged thanks to their irrational actions.

"We probably should've thought that through..." Elise mumbled.

* * *

Drake did his best to monitor his breathing as he sprinted through the woods, avoiding every attack Azzie threw at him. he hadn't meant to anger her so, he'd only tried to talk her down. After hearing so much in her head, he was convinced he could too. All he needed was the perfect way to say it...

"Gah!" Drake shouted as he tripped on a root in the ground, face planting. Recovering quickly and hiding behind a tree, he heard Azzie getting closer to his position. How was he supposed to talk down a homicidal fan girl who was blinded by rage, exactly? Throw himself at her and hope she doesn't try to kill him? That wasn't exactly a very appealing plan, so Drake elected to remain quiet as Azzie got closer.

"Why must you run, Drake-sama?" Drake heard her hiss under her breath. "Running just makes me even more pissed off..." Drake's eyes widened as she stepped out right in front of him, completely unaware of his presence. "Geez, you're irritating...but really cute..." Drake watched as she shook her head to clear the thought and the blush. "No he isn't! He is the opposite of cute, he's an asshole! He's.." Azzie whirled around in rage and met Drake's eye, and froze. Both watched each other for a few seconds before Drake decided he didn't want to die, and tackled Azzie down. They rolled around a bit before Azzie pinned him down near a ledge, and grinned. "Ha! Got you!"

"Ugh." Drake moaned, staring down the ledge he was near. In his weakened state, he really did not want to fall down that, it'd be bad. "Why are you so fast?"

"You're just weakened, Drake-sama" Azzie reassured. "I'm sure you would out speed me normally."

"Uh...huh..." Drake looked up at her as they stayed where they were, Azzie still holding him down. "So are we going to kiss, or...?" Azzie screeched in surprise and released her grip on Drake's wrists, which was the opening he'd been looking for. Grabbing Azzie shoulders and flipping her off the cliff, Drake paled when he felt Azzie's hand wrap around his ankle, taking him with her. They landed in a heap at the bottom, Drake making sure his broken rib hadn't stabbed through his stomach. "Shit, that hurt..." Drake looked over at Azzie to find her fuming. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded.

"W-why would you say that..." She hissed, giving Drake one of the most pissed off looks he'd ever received. "K-kiss you, ridiculous..."

"I was joking" Drake replied, struggling to stand as his midsection protested. "A ploy to get you distracted so that I could...Azzie?" Now Drake's eemy had gone completely red, and was shaking violently. "Uh...Az?"

"Are you saying you don't find me attractive?!" She screeched, and Drake flinched. "How dare you...!"

"When the hell did I...?" Drake began, but was cut off by a dispelling burst shot by his opponent nearly taking his head off. "Watch where you aim that, Azzie!"

"I was aiming!" She shouted back, tears in her eyes. "To take your womanizing head off!"

"Womanizing...?" Drake paled as more bursts sailed at him, and he rushed to dodge. he soon found himself in another corner, a scorned women advancing on him. Drake knew it as a bad time to recall Master Laxus telling him that hell didn't compare to a pissed woman, but he did all the same. he sighed as she got closer. "I really didn't want to do this, but it looks like I've got no choice."

"Do what, asshole?!" Azzie demanded, pouncing at him before she got her answer. "No matter, I'll just..."

"Sound Wall!" Drake utilized the offensive side of his sound magic, causing Azzie to clamp her hand over her ears in a desperate attempt to block out the insufferable noise Drake was creating. She staggered back to a reasonable distance, and Drake stopped the spell.

"What in the name of Kronos was that?!" Azzie asked, rubbing her ears.

"Sound magic." he replied casually. "I used it to the point where I could've deafened you, so consider yourself lucky I didn't...Sound Wall!" Drake acted quickly as Azzie charged again, causing her to fall back. Se tried to flee through the woods, which made Drake angry to no end. "oh, so you think you can just escape?!" Drake gave chase, keeping the deafening wall around him as a precaution. Soon he found Azzie at a cliff with a three hundred foot drop to the other side of the forest, looking quite panicked. "Done running, Azzie?" Azzie whirled to glare at him.

"You're lucky I was too busy trying to keep my sense of hearing to dispel that wall, Drake-sama." She hissed. "otherwise our roles would be reversed."

"Would they now?" Drake asked, causing the sound waves around him to ripple, which made Azzie flinch. "I think this fight is over, an animal trapped in a corner fights senselessly to protect itself."

"Now you call me an animal?" Azzie asked angrily. "Does your rudeness know no bounds?!"

"I'm not being rude." Drake replied calmly, deciding now was best for his strategy. "I'm simply saying you fight illogically in a corner, and that will cause you to die. How is that rude, caring for your life?" Azzie watched him with a thoughtful gaze, and she frowned.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Azzie demanded. "I'm your enemy, I tried to kill you, and now you'e being given the perfect chance to off me and help your friends! Why are you trying to end this calmly? Is it because I'm a girl or what?" Drake shook his head quietly.

"No it's not because you're girl." he replied. "I'm trying to end this calmly because there is no sense in fighting you, you're against everything you've done so far."

"I am no..."

"Don't lie to me, I can hear you." Drake reprimanded immediately, causing Azzie to go stiff. "Every single time you've gone to hit me, it's been regretful and with the fear that if you don't, your master will kill you. it's kill or be killed every day for you, isn't it Azzie?"

"Don't talk like you know me!" Azzie yelled, her eyes spouting more tears. "I've been through things you can't possibly imagine!"

"I've got a good idea" Drake replied, clenching his fists. "I've been captured, tortured, starved, listened to one of my closest friends get raped and I couldn't do a damn thing, one of the people I care about the most nearly passed away in my arms...We're both scarred people, Azzie. I've been through enough pain for three lifetimes." Azzie was once again shaking with rage, tears streaming down her face.

"You're life..." She murmured. "Sounds perfect." Drake's eyes widened.

"H-huh?"

"You think what you've been through was terrible?" Azzie laughed psychotically, and Drake watched fearfully as her dispelling magic enveloped her body, the white glow blinding him. "I've seen my own family get slaughtered! I watched as my own mother abandoned me on a park bench! I nearly starved in this very fucking forest before Master Kronos found me! I've been beaten consecutively for fourteen years! I've seen multiple friends of mine shot in the back of the head at the fucking dinner table for failure! You think you've been through pain, Drake-sama!?" She screeched nonsensically. "Spend a fucking day in my shoes, and you'd falter!" Azzie began to make tearful sounds as the magical pressure from her body increased. "I've wanted to die for so long, so very long...hahahahahahaha! Who am I kidding?! Kronos would find my mangled body and bring me back somehow anyway!"

Drake watched Azzie lose her mind quietly, contemplating his options. On one hand, he could let her finish, then get killed. Or he could take this chance to knock her out with poison. Drake was about to move when he noticed something that made his heart stop. The magical pressure from Azzie's body was crumbling the cliff beneath her at an incredible rate, she was going to fall any minute.

"Azzie!" Drake shouted, doing his best to stop her. "Beneath you!" Azzie stopped laughing and looked under her feet just in time to see the cliff crumble, and she began to fall. Drake watched, frozen, as she gave him a tearful smile.

"Sorry, Drake-sama." She said as the rest of the ground underneath her caved. "I really would've loved to settle this calmly." With that, she fell.

"AZZIE!"

**Hehe, another cliffhanger! I plan on posting again soon, so you won't have to wait very long. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! let's try and get five!**


	86. Idiot!

**Surprise, I'm back again already! Had some free time today, so I figured what the hell right?**

**Enjoy!**

Azzie was quite sure death was supposed to hurt, but she felt no pain. Icas often told her about people he'd killed and how certain he was that they'd felt no pain in the end, so maybe he was right. She had expected something though, she fell off of a cliff for God sake. Azzie kept her eyes glued shut until she heard rocks crumbling around her, and she had the heart to open them.

No, she wasn't dead. As a matter of fact, she was dangling three hundred feet above the ground, with a very pained right arm. Looking up, Azzie discovered the source rather quickly.

"D-Drake-sama..." She managed to croak out, staring up at the man holding her arm to prevent her falling down. Azzie knew from the distance away he'd been that he must've sprinted and slid in order to catch her in time, and that only confused her farther. "Why..."

"I already told you." he hissed back, causing Azzie's eyes to widen. "I wanted to settle this calmly, and you falling to your death is not what I had in mind." He managed to cast her a confident smirk despite the pain he was putting himself through to lay there and hold her. "Besides, what sort of man would I be if I let a pretty young woman like you fall to your death?" Azzie's felt her face go red at his words, even more unsure of his motives now.

"I don't understand." She said weakly, "Why are you going through so much to try and save me? Your broken rib must be killing you right now, and your arm, so why..."

"Like I said." he replied, "Calmly. You're not a bad person, and everyone deserves a second chance." Second Chance, huh? Azzie felt her eyes begin to get wet with tears, and she rubbed at her face with her free arm to dispel them. Unfortunately, her magic didn't work on tears, only magic. "Now, how do you propose we get out of this situation we're in?" Azzie took a moment to observe the problem. She, with Drake's injuries, weighed to much to be pulled up, and she had no strength to assist him in such a feat anyway.

"You could let me fall." She replied, looking back up at him. "You'd be okay, and I'd be..."

"Enough!" Drake shouted, glaring at her. "If you fall, I'm going with you! Stop trying to convince me you're life isn't worth anything, because it won't do anything."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Azzie demanded, glaring at him right back. "We aren't friends, we're enemies! This is supposed to be when I beg for my life while you threaten to drop me, not you trying to save me!"

"Than start begging, for Mavis' sake." he growled. "Maybe it'll inspire me to pull you up." Azzie shook her head angrily, not able to believe such a cute guy was this stupid. The only way out of such a situation was one or both of them dying, so why was he so intent on neither? Wait, why was she so intent on only her own death? If what she said was true, then why wasn't she trying to kill them both? It would be what Master Kronos would've wanted her to do. "He would've wanted that, huh?"

"Eh?" Azzie jerked her head back p to look at him, her own purple eyes meeting his. "What...?"

"I heard you thinking that your master would want you to kill us both if it meant the enemy was dealt with." he replied, giving her a steely gaze. "So remind me why you listen to this guy?" Azzie sighed and looked out over the forest, hearing the sounds of her guildmates engaging in battle with Drake's.

"He saved my life." She whispered. "I was just a kid lost in a forest, and he offered me a home in exchange for my service in his guild. Had I known that it would lead to so much death and despair, I would've rathered death." Drake remained silent, so Azzie continued, "I've heard the stories of your guild, how everyone is a family. I've gone without a real family for so long I..." Azzie got choked up at the thought of her dead family. "I've forgotten how it feels to have one. I barely even remember my own mothers face, how said is that?" Azzie sniffled and chuckled. "Look at me, losing my cool like this in front of you..."

"I can't begin to relate on such a level, but..." Drake replied quietly, and Azzie turned to find him looking away from her, a somber look on his face. "I haven't seen or heard from own Father in almost eight years. Nashi didn't meet hers until she was sixteen. Simon's in the same boat as me, and Damien killed his own little sister on accident and to this day cannot live it down, and Ultear befriended a little girl only to fail in protecting her and see her burned corpse." Azzie watched Drake sigh, before looking back at her. "We've all been through our own personal hell, but we're always there for each other. Don't you have anyone you can turn too? At all?"

"I suppose." She said. "Katsuchi-sama and Tetsu-sama."

"Those guys in that memory I heard." Drake replied. "You trust them?" Azzie smiled at the thought of the goofball God Slayers and nodded.

"With my life." She said. "They're the only ones I've ever been able to talk too, Icas and Taisho are barely tolerable, and Maya just creeps me out...But Katsuchi-sama and Tetsu-sama were always there if I needed them. A shoulder to cry on, someone to beat up and mock for fun, if I needed anything Kronos-sama wouldn't or couldn't provide..."

"That's a family, isn't it?" Azzie's felt shocked at what Drake said, mainly because she'd never looked at it that way. "if you trust them and they trust you, that's all you need..." Azzie smiled as her eyes threatened to leak again.

"Yeah..." They were both silent for a minute before The rock face trembled a little, and rocks hit Azzie on the head.

"Shit..." Drake hissed, more of his midsection visible. "The cliff's giving out on me..."

"I told you to let go..." Azzie replied, more calm then she thought she would be.

"And I told you not to talk like that." Drake looked around for anything to solve their predicament, and he looked back down at at Azzie solemnly. "I have an idea, but I need you to trust me."

"H-huh?" Azzie asked, confused. More of the cliff gave out, and Drake winced as it did. Azzie could see his broken rib jabbing him, and it looked painful.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"I..." Azzie faltered at the thought of Kronos punishing her for saying such a thing. "Just let me fall, Drake-sama. Save yourself."

"Like hell." he replied, giving her one of the most determined looks she'd ever seen. "We're going to get out of here, and you can see Katsuchi and Tetsu again. I'll get you back to your family, you just have to trust me." Azzie could no longer keep the tears back, and they fell down her cheeks.

"I-I do." Se replied, smiling up at Drake. "I trust you." Drake smiled back.

"Good." he said. "Cause I'd feel bad doing his other wise." Drake summoned a surge of strength Azzie previously thought impossible due to his weakened state, and threw her up into he air in front of him. Azzie felt his hands grasp her waist and he pulled her close to him, and they were now nose to nose. Azzie blushed furiously, and Drake just grinned at her.

"W-what are you..." Azzie asked weakly, and he laughed.

"We aren't even at the good part yet." he said. Just as Azzie was about to ask, the rest of Drake's footing gave way, and they fell down the cliff.

"You're a fucking idiot!" Azzie screamed as she pressed herself up against him, her head resting on his shoulder. He laughed manically.

"I get that a lot!" he reassured, tightening his grip around her midsection. Azzie didn't like how calm she felt in his grasp, but he was warm, a feeling Azzie was not used too. _So this is what a hug feels like..._

"What now?!" Azzie shouted over the air whistling around them, and Drake made a weird sound.

"The landing is gonna suck." he replied. "Just close our eyes, it may get nasty."

"D-Drake-sama..." Azzie was cut off as his hand pressed up against the back of her head.

"Close them." he ordered. Azzie did as she was told, and she felt their descent get slowed bit by bit as Drake pressed them up against the cliff side. "Fuck that burns..." As they slowed, Azzie stayed dead quiet, obviously practicing for when she actually was dead. "Now," Drake said. "Here's the dangerous part. Ready?"

"Like falling three hundred feet wasn't the dangerous part!" Azzie yelled back angrily, and Drake laughed.

"You know Azzie," he said. "I like you." Azzie's eyes snapped open in shock and she threw her head back to stare at him, face totally red.

"W-what..." Drake interrupted her by looking past her.

"Here's our stop." he said calmly. Thrusting from the cliff, Azzie felt Drake force her into a protective hug as they flew through the canopy, and she felt er head hit a branch, and everything went black.

* * *

Big!" Maya shouted, Ultear's body springing to normal size. "Small!" Which caused it to become small again. Ultear wasn't even doing that much fighting, but her body size changing so rapidly was exhausting her greatly. "Big! Small! This is so much fun, right Ultear?"

"Totally..." Ultear replied weakly, trying to stand in her weakened state. Maya had too great of an advantage over her, it wasn't fair. Not only that, but she couldn't even fight in this form either.

"Huh," Maya said, observing the sweat on her brow. "This is quite tiring, so I'm just going to finish you off now." Ultear couldn't do anything to stop Maya as she charged her, fist raised, so she bowed her head and accepted her fate. "What the...gah!" Ultear looked up to see that Maya had been blindsided by something, and Ul watched the younger girl fly into the bushes.

"Ow..." Ultear was surprised to note the thing that hit her had been a man, even more so when she recognized the scarlet hair. "What the hell did I hit?" Simon asked, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Simon!" Ultear shouted happily, running to his side. "I'm so happy you're here!" Simon looked over as she touched his arm, and his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Ul?" he asked. "is that you?"

"Yes! That bitch you hit uses retrogression magic, so I look like a seven year old...what are you staring at?" Ultear noticed Simon had not been looking her in the eyes, but lower. He turned the color of his hair and looked away.

"Well..." he said slowly. "I'm not used to your chest being so small..." If Ultear could've used embarrassment as a weapon, Maya would've lost to a nuclear explosion of it.

"Who says stuff like that?!" Ultear screeched, slapping him.

"Ow!" he shouted. "I'm just saying, It's weird..."

"Of course it's smaller, I look seven!"

"Well, what did you want me to say?!"

"Certainly nothing about that, you pervert!" The two bickered until laughing interrupted them.

"My my, what a development." Maya stumbled out of the bush, her face covered in what Ultear assumed was her own blood. That or being hit like that caused her to eat a small animal. "Is this the guy, Ultear?"

"The...guy...?" Ultear asked, and the conversation came back to her when Maya wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and she turned a bight crimson. "Wha-no! We aren't like that!"

"Such misfortune." Maya said in a overly dramatic tone. "Ultear's love has to see her in such an unattractive and deplorable state!"

"Is that a boy or a girl?" Simon asked Ultear, which caused Maya to fall over. "Seriously, I can't tell." Ultear began to laugh as Maya stood.

"I'll turn you int a little kid too, you asshole!" Maya shouted, her hands glowing. Nothing happened. Simon stood tall, pushing Ultear behind him.

"I don't know who you are." Simon said calmly. "But you went after one of my friends, a close one at that. Plus, it would appear your retrogression magic is not practiced enough, as it cannot effect more than one of us at a time." A sword materialized in Simon's hands, and he pointed it at Maya. "How about you fight someone on an even playing field?" Maya squeaked, and Simon blasted her with a blast of his heavenly magic. he turned back to her and smiled. "You can take this from here, I have another asshole to deal with."

"How can I in such a state?" Ultear asked weakly, and Simon placed a hand on her head.

"You're smarter than her, no matter how old you are." Simon replied, causing Ultear to go the color of his hair. "I believe you can do it. Besides, I think you'd rather her than my opponent." As if on cure, laughter could be heard in the distant.

"Where the fuck are you, Scarlet?!" The other man laughed. "Did I eradicate you?! If so, let me find your ashes so I can go back and find Hot guy, er, eye!"

"Gotta go." Simon said, smiling at her. "Good luck." With the good wishes, Simon disappeared in a flash, leaving Ultear alone with Maya once again.

"Man, who was that guy?" Maya demanded, struggling to stand. "No matter, I'll just finish you off now, Ultear" Maya's body began to glow, and she began launching blasts of white magic. Ultear managed to dodge all but one, which upon contact, shrunk her by another year.

"I'll be a newborn at this rate..." Ultear said, struggling to stand. "Just how the hell..." Maya laughed at her as she stood.

"You can't win without your boyfriend her, huh?" Maya asked, causing rage to circulate through Ultear. "I doubt Icas needs me, but I'll finish you quick and go to find him." While Maya spoke, Ultear ran as fast as she could, and launched herself at Maya.

"I need Simon, huh?!" She demanded, pulling at Maya's hair. "How about now, bitch?!"

"Get off of me!" Maya shouted. Ultear kept pulling, clumps of hair coming out in her hands. "I can't stand you, God!" Ultear jumped away as she finished ripping her hair out, and Maya gave her a murderous glare. "I'll use your dead body to hit red hair with it, got it?" Ultear had absolutely no plan, but smiled and gestured for Maya to come at her.

"Bring it bitch."

**This may be one of my favorite chapters this far. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	87. Magical Pressure

**Wow, another update? I'm on fire!**

**Enjoy!**

Azzie's head hurt, that much was certain. What had happened again? Oh right, her maniac enemy had grabbed her and fallen off the cliff, nearly killing her. Drake, where was he? Azzie tried to sit up and look around, bu something prevented her from doing so. Looking down gave her the cause, as Drake still had his arms draped over her protectively, his face scrunched up in pain.

"Drake-sama?" Azzie asked quietly, and Drake's left eye opened to look at her.

"Good," he whispered, his face relaxing slightly, "You're okay."

"W-what about you?" Azzie asked weakly, observing the dried blood on his face and dirt. He groaned and flinched.

"I'm good." he lied through his teeth, and Azzie frowned.

"Don't lie to me." She hissed. "You nearly killed yourself, didn't you?"

"Maybe." he replied, giving her that signature cocky smirk that he somehow managed to plaster on despite his position. "Other than that, I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Azzie asked, just no realizing her head was still resting on his chest.

"Sit up." Azzie did so, sitting up in a straddling position, and immediately noticed the problem. Drake had been stabbed through the side by a branch as they fell, one that was two inches in diameter. "Pull that out, would you? It's killing me, literally." Azzie stared at him weakly, not trusting herself to such a dangerous job.

"I...I can't." Azzie replied. "What if I hurt you? I..." Azzie stopped talking when Drake grabbed her hand, staring defiantly at her.

"You don't believe in yourself, huh?" he demanded, which earned a nod. "Fine, I'll believe in you enough for the both of us. Now, pull it out before it kills me." Azzie got off of him and watched the branch carefully, planting her hands on it. He nodded at her, and she pulled as hard as she could, causing Drake to growl in pain. "Oh, that burns..." he hissed, slamming his head back down onto the ground. "How bad is it?" Azzie observed the wound, trying not to be sick while looking at it.

"It's pretty bad." She replied quietly. "But it looks like it avoided everything vital, so that's good, right?" Drake snickered, but coughed up blood while he did.

"Yeah, I guess..." Azzie panicked as his voice got quieter. "Just got to look on the bright side...huh...?" His eyes began to droop, and Azzie felt her stomach churn violently.

"Don't!" Azzie shouted, cupping Drake's face in her hands. "Don't close your eyes, Drake-sama! Look at me!" Drake's eyes lazily drifted over to her, and she smiled weakly and tears fell again. "There you go, keep them on me, got that? Don't you dare close them." Drake chuckled.

"Is that caring if I die I detect, Azzie?" he asked, his eyes drifting back to the sky. "And you tried to convince me you didn't care..." before she could say anything, his head lolled and his eyes closed.

"Shit..." Azzie whispered, sitting back and observing his unmoving form. "Shit shit shit shit... What now?" Azzie looked around for something to do. "I...I could just go..." Azzie watched his unmoving form as thunder sounded overhead, tears once again beginning to fall. "How heartless am I that I just suggested that? Drake-sama risked his own life and possibly gave it to keep me alive, and I was just going to leave him here? Not a fucking chance." Azzie picked Drake up in a piggy back and did her best to get her balance, as she was wounded and carrying someone heavier than her on her back. "My turn to save you, Drake-sama..." Azzie began to unsteadily walk away, not making it very far before she collapsed to one knee, the leg that had been hurt in the fall giving out on her.

Azzie couldn't take much more abuse today, she wasn't built for it. She was about to fall over when a ragged breath was exhaled over her shoulder from Drake, and she frowned, standing angrily.

"Like hell I'm going to fall now." She hissed. "You nearly died falling down a cliff for me, and I can't carry you a certain distance? I can do this, easy." Azzie trudged on, ignoring the stabs of pain from her leg and spine. She was about to take another break when she spotted black smoke rising to the east of her, and bit's of metal strewn around her.

The airship.

It was a long shot to say she could find help there, but maybe someone survived the crash and was there. She just hoped that if anyone was there, they'd help Drake before asking any questions.

"I don't care if they kill me for being the reason you're like this." Azzie hissed as she followed the bits of wreckage. "I just hope you make it..."

* * *

"Fire God's Death Scythe!"

"Iron God's Bellow!" Elise hit Nashi in the stomach and they sprawled out on the ground uselessly, one on top of the other. Both had nothing left at this point and where just getting tossed around by the God Slayers opposite them, which wasn't fun. Katsuchi frowned.

"Man, it's no fun if they don't fight back." he said, disdain obvious in his tone.

"Maybe we tried to hard." Tetsu offered, "We do go overboard sometimes."

"Yeah, but I thought they had more in them than this." As the two of them talked about Nashi and Elise, Elise rolled off of Nashi and exhaled.

"We're so dead." She hissed. "I can't even stand."

"I know." She replied weakly. "But we can't just give up, can we?"

"Got any better ideas?" Elise's question brought Nashi into silence. "Didn't think so. We're dead."

"Oi," Katsuchi sad, obviously in their direction. "You two need a breather or something?"

"That'd be nice." Nashi coughed back, sitting up. "But I somehow doubt we'll get one." her response earned her a chuckle from both men, who were still in near perfect condition. Nashi wasn't sure what was worse; the fact that they were fine after such a long fight or that Nashi and Elise were losing. A combination of both, Nashi finally decided. At this rate they were going to die, which wasn't a very good option either.

"Well, I suppose neither of you have anything left, so..." Katsuchi prepared a black fireball in his hand and turned to Tetsu. "Which one do you want?"

"We'll take our respective elements, I guess." he replied calmly, his arm turning into a club. "Sound fair?"

"Definitely." As both turned to come and deliver the final blow, Nashi suddenly remembered something vital, the Grimoire Heart story.

Grimoire.

It was like a bonfire of perfect idea's in Nashi's head, and she grinned at the shifted over to Elise's side and leaned over her shoulder.

"I have an idea." She whispered, "But it's pretty far fetched and insane."

"Can't be much worse than what we've already tried, what is it?" Nashi whispered her idea to Elise, who paled. "Your fucking kidding me, right? How are you going to do that, force yourself?"

"That's the idea." Nashi replied calmly, standing up. "If my dad can do it, so can we."

"You think you inherited it, or something?" Elise asked wearily, and Nashi nodded. "I'm friends with a psychopath, I swear." She chuckled and stood next to Nashi, "But then again, not being sane just makes it more fun, doesn't it?" Both God Slayers raised an eyebrow at the girls, who had stood to fight again.

"You guys got some major lady balls, I have to say." Tetsu said, "Because to stand up to us with no magic power left takes a lot of balls. Iron God Club!"

"Fire God's Kagutsuchi!"

* * *

Damien was way to bored, and he didn't like the feeling at all. He had heard multiple explosions, which was most likely his friends fighting the dark guild which had attacked. Not only that, but from the sounds coming from the sky that it was going to rain soon, which was just perfect. All of his friends were out there fighting, about to be in the rain, and he was sitting here under a bent metal piece of the airship to avoid said rain when it showed up. Jellal had since fallen asleep, leaving Damien the sole awake person again, save Sawyer and Macbeth who were still patrolling. Damien sighed and picked at the edge of the metal trying to entertain himself.

"I hate sitting around and doing nothing." he hissed. "Why the hell can't I fight someone?" Nobody was awake or near enough to answer him, so he really only asked himself. "And now I'm talking to myself, isn't that just perfect..."

"Hello?" Damien looked up at the voice he didn't recognize, feminine in tone. He watched the opening in front of the wreckage as a girl with purple hair walked into the clearing. She seemed rather beaten up, with someone draped over their shoulder. "Anyone alive?"

"Who wants to know?" Damien demanded, watching her jump at the sound of his voice. "Who the hell are you and why are you here?"

"Are..." Damien saw her falter as she walked closer to him under his little hut, it appeared her leg hurt. "Are you a friend of Drake-sama's?"

"Drake-sama?" Damien asked, his defenses raising slightly. "I am, how do you know him?" The girl shifted so that the head of the person she was carrying appeared over her head, and Damien paled. "What the...Drake!" Damien got up and rushed towards the girl, scooping up the wounded Dragon Slayer from the girls arms and observing his friend carefully. "What the hell happened to him?!"

"I..." Damien looked over at the girl, his eyes drifting towards her revealed midsection, which made him growl.

"That mark." he hissed. "You're in that guild, huh? What the hell are you doing here?" Damien watched the girl, and felt incredibly confused when she started to cry.

"I'll tell you everything." She whispered, "Just...please, save his life. Please!"

"Why do you care?" Damien asked as he carried Drake over to the medical supplies. "I'm willing to bet you're why he's like this!" The girl just cried even more, but Damien didn't have time to ask her anymore questions, he had to save his friend's life. Laying him down gently, Drake observed the damage. it occurred to him that Drake may have ended up like this due to the crash and this girl had just happened to find him, but that didn't explain why she was so worried. "Hey, what's your name?" Damien asked. He needed her help, and a first name basis would help.

"A-Azzie." She whispered. "My name's Azzie."

"Alright Azzie, if you really want him to survive, you need to listen to everything I tell you to a fault, got it?" She nodded quickly, and he looked back down at Drake. "Take off his coat and shirt so w can help him, alright?" She did as she was told, and Damien dug around the bag of supplies for gauze. As he found it, he returned to find Drake without a shirt on, and handed her the gauze. "I'll lift him up, you wrap, alright?" She nodded and they completed their task easily enough, and Damien sighed.

"Is he going to be okay?" Azzie asked quietly, and Damien shrugged.

"If I could get him back to the guild, yes." He replied. "Wendy'd have him up and moving in no time, but I'm no healer." Damien stared down at Drake's unconscious form, before returning his gaze to Azzie. "Now, care to explain why the hell he's like this?" Azzie flinched at his brutal tone and looked down at Drake.

"It's all because he's such an idiot..."

* * *

Katsuchi was surprised the girls had the strength to stand, but it really didn't matter anymore anyway. Standing, lying down, they still wouldn't survive the final attacks he and Tetsu used. His fireball met Nashi head on and Tetsu's club slammed into Elise stomach, both of them flying backwards. Katsuchi began to laugh and turned to high five Tetsu, but paused when he saw his partner staring ahead in awe.

"What?" he asked, turning back around to stare at Nashi and Elise, and his eyes widened. "What in God's holy name...?" His fire had yet to fade from Nashi's body, and she was standing back up. Elise had grabbed the club as it made contact. "Wow, I'm surprised they're still standing. No matter, we'll just...what the fuck?!"Katsuchi watched in astonishment as Nashi began to shove his flames in her mouth and eat them, as if nothing was wrong with that. Elise placed the club in her mouth and bit as hard as she could, actually managing to break and chew it. "H-how..."

"Remember what Kronos said?" Tetsu asked weakly, "The only time another lower class slayer can eat our element?" Katsuchi's eyes widened as he watched the scene in front of him in shock.

"Yeah," he whispered. "they can only do it if they replace their magic with ours, and the girls are on empty right now..." Nashi giggled as the remainder of Katsuchi's flames disappeared in her mouth.

"Mavis above." She said, opening her eyes, a steely look of determination Katsuchi had never seen before. "That fire is hot, I've never felt so crispy on the inside." Elise chuckled as she stood up as well.

"You think that was bad?" Elise asked her friend. "I almost cut up my insides eating that, but did it ever taste _amazing._" Katsuchi watched as Nashi erupted in a combination of red and black fire, and Elise's body became coated in gray and black iron.

"The combination of the God's and Dragon's..." Katsuchi whispered, the raw magical energy from the girls making him shiver.

"This pure magical power..." Tetsu said weakly, sweat dropping at the sight. "I've never felt it before.

"The Iron Dragon and Fire Dragon God's."

**More cliffhangers, haha! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	88. On the Loose

**Woah, more updates?! You guys are so lucky!**

**Enjoy!**

If Simon could see him and Icas fighting from a distance, he was sure it would just have been a bunch of golden and dark blasts in the distance. Up close, however, needed some epic music.

"SCARLET!"

"ICAS! The two of them slammed into each other again, sending out a shock wave of magical energy that flattened the tree line. Simon had a bubble of heavenly light surrounding him, and Icas was doing the same. They attacked each other mercilessly, fists swinging for whatever they could make contact with, using whatever means around them as an advantage. They flew apart and Icas laughed.

"I must say," he commented. "I'm impressed you've managed to last this long without any outside interference. Not counting the fatty, obviously, because he was a total pushover." Simon growled, deciding not responding what the better response. Icas was trying to provoke him, but Simon needed a level head to stay alive, let alone land a few hits. "What, got no more shit talking to do? That's fine, I can do more than enough for the both of us! Now, are you done taking a break?!" Icas gave his own response by charging at Sion, giving him no option but to attack back. Simon knew he was fighting a losing battle at his rate, but he had to keep trying. Richard's words, telling him that his magic was inferior and that he had no chance of winning rang true. he really didn't. Simon was really only hoping that he could tire him out so that someone else could do it in his place.

"Gah!" Simon shouted in pain, Icas' blast of hell magic striking him in the leg. "This is bad, I'm fighting a losing battle..."

"Damn right." Icas said confidently. "I already told you and the fatty, chances of winning are zero. And that's without factoring in Taisho, you know that?"

"Who is Taisho?" Simon asked, hoping for a break in the action.

"The man who'll put an end to your guild." Simon's eyes widened as fear flashes in Icas' eyes, actual, genuine fear. Icas was afraid of Taisho, whoever he was. "Master Kronos calls him, 'The Demon of Ice.' Man is cold, pun not intended."

"Demon?" Simon asked, "What does that mean, he's a demon?"

"Yes." Icas replied. "Both literally and metaphorically. He's a demon takeover mage, and he uses one of the Twelve Demon Lords." That made Simon worried. One of the Lords? that could only go so many different types of terribly.

"You know," Simon said, crossing his arms. "We have one of those too." Simon was satisfied as hell to see fear cross Icas' face, before he burst out in laughter.

"Nice bluff, Scarlet!" Icas laughed. "Fairy Tail, of all guilds, has one of the twelve destined Demon Lord takeover mages?! Fucking laughable!"

"Laugh all you want." Simon replied calmly, grinning at Icas. "It's still the truth, Damien can beat Taisho easily."

"Saying something like that is laughable." Icas growled. "Taisho is a fucking madman and is Kronos decides to let him out, not even any of our own who get in his way will survive."

"Well, I can't wait until Damien finds him." Simon replied with a grin. "Because that'll be a fight to remember." Of course, Simon left out on crucial fact: Damien couldn't, or wouldn't, use his Demon Lord takeover. if it came right down to it he wasn't sure what would happen, but he hoped Damien had enough sense to look past his petty hatred of the demon and save his family.

"Oi, Scarlet." Simon looked up at Icas, who looked rather angry. "Quick question before I finish up here."

"Alright, what?"

"What do you and your guildies plan to do if you manage to beat all of us?"

"Go after your master, obviously." Simon replied immediately, earning a hearty chuckle from Icas.

"Just as I thought." He said wistfully. "Even if you beat me, you're still going to die. Well, that's helpful." Simon didn't get a chance to respond before Icas flew at mach speed to tackle him, throwing him up into the air rather high up. Deciding he didn't have much of a choice, Simon requipped into his flight armor and sped behind Icas, slamming his rapier into his back. Following up with another attack with the sword, Icas turned and shot a miraculous burst of hell magic, snapping the blade in two. Simon didn't have time to react, as Icas grabbed him by the collar of the leopard print coat and rocketing them at the ground, dropping Simon at the last second. He recovered in time just to throw Icas off course and into a tree, and followed up with blasts of heavenly light into the brush where Icas had disappeared into. "Too slow, Scarlet!" Icas was now behind Simon, obviously taking the long way around to do so. Simon collapsed to his knees to avoid the oncoming punch, driving his own into Icas' gut. Following up by taking out his Lightning Emperor staff and electrocuting him, Simon, threw him up into the air and blasted him again, causing him to drop unceremoniously back down in front of Simon.

"Shit..." Simon whispered, the fatigue of finally requipping again catching up to him in bulk. "I shouldn't have started requipping, now I'm really exhausted..." Icas laughed and struggled to stand, blood dripping from his nose and forehead.

"I still have some left in the tank, Scarlet." he said matter of factly, watching Simon breath heavily. "Want to go another round?" Simon felt rage circulate though his system as Icas smirked at him, and stood as tall as he could.

"I told you..." Simon hissed, requipping into his flame designed pants, with bandages wrapped around his arms, brandishing a katana. "I will defeat you, just a matter of when. Even if I have to put my own body through hell to do it, I will beat you!" Icas laughed manically as Simon glowed with holy light, his own body glowing with hellish magic.

"I'll never get enough of that attitude you fairies have." he said, pretending to cry about it. "Maybe when I'm done with you, I'll find your friends and..." Icas was cut off as Simon sped forward and brought the katana to his neck, glaring angrily at him.

"Lay a fucking finger on my friends." Simon threatened. "And I will kill you so slowly you'd wish Taisho was the one killing you." Simon pushed the katana forward a little, satisfied to see a little blood coming forth. Icas chuckled and glowered all in the span of a second and a half.

"Get that fucking blade away from me before I kill you."

* * *

"Come baaaaccckkkk, Ully! I wanna play!" Ultear knew there was no way in hell she was turning back, she was too young as it was. She'd been hit twice since Maya started shooting her retrogression magic where ever she wanted, which put her down to five years. Five more hits from that magic and she was a goner.

"Man, my legs hurt..." She hissed, rubbing her legs to soothe the pain. "It doesn't help that I couldn't use a lot f magic when I was five..." Ultear thought rapidly, there had to be something she hadn't tried yet. "I...! I could, but her magic effects ice...but what if she doesn't aim specifically for me..." Ultear brain raced to formulate a plan as she hid in a bush. One advantage of being so small was that she hid very easily in things like bushes, so Maya didn't have a clue when she was and walked right in front of her, sighing audibly.

"Where'd she go?" Maya asked aloud, Ultear holding her breath as she did her best to silently craft her salvation. "I know she's small and all but shit, how did I lose her?"

"Come on, come on, come on..." Ultear whispered as she faltered slightly in her craftsmanship. "So close, I just need a little more..."

"Found ya!" Ultear dodged another blast and rolled out into the open, hiding her savior behind her back in hopes Maya hadn't seen it. "Why are you hiding in random bushes, Ully? I just want to play!"

"You've got a fucked up idea of playing." Ultear replied weakly, doing her best to finish making her last hope behind her back. It had been difficult to do when she could see it, now it was damn near impossible. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Well, I guess Katsuchi may need me." Maya replied, getting starry eyed. "But I have to...Hey, I caught that! You tried to make me lose focus of what I was doing! You'll be a newborn for that!" Maya raised both of her hands above her head, preparing one big blast just as Ultear finished her project.

"Wait!" Ultear shouted with false fear.

"Too late, Ully! Don't worry, I'll get you some diapers!" Maya shot the beam at Ultear who finally revealed her project.

A roughly crafted mirror of ice.

It was her only chance at this point, so she aimed it as best she could and waited with baited breath. Ultear felt the blast impact the mirror and deflect back the way it came, right at Maya.

"Wait!" Maya shouted as the magic came back at her. "This wasn't supposed to..." The magic engulfed her, and she disappeared. Just as she did, Ultear's body sprung back to normal size, chest and all.

"Ow." Ultear muttered, checking herself to make sure she was all there. "That was sudden..." she stood upright and nearly fell back over, not used to the wait her teenage chest gave her front after the whole fight, "Thank Mavis Simon didn't see that..." She whispered, blushing at the thought of what her friend had said about her size when he'd shown up. "Maya?" Ultear lifted the clothes that lay strewn on the ground, revealing a small child with white hair, crying and giving Ultear an absolutely lethal glare. "Aw, aren't you a cutie!" Ultear scooped up her baby enemy in her arms and smiled devilishly at her, and she glared back.

"Waaaahhh!" Maya shouted, pounding Ultear with her tiny fists.

"Yeah, fuck you too." Ultear place her back down on the ground and observed her location, noticing the black smoke from the crash rising in the distance. "I guess I better try and make it there, before all of this retrogressing makes me fall over..." Ultear struggled on her way to the airship wreckage, doing her best to block out the sounds of baby Maya crying behind her.

* * *

Kronos sighed and tossed the Maya figurine in a pile with Azzie's, the rest of them still up on the board. Truthfully, he should've seen it coming that the girls would fall first. Azzie always harbored evil intent towards him, and Maya was as flaky as they come.

"It would appear the stakes of the game are weighed in the Fairies favor." he murmured, "Oh well, that just makes it more fun. I suppose if I had to guess, Icas or Simon will fall next. Than again, maybe Kat or Tetsu will fall first..." Before he could do anything, an explosion sounded in the building, shaking it's foundation. "And, there's Taisho..."

"Master Kronos!" Kronos looked up as one of his subordinates appeared in the doorway. "Taisho, he...he..."

"I'm aware, I heard it." Kronos replied, leaning back in is chair and grabbing Taisho's figurine, placing it on the board. "This just makes the game all the more fun to play."

"S-sir, should we try and stop..."

"Do you want to die?" Kronos asked, causing the man to flinch. "Taisho was pissed before Azzie and Maya fell, he must be straight up murderous now. So, no, leave it. Oh, one more thing."

"Yes sir?"

"Prepare all of my belongings, just in case."

"Right, sir. Just in case." Kronos watched the man go quietly, sighing and watching the board quietly. He chuckled as Nashi and Elise's figure's grew darker features, as they had absorbed God attributes. "Now that Taisho is free, the real game shall begin..."

"The game of run and die, Fairies."

**Uh oh, Taisho is out on the loose! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	89. Outsped

**I'm so happy my writers block is gone, so that I can keep updating for you guys!**

**Enjoy!**

Damien sighed as he leaned back against the airship, Azzie resting on her knees in front of him.

"Sounds like Drake, that jackass." Damien muttered, glaring at the unconscious form of the dragon slayer in question. He noted Azzie watching him with a pained expression, and saw her wipe tears away. "Don't cry, he'll be fine. He's a fighter, falling off of a cliff ain't shit compared to some things he's survived in the past."

"I know..." She replied quietly, closing her eyes as more thunder sounded overhead. She had Drake's coat in her arms, clutching it tightly. "I just...I..." Damien didn't know what to tell her. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he could trust her, let alone comfort her. He was worried too, but he was more focused on keeping an eye on Azzie to make sure she didn't try anything. Couldn't be too careful.

"Hey," Damien spoke up, causing her to meet his gaze. "I never told you my name, did I? I'm Damien." He decided to try and befriend her and held his hand out, and Azzie stared at it.

"Damien-sama..." She said slowly, looking back at him, purple eyes full of accusation. "The one that killed his sister."

"Eh?!" Damien asked, glaring at Drake out of the corner of his eye. "What exactly did that little shit tell you?!"

"That it was an accident." Azzie replied calmly, grasping his hand and giving it a single shake. "And you can't live it down." Damien released her hand and crossed his arms again, still glaring at Drake.

"Doesn't he know to keep his mouth shut...?" he asked weakly, trying to prevent the guilt overflowing him. Azzie crawled next to him under the bent metal sheet and leaned back, staring up at the wreckage.

"What was her name?" She asked abruptly, and Damien looked away.

"Steph." he replied.

"Steph-sama..." Azzie pondered aloud. "What did she look like?"

"Blonde." Damien replied, giving one word answers. "Blue eyes."

"Hm." Azzie murmured. "Was she nice?"

"Yeah, she was a little cutie, I guess." Damien chuckled. "She irritated the hell out of me, though. Big brother complex, I guess."

"Yeah." Azzie didn't ask anymore questions, which Damien appreciated. There was silence for a little bit before Azzie shifted to get more comfortable, and sighed. "I had a brother once." She told him.

"Once?" Damien asked curiously. "What happened to him?"

"The village I lived in was attacked." Azzie replied, scrunching up her face. "I watched him die, along with my parents." Damien felt a surge of pity for his former enemy, and almost wanted to comfort her.

"I'm sorry." He said, not sure what else he could say.

"Don't be." Azzie replied. "I was four, I don't even remember his name, nor my parents." That was rough, Damien didn't know what he whined about. Although he had his reasons for Steph's image burned in his head, Azzie could only see faceless people from her past that she'd watched die. That, in Damien's opinion, was worse. "I can't even remember what my mother looked like, either..." Azzie let out a weak chuckle. "The woman who brought me into this world, and I haven't a clue what she looked like. Shitty, huh?"

"Yeah." Damien agreed, now seeing her as a person who was surrounded by misfortune instead of a mindless psychopath, which was his first impression of the enemy. "I'm sure she was a wonderful woman."

"Wish I could agree." Azzie replied, hiding her face from Damien. "But I don't remember." Damien couldn't do much else but grunt in agreement, as Azzie seemed to be blocking him out. Just as he was about to check on Meredy and Sorano, an explosion caused Damien to lose his balance and hit his head against the hull of the ship.

"Ow, fuck!" Damien growled, massaging the area of his head that had made contact. "What n the fu...Azzie?" The purple haired woman had crawled out and was staring out into the distance, rigid. "Azzie...?" Damien could see the problem, a huge black pillar of magic had arisen in the far west of the airship.

"No..." Azzie whispered as the sound of the magic nearly deafened them. "Master Kronos, why would you release him...?"

"Who?" Damien asked, watching the pillar move slowly to the left of where it appeared. "Who is that?"

"T-T-T..." Azzie couldn't even speak the name, and Damien looked over to find her as pale as a ghost. "Taisho..."

"Taisho?" Damien demanded. "Who is that, a problem?"

"Calling Taisho a mere problem is like calling an Etherion strike a weak attack" Azzie said quietly, looking near faint. "It doesn't matter who gets in his way now, Devil Advocate or not, he'll kill them. He doesn't care."

"So...?" Damien asked, and Azzie sighed.

"He'll kill everyone he lays eyes on. The demon of ice takes no prisoners."

* * *

Nashi felt like she was going to explode, which wasn't a pleasurable feeling, believe it or not. Eating Katsuchi's fire had nearly killed her in itself, but having it in her system and usable was painful. Very painful. It was totally worth it to see Katsuchi and Tetsu terrified out of their minds.

"What's wrong, guys?" Nashi asked, observing the black fire that ringed her body.

"You're insane." Katsuchi said quietly. "That could've killed you!"

"It feels like it will." Elise replied quietly, rubbing her scaly armor. "That iron is killing me."

"And I feel ready to implode." Nashi replied, raising a hand towards the God Slayers. "Than again, I've been through worse." The fireball that left her hand threw them away from each other, landing across the clearing from each other.

"Fire God's Bellow!" Katsuchi shouted, aiming for Elise, who stood stationary as the attack came towards her. The black fire engulfed her, and Katsuchi laughed in triumph. That stopped, however, as Elise appeared out of the fire, unharmed.

"It would appear." Elise said with a chuckle. "That the scaled armor of the Iron Dragon God deflects all magic. Bellowing Roar of the Iron Dragon God!" The gray and black attack rammed right into Katsuchi, knocking him over almost immediately. Tetsu was still standing still, eyes wide. Nashi didn't appreciate the look.

"Brilliant Flame of the Fire Dragon God!" The fireball engulfed Tetsu, throwing him up into the air, which Nashi followed quickly. "Fire Dragon God's Death Scythe!" Nashi could see why Katsuchi loved the bladed attack so much, it was quick and painful. The red and black scythe threw Tetsu back to earth, creating a crater next to Katsuchi, who chuckled as he stood.

"So you ladies got a little power up. Big deal. We have to win, or that black pillar over there is going to tear us a new one." Nashi turned to find what the God Slayer was referring too, as a huge column of black magic had risen up in the distance, moving to the right. "That thing? Yeah, Taisho's on the move. You hear that, Tetsu?" The iron God Slayer nodded and struggled to stand, but eventually did so.

"Loud and clear." he hissed, body covering itself in his armor again. "Taisho ain't gonna appreciate finding us losing, so that isn't gonna happen. Not a fucking chance now that he's out."

"Sounds like he's a strong opponent, huh Nashi?" Elise asked, cracking her knuckles. Nashi chuckled.

"Maybe we should introduce ourselves after we're done here."

"If you're suicidal, sure." Katsuchi replied. "Go on ahead. Taisho won't hesitate to annihilate you, he never has." Nashi didn't like the way this Taisho seemed to literally scare the shit out of these two, it unnerved her. "Besides, you two will lose here anyway!" Nashi wasn't prepared for the burst of speed Katsuchi used to propel his fist into her face, and then followed up with a kick. Nashi grabbed his foot and flung him away, blasting the landing area with her mixture of fire magic. Katsuchi fought through it and they rolled around on the ground for a little before Nashi drove her foot into his stomach, sending him flying off. She turned just in time to get a club to the face. Tetsu had weaved around Elise to try and double team her with Katsuchi, but Nashi's abilities were in overdrive due to the God fire, and she easily out matched the two of them and threw Katsuchi into the air, swiping at him with her own scythe. Elise tackled Tetsu from the left and slammed her clubs into his stomach, before he kicked her off and they both turned their arms into katanas, having a very deadly sword fight. Nashi spent one to many seconds watching said battle, and felt Katsuchi connect with her back, and threw a barrage of fireballs at her as she tried to recover. She was about to fight back when pain shot down her spine, coupled with the black fire nearly sputtering out.

"What the...?" Nashi asked, raising her hand and watched the fire flicker weakly. "Why is it dying...?"

"Because it isn't yours." Nashi looked up at Katsuchi when he answered her. "Your body isn't accustomed to more powerful fire, so it's struggling to adapt your magical power to it. If you were any weaker, it would have killed you already."

"So, if I don't hurry this up, the power up will fade?"

"Most likely."

"Shit..."

* * *

Sawyer didn't know why he'd gone so far away from the base camp, but with his speed it really didn't matter anyway. He was quite certain that Damien could hold down the fort if it came to that, the boy was more that competent He sighed as he jumped down from his small overlook and proceeded to do another loop around, checking for anything he should be wary of. Quite honestly he was surprised he hadn't seen anything yet, they had been attacked when they were shot down, after all.

"Man, this isn't a damn thing out here..." he hissed, watching the tree line for a few seconds before he turned and moved on. "What the hell did Damien think he was doing, sending me and Macbeth out on patrol? Why the hell did we listen? Ugh, so many questions..." it couldn't be helped at this point sadly, as he had already gone out to look. Damien had seemed dead serious when he had told them to patrol, so Sawyer had trusted it. Had it all been for naught. "Damn that kid, seriously..." Sawyer was about to turn and run back to the camp when frost began to gather around the area in front f him.

_Ice magic?_

Sawyer whirled around at the sound of everything freezing over, only to find a young black haired man coming out of the brush.

"Finally." he hissed, crossing his arms. "Someone to kill. Quite honestly I was hoping for Maya or Azzie so I could punish them for their loss, but whatever, you'll do."

"And who are you, exactly?" Sawyer asked, preparing to dodge any oncoming attack from his enemy. He knew he'd have to watch his running now that the ground was freezing over, but he was good for it. The young man chuckled.

"Just call me Taisho until I kill you, then it won't matter anyway."

"Don't count me out kid." Sawyer replied, "I'm not that weak from the airship crash."

"I didn't plan to count on that, but thanks for reminding me." Taisho grinned maliciously and the temperature dropped dangerously, and Sawyer could now see his own breath as it drifted through the area in front of his eyes. "I know more than you think, Racer." Sawyer felt his eyes widen at the use of his old code name, one he had not heard in years.

"How did you...?" Sawyer began, earning another laugh.

"Did you think we didn't know our shit?!" Taisho roared, "We did our fucking homework before we attacked, I know all of your weakness' Racer! Now." The temperature dropped even more and Sawyer shivered. "You'll be the first in the pile of bodies I'll pile in front of Master Kronos! Takeover: demon Vantros!

"Takeover, huh?" Sawyer asked as Taisho's body became engulfed in dark light. "Interesting, let's see what you got!" Sawyer instantly regretted that decision, as Taisho, in his new form, rushed at him with unforeseen speed, slamming an icy fist into his chin. Before Sawyer even had a chance to recover, icicles appeared out of the ground to try and run him through as he landed from the attack. After managing to avoid those, Taisho was already all over him again, beams of frozen magic flying from his open palms and towards Sawyer, who did his best to dodge and not slip on the ice and fall on his ass. he tried to loop around and attack Taisho from behind, but the younger man was already ready for it, catching him by the fist.

"Too slow, Racer." he hissed, magic gathering in his other hand. "I wish I could say I expected more, but I really didn't."

"Shit..." Sawyer hissed as the beam grew in size. "he was way to fast..."

"Bye bye, Racer!"

_Boom!_

* * *

Taisho sighed as he stared down at the motionless form of Racer at his feet.

"Honestly." Taisho hissed. "I was expecting more than that." He sighed and bent down to pick the man up, slinging him over his shoulder. He knew full well the man wasn't dead, he hadn't aimed to do so. Taisho planned on going to the wreckage of the airship Katsuchi had knocked down, and then throwing Racer's body down in front of whoever was there, before he killed them. he knew full well people were there, he managed to scare it out of one of Kronos' subordinates. Although they were weakened from the crash, Taisho really couldn't care less, as long as he got to kill them. It was his favorite hobby, after all.

"Heheheh." Taisho chuckled as he made his towards the wreckage, knowing that carrying the man this way would reduce the speed he made it there at, but he could wait. After all, the wait before the kill just made the blood that poured over his hands all the more sweet. "Just you wait, Fairies, and you'll know what true fear is...ain't that right, Vantros?" Taisho turned to face the demon standing next to im, who nodded simply.

"Yes, true." he said quietly, and Taisho watched him curiously.

"Oi, what's up with you?" Taisho demanded. "You're way to not happy about all the killing we get to do." Vantros sighed and crossed his arms, facing Taisho again.

"I'm just anticipating what'll happen when we get there." He replied coldly, as was his style. "It will be no easy fight."

"Hey, you remember who you're talking to?!" Taisho demanded, giving the demon a venomous look. "I'm Devil Advocate's ace, for fucks sake! Who could possibly..."

"Xisplate." The name sent a shiver down Taisho's back, and he chuckled.

"They got one, huh?" He whispered, getting a nod on confirmation. "A fight between Lords, you say...I'm getting all excited just thinking about it!"

"Do not underestimate the leader of the Lords." Vantros scolded, earning a scoff from the mage. "You have not seen true fear until the Demon of Death descends on you."

"Ah, cram it with your philosophical horseshit!" Taisho shouted. "I'll walk all over that takeover wizard, just you fucking watch! He's a fool if he thinks he stands a chance!" Vantros watched Taisho laugh, before he rolled his eyes.

"If anyone is the fool here," he said, "it's you, Taisho."

**Getting pretty intense, huh? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! let's try and get five!**


	90. A Pair of Girls

**Ninety chapters? I'm going to go ahead and pat myself on the back for this story, I'm surprised I've stayed dedicated for so long. And this arc, give or take a few up or down, may be over by 96.**

**Enjoy!**

Ultear was no genius, but she figured looping around the pillar of magic was her best bet. After going through puberty in the span of several seconds more than once, Ultear was exhausted. Not too mention she still could feel the effects of Maya's magic, only slowing her more. She was almost to the airship crash site, she was now just following the path of devastation it took while sliding along the ground. She could see the edges of it poking up and as she reached the crash site, she was greeted by the site of everyone looking terrible. She noted that Drake was here, a wounded Crime Sociere.

"Where the hell is everyone?" Ultear asked, trying not to collapse as she reached the area. Someone had obviously dragged them from the wreckage and bandaged them up, but who? "Hello? Anyone?"

"Another fairy?" Ultear jumped and turned to she a girl with purple hair sitting under a bent piece of metal, watching her curiously.

"Who the hell are you?" Ultear asked, not prepared to fight anyone. Before either of them could answer, a crashing sound and a roar of anger could be heard from the wreckage.

"Mavis above!" A recognizable voice shouted. "Azzie! Come here and help me with this!" The girl, Ultear resumed her name was Azzie, rolled her eyes.

"Damien-sama." She called back, "We have a visitor."

"Shit, is it Taisho?"

"No." Azzie gestured at Ultear, who cleared her throat.

"Get out here, Dreyar!" Ultear shouted, "Let me see you!"

"Ul?!" Rummaging could be heard, and Damien jumped down and strode towards Ultear, wrapping her in a bone crushing hug. One that she happily returned. "Mavis, I'm glad you're okay! Did you have to fight anyone?"

"Yeah." Ultear replied, raising a hand to slightly above her chest. "Some white haired girl, about this high."

"Maya-sama." Azzie said, crossing her arms. "I suppose it was no easy fight.

"It wasn't, uh...?" Ultear trailed off, hoping to clarify the name of the girl. Damien chuckled.

"Ul, that's Azzie." he said, introducing them officially. "She brought Drake back over here." Azzie smiled weakly and held out a hand, one that Ultear shook. Until, however, she noticed the guild mark that rested on the girls stomach, which caused her to jump back.

"Damien, you idiot!" Ultear shouted angrily, punching him in the chest. "She's the enemy!"

"Former." Damien replied, surprising Ultear.

"Ha?"

"Former enemy." Damien repeated, gesturing back at Azzie. A better look confirmed the girl was wounded badly. Not enough to hinder her movements, but badly. "She was the one who found Drake."

"So it's her fault he's like that?"

"Not entirely." Azzie replied quietly, playing with the hem of her cloak. "That's more his fault than mine." Ultear didn't know how to reply, but Damien seemed comfortable enough around her, which allowed her to relax a bit.

"So, wait a minute." Ultear said, talking to Damien. "You asked if I was Taisho. Who's that?" Damien gestured towards the black pillar in the distance, which caused Ultear to choke on her spit.

"That's Taisho." Damien said lowly, "The ace of Devil Advocate, according to Azzie. Man's a monster." A nod from Azzie confirmed the information, and Ultear felt faint. Whether it was from Taisho or the after effects of retrogressing so many times, she couldn't tell. "You okay Ul? You almost fell over there."

"I'm fine." Ultear excused, "Just a little tired."

"It's the after effect of retrogressing to many times." Azzie replied, gabbing Ultear's arm and leading her to a log near the wounded. "Your body fluctuated size so many times your bodies system is all out of order, it's going to make you black out if your not careful." Ultear gulped.

"Really?" She croaked, which earned a nod.

"Now that it's stopped you should be fine." Azzie reassured, casting Ultear a surprisingly warm smile. "You just need to rest, maybe a nap." Ultear nodded and slowly sat down against the log, her legs finally giving out on her after everything.

"Oh, that feels amazing." She whispered as she closed her eyes, resting a bit. "You guys know where everyone else is?"

"I was hoping you'd have an idea." Damien replied.

"Well, I saw Simon a little while ago." She replied, "But he insulted my chest size and moved on quite quickly." Ultear was sure the chest comment had thrown Damien off, that was what she was going for. She yawned before saying, "I'm going to try and sleep, I'm exhausted."

"Alright, we'll keep watch." Ultear nodded and slid down a bit more, finally allowing herself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Damien watched Ultear fall asleep, turning to watch the way she'd come carefully. He wasn't counting out the option that she'd been followed just yet, it was still very possible.

"See anything?" Azzie asked, and Damien grunted a negative. "I'm sure that Ultear-sama was careful to avoid being followed. Even if she was, it;d only be a lower class person from the guild. Everyone who could do some damage has already engaged in combat."

"Except him." Damien hissed, gesturing at the black column.

"He'll make his way here one way or the other." She replied, the fear apparent in her tone. "It's only a matter of time at this rate."

"Way to soothe my worries." Damien muttered irritably.

"I'm not here for that, Damien-sama." She quipped back quickly, crossing her arms. "I can only hope you are strong enough to stop him."

"Can you not help me?" Damien asked, and Azzie shoo k her head.

"I've trained with him for the majority of my life, remember?" She asked, and Damien only remembered right then. "He knows the ins and outs of my magic, not to mention my own shortcomings. He'll destroy me if I get in the way."

"Makes too much sense for my liking, sadly." Damien replied, stalking back to his outpost under the bent metal. "Let's just hope lady luck smiles on us today."

"Doubtful."

* * *

"Fire God's Bellow!"

"Bellowing Roar of the Fire Dragon God!" The breath attacks slammed into each other and exploded almost instantly, throwing everyone on the battlefield for a loop. As soon as the dust cleared, Nashi winced as pain shot up for midsection again. The god fire was doing a number on her, but she'd already be dead without it. Katsuchi was now unable to use her fire magic to recharge, as the fire was of equal strength, if not more powerful. Nashi managed to stand upright again, Katsuchi leaning on his legs for support.

"This has gotten... out of... hand..." he managed through pants for air, and Nashi could agree with him on that. This fight had gotten insane. "Someone has to fall over from fatigue eventually. It's jut matter of when."

"Then fall over already." Nashi replied. "Either way one group is going to get killed by that column of pure evil over there." Katsuchi nodded in agreement. Just as the two were about to attack each other again, Elise and Tetsu came flying out of nowhere, creating a four way stand off.

"Well," Tetsu said, panting. "This is quite an interesting situation."

"Agreed" Elise replied. Tetsu pointed his katana at Elise as she threatened Katsuchi with hers, which caused Nashi to aim a fireball at him while Katsuchi aimed at her. "Who will fire first, I wonder? Will Nashi get her fireball off to distract you while I swing at Katsuchi? So many questions."

"Too bad I know the answer." Katsuchi whispered, eyeing Nashi carefully. Nashi could tell he was looking for one twitch of her muscles that would give away that she was about to fire, so she did her best to avoid giving off that signal. The standoff stayed still for a moment, before Elise decided to react. She swung the blade at Katsuchi, which forced him to redirect the aim of his fire to melt the blade before it killed him. Tetsu prepared to take Elise's head off, but Nashi altered the trajectory of her fireball and hit Tetsu dead on before he could, throwing him into Katsuchi. Elise slammed her hands into the ground, causing iron pillars to rise beneath them both, sending them sailing into the sky. Just as they reached the peak of the flight, Nashi roared, throwing them back down into the ground. It took a moment before the dust cleared, and when it did, Katsuchi was prepared to rip his hair out. "This is insane!" he shouted angrily, "I'm done playing around! Tetsu!"

"Got it!" Both men placed their hands behind them as they took an offensive stance, black orbs of magic forming in their hands and expanding to be bigger than them. Nashi felt an incredible magic pressure as they did, one that was very sickening.

"What the hell is that?" Nashi asked. "it's incredibly powerful, whatever it is..."

"their both attacking as one..." Elise whispered, watching the pair as they charged their attack. She gasped and her eyes widened. "Shit! Nashi, it's Unison Raid!"

"What?!" Nashi shouted back, fear rising into her throat. She knew perfectly well what Unison Raid was, it was one of the most powerful magical attacks in the known world. by combing the magic and emotions of the casters, it was a magic no one could master perfectly. "That'll blow us away!" the response she got was a laugh from Katsuchi.

"Tremble, fairies!" he laughed. "No one has ever walked away from a Unison Raid between us! Ever!"

"Nashi!" Elise shouted. "if we don't come up with a plan, we're beyond fucked!

"I know!" She replied. "I'm doing my best to think!" the magic was acting like a vacuum, sucking everything towards it. it was also too late for any sort of plan, as the huge orbs of magic they had been charging formed into one, and they both swung their arms forward.

"Dark Exploding Fiery Barrage of the Iron and Fire God's!" The blast was at least forty feet tall, and just as wide. It shot like a bullet at Nashi and Elise, and everything went white.

* * *

Taisho was changing the arm he was carrying Racer with when the explosion sent him off balance. He looked around to determine the source, and found a black ball absorbing the forest into it, and he chuckled.

"Unison Raid, Katsuchi?" he asked as the black fire continued to suck everything in. "You must have been desperate to pull that card out of your ass, huh?" he cast a look down at the unconscious form of Racer as he stirred, and kicked the man in the side of the head. "You stay out cold, fuck face." Taisho hissed, glaring at the speedy mage. "Last thing I need is you getting away from me." Just as Taisho was about to continue on his way, his clothes began to constrict him, trying to suffocate him. he rolled his eyes at the pathetic attempt to kill him, and froze his clothes solid. It made them stop squirming, and he stayed that way to make sure they didn't try anything.

"I know you're there, fucker." Taisho called out. "Contrary to popular belief, my clothes don't often turn on me like that." he got his answer shortly as _another _of the former Oracion Seis, Midnight, appeared out the shrubbery. "is it my birthday?" he asked with a psychotic giggle. "Two former dark wizards turned goodie goodies to kill? I love my job."

"What did you do to Sawyer?" Midnight demanded, glaring at Taisho with a look he didn't appreciate.

"Nothing much." Taisho replied. "Knocked him out, don't worry. I plan to kill him at the airship crash site, anyway."

"You'll have to get trough me, you know."

"Unless I know all about your weaknesses." Taisho replied, still constricted by his clothing. "Like this one, for example." Taisho looked at the ground below Midnight, which exploded with frozen spears, ones that he barely dodged. Taisho laughed and unfroze his clothes, watching Midnight glare at him. "You can only use your reflectors in one area at a time, me or yourself. That's a pretty big flaw."

"I'll work around it." Taisho took over into Vantros and launched frozen beams at the older man, who reflected them back at Taisho, who was surprised by the accuracy of the reflection.

"I see, our intel was slightly more outdated then I thought." Taisho hissed. "You can reflect with much better accuracy then reported. Well, not like it matters. I still plan on killing you."

"Come and get me, kid." Taisho replied my launching himself at Midnight, who reflected all of his punches. Taisho could tell this strategy was totally fucked, so he opted for a different one, Bouncing back, he concentrated the ice magic of his takeover demon, causing frost to form. "What the hell are you...!" Midnight stop talking at the frost rushed up his legs and began to freeze him solid, causing Taisho to laugh.

"Your magic may stop oncoming attacks." Taisho replied with a chuckle. "But not attacks formed directly on you!"

"Assho..." Midnight was cut off as the ice reached his head, freezing him completely solid. Laughing at his success, he picked up the frozen man and slung him over the other shoulder, smiling all the way.

"I'm having so much fun right now." He said happily.

* * *

Katsuchi knew there was no way in hell the girls had walked away from that one, even with the ability to use their magic against them. They had completely obliterated the surrounding area, a huge scorch mark as the epicenter of the fight.

"Looks like we did it." Tetsu said, grinning like a madman. "I knew we would! High five!" Katsuchi left him hanging, feeling sad that the girls were gone. He knew they couldn't have survived, but even bodies would have been more satisfactory.

"Well," Katsuchi said, pocketing his hands in what was left of his black coat. "I guess we can...!"

"Dragon God Slayer Secret Art!" Katsuchi's eyes snapped open to find Nashi charging the both of them, red fire in her left hand, black in her right. "Obsidian Lotus Exploding Godly Flame Edge!" The secret art connected with both of them, nearly knocking Katsuchi out as it was. He and Tetsu sailed high into the sky, where the pierced one was already waiting.

"Dragon God Slayer Secret Art!" She shouted, her right arm glowing. "Godly Dragon's Iron Mace!" The huge spiked ball slammed into Katsuchi and Tetsu, knocking them back to earth, creating such a huge boom and a crater that he almost felt his spine snap in two.

_I...we...?_

Katsuchi found the strength to look up at the side of the crater, up at the two teenage girls who radiated raw power.

_We lost...to a pair...of dragons...?_

He watched the girls collapse on top of each other, all magical power gone from their system.

_No...we lost to...a pair of girls...?!_

**Only Simon has to win now! Oh, and Damien... 0_0 Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	91. Doors of Death

**Oh, what's this? More updates? Enjoy!**

"...uchi...Kat...i...Katsuchi...Katsuchi...Katsuchi!" Katsuchi's eyes snapped open to find Tetsu staring down at him, a smirk on his face. "About time sleepy beauty, I was almost worried."

"Fuck off." Katsuchi hissed, placing his arm over his eyes to shield them from the sun. "I'm not in the mood."

"Why? Cause two girls beat us?"

"No, cause two lower class slayers beat us." Katsuchi replied. "Not every girl is like Maya and Azzie, remember."

"Yeah yeah yeah. Well, now what?" Katsuchi sat up, albeit painfully, and looked around. The scorched crater in which they were was quite an eyesore. That, and the black pillar of magic was still moving, seemingly in their direction.

"We have to move out of here, that's what." Katsuchi told his partner. "Taisho is coming this way. If he finds us here, we're dead meat."

"True. Alright, let's go." They got up and limped towards the edge of the crater, climbing up and out. Katsuchi stared down at the unconscious Dragon Slayers and frowned. he didn't have the strength to lift either of them, nor was he risking his own ass for them. he turned to find Tetsu doing the same as him, but he looked deeper in thought.

"Let's go." Katsuchi said, limping towards the tree line. He paused when he didn't hear a second set of stepped behind him. he turned to find Tetsu still staring. "Tetsu?" Katsuchi called, watching the God Slayer clench his fists.

"Are we any better than Taisho?" he asked angrily, turning to face his friend. "Are we really so heartless that, after all of that, we're going to leave them here?"

"We don't have a choice." Katsuchi replied, the guilt weighing him down as well. "We have to make sure we can get back to the guild hall. That way, Taisho won't kill us." Tetsu glared at him for a moment longer than was necessary, which made him fidgety. "Come on, man! We'll die if..."

"We don't have to do this." Tetsu said, looking back at the girls. "Listen to Kronos anymore, I mean."

"What the actual fuck did you just say?" Katsuchi demanded, turning to limp back to Tetsu. "Not listen? Are you out of your fucking mind? What'll we do? Where's our way out?" Tetsu imply pointed at Nashi and Elise, so Katsuchi stared back.

"Their our way out." Tetsu replied. "We've been waiting for a way out since we were little Kat, and now we have one." Katsuchi knew this to be true, he and Tetsu weren't corrupted like the others. Azzie was exempted from that, Katsuchi knew she was a good person.

"There'll be no turning back."

"I know."

"If we save them and take them with us, we'll be hunted by Devil Advocate for as long as we live."

"I know."

"...We're putting their lives on the line by doing this."Katsuchi was grasping at straws for Tetsu to rethink this, but he watched his friend pick up the Iron Dragon Slayer and look over at him, steely eyes full of determination. Sighing in defeat, Katsuchi bent down and picked up Nashi, and found she weighed less than he had previously given her credit for. "Well oh wise one, what now?" Katsuchi slung Nashi over his shoulder and Tetsu began walking off in the direction of black smoke.

"The airship you smoked." he said, turning to wait for Katsuchi to catch up. "I'm more than willing to bet survivors are headed there."

"Makes sense." Katsuchi reasoned as they disappeared into the brush. "One problem though."

"Yeah, what?"

"What makes you think that they'll see two of their friends getting carried in by guys branded with the devils mark and think 'Oh, this isn't a trap or anything'."

"...We'll make shit up as we go along." Katsuchi sweat dropped at Tetsu's response, sighing in defeat once more.

"This is going to go so south so fast..."

* * *

Simon rolled out of the way of another burst and brought his sword up to block another, Icas bearing down on him without any haste. Simon was not only low on magic, but strength in general. Icas kept drawing it from somewhere, though. Kicking him in the stomach, Simon managed to stand and throw himself at the hell wizard, who did his best to get him off of him.

"Fuck sake, Scarlet. Just die!"

"You first!" Simon shouted in reply, losing a fight of who was in control of the fight. Icas raising a hand to bring a fist down gave Simon the time he needed to slither out of his grasp, bringing the hilt of his blade down on Icas' back. Blasting into the air in order to create some breathing room, Simon watched the black blur rush to meet him, and slashed his sword in it's direction. Icas did exactly as Simon predicted, which was slow down to dodge to the right. This gave Simon the opening he needed to blast Icas directly in the face with light, which sent the dark blue haired wizard in a spiral to the ground. Simon watched the impact and charged down to see the damage, landing on top of Icas to prevent the man from escaping.

"Get off of me..." Icas hissed, air obviously knocked out of him.

"Tell me what your goal was by attacking us." Simon replied angrily.

"Ha!" Icas laughed, "You think that even if I had an inkling of a clue as to whatever the hell Master Kronos' real plan was, I'd tell you?!" Icas entered another hysterical laughing fit, one that tested Simon's patience. "You're such a joker, Scarlet. I'm really unsure as to how stupid you think I am but..." Simon felt Icas' knee connect with his thigh, and Icas reversed their roles, pinning Simon to the ground. "I'm not keen on you having control of the situation at hand, you know?"

"Fuck..." Simon mustered whatever strength he had left in order to free himself from the grasp of his enemy, but Icas had a firm hold on him. Said opponent laughed evilly.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed our time together, Scarlet. Maybe if you weren't such a disappointment, this would've gone differently." Hell magic leaked from Icas hands and wrapped around Simon's arms, trailing down his arms towards the rest of his body. "But it is as I said, Heaven cannot beat Hell." Icas let go of Simon, but he black magic did not. It continued to trail down Simon's form, making him freezing cold wherever it touched.

"What the..." Simon hissed, staring down at the markings. "What the hell is this?"

"A little spell I cooked up, called the Doors of Death." Icas smirked. "The magic will envelope your entire body, leaving you immobile for a few seconds. Than, it'll kill you. Slowly, painfully, and before long, hell will envelope your soul." Icas turned and began to walk away, stretching.

"Icas..."

"Hmmm, maybe I'll go and assist Taisho, that'd be best..."

"Icas..."

"Yeah, I'll go do that."

"Icas...!" Simon managed to fight through the numbness that the magic gave him, throwing himself at Icas. He never made it, as the magic finally closed over his eyes, and everything went black.

* * *

_When Simon managed to open his eyes, he was in a dark place. Where am I? He turned his head slowly to look around, but saw nothing but emptiness. Is this what hell looks like? Don't know why Icas likes it so much._

_"Hello?" Simon called, his own voice sounding distorted and weak. "Anyone? Please, I need help..."_

_So you're giving up, is that it?" Simon felt his eyes go wide and his head jerked up, meeting the eyes of them man who now stood in front of him. He was a tall man, with some weird metal apparatus on his face. An eye patch covered his left eye. "I would've thought Erza taught you better than that."_

_"W-who...?" Simon croaked. The other man smiled._

_"You don't recognize me?" He asked, spreading his arms. "I am your namesake, you'd think you'd remember." Namesake? Wait, didn't that mean that..._

_"S-Simon?" Simon asked, and the other man smiled._

_"So you do know. Good, because we don't have long. Before long, hell will take hold of your soul, which will make this irreversible."_

_"...?"_

_" I can't go into detail about how or why we are speaking, but all I know is that you have to stand up, Simon."_

_"I-I can't, Icas beat me..."_

_"A Scarlet would never say that. stand the hell up."_

_"I can't..." Simon could sense the other mans irritation, but there was nothing he could do._

_"Simon, just who the hell do you think you are?" he hissed, glaring at Simon. "You are the son of Erza Scarlet and Jellal Fernandez. Giving up is not a term that should be in your vocabulary."_

_"But I'm going to die...I can't..."_

_"What about your friends? Your family? They need your help Simon, you need to break free of here."_

_"Friends...?" That's right, his friends. Nashi, Elise, Drake, Ultear, Damien. They needed him, what would they do if he died here?_

_"They need you, Simon. Icas hasn't one, you just need to stand I fought until my last breath, are you going o dishonor that?"_

_"No..."_

_"What did you say?!"_

_"No...!"_

_"I can't hear you!"_

_"NO!" A bright, holy light enveloped the area, and Simon's whole body warmed up. "Just wait guys, I still have to finish up here..."_

* * *

Damien wasn't sure how worried to be at the multiple explosions that sounded in the distance, but he worried all the same.

"See anything?" Azzie called from where the wounded sat, and Damien frowned.

"No, nothing..." he replied, stalking back to her side and surveying the wounded. he hated sitting around and doing nothing while his friends were out there doing everything, it just didn't sit well with him.

"I'm sure your friends will be alright." Azzie tried, gripping her hands together tightly.

"Yeah, whatever." Damien grumbled. He was about to say more when the bushes made a strange noise. Damien was about to attack it when two people stumbled out of the brush, one blonde, the other with raven hair. Azzie choked.

"K-Katsuchi-sama?" She asked weakly, "T-Tetsu-sama?"

"Azzie?" They both asked, and all eyes fell on Damien, who felt rather out of place. "What are you doing here?" The blonde asked.

"I-I-I, uh..." Azzie stuttered, unsure of what to say. "What are you guys doing here?" it was when they both shuffled to reveal more unconscious people Damien knew.

"Ah, for the love of..." Damien ordered them to place Nashi and Elise down next to Drake, and he watched them both warily before looking at Azzie. "Can I trust these two?"

"If you trust me." She replied, which made Damien grumble incoherently.

"Alright, well, now only Simon is missing..." Damien sentence was left unfinished as another pillar of magic exploded in the distance, this time of bright heavenly light. Damien chuckled. "And he's no longer missing, apparently."

"That's your friend?" The black haired one asked, and chuckled when Damien nodded." Icas is so fucked."

* * *

Icas had a terrible feeling he'd fucked up, and he wasn't entirely sure why. Simon was behind him, dying in his spell, yet he felt uneasy.

"Ah, cause he ain't dead yet..." Icas excused, growling at the feeling. "Scarlet will die soon enough, I just need to wait..."

There was no waiting.

In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Icas had begun to walk away, when a ray of light shot out in font of him. Icas was about to turn and commend Simon for the shot when he realized that it was no lucky shot. Simon was freeing himself.

"Shit!" Icas shouted as his hell magic exploded, blinding him as heavenly light flooded the area. He couldn't even open his eyes, the light burned holes in his very soul. He felt a pair of hands grasp his shirt, and he opened them to find Scarlet. or, at least Icas though it was. Surely it was the wounded body of the fairy, but the eyes were not the ones Icas remembered. Heavenly light literally leaked from Simon's form, who growled.

"You want death, Icas?" he hissed, a voice not totally his own. "I'll give you a spectacular one." Icas was about to retort when Simon shot upwards at the speed of sound, right into the sky. Icas couldn't do anything, the light had paralyzed him with fear. Once they reached what Icas assumed was their destination, they stopped.

"W-what..." Icas managed, staring out around the entire valley.

"Heaven cannot beat Hell, huh?" Simon asked, pulling Icas in. "Let's see how you feel about that as you plummet to the ground, and the right trough to hell!" Simon raised Icas above his head and threw him downwards, heavenly light turning him into a literal meteor. Icas looked up to find Simon drawing seven circles in the air.

"Shit..."

"Be judged by the seven stars Above! Grand Chariot!" The rays of light raced down to connect with Icas, only pushing him down faster. He was going at least mach speed, and showed no signs of slowing. Icas smirked, before he laughed hysterically.

"Heaven..." he whispered, the ground coming to meet him. "Has beaten Hell..."

* * *

Kronos growled and threw Icas' figure into the wall, shattering it instantly. he chuckled.

"What's a game without a few twists and turns, am I right?" he asked no one, watching Taisho move towards the airship. "The other fuckheads did their job, now Taisho can clean up the rest. Even if they do manage to get through him, they'll never defeat...what?!" Kronos stared at a dark red dot that had entered the map from the east, one that should have been accounted for at the airship.

"W-what's the matter, sir?" An underling asked.

"Why...why?...Why?!" Kronos slammed his fist into the wall angrily, destroying it. "Why the fuck wasn't he on the airship?!"

"What do you-you mean sir?" Kronos stared down at the dot as it moved in slowly, and he chuckled weakly, sitting back down in his chair.

"Twists and turns in the game alright." he laughed, moving the figure from the airship to it's dot. "And this is certainly a twist...hahahaha..."

"S-sir...?"

"So, you've finally made your move..."

"Cobra the Poison Dragon."

**OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	92. Two Demons

**I am not fire with these updates! Anyway, I'm hoping to finish this arc soon, as the best is yet to come.**

**Enjoy!**

Damien waited until the heavenly light faded to turn back around to the others. The only other conscious people around him did so as well, and Azzie pointed to her guildmates.

"Damien-sama, this is Katsuchi-sama." She said, pointing at the blonde. "The other is Tetsu-sama"

"Hey." Damien replied, and they both nodded at him. "You guys do that to Nashi and Elise?" He asked, asking the obvious.

"Knocking them out?" Tetsu asked with a smirk. "Ain't my fault your friends don't know how to pace themselves, they exhausted themselves."

"And you brought them here because...?" Damien questioned, both of them paling.

"Because..."Katsuchi looked around, finally spotting the destination of Taisho in the distance. "Because dying by Taisho is rather cruel! yeah, that's it." Azzie giggled and wrapped them both in a one armed hug.

"It's because you guys couldn't leave them, isn't it?" She asked, and both of them stiffened. "Don't worry, I can tell."

"Shut up Azzie." Tetsu replied, crossing his arms. Damien could sense that the three of them were close, so he decided saying something would dilute the effect. He walked over next to Nashi to observe her injuries, and noticed something interesting. Both of them appeared to be sweaty profusely, for apparently no reason at all.

"What the hell?" He asked, causing the other three to walk over to him. "Why are they sweating so bad?" Katsuchi made an incoherent sound.

"Their bodies are still adjusting to the God magic they insisted on eating." he replied. "This is probably the most painful part of process, so be happy they're unconscious." Damien didn't no whether or not that was viable information, but he let it slide. Doing what he could to wrap up the various wounds and burns and their bodies, He noticed that all three of his former enemies seemed rather tense. It was an understandable tensity, Taisho was still on the move. And now, Damien assumed was Simon being unable to move, no one was strong enough to take him out.

Except for him, that was.

The thought made Damien's stomach turn violently. Although his friends had done their absolute best, it didn't mean anything if Damien couldn't stop Taisho. He finished wrapping up a bruise on Nashi's left shoulder and sighed. He needed to calm down, he was more than strong enough to take Taisho.

"No you aren't." Damien jumped and turned to Xisplate who looked solemn. "You yourself are not enough."

"The hell does that mean?" Damien demanded, and Xisplate just watched him carefully. Damien felt his eyes widen and he growled. "No, not again, never again."

"I'm afraid, in about ten or so minutes, you'll be rethinking that decision." Xisplate didn't say anything else as he disappeared, leaving Damien to his turmoil. Damien had sworn the day Steph died he'd never use Xisplate again, and he didn't plan on breaking that promise. Growling and wrapping the bottom of Elise's leg, he was even more pissed off than before.

"Damien." Damien turned to find Jellal sitting up again, holding his head.

"I told you to stay down, Jellal." Damien replied, "Mavis, don't push yourself."

"I don't want to." he replied angrily, eyes falling on the three others stalking the perimeter. "Who the hell are they?"

"Help." Damien replied, deciding it was best not to tell Jellal who they were yet. "Don't worry about it..."

"Damien!" Katsuchi shouted to him, "Friends inbound!" Damien walked over to the blonde man, watching the sight. Richard was helping Simon to stand, who looked so pale he was like a ghost.

"We have returned, friends!" Richard shouted. "Victorious, I might add!"

"Good job in bringing him back, Richard." Damien said, smiling down at Simon. "You alright man?" Simon met his gaze, a hollow look in his eyes.

"...Yeah I'm fine." he croaked out, raising a hand to his head. "Sorry if I'm out of it, almost dying does that to people." Damien frowned and pointed Richard to the wounded area, telling him without words to bring Simon over there. "is everyone here?" Simon asked as Richard sat him down.

"if we aren't counting Sawyer and Macbeth, yes." Damien replied.

"And where are they?" Jellal demanded.

"Patrolling." Damien said, something occurring to him. "Come to think of it, didn't you guys see them?" Both men and Azzie shook their heads, denying the fact. Damien worried for a moment that they'd been attacked by the very same enemies standing before him, but shook it off. All three were clearly very wounded, Sawyer and Macbeth wouldn't have lost to them.

"So they're MIA." Jellal replied. "Great." Jellal made a face as he leaned back against the log. "Have we heard from Erik yet?" Damien had, in the complete and utter confusion following the crash, totally forgotten about Erik. Where was Drake's father?

"No, not yet." Damien said. "Is he on his way or something?"

"He was supposed to be." Jellal said quietly. "He was going to try and make it to help us with Devil Advocate. Don't know how close he is, hopefully he's in the area." Damien nodded and went about trying to help Simon's injuries, but he noticed that he'd used up the rest of the medical supplies helping Nashi and Elise.

"I'll be right back." he told everyone. "I have to go and look for more medical stuff." Damien jumped up and grabbed the door frame to the airship, climbing inside without another word.

* * *

Azzie watched Damien go before she turned and watched the black pillar as it moved. It was moving erratically, which was unlike Taisho in very sense of the word. Was he fighting one of the missing people? It was always a possibility, but Taisho wasn't one to move so strangely in combat. Tetsu sighed and smiled at Azzie, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"What?" She demanded, causing him to smile.

"I'm just trying to figure out which of these two you fought." he said, gesturing to Drake and Ultear, "Was it the girl." Azzie remained silent, not willing to answer the question. "Or was it shirtless guy?" Azzie flushed involuntarily, and Tetsu clicked his tongue. "Bingo."

"S-shut up." Azzie replied, looking away from her friend.

"What?" he asked, "Don't tell me you've already got a thing for him." Azzie didn't reply, trying to force the feelings away. They didn't go anywhere. "Damn Azzie, that's got to be record."

"What's a record?" Katsuchi asked, walking over to them.

"Azzie's got a thing for shirtless over here." This made Katsuchi laugh.

"She becomes infatuated with every guy who looks her in the eyes." He replied, enjoying Azzie's discomfort. "It happens all the time."

"It's not like that!" Azzie said, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Why not?"

"Because...because..." Azzie didn't actually have any rebuttal for what they'd said, so she just stuttered weakly before she huffed and crossed her arms. "Fuck off." She hissed.

"Aw, don't be so sensitive." Tetsu joked, Azzie turned around, and paled. "What?" Tetsu asked. Katsuchi could see it too, so Tetsu followed their gaze and paled. "Fuck off..." he muttered in disbelief.

"What?" Taisho demanded, stepping into the clearing, a grin on his face. "I can't come to help my guild out? Huh?" Azzie didn't know what to say, seeing as the pillar of magic was behind her.

"How...w-when..." She managed to choke, pointing weakly at the pillar. Taisho chuckled.

"It's just something I thought of." he replied absentmindedly. "I knew if anyone saw it they'd try and avoid it, so they'd accidentally run into me. Are you all really that stupid?" Taisho grinned devilishly, which made Azzie want to throw up. Taisho looked out over the area, smirking at the wounded. "my my, so many enemies in one area! Glad I could bring my own!" As if on cue, two unconscious figures dropped from the tree near the wounded. Azzie assumed that was Macbeth and Sawyer.

"This is bad..." Katsuchi hissed, not able to muster up a threatening flame. Taisho laughed.

"I must say," he said, clapping his hands a few times. "Kronos warned me about you three, but I didn't think it was this bad. All of you have committed treason against Devil Advocate, and now you'll pay for it. Takeover: Demon Vantros!" Azzie watched as Taisho entered his demon state, a figure that donned a dark blue cloak and radiated ice. Azzie watched as he raised a palm and blasted the wounded with ice, sending them all flying everywhere.

"Stop it!" Tetsu shouted, "They're wounded, it's just fucked up!"

"Have you gone soft, Tetsu?" Taisho demanded, voice not entirely his own. "Our goal is to make sure our enemies do not survive, so I must kill them. After they're gone, I will deal with you three." Taisho went to attack the again, but Azzie raised her own palm and dispersed the attack before it reached it's target. Taisho did not react immediately, but chuckled. "I know you didn't just do that, Az." He hissed, and Azzie squeaked. Icicles sprung up from her feet, throwing her over. Taisho picked her up by the neck, and began to squeeze, "How about I start with you, Azzie?"

"Azzie!" Katsuchi shouted.

"I never liked you." Taisho hissed, squeezing even harder. "Always plotting on taking Kronos out, always being the weak link...Absolutely pathetic and inexcusable. I'm impressed Kronos kept you around for so long, but now I can have the pleasure of being the one to deal with you!" Azzie heard Tetsu and Katsuchi run at Taisho, but both were thrown out of the way as Taisho blasted a whole winters worth of ice at them. "One at a fucking time!" he roared angrily. "I'll deal with you two in a fucking second!"

"Azzie..." Tetsu hissed, rolling around in pain on the ground. Taisho returned his attention to Azzie, who was now being lifted off of her feet and into the air. She stared down into the demons soulless, ice blue eyes, wondering just how little humanity was down in there.

"Such a shame, too." Taisho said, reapplying pressure to Azzie's neck. The girl wondered if he was trying to choke her to death or snap her neck. Either way, he was doing a very good job. "Kronos said you had a lot of magical potential... but not..." he squeezed even harder, and Azzie felt herself blacking out, succumbing to the darkness. "Enough...Conviction!"

_This is it, I'm done for..._

"Soul Extinction!" Azzie was unceremoniously dropped onto the ground, and she she entered a coughing fit as she did. She looked up to find a figure covered in blood red armor standing between her, everyone, and Taisho, who was currently standing back up.

"The fuck?" Taisho asked, "That actually kind of hurt."

"Good." The other figure growled. "Teach you to harm your own friends, asshole." Taisho chuckled.

"So now we have a knight in shining armor, coming to save the damsel?" he asked, standing up tall. "Just who the hell do you think you are, kid?! HUH?!" The figure turned slightly to the side, and Azzie spotted the familiar white hair standing up on end.

"Damien." he replied angrily, " I assume you're Taisho, right?"

"Bingo, fucker. Now, I assume you're the one Vantros warned me about? The other Demon Takeover Wizard?" Azzie looked up at Damien in shock. He was one too? The idea that the kind, understanding, troubled Damien had the same magic as Taisho shook her up a little bit.

"I won't even need it." Damien replied. "I hardly think you're a good enough reason for him to show up." Taisho growled.

"You'll dishonor my strength by not using the full extent of your own? Now you deserve to die! Arctic Blast!"

"Soul Extinction!" The two attacks collided and exploded, throwing Azzie back a few feet and throwing up a huge explosion.

"Two demons..." Azzie whispered, watching the standoff. "Fighting one another..."

* * *

Erik paused at the sound, turning to his left. Way way way in the distance, something had exploded. Erik had heard a shit ton of explosions since he'd gotten into the general area, but that was one huge one.

"Suppose I'd better get over there." he said to himself. "Jellal's probably gotten himself into trouble, idiot."

_"Erik." _Erik stopped dead at the voice in his head, one he heard all to often. _"I don't know if you can hear me, but you need to hurry. Everyone is hurt, Drake included, and there is a more than likely possibility we're going to die. Hurry up and get the fuck over here now!_

Drake?

"The fuck is that idiot here for?" Erik asked no one in particular, wondering what his stupid son could be here for. "Bah, I'll ask later. I hear you loud and clear Jellal. On my way." Another explosion went off in the same area, and Erik's stomach turned violently. "Just hold on, I don't know how long it'll take me..."

**And so, the demon vs demon fight has begun! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	93. Desperation

**Today, ladies and gentleman, starts the demon vs demon fight. Enjoy!**

Damien landed just in time to roll out of the way of Taisho's blast of ice and tackled the other demon to the ground, punching him in the gut before he was kicked away. Taisho stood and smirked, albeit angrily.

"So," he hissed, "You still dishonor us both by not using the full extent of your strength. Pathetic, you know that?" Damien growled at the insult, but he didn't let it get to him. Releasing Xisplate would only result in death, more than just Taisho.

"I already told you." Damien replied, blocking an oncoming blast of ice. "I don't intend to release that monster ever again, all it leads to his death." Taisho laughed as he caused icicles to spawn under Damien, who dodged them and flew in a circle around Taisho, throwing out blasts of magic himself, all of which were deflected.

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Taisho demanded, "Death, I mean?"

"You're a fucked up human being, Taisho." Damien replied, as the two engaged in a close range grapple. "How can you have such little regard for other human lives?! How is it that all you care about is how many skulls are under your boot?!" The two grabbed each others hands and pushed as hard as they could, trying to gain the upper hand.

"How is it you don't care about that!?" Taisho shouted in response, pushing Damien to his knees. "How is it that one of the twelve destined Demon Takeover Wizards won't you his lord?! Why are you so human?!"

"T-twelve?" Damien asked as Taisho pushed even harder than before, "There are twelve of us?"

"Supposedly." Taisho said casually, as if he wasn't trying to kill Damien. "There are twelve lords,why would there only be two wizards who can takeover into them?" Damien had never looked at it that way, but it was the truth. "And why, out of all lords you were gifted..." Taisho picked Damien up by the neck, glaring at him manically. "That the Demon of Death himself was gifted upon you..." He began to squeeze, and black spots appeared in Damien's vision. "You refuse to fight me with?! WHY?!" Damien kicked in vain, managing to connect with Taisho's midsection and free himself. Flying back to a safe distance, Damien allowed himself to breath before he decided to reply.

"Because if I freed Xisplate," he said loudly, "I wouldn't be able to stop with you." Taisho chuckled.

"And?" He demanded, raising his arms, as if welcoming Damien. "Such is the way with Demon takeover wizards, Damien. Control if such a loose term with us. We were born with the soul intention to bring the Demon Lords judgement to Earthland! We were born killers, Damien! Let it out!"

"If you truly believe that Taisho." Damien replied, taking an offensive stance, "Then you've truly succumbed to the darkness. You've allowed the demons evil to corrupt you beyond repair, and I'll be more than happy to crush it out of you!" Damien launched himself at Taisho, preparing to punch him. he was more than a little surprised that his lightning fast punch was caught by Taisho with ease.

"Nice try to humor me, Damien." he hissed, squeezing so hard Damien felt several bones in his hand crack. "But a mere demon cannot stand up to one of the Lords! Arctic Blast!" The icy attack threw Damien backwards, not only injuring him, but the cold that radiated from Taisho was slowing him considerably. If this fight lasted to long, he'd be freezing to death. Damien stood and tried for a few blasts of his own magic, all of which were easily deflected by his enemy. Taisho flew at him and punched him backwards, and he felt himself make contact with the airship wreckage. Taisho hit him again and again, making a bigger hole in the side of the airship, and Damien flew into the remains of the control room. Just as he stood Taisho grabbed what was left of the circuit board and slammed it into Damien, breaking it and causing Damien to drop to his knees. "Tell me, why are you so afraid of using him?"

"Because I'll lose control, like last time." Damien replied, which made Taisho smirk. "And kill someone I care about..." Damien remained silent after revealing why he didn't use Xisplate, but Taisho sighed.

"This is getting boring, Damien." Taisho warned, ice magic forming in his hands, "Show me the true power that resides within your tainted soul!" Taisho laughed as he grabbed Damien by the throat again, "SHOW ME YOUR DEMONS, DAMIEN! SHOW ME WHY YOU NEVER USE HIM!" Damien was thrown back through the airship and into the clearing, rolling a few times before he came to a stop near the others. All of them were unconscious, which was good. Taisho reappeared in a blur, sighing. "The fact that you've gone so long without listening is trying my patience. I guess I'll just end this now." Taisho raised both hands above his head, a swirling mass of black and blue appearing there.

"What the...?" Damien mustered as he tried to stand. He knew from personal experience all demons had an end all attack ,which was what Taisho was going for.

"I call upon the icy feeling of death and the true power of the Demon Lord from the 10th Circle of Judgement!" Taisho roared, the mass of magic growing even larger. "Grant me your strength, Vantros! BLIZZARD CRUSHER!" The beam of magic was at least forty feet both ways, and there was no way of dodging it.

_BOOM!_

* * *

Taisho watched as the dust cleared, smiling upon seeing the unmoving, broken, and battered body of his opponent. Truthfully, he was impressed that the idiots body was still intact, but that was to be expected from a Demon Lord wizard anyhow.

"A shame, really." Taisho said as he walked up to his fallen foe, kicking his lifeless arm. "If there was twelve of us, only eleven now stand. A pity..." Taisho's eyes landed on all of the wounded, and he grinned maliciously. "Now, how about I get started with the rest of my work?" He giggled gleefully as he walked towards the wounded, deciding that the one with pink hair would be the first to die. He hated the color pink, anyway. He picked the girl up by the hair, observing her face.

"Hmph, she's kinda cute." he joked, a devilish grin on his face. "You like cute girls, don't you Vantros? I'll send her your way!" Taisho raised a fist and coated it with ice, preparing to break the girls skull.

_*cough cough*_

Taisho froze in shock at the sound. No, surely it wasn't possible. he slowly turned to find Damien on all fours, coughing up blood.

"...What?" Taisho finally manged as Damien struggled to stand. "Impossible, Blizzard Crusher should have..."

"Is that the best your demon is capable of?" Damien hissed, blood still dripping from his mouth as he gave Taisho a maniacal look. "Xisplate once destroyed an entire town in the span of a few minutes when I was eight, and you can't even kill me in that span of time while your this old? Fucking pathetic." Taisho growled and dropped the pinkette to the ground as Damien managed to stand without using his knees as support.

"I don't think you're in the position to shit talk." Taisho told him. "Look at you!" he shouted, gesturing towards Damien's ripped clothes, bloddy wounds and face, and laughed. "I could kill you with the flick of my finger for fucks sake!" How can you find the strength to defeat me now, Damien?! HOW?!"

* * *

Damien hand't the faintest idea what he was going to do, but he knew he had to do it quick. He was almost dead, he didn't need a healer to tell him that. he himself considered it a miracle he'd survived the last attack, but he couldn't do another one. Taisho was busying himself with taunting and laughing, but Damien was trying to regulate his breathing.

"Damien." Damien cast a glance to his left to find the suit wearing demon standing there, a very serious expression on his face. "Takeover into me, now." Damien rolled his eyes and rubbed away the blood on his chin.

"No." Damien heard the demon make a surprised sound, then growl.

"Are you fucking retarded?" Xisplate demanded. "You'll die if you don't..."

"And everyone I care about will die if I give you permission to use my body!" Damien replied, glaring at the demon. "I can't allow that!"

"The'll die either way at this rate." Xisplate replied calmly. "You think Taisho will be done once he's offed you? No, he'll move on to the others without any mercy. He's allowed the darkness from the 10th circle corrupt his humanity, he no longer cares for a human life like you or your friends."

"But..."

"Damien, for fuck sake." Xisplate said. "I'm not saying this to get access to use your body and kill everyone, I'm telling you as a concerned friend that if you do not takeover into me NOW, everyone you care about will die." Damien slowly looked down at his right hand, and found it was shaking...

_I'm...I'm..._

It had started to rain, hard, and Damien was getting soaked. he didn't care, though.

I'_m...scared...of what will happen..._

Damien knew perfectly well what had happened last time he'd unleashed Xisplate, he had killed his own sister. Who was too say over ten years had granted him anymore control? No one could answer that for him, he was on his own.

"Alright, well." Taisho said, "Clearly you're having some sort of internal struggle over there, so allow me to correct that for you! BLIZZARD CRUSHER!" Taisho's end all attack began o charge once more, but Damien was already frozen in fear. he stared down at his right hand as rain and tears alike streamed down his face.

_I don't...have a choice...do I...?"_

"DAMIEN!" Xisplate roared, voice all to apparent that he was getting desperate. "NOW!"

* * *

When Nashi woke up, she was on her side, and in a lot of pain. In er blurred vision she could see two people standing across from each other. Once her vision cleared a little, she could see it was Damien, who looked like a walking corpse, and another man with blur horns on his head and dark blue cloak. Damien's apparent opponent had a mass of magic above his head, which he obviously planned to attack with.

"Damien..." Nashi managed to croak out, trying to sit up. Her friend didn't respond, he just stared down at his hand. "Damien..."

"Nashi... stop." Nashi looked over to find all of her friend at least semi-conscious, along with the God Slayers and a girl she didn't recognize. It was Ultear who had spoken to her, and the water and ice wizard gestured back to Damien. "He can't hear you." Nashi struggled to look back, but when she did, it was obviously true. Damien hadn't heard a word that she'd said. Suddenly, he dropped his hand back to his side and sighed.

"I'm sorry..." he spoke as he began to raise his hand over his head. "But... there isn't another option..." Nashi's eyes widened as she realized what he was talking about.

"Damien don't!" Simon shouted, but his voice was weak as well. "He'll...he'll.. _*cough cough cough*._" Simon was cut off by a coughing fit, and Nashi watched in fear as Damien raised his hand over his head, an all to familiar black magic circle forming there.

"TAKEOVER: DEMON XISPLATE!"

It was as if someone had turned off the lights in the area of the wreckage, because as soon as Damien completed the words to the takeover, everything went dark. The magic circle has begun to glow, and Damien still hadn't moved. as the spell continued, Damien's opponent laughed.

"As much as I want to see this," he said over the sound of his own spell and Damien's, "I'm done with you! BLIZZARD CRUSHER!" The gigantic attack flew right at Damien, and engulfed him in a beam of black and blue.

"Damien?" Elise called weakly. All of a sudden, the beam exploded from the middle, and Nashi felt like throwing up.

The being had armor as black as midnight.

As more of the smoke cleared, he had wings just as black.

He had horns that came out of his head, which had Damien's white hair.

the being had his right hand extended, which Nashi assumed he had used to block the attack.

Nashi watched, frozen in fear as Damien slowly lowered the hand which had blocked the attack and stared at it, flexing it curiously. The other man laughed.

"Well, looks like you grew a pair." he joked, crossing his arms. Damien didn't say anything, he just observed him quietly. This, in turn, made the other man smirk. "oh my God, don't tell me you lost control again? If so, please, kill your friends for me!"

"Friends..." A cold shiver went down Nashi's spine at the voice, which was barely even Damien. He turned to look at them curiously, and raised his hand and aimed it at them. Nashi flinched, and closed her eyes and waited for the worst.

Nothing happened. Nashi opened her eyes to find that they had not been attacked. Rather, a black bubble had sprung up around her and the other wounded, and she turned her head back to Damien, who was still staring at them. he slowly turned back to the other demon, and growled.

"I will not harm my friends." he hissed, before he threw himself at his enemy, and Nashi felt relief wash over her.

"He's..." Drake whispered, as if not able to believe it. Nashi nodded happily.

"He's in control!"

**Bam. This chapter, doe. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	94. Xisplate vs Vantros, Damien vs Taisho

**When I noticed we hit 500 reviews, I had to write this chapter. When we started the Edolas arc, we had 100 reviews. Three arcs later we have five times that. You guys are the best :)**

**Enjoy!**

The scariest part of the whole fight for Damien was knowing he was the one controlling his own motions. Xisplate wasn't in control, he was. Damien knew it had been a risky move activating such a magically draining spell after he'd almost died, but he had no choice. He slammed Xisplate into the wreckage of the airship and brought his fist into his face an lightning speed. Taisho retaliated by bringing his fist to Damien's sending out a shock wave that leveled several trees. Damien grabbed Taisho by the neck and flung him away. Acting quickly, Damien grabbed the broken thruster of the airship and threw it up at Taisho and watched it explode as it made contact. Unfurling his black wings, Damien rocketed into the sky after Taisho, who was floating up above. The other demon laughed as Damien reached the height he was at.

How does it feel?" The other man asked as Damien watched him. "the power, the want for flesh between your fingertips...Wonderful, ain't it?"

"I stand by what I said before." Damien replied, his own voice startling him. "You're a fucked up, corrupted piece of meat. I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart." Taisho chuckled darkly.

"Was that Damien talk or Xisplate?" He asked Damien, who thought over his sentence. His eyes widened a little when he realized what he said. "Don't worry about it, man. Just go with the flow of the anger, it makes killing so much easier."

"Is that what happened to you?" Damien asked, and when he received a nod of confirmation he chuckled. "So you allowed the demons anger to replace your own emotions, essentially allowing it to take control of your body...And I'm the pathetic one?"

"Not using something because you're afraid of it is pathetic." Taisho replied, "It means your still immature, that you've more to learn."

"I have a lot to learn, that's true." Damien growled, flexing his fingers and hearing a satisfying crack. "After I kill you, obviously." Damien rushed at Taisho and they were instantly locked in a mid-air grapple, one of which Damien was winning with ease. He had forgotten the incredible boosts Xisplate gave, and he was almost enjoying himself. Grabbing the other man by the neck, Damien flinched as his vision turned a blackish blue hue.

_Kill him._

_Rip the flesh from his bones._

_Destroy__ his feeble body!_

_DIE!_

"Shut up!" Damien shouted angrily, shaking his head to clear his vision. Taisho chuckled and slowly ripped Damien's hand away from his neck.

"You can hear them, can't you?" He asked as Damien shuttered, voices he didn't know the owners of assaulting his brain. "The souls of the damned are speaking to you, aren't they?"

"The souls...of the damned...?" Damien whispered, more angry voices entering his head.

"Yes, the souls that have been damned to the 12th Circle of Judgment are speaking to you." Taisho grinned. "Most likely because of the whole Demon Lord takeover thing. Don't worry, it'll pass. Maybe" Damien was too busy blocking out the voices to hear Taisho fly straight at him, tackling him back down to the earth. Damien did his best to fight off both the voices and Taisho, but he couldn't do both. Throwing out a blind punch, he heard a satisfying crack as it connected with Taisho's jaw.

_He isn't worthy._

_Beat him to death._

_Kill him!_

Damien growled as more voices assaulted his brain, anger overcoming his common sense. He threw out attacks that he didn't even remember trying to do, he was trying to vent all the voices out using his brain.

"What was it you called me out on?" Taisho asked, the enemies voice breaking through all of the undead. "Something about succumbing to the anger?"

_"Damien, can you hear me?" _One voice said, standing out above all of the other voices.

_"Xis...plate...?"_

_Oh good, you can. Listen up, this is important. It's good you can control my power, but the voices of the damned will not stop assaulting your conscious until you have ceased the takeover."_

_"Fuck off, seriously?"_

_"Yes, sadly. However, you cannot allow their anger at their fates to allow you to become angrier. The angrier you become, the more control the demon gets. Stay as calm as possible, alright? If all else fails, try and use..." _Damien listened to Xisplate's instruction as best he could, and nodded as the demon finished speaking. Turning back to Taisho with renewed concentration, he blasted death magic at the ice demon, who had to move as fast as he could to dodge it. Several blasts met icy ones, which created miniature explosions. Taisho used his wings to propel himself at Damien, who grabbed him and threw him into a rather thick tree. Damien used the tree as a bat, slamming the trunk into Taisho and sending him into the sky. Flying after him and tackling him, the two of them flew back down to the earth and both hit the ground at the same time, but neither seemed fazed whatsoever.

"I'm impressed your battered body can hold the takeover for so long." Taisho commended, smiling at Damien. "Sadly, it won't matter soon anyway. Another ten or so minutes and your body won't be able to hold up any longer." Damien didn't want to admit that Taisho was right, but he could feel the fatigue already. His body, slowly, was slowing. It would eventually become irresponsive, so Damien needed to finish this quick.

"You know what I love about you, Taisho?" Damien asked, death magic gathering in his hands. "That, no matter what situation you're handed, you think you'll win. I cannot wait to tear that ideal off with your head!" Damien's vision went dark blue again and he flung himself at Taisho, the voices of the damned spurring him forward.

_Get him!_

_Raze him!_

_Fuck him up!_

_Erase him from this world!_

"Shut up!" Damien shouted again, emphasizing his point by grabbing Taisho by the neck and choking him senseless. "You know how to shut them up, don't you?! Tell me!" Taisho laughed as Damien's hand began to freeze, and he freed himself.

"Whoever said I can't hear them?" He asked, crossing his arms. "I love hearing those angry voices spurring me on to kill who stand before me." An evil cackle spread from his opponents lips, and Damien's anger surged to a new level.

_"Damien..." _The demons voice from within calmed him only slightly. _"I think it's about time you freed yourself temporarily, don't you?" _Damien knew he was right, so he concentrated as hard as he could on the voices, listening to all of their pain and anguish.

"Oi, what are you doing?" Taisho asked.

"...I call upon those damned souls from the 12th Circle..."

"W-what?"

"Screams of the Damned!" As Damien used the spell, waves upon waves of souls exited from his body and flew right at Taisho, using all of their anger and wish to see blood to attack him. The attack resulted in an explosion. Damien began to paint from exhaustion, waiting for the smoke to clear. He didn't expect, however, to see an attack similar to his own come back at him, sending him to the ground as thousands of souls screamed at him. He writhed in pain as thousands of years of pain and anger washed over his being, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"FUCK!" Damien roared, the voices causing far to much damage. As soon as it stopped, Taisho was on top of Damien, holding him down by his throat.

"Didn't see that coming, did you oh powerful Demon Lord?" he asked, smirking. "I figured if you could do it, so could I." Damien's vision fluctuated wildly, his anger going from non-existent to completely enraged in the span of a few seconds. "I'm really impressed, Damien. You truly are a powerful opponent, but I'll have to put you down now." Damien had only felt this much anger once before, and it made his stomach churn in fear.

"Taisho..." Damien whispered. "You just made the biggest fucking mistake of your life..." Taisho made a weird face as Damien struggled.

"Why?" Damien couldn't reply, the anger blinding him.

And with that, Damien Dreyar ceased to exist, lost to the darkness within his own soul.

* * *

Nashi could hear the sounds of battle, and a few times the two figures fought above them, the dark blue dot getting pushed his way and that by the black one.

"So," Ultear said, in a sitting position. "That happened." Drake chuckled, but then entered a coughing fit.

"Yeah." he agreed quietly, rubbing his wound. "I'm impressed he's controlling that fucking thing. Last time wasn't very pretty."

"Don't get confident yet." Simon warned, pale as a ghost. "There's still a chance that he'll lose."

"As Xisplate?" Nashi asked. "Somehow I doubt that."

"Taisho is powerful, very much so." Simon said. "The very thought of him made Icas terrified." Nashi didn't know who Icas was exactly, but she assumed that if Simon made that comparison, he was very powerful.

"Guess we'll have to wait and see then, huh?" Elise asked. As if on cue, the bubbles Damien had set up around them shuddered. They all turned to find Damien and Taisho back in front of them. Taisho was lying on his back, staring up at the sky, while Damien was crouched, eyes closed. When he opened them, Nashi squeaked.

Obsidian black orbs regarded Taisho quietly. Damien stood and strode towards Taisho, grabbed him by the neck, and hoisted him high into the sky, glaring at him. Taisho had the courage to chuckle.

"How does it feel, Dreyar?" He asked Damien, who didn't react in the slightest. "To let the anger consume you? To let it control you?" Didn't that mean...

"He lost control." Simon growled. "Again."

"But he had it..." Elise murmured, sounding more than a bit scared.

"I bet you're loving this." Taisho hissed, "Seeing me squirm like a trapped anima-"

"I am the Demon Lord Xisplate of the 12th Circle of Judgment." Damien interrupted, no remnant of his own voice anymore. "And you, Taisho, will be subjected to the Demons Judgement."

"What the fuck are you talking abo-"

"I am to judge your life." Damien said, once again interrupting Taisho. "And if the bad outweighs the good, your soul if forfeit." Before Taisho could reply, the obsidian eyes in Damien's skull glowed, and Taisho's eyes began to glow as well. The ground around Damien's feet began to wither and die. The process lasted about twenty-five seconds, before Taisho began to scream, a bloodcurdling one at that, and writhe in Damien's grasp. Damien's face remained unmoving as the spell continued.

"Stop!" Taisho shouted. "Please, stop! I don't want to-"

"Your Judgement is complete." Damien announced, glaring up at Taisho. "Your soul if forfeit." Damien applied a slight bit of pressure, and Taisho screamed even louder as a golden substance flowed from his eyes, mouth and nose, right into Damien's being. This lasted a few seconds, before Taisho stopped screaming, and didn't move.

"Is he dead?" Drake whimpered.

"May your soul find restless torment in the 12th Circle." Damien hissed, and cracked Taisho's neck with the flick of his wrist. The lifeless body of Devil Advocate's ace dropped lifelessly to the ground, and Azzie squeaked. This, in turn, made Damien turn in their direction, and snarl.

"Damien?" Ultear asked as the bubble faded. Damien strode towards them, death magic forming in his right hand. Everyone cowered, but Nashi did not. She stood unsteadily, using her knees as support.

"Nashi, get down!" Katsuchi shouted. "He's going to kill you!"

"You dare stand up to me, human?" Damien demanded. "Do you know who I am."

"Yes I do." Nashi said loudly, standing up tall and meeting Damien's' soulless eyes. "Your name is Damien Dreyar."

"Wrong. I'm-"

"No, you're wrong." Nashi interrupted. "What would Steph say if she saw you doing this again? Huh?" Nashi was proud to see a reaction out of the bigger figure, as his expression wavered.

"Ste...ph..." he said slowly, the magic in his hand flickering.

"Yes, your baby sister." Nashi replied, holding her ground. "The one you killed like this last time. What would she say if you killed someone else because of this?" Damien's face grew angry, and he shook it angrily.

"No! I'm not Damien, I'm..."

"You are **NOT** Xisplate!" Nashi shouted. "You're Damien! Remember that!"

"Damien..." Damien repeated, the blackness of his eyes slowly leaving. "My name is Damien..." Slowly but surely, the magic in his hand died as well, and he stood there quietly. he smiled down at Nashi, the armor and images of the demon slowly fading back to his normal clothing, albeit it was ripped and he was bruised and bloody.

"There." Nashi said, smiling brightly. "Better?" Damien didn't reply right away, there seemed to be a far away look to his gaze.

"S-sorry for threatening you..." he whispered, before he collapsed into Nashi, who had to act fast to catch him and not fall over with him. Nashi paled when she couldn't feel a heartbeat.

"...Damien?"

**Oh, what a chapter! Maybe not exactly what yu guys expected, but I loved it all the same! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	95. One Fight Left

**Rapid fire updating, you guys like it? I'm fully aware that Taisho's fight with Damien was short, but I didn't want to drag it out for like a million chapters.**

**Enjoy!**

Damien could hear voices, but not the angry ones from before. They sounded more concerned about something.

"Is he going to be alright? it's been hours."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, he's breathing."

"That doesn't mean anything, he may not be okay. Damien decided he wanted to open his eyes, and used as much force as necessary to do so. When he finally managed to crack his eyes open, it was still raining. That and a trace of pink out the corner of his left eye.

"Ow.." he muttered as his head began to throb. He heard a surprised gasp as he tried to sit, everyone gathering around him. "Wha...What happened?"

"You." Ultear replied. "You lost control again." Damien made a face.

"I...Did...?" he asked.

"You don't remember?" Azzie asked, and Damien hook his head. "You had it at first, but when you came back you sprouted all that talk about how you where Demon Lord Xisplate. What's the last thing you remember?" Damien rubbed his temples as he tried to think.

"Taisho had me pinned down." he finally replied. "After that, I got nothing."

"Well," Nashi said, rubbing her chin. "Maybe it's because..."

"It's because he lost control of his anger." Everyone else jumped at the new voice, but Damien knew it all to well. Everyone looked to the tree line to find a suited figure with raven black hair walking towards them. Simon growled.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded, and Xisplate chuckled.

"You haven't introduced me to your friends, Damien?" he asked, clutching his chest in false agony. "That hurts, you know."

"What do you want, Xisplate?" Damien asked, causing everyone else to jump in surprise.

"T-that's Xisplate?!" Elise asked, crawling behind Damien, everyone else following suit.

"Relax, everyone." Damien said. "He can't hurt you while he's like that. He must be only here to talk." Damien regarded the demon coldly, unsure of what to say. "What was it you said abut my anger?"

"You let in control you, that's what." Xisplate replied, wiping the hair from his eyes. "I told you to watch yourself."

"What are you saying, of course I as angry."

"I'm saying I can't be blamed for your loss of control again." Xisplate pointed over to the side, and Damien followed his finger to a lifeless body, it's neck severely deformed.

"Is that..." Damien started before Xisplate chuckled darkly, causing everyone to jump.

"Taisho, if you were wondering." Xisplate smiled, although there was no warmth behind it. "You sure did a number on him using Demon's Judgement."

"Demon's Judgement?" Damien asked, all of this terminology new to him. "What spell is that?"

"The Demon Lord looks into the enemies very soul, weighing their righteous actions and their evil actions." Xisplate used his hands as weight examples. "If the good outweighs the bad, the enemies soul is forfeit to the demon, and the soul is absorbed into the caster." the thought that Taisho's tainted soul now resided within Damien disgusted him.

"So, what's that all mean?" Katsuchi asked, someone else finally getting the courage to speak. "Taisho's inside of Damien now?"

"In a sense, I suppose." Xisplate replied. "Although his material soul is now being tormented within the 12th Circle, The spell Demon's Judgement converts the soul of the victim into magic power for the caster." Xisplate met Damien's gaze. "So in a way, Taisho saved your life."

"I don't see how." Damien murmured, crossing his arms.

"My takeover requires a lot of magic to activate and keep active." Xisplate replied, a smarmy smile plastered on his face. "Although you wouldn't remember that as it's been over a decade. When you managed to complete it, your power was all but drained. Reverting without Taisho's soul could have been deadly." Damien detested the former enemy a lot, but even more so now that he was technically indebted to dead man.

"So." Nashi said quietly. "What now? I mean, Crime Sociere is still out cold, and the airship is totaled."

"Master Kronos still stands." Drake pointed out, causing Tetsu to burst out into laughter.

"That was a great joke you made there, about Master Kronos." he told Drake, who glared at him. "I don't know who you think you are pal, but Kronos won't have a challenge killing you."

"And who the fuck do you think you are?" Drake asked. " I bet I could beat your candy ass."

"Drake-sama, Tetsu-sama." Azzie butted in in a scolding tone. "Stop fighting. Although, Drake-sama does have a point. Master Kronos-sama does still stand."

"Thank you." Drake replied, painfully putting his coat on over his bandages. "Although, I don't have any clue what we're supposed to do in this state."

"Even if we were all at full strength," Katsuchi said, sitting cross legged at the outer rim of the group, "we don't stand a chance. Master Kronos is a monster."

"I second that" Tetsu said immediately. "Too powerful for us alone. Maybe if Crime Sociere was still standing, but they're all still out."

"So we give up?" Elise asked. "After all of this, we give up because one enemy still stands? I say we go up to Master Kronos and shove our collective boots up his ass." Elise cackled at the thought, but Nashi just gave her a weird look.

"First, stop being so unladylike." She told Elise, who faltered at the insult. "Second, I think our former enemies would know best in this situation."

"Thank you!" Katsuchi said to Nashi. "Someone here is totally insane."

"Can't you just dispel his attacks, Azzie?" Drake asked the purple haired girl, who jumped slightly at his voice. "I mean, you got me pretty good all those times."

"Master Kronos-sama is a cunning man." Azzie replied, playing with her hands. "He is proficient with many magics, but especially with Arc of Time. Even if I were to dispel his attacks, he'd send them back to a point where they existed, or an alternate timeline where I didn't dispel it."

"Yeah." Tetsu said. "I hear the Olympians gave him the name."

"Olympians?" Damien inquired.

"The most powerful of the New Balam Alliance." Katsuchi clarified. "They're twelve people modeled after some ancient culture's gods. Kronos is apparently some figure from that culture. Name translates to time." Damien saw the connection now. "Sometimes I wonder just how powerful he is, but I'm not stupid enough to check."

"First time for everything, right?" Simon asked, standing weakly. "Point us in the direction, and we'll head that way." Katsuchi watched the redhead warily, and sighed.

"Maybe you misheard, so allow me to clarify." Katsuchi replied calmly, but black flames licked around his temples. "You'll fucking die, no question."

"Don't underestimate us." Simon replied just as calmly, light shining weakly from his figure. "Just say where we have to go."

"Just stop." Everyone turned at Azzie's small voice to find her staring down at the ground. "Master Kronos-sama will not hesitate to kill all of you. And I...I..." Damien saw tears fall from her eyes. "I don't want more people to die...because of us..." Azzie's frame shook as she tried to repress the tears, and Drake stood to walk over to her.

"No one else is going to die." he told her, voice dead calm. She looked up at him hen he put a hand on her head. "If anyone's gong to die, it'll be Kronos for everything he's done. To you especially." Azzie's face wen bright red and she hide it from view, and Elise snickered.

"Get a room."She commented, but no reply came from Drake. Damien watched the Dragon Slayer remain quiet, before he turned to everyone.

"If we all work together" he said, watching them all. "We can stand more of a chance then we think. Who's up to it?" At first no one stood, but Simon sighed and stretched as he left his log seat.

"I'm coming." he told Drake. "No one attacks my family and gets away with it." Damien rolled his eyes and stood as well.

"Fuck that guy." he said with more bravado than he meant to have. "I plan on giving him my regards." Elise bounded up with a determined look.

"I can't let you guys have all the fun!" She said confidently. "I'm going!" Ultear stood, as did Nashi.

"Yeah," Ultear said, crossing her arms. "I've got a score to settle to."

"Well?" Nashi asked, slamming her fist into her open palm, fire flying everywhere. "The fuck are we waiting for?"

"You people are insane." Katsuchi growled as he leaned back against the log.

"Nope." Drake told him with brazen smile. "We're Fairy Tail."

"Is there a difference?" Tetsu asked. "Besides, you can't find him without our direction." No one spoke for a minute, before finally, the seventh figure stood.

"I'll..." Azzie spoke, walking over to them. "I'll lead you to him, and aid you where I can."

"Azzie..." Tetsu started, but Azzie waved him off.

"These people are offering, after we tried to kill them, to eradicate the darkness from our lives." She said, glaring at the two of them with her hands on her hips. "I'm more than willing to lay my life on the line to help them. Can you say the same, Katsuchi the Fire God Slayer and Tetsu the Iron God Slayer? Or are you both to afraid to try?" Both men glared at the girl, who didn't waver in the slightest.

"Tch," Tetsu said, standing up after a moment of silence. "I guess it'w worth a go, if anything. Right pal?" Tetsu asked as he slammed a hand into the back of Katsuchi's head. The Fire God Slayer glared at his friend as he stood, smiling weakly at the others.

"I guess insanity is contagious."

* * *

Erik wasn't try to take his sweet time reaching the airship, but it was a pain in his ass. Bushes and shit, trees and shit, craters and shit, dead bodies and shit...Oh, did he mention shit yet? Because there was a lot of that too. Sighing as he freed his Crime Sociere cloak from another tree, he stopped dead as he picked up footsteps. Swiftly hiding behind a tree, he activated his sound magic to listen in.

he could hear about nine sets of feet walking through the forest. Upon picking up their scents, Erik immediately knew six of them.

"The fuck are they doing?" Erik wondered aloud, albeit under his breath. "Why are they not at the airship anymore?" he slowly peaked around the corner to see, and observed the nine teenagers in front of him. He whistled. "Shit Salamander, is that your little girl? She must have millions of guys trying to court her." Erik chuckled at the thought of said Salamander hearing what he'd just said. "And little Ully looks so much like her mother, too. Elise is short, no one saw _that_ coming. Simon looks so much like Jellal it's creepy, Damien still has that 'I killed my sister and cant get over it' look on his face..."

"Is it over here?" Erik's own son asked, a voice Erik had not had the pleasure of hearing in a while. Said son was talking to Nashi in a low tone, and the purple haired girl Erik didn't know nodded.

"Yes, just around here is a secret entrance, as it's underground."

"Haha, Drake still got a thing for Nashi, huh?" he joked, watching the two walking away from him. He remembered loving to tease his son about that. The thought entered his head that they were both grown up now, which only made Erik want to tease his son a lot more. Once they were a safe distance away, Erik decided to turn around and go to the airship, just to see how totaled it was. Just as he turned to go, he cursed himself for stepping on a branch and sped up slightly to get away.

_I really hope they didn't fucking hear me..._

* * *

Drake paused momentarily as he heard a branch snap somewhere in the distance, and he turned around to investigate the tree line. He saw nothing, and he heard the others stop ahead of him to see why he stopped. After he picked up a scent he got even more curious.

"What's wrong, Drake?" Nashi asked, appearing next to him. He frowned and grunted.

"Don't know." he said slowly. "I thought I heard something, then I caught my fathers scent..." Nashi inhaled deeply, and frowned.

"I can smell it too." She said slowly. "Like yours, but not."

"Crime Sociere lives in that airship." Simon suggested. "It's possible that you're just catching his scent from some wreckage in the area."

"Yeah, and Jellal said that he was already on his way to Crime Sociere's original target before they switched to come deal with this." Ultear reinforced, shrugging. "I doubt he's here, sneaking around of all things." Drake saw the logic in his friends arguments, and slowly turned to tail after them quietly.

_They must be right, Dad's nowhere close..._

* * *

"Holy fuck!" Erik whistled as he entered the clearing and spotted the hunk of wreckage. "They sure did a number on you!" He spotted his wounded guildmates lying bandaged and unconscious near the wreckage, so he made his way there by stepping over some poor fucks dead body. He knelt down net to Jellal and shook the wounded man weakly.

"Jellal! Come on man, wake the fuck up..." Erik shook him a little harder, and Jellal began to cough and opened his eyes wearily.

"Erik?" he asked weakly, and Erik nodded. "Thank God you made it here..." Jellal took a minute to observe the clearing and frowned. "Where's the kids?"

"Saw them headed west." he replied. "I don't know where they went, but..." Jellal growled and tried to stand, only to be shot down by the wound on his stomach. "What, what's the matter?"

"The only member of Devil Advocate left is the Master." Jellal hissed, causing Erik's stomach to do a nosedive. "They're probably going to try and..."

_BOOM!_

Both men jumped and looked off to the west, where smoke was rising.

"Shit." Jellal hissed, managing to stand. "There's no way in hell I can help at this rate. Erik! Go and find them!" Erik nodded wordlessly and sprinted to the west, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest in rage and worry.

_I swear to fuck if that kid ens up dead, I'm not saying a word to Kinana as to how..._

**The final battle has begun! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	96. The Final Fight Begins

**I'm back again! Excited for the final battle? I sure am, seeing as I know what happens.**

**Enjoy!**

Kronos looked up as an explosion shook the building. he sighed as he stood from his desk and walked out towards the exit, shaking his head.

"Really Taisho?" He called as he walked down a flight of stairs, stroking his beard. "I understand that you are excited you won, but there was no need to blow the entrance up." Taisho knew it was Taisho who had entered, who else could it be? He had lost contact with the airship crash site after a huge explosion, so he honestly had no clue who had one or not. However, there was no way that either the fairies or Crime Sociere had found the entrance, so he knew it was the demon. "I'm making you pay for the damages you bastard..." Kronos got to the entrance, and waited as the smoke cleared.

He was not expecting a pink blur to dash through the smoke and punch him in the face.

He flew back and dodged a fireball thrown by the same pink haired girl, who landed near the entrance.

"What the..." he was cut off as eight more beams of magic blasted through the doorway behind her and straight towards him, taking all eight head on. When his vision cleared, he could see six fairies and three recognizable figures standing before him. He chuckled darkly. "I see, so Taisho lost. Surely not the outcome I expected, but..."

"Keep it to yourself, asshole." The white haired man growled. "We're here to kick your ass."

"Oh?" Kronos asked. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that? By attacking and hoping?" he cast a glance at his three former underlings, who winced at the look. "Surely these three fuckheads told you how big of a mistake you've made."

"It doesn't matter what they said." The redhead hissed, a sword appearing in his hands. "What matters is that we don't intend to give up until we've breathed our last."

"Big words coming from a wounded mage." Kronos hissed, balls of white magic appearing in his hands. "Let's see what you can do, fairies!" he wasn't ready when the orbs in his hands disappeared.

"Now!" Azzie shouted." Without warning the other eight charged head on without a second worry about their own personal well being, an assortment of fire, iron, poison, death, light, ice, water, and swords flying straight at Kronos. He managed to skillfully avoid all of these attacks, but the teenagers had already set themselves up. The pink haired girl was right behind him.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" She shouted, slamming the fireball into Kronos' back. He flew into the air where he was greeted by the shorter black haired girl.

"Iron Dragon Sword!" The sharp blade dug into Kronos as the girl brought it down on his face, sending him towards the ground in the span of two seconds, where the bandaged maroon haired kid already was.

"Poison Dragon's Twin Fang Thrust!" he roared, the latches of poison attaching to Kronos and sending him flying to the entrance, where the taller black haired girl was waiting.

"Water Nebula!" Trying to get a breath while being blown away by water was a difficult task no doubt, but he managed to get one right in time to be greeted by the redhead, equipped with very spiky looking armor.

"Heavenly Blast!" The light blinded Kronos as he stumbled backwards from the hit, and felt two hands on his back. he turned to find the white haired one from before waiting there, now looking much more demonic then before, decked out in blood red armor.

"Evil Explosion!" The raw evil blasted from the demon threw Kronos into the air once more, where a familiar blonde God Slayer was waiting.

"Fire God's Death Scythe!" he shouted, the fiery blade cutting through Kronos' robes and throwing him back to the earth, where Tetsu was already waiting.

"Iron God Club!" Both clubs hit Kronos right in the face, flying back to where Azzie stood stationary near the door. She reared back, fist enveloped in white light.

"Dispelling Blast!" The white magic made to dispel wrapped around Azzie's fist, and when she hit Kronos with it in the stomach, he felt pain shoot up his back and into his head from the sudden dispelling of magic, causing a miniature explosion that sent him flying back into the wall. He could tell the enemy was waiting,so he chuckled as he got up out of the debris.

"My my, it would appear these fairies have fangs." He mused, a smile on his face as he reveled in the lack of damage. "And obviously I trained you three too well, but not well enough to prevent a mutiny."

"One more time!" The pinkette shouted. "All together!" The others seemed to agree, and Kronos watched with an amused smile.

"Fire God's Bellow!"

"Iron God's Bellow!"

"Dispelling Blast!"

"Water Nebula!"

"Grand Chariot!"

"Soul Extinction!"

"Iron Dragon Roar!"

"Poison Dragon Roar!"

"Fire Dragon Roar!"

The nine attacks sailed through the air, merging as one supernova of an attack halfway to the target, and Kronos smiled.

"Well, I suppose they've had their fun..."

* * *

Nashi watched the attacks form together, in one huge, unstoppable attack right at Kronos' face. The attack made contact, and another gigantic explosion went off, which caused more than just her to lose their balance temporarily.

"Did we...?" Damien asked, not daring to finish his sentence.

"No way..." Ultear panted, as was everyone else.

"There's no way he stopped that." Katsuchi hissed through labored breaths. "That was... that was a nine way Unison Raid..."

"I think we did it!" Elise said happily, before a deep voice chuckled darkly from the smokescreen.

"Don't get your hopes up, lovely." Nashi watched in complete disbelief as Kronos appeared out of the smoke, arms crossed, completely unharmed.

"No fucking way..." She hissed through gritted teeth, causing Kronos to laugh.

"Did you all honestly think that I, the Master of Devil Advocate, would lose in one, weak, pathetic, last ditch attempt by nine teenagers with nothing left?! You've already lost if you thought I was that weak." Nashi, unintentionally, dropped to her knees from fatigue, causing Kronos to frown. "Oh, don't tell me after all you said and did to get here, and that huge combined attack, that you're all out of steam?" he grinned darkly, an evil aura surrounding him. "The fun is just getting started, kids."

"This is bad..." Simon growled, doing his best to remain standing even though his face was still very pale. "We threw everything we had at him, and he's not even scratched..."

"I told you this was a bad idea." Katsuchi replied angrily, also gasping for air. "Kronos is to us like transportation is to Dragon Slayers." Nashi didn't appreciate the comparison, but it was true. Kronos was far more powerful than she had anticipated, which was obviously a terrible mistake on there part.

"We need a plan." Nashi said, managing to stand. "or we're in a lot of trouble."

* * *

"Are we not close yet?!" Laxus rolled his eyes at Natsu, who was currently having another hissy fit. After discovering the strange absence of six certain teenagers, and confirming with Mira that they hadn't taken a job when no one was looking, some got curious. That number increased and went from curious to worried when communications could not be established with Jellal or the airship. Laxus had decided to take a small party consisting of the kids parents to go out in the direction of the airship to look for them, when he felt it.

That dark, evil presence.

That everything he loved was going to get ripped away.

Accompanied with the darkening of the sky and evil, deadly magic swirling in the distance, they had all broken into a sprint to get to the location, ditching the magical vehicle that had gotten them that far.

"Calm down, Natsu." Levy advised, "We aren't even sure that Jellal knows where they are." Laxus went against his instinct and didn't bring up the Xisplate takeover from before, which confirmed to him Jellal knew.

"Isn't a little weird that we couldn't get through to him though?" Kinana asked worriedly, bringing up the rear. "I mean, it doesn't seem like Jellal to have malfunctioning equipment."

"No, it doesn't Erza agreed, who was standing next to Laxus. "What do you think Laxus?" He didn't hear her right away, he was too deep in thought. In took a jab in the side and Erza repeating her question for Laxus to get it.

"I don't know." He finally replied. "I mean, I'm sure they're fine if they're with Jellal, but..."

"I smell smoke." Everyone paused an turned to Natsu and Gajeel, both of whom were sniffing the air. "And metal, and debris."

"The airship?" Lucy asked worriedly, which caused both to shrug.

"Can't tell." Gajeel said slowly, rubbing his head. "Might be."

"Uh, is that smoke over there?" Everyone turned at Levy's question, and confirmed for their own eyes. That was indeed smoke rising in the distance.

"Shit." Laxus growled, clenching his fists. "Did they crash or something?"

"Can't be too careful." Natsu replied, taking his turn leading the group, heading right for the smoke with a purpose. If the airship had crashed, it would be a miracle for everyone to survive.

If anyone survived that is.

* * *

Nashi watched helplessly from her spot on the floor as Simon was thrown into the wall, and collapsed into a heap.

"is this really all you people can muster after such a show?" Kronos asked, shaking his head. "I was expecting more, honestly." He picked Azzie up by the hair, causing her to shout out in pain.

"Put her down!" Tetsu roared, anger seeping from his form.

"I think I'll start with the traitors." Kronos said, a sword made of black fire appearing in his hands, placing it at Azzie's neck. "Does that sound like a good idea to you, Azzie bear?" Azzie couldn't reply, she was either in too much pain or out cold. "I guess it can't be helped you're to weak to stop me, you always were." Kronos brought the blade back to swing it, fully ready to cut Azzie's head off.

"BASTARD!" Nashi turned her head to see Katsuchi on his feet, rushing at Kronos with his scythe in hand. Kronos dropped Azzie and brought his own sword to meet the scythe, fire flying everywhere as the blades met.

"My, is this rage I detect Katsuchi?" Kronos asked in a mocking tone. "You were always so quiet and reserved, too."

"Touch one fucking hair on her head again." Katsuchi hissed, applying more and more of his already sapped strength into the scythe as he leaned forward. "And I'll cut your fucking head off, got it?" Kronos rolled his eyes.

"More protective than I realized, obviously." He hissed, easily pushing Katsuchi back. "Have you forgotten where you learned how to use that magic, boy?! I taught you with my own two hands!" It was true, Kronos had already showed expert usage of all the types of magic his guild had specialized in: God Slaying, Retrogression, Dispelling, Hellenization, and Ice. he'd already explained that he couldn't use Taisho's takeover because that was an ability unique to the deceased psychopath. Katsuchi was thrown back by an explosive show of such Hell magic by Kronos, and landed face down next to Nashi. He didn't move.

"Katsuchi?" She croaked out, but the blonde still didn't move. Nashi didn't have any time to check if he was dead or not, she had to roll away from him to avoid a blast of ice directed at her.

"This is getting tiresome." Kronos said with a sigh. "You're too weak to fight back, and yet you won't let me kill you and get it over with. I mean really, when does your crazy last itch plan come into effect?" Nashi knew something that she was terrified Kronos himself already knew.

There was no plan.

Their plan had been the initial assault that failed miserably.

There was no one in the room that had the strength for any plan anyone concocted anyway. She was more than certain some, like Katsuchi and Azzie, had already lost consciousness.

"I'll be honest, I'm impressed you got this far." Kronos said, a smirk on his face. `To be able to get through people like Icas and Taisho...truly impressive." Kronos began to draw a white magic seal in front of him as he spoke. "But honestly, I think I'm tired of this. Arc of Time Lost Art: Redirected Offensive." Nashi paled as she recognized nine different magics swirling in the depths of the magic seal, all aimed at her and the others.

"Isn't that..." Drake hissed. "How the hell..."

"It is, don't worry about it." Kronos replied as the attack charged. "The reason your attack failed from before was because I sent it into the future. The future where I send it back at you with ten times the previous strength."

"That isn't even possible." Ultear growled.

"It seems you are unaware how Arc of Time works." Kronos said. "As it has yet to happen, an infinite amount of futures are all possible, no matter how insane or ridiculous. I simply sent it to this future, that's all." No one could do anything but watch the attack charge up, which took longer than Nashi was comfortable with. "The reason I'm not charging it past ten times as destructive is because I'll still need this guild hall after I kill the lot of you, so any higher and I'd need to rebuild." Now he was being conservative? This was the worst day ever, Nashi had decided that. She heard a chiming sound resonate throughout the hall, and Kronos smirked. "It would appear that is complete."

"Shit..." Damien hissed, attempting to stand but to no avail. The magic began to combine into one gigantic burst, before it created a deafening sound upon firing. The blast was at least forty feet both ways, with no way of escaping. Nashi was in no condition to try and roll out of the way, and even if she did it wouldn't do her any good. She began to write her will mentally was the blast got closer, but the sound caused her to close her eyes and wait for the worst.

"POISON DRAGON ROAR!" Nashi looked up to find a blast of dark red magic meet the nine way redirected Unison Raid head on, both blasts fighting for dominance. They fought for about ten seconds before both exploded against each other, throwing Nashi and her friends all over the place. Once she regained her senses, Nashi could hear someone chuckling, not Kronos. then she heard footsteps, walking past her and her friends.

"So, you decided to show?" Kronos asked.

"You idiots are just like your parents." The voice said, disapproval apparent in his voice. "Running in without a backup plan in case 'run in and fuck shit up' didn't work." he chuckled again, and Nashi looked up as he passed her. He wore a blue Crime Sociere cloak, and had spiked maroon hair. Nashi now knew why she recognized the scent he gave off.

"How did you..." Simon whispered, obviously in awe.

"You kids sure are lucky I got here when I did, huh?" He asked, still not looking at them. "Any later and I'd need to do some explaining I'd rather not."

"Now this has gotten interesting." Kronos said, spreading his arms in a welcoming matter. "Don't you agree, Cobra the Poison Dragon?" Cobra growled.

"Cobra doesn't exist anymore." He hissed. "That man died a long time ago." He turned slightly to the side, so that Nashi could see his tanned face and scar over the eye he'd lost long ago. "My name is Erik, remember it." Kronos nodded with a grin on his face.

"So be it, Erik the Poison Dragon." Kronos became enveloped in a black aura. "Shall we see if you hold up to the strength of your second generation brother Laxus?" Erik laughed.

"You're underestimating me if you're comparing the two of us." Erik replied casually, poison leaking from his figure. "Even so, I'm more than enough to kill you."

"We shall see." The magic stopped flowing from both of them, and silence fell over the room.

"Dad..." Drake began weakly, voice full of disbelief.

"You keep your trap shut, kid." Erik replied. "I'll let your mother figure out your punishment for this." And with that, Erik broke the ground under his feet as he rushed at Kronos, slamming a poison covered fist into his own black coated fist.

And just like that, their last hope, the first Poison Dragon, engaged in combat with the Master of Devil Advocate.

**hehe, cliffhangers. What'll happen? I know, but you have to wait to find out. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	97. Erik vs Kronos

**I decided to not keep you guys waiting very long, seeing as the arc is almost over.**

**Enjoy!**

Above everything else, Nashi was astounded that the fight was going Erik's way. He was always, as expected, one step ahead of Kronos, always dodging every attack the master threw out, no matter what it was. Nashi knew it was because of the sound magic he'd taught his son, but it was still impressive to watch. Both flew away from each other, and Kronos laughed.

"I expected no less from you." he said, wiping the blood from his lip. "A Dragon Slayer from the first three generations cannot disappoint." Erik crossed his arms.

"I expected no less either." Erik replied. "So I suppose I should commend those kids for lasting as long as they did, but..." Erik went silent, his arms falling to his sides.

"What?" Kronos asked. "What's the matter with you?"

"I heard a lot of shit coming over here." Erik replied, hair obscuring his viper-like eyes. "Fear, death, pain, all from those kids..." Erik's fists clenched as he continued, "And that... I'll never forgive...Ever!" Attacking Kronos again, Erik threw out attack after attack, but Kronos was smart enough to dispel the poisonous hits beforehand, making it a fistfight if anything. Erik still had the upper hand however. Nashi could tell, even if Kronos himself denied it, their initial assault had tired him slightly, making the fight easier on Erik. The Master's moves were move sluggish than before. The two flew apart again, and Erik launched scales at Kronos, who made a point to dodge most, if not all, of the hits. Erik took the chance to run and jump at Kronos from above, who jumped backwards out of the way as the attack broke the tiled floor.

"You're attacking is incredibly sporadic." Kronos said as he sailed through the air. Erik chuckled from inside the dirt he threw up.

"Oh yeah?" he asked. "Then why is it your perfectly vulnerable right now?" Kronos realized too late his jump backwards left him open for attack, and Erik took his chance. "Poison Dragon Roar!" the red spiral connected with Kronos, who flew back into the wall and collapsed under the debris. It took a moment before the man reappeared from the smoke, bags under his eyes.

"What is this feeling?" Kronos asked as he almost fell trying to stand." I feel sick."

"That would be my poison." Erik replied, smirking at the other man. "It'll slowly kill you from the inside out, so good luck."

"Ah, I see." Kronos raised a hand to his chest, and a white light animated from it. Soon enough, it was apparent that the poison was retreating. "Good thing The poison is magic, as I've now dispelled it."

"Of course you did, but now you'll try an avoid getting hit by me even more." Nashi saw the logic in the argument as the two men met in the center of the room once more, trading hits like lightning striking. She could barely see their fists flying before they made contact with each others face or stomach, but neither man showed any sign of faltering whatsoever.

"This is insane..." Nashi heard from her side, where Katsuchi seemed to be awake again. "How is he on par with Kronos?"

"Because he's my dad." There was a sense of pride in Drake's voice, and Nashi could see the wide smile on her best friends face. "That's why."

"Of course." Katsuchi replied sarcastically. "Why didn't I see it sooner?"

"It's still no use." Tetsu said from somewhere behind Nashi. "Kronos hasn't even begun to try."

"I hate to agree with such negativity." Azzie spoke up from the right, "But Tetsu-sama is right. Kronos-sama hasn't tried his hardest yet."

"I don't think Erik has either." Ultear said quietly, as both men had their fists connect with each others faces, sending them stumbling back. Both were panting and bruised in various areas, but neither showed any inkling of defeat. Kronos had the courage to laugh.

"It's been many years since someone was able to stand up to me like this" he told Erik, who didn't reply right away. "Although I dislike that you aren't going all out."

"If I did I'd kill the kids I'm trying to protect." He replied, rubbing his arm. "Then again, if it'll make this a little more interesting..." Nashi watched as Erik shrugged off the blue cloak of his guild, revealing his bare upper body. It was only a moment before Nashi saw what was happening, his arms where slowly turning a dark red. Scales protruded from his arms, and his hands turned into claws, similar to that of what he was taught to slay.

"Hm, and what do we call this?" Kronos asked, clearing uninterested.

"Call it whatever you want." Erik said in a monotone. "It won't matter once I kill you."

"My my, do I detect a bit of anger?"

"Fuck off." Erik roared at Kronos, who shot a beam of black fire back, causing a huge explosion. When Nashi could see the fight again clearly, both men were once again locked in combat, any sort of distraction would cause death at this point. Getting kneed in the stomach, Kronos stumbled back and raised his hand, a white seal forming there.

"Arc of Time: Acceleration!" Erik stopped as the air around him began to light up, and he gasped.

"The ether-nano is..."

_BOOM!_

Nashi shielded her eyes as debris shot past her, the area around Erik had exploded like Erza did when her cake as ruined. Kronos crossed his arms and chuckled.

"I accelerated the ether-nano's life cycle to a point where it was used in an attack, and it exploded." Kronos explained, and everyone watched the smokescreen for any sign of life from within. "The explosion was one of a toned down Etherion strike. There's no way you survived." Kronos then turned his attention back to the nine teenagers sprawled around the room, which made Nashi's blood run cold. "Now then, how should I deal with these kids?" Kronos began to approach them, not paying the least bit attention to the area he'd exploded.

"Don't you dare..." Kronos stopped dead as the voice resounded from the smokescreen. "Don't you dare turn your back on me!" Erik sprinted out of the smoke and delivered a poison coated fist to the back of Kronos' head, sending the master of Devil Advocate through the wall. He was bloody, bruised, panting, and his pants where ripped, but he still stood.

"Dad.." Drake said weakly as Erik straightened out.

"The fuck are you guys still doing here?" He asked, his voice calmer then a moment ago. "You should've left him to me."

"How did you get here?" Simon asked, propping himself up against the wall. "My Dad said you were going to another target."

"I was." Erik said, rubbing his scaled arms. "But Jellal contacted me and said we had a new target. One called Devil Advocate." Nashi could see where the story was headed. "Next thing I know I get here, and all I hear is fighting and Damien taking over into Xisplate." Damien choked.

"You heard that?" he asked weakly, which caused Erik to laugh.

"Damn right." he replied. "I hear a whole lot more than Drake, so I heard everything about that fight. What was it you told him? Something about his soul being forfeit or something?" Damien didn't reply, so Erik shrugged before turning his attention to Drake, who was still staring at him. "The fuck are you looking at kid?" He demanded, irritation apparent in his voice.

"I haven't seen you in eight years!" Drake shouted, standing up way quicker than Nashi thought possible to get in his father's face. "And the first thing you say when you see my is to shut my fucking trap?!"

"You're a lot more temperamental than I thought you'd be." Erik said casually. "Are hormones effecting you this bad boy?"

"Hormones?" Drake asked weakly. "That's what you jump to?"

"Well, I'm not an idiot." Erik replied, smirking at his son. "I was your age once, remember?" Drake paled at his fathers words, ones that Nashi had already heard from her own. "You know as well as I do how many times you're almost caught staring."

"Dad!" Drake shouted defensively. "You're the worst!"

"Yeah, your mom says I'm a shitty dad too." he replied, as if it was nothing to him. "I wasn't built to be a parent."

"Clearly." Drake growled, crossing his arms. Erik watched his son for a moment before his eyes trailed down to Nashi, making her smile weakly at him.

"Hey Nashi." he greeted, getting his son's attention. "How are you?"

"I've been better." Nashi said.

"Hm." Erik cast a glance at Drake, and smiled at Nashi. "Say, is Drake this bad normally? Just curious." Drake gave his father a furious look, making Nashi giggle.

"Yeah, usually." She answered, making Drake stare at her accusingly. "He's got a temper."

"Heh heh, I can see that." Erik closed his eye and crossed his arms. "Especially in front of you."

"Are you still on that?" Drake asked. "I told you already, I don't like her like that."

"You told me that eight years ago." Erik replied matter of factly to his son, who faltered. "And even I can tell she's a totally different person from then, and I don't just mean in terms of her proportions." Nashi felt like the father and son had forgotten the girl they were talking about, aka her, was right in front of them.

"I don't have to listen to you." Drake hissed, turning away from his father. "Natsu is more my father than you are."

"Oh, so old flame ass came back?" Erik asked. "That's good, I'm glad you found a way to insult me. Really, because that was weak. Like, really weak. it was so weak I'm more than certain I could pull a better insult out of my ass."

"Go ahead." Erik seemed about to reply when a blast of black magic aught him off guard, throwing him away from Nashi and the others, rolling to a stop. The blast had knocked Drake off balance, and he fell backwards. Nashi looked to the source to find Kronos standing in the hole he'd made when he sailed through it, growling.

"Did you really think such a pathetic attack finished me off?!" He roared angrily, dropping from the hole and approaching Erik, who was on all fours coughing up blood. "You talk of underestimation, yet you clearly did so to me! Get up Poison Dragon, we're not finished!" Erik couldn't reply, it was clearly taking everything he had to remain on all fours, possibly even conscious.

"Come on, get up..." Elise hissed, but Erik didn't obey." Kronos rolled his eyes.

"So, that's it then?" he asked. "You've reached your psychical limit, Poison Dragon. Anymore abuse and you'll die. Exactly what I want." Kronos drew a familiar magic circle, and the nine way Unison Raid from before gathered in the center, preparing to fire. "Any last words, Erik the Poison Dragon?"

"Yeah, a few." Erik said, looking up with a defiant smirk on his face. "Firstly, fuck you. Secondly, fuck your family. Thirdly, fuck yourself." Kronos sighed as Erik chuckled, then coughed more.

"Anything else?" Kronos asked as the attack finished charging.

"Hm, yeah." Erik looked over at Drake." I got an insult for you boy. Your a shitty son, rather disappointing, truthfully." The attack fired, and Drake panicked.

"Stand up, you asshole!" he shouted. "You can't say all that shit and die!" Erik laughed and struggled to be on one knee as the attack soared towards him.

"Even though..." Poison enveloped Erik's entire body, an at least ten feet around him. "Even though I've never been more irritated by someone, ever..." Erik looked up, a venomous smile on his face. "You're all we got left."

_BOOM!_

* * *

Once the area had cleared a bit, Erik was gone, nothing but a scorch mark where the man had been standing. Nashi felt fear coming over. Erik was gone, their last hope down the tubes. Kronos kicked a bit of debris in front of him, sending it over to the scorch mark.

"Well, that was troublesome." he mumbled, turning to face them. "Now for...what the...?" Nashi followed Kronos' gaze, where Drake was standing up despite his injuries. Nashi's best friend growled.

"Even though your a shitty father..." Nashi watched as Drake's coat sleeves ripped, revealing bulging muscles and dark purple scales lining them. said scales had begun to line his face as well. "And you showed up just to sacrifice yourself..." Drake's eyes snapped open, and Nashi had never seen such rage. "I won't let your stupid fucking sacrifice be in vain!" Kronos rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." The man said. "You've become troublesome, far more than I like." Drake charged at unforeseen speed to attack Kronos, and they began to fight.

"Nashi." Nashi turned her head to find Katsuchi looking at her. "He's going to need backup, He himself in Dragon Force still isn't enough." Nashi's stomach turned at the idea she knew he was suggesting.

"Are you sure?" She asked, and he nodded. Nashi looked at Elise, who nodded in understanding. Elise looked at Damien, who gulped and nodded. Damien looked at Simon, who nodded and looked at Ultear, who was the last one to agree. Tetsu laughed.

"Let's get the fucking show on the road, then." he said, struggling to stand along with Katsuchi. "Iron God..."

"Fire God..."

"Takeover: Demon..."

"Requip..."

*_Riiiip*_

* * *

Drake felt Kronos overpower him and send him flying backwards into a wall, but recovered quickly and punched the man in the face.

"You're just as bad as your father!" Kronos roared, blasting Drake with black fire all of which was dodged. "And I'll kill you like I did him!"

"Shut up!" Drake roared back, locking in a grapple with the older man. "I'll rip that disrespectful tongue from your mouth!" Kronos rolled his eyes and acted quickly, slamming a dispelling spell against Drake's stomach, similar to Azzie's but twice as strong. Drake felt himself fly backwards, and he struggled to stand. He did so quickly, however, as a hand forced him to his feet. He looked over and gulped. "Nashi...?"

The pinkette was engulfed by black fire, her eyes completely murderous. Drake turned to find Elise covered in shiny black armor, Damien in Xisplate's form, Simon in his red flame striped pants and bandages carrying two katanas, and Ultear's shirt had been discarded somewhere.

"You attacked us together..." Nashi hissed, the fire flickering in response to her anger.

"Tried to kill us together..." Elise growled, her arms extending into sharp blades.

"And now..." Simon said courageously, brandishing his sword at Kronos. "We'll kill you! Together!"

"Together!" Everyone else shouted, rushing at the master of Devil Advocate. Drake smiled and poison formed in his hands.

"...Together."

**oh shit, it's going down! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	98. Strongest Team

**I'm back, to solve the mystery of the cliffhanger.**

**Enjoy!**

Where?!

It was the only thing Kronos could think about. Where the hell did these kids get the strength to move like they were? Where did they find it within themselves to keep fighting?

"I don't understand!" Kronos roared angrily as he missed a punch directed at the shirtless girl, who dodged it and blasted a column of water at him, which he blocked. Only in time, however, for the pinkette to slam a fist into his face. "Where do you draw this strength from?"

"When we can't move and all hope seems lost." The pinkette replied, a devilish grin on her features. "Is when we catch our second wind!" She kicked him in the midsection and he felt himself connect with another person, the Dragon Force idiot. After a few punches and kicks to the head, He was thrown towards the redhead, who slashed him repeatedly. He landed and faltered to one knee, watching the six teenagers advancing on him.

"I..." Kronos didn't know what to say. Had he some sort of plan, maybe he'd flaunt it in their face, but there was no plan. He chuckle to himself as he struggled to stand. "I suppose I should have predicted some sort of thing like this." No one really responded to him, but he stood tall and smiled at them. "Unfortunately for all of you, this little charade will end soon. After all, I am the Master of this guild." He rushed at them again, grabbing the pinkette by the scruff of her scarf and threw her at the redhead, connecting with it and they both flew away from him. He turned in time to block a club from the Iron Dragon, slamming a fist into her face and got grabbed by the demon with white hair, and he felt his neck going cold.

"Afraid of death?" The demon hissed, watching Kronos as he laughed.

"No, not really." Kronos blasted ice from his free hand and freed himself, only in time to dodge a blast of ice from the shirtless girl. He grabbed her hair and whupped her at the Dragon Force boy, who caught her instead of getting them both hurt. Kronos whirled to try and grab the next attacker, but the pinkette was already ready, dodging his attempt to catch her punch and uppercutting him in the stomach ,sending him into the air. He was greeted by the redhead, who tried to slash him open again, managing to leave a rather large cut by his midsection. As Kronos fell, he could see the iron girl waiting, and he managed to grab her by the club, throwing her into the advancing demon.

"Mavis above." Shirtless girl said as she swung at icy blade at Kronos a few times, every time of which was blocked."How are you so strong?"

"Years of training, my dearie." he replied, grabbing the blade and cracking it in his hand, watching the girl looked shocked. Blasting her back with hell magic, Kronos got a poisoned fist to the back of the head, followed up by a swift series of punches, kicks, blasts of poison, and a roar which sent him sailing towards the pinkette, who was waiting like everyone else for their turn.

"Fire Dragon God Wing Attack!" She shouted, the swirling flame coming right towards Kronos.

"Fire God's Death Scythe!" Kronos replied, slashing the flame with the blade, dissipating it quickly. After he'd done so, the pinkette tried for a close range engagement, which Kronos had just enough strength left to block. He was about to send her flying when a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders from behind. The redhead was the one who grabbed him, and he flew back into the wall with the propulsion of heavenly light. He crawled out, coughing up blood, and stood unsteadily. Rolling his eyes at the scene before him, he began the drawing of his final plan, watching them all stare at him.

"What are you doing?" The demon asked. Kronos decided to respond once he finished drawing the seal, which glowed darkly.

"As you've already seen, I'm proficient with all the magic my guild used. I'm just using them all at once, quite similar to the Unison Raid you all performed." Kronos laughed as they all exchanged a nervous look. "Except this one will be more than enough to kill you all! Hahaha!" None of them moved, they just watched as the attack began the firing sequence. "Well, Fairy Tail, it appears your time has...!" Kronos' eyes widened in shock at the feeling, before he paled considerably.

_*Hisss*_

Kronos kept completely still as his magic disappeared and the hands that where cupped around his head from behind moved away. The person who had done so snickered.

"That was for Drake-sama's father" Azzie whispered in his ear as she fell backwards away from him. "Now!" She shouted, and Kronos used the remainder of his strength to turn and find the six of them rushing him together, all preparing an attack.

...

...

_How..._

"Grand Chariot!"

_Where do they get this strength..._

"Water Nebula!"

_I don't understand..._

"Mortality Way!"

_Could it be...their true strength..._

"Poison Dragon Roar!"

_Does not in the form of their type of magic or weariness of human life..._

"Bellowing Roar of the Iron Dragon God!"

_But rather, in their sense of camaraderie...their friendship, and want to protect those close to them..._

"Bellowing Roar of the Fire Dragon God!"

_That's where their true strength comes from...Alone, they're susceptible to defeat...Together..._

The attacks formed into one just like before, the barreling ray of defeat coming right for Kronos without mercy.

_Together, they cannot be defeated..._

The attack made contact and Kronos felt a searing pain spread through his entire body. He screamed in pain, but knew there was no mercy awaiting such a sound.

_Olympians have mercy on my soul, I have failed them..._

BOOM!

* * *

Jellal had heard all of the explosion from the airship, and could only hope they were being used to defeat Kronos. it had been quite some time since Erik had run off, so he could only hope.

"This is stupid." Sorano hissed, crossing her arms. "We were all out for the entirety of the fight and didn't get to do anything. Please don't tell me those kids did everything?"

"That remains to be seen." Jellal replied to her. "They went after Kronos." Although Jellal was worried as well, he wasn't expecting such a reaction from the rest of his guild.

"What?!" Meredy shouted angrily. "And you let them go?!"

"What was I supposed to do?" Jellal asked as the angry pinkette bore down on him. "I was wounded, they were determined...You all know what happens when Fairy Tail gets determined!"

"As stupid as your decision was, Jellal," Erigor spoke up from his spot near the tree. "you're right, Fairy Tail doesn't know what' Roll over and give up' means. it's in there nature to try until they die doing so."

"He's got a point, sadly." Macbeth said quietly, sighing and rubbing his arms to warm himself after he'd defrosted. "Fairy Tail...they're difficult."

"That's for sure." Sawyer agreed. "I've never seen a group of people agree so quickly to go and almost get themselves killed."

"It's because of their love for their guild!" Richard shouted happily, causing the others to sweat drop.

"Keep telling yourself that, Rick." Sorano said quietly, rubbing her bandaged head. "The only thing that could make this worse is if..."

"Jellal!" Jellal choked as the figures emerged from the treeline, which was Fairy Tail. "What the hell happened?" Laxus demanded as they ran up.

"Uh..." Jellal said slowly. "We, uh...crashed?"

"No shit." Natsu grumbled. "We meant how!"

"Uh..."

"Jellal." Jellal jumped at the tone Lucy used, which was deadly calm. "Where are the kids?"

"K-kids?" Jellal asked slowly.

"You know what she means." Gajeel hissed. "I smell them all over this place. Where. Are. They?"

"Uh..." Jellal trailed off at the murderous expressions he was getting.

"You can all calm down, shit." Everyone turned at the new voice to find none other than Erik stumbling out of the forest. He was beaten, bloodied, clothes ripped, and mumbling, but otherwise okay. "They'll be fine."

"Erik!" Kinana shouted in worry, running to her husband. "What happened to you?!"

"Lot's of shit." he replied, leaning on her for support. "Went to help the kids take on Master Kronos, got defeated, let Drake enter Dragon Force, and left before shit hit the fan." Erik's words left the whole group stunned, and it was Laxus who finally spoke.

"...What?" he asked Erik weakly, who's ears twitched.

"Oh, here they come now." he said, turning in Kinana's grasp to watch the treeline. Jellal turned to look as well, and found what everyone was looking for. Walking towards them, beaten, limping, bloodied, panting, almost unconscious, were the six teens in questions. None of them seemed to be in a good condition, but no one faltered as they walked forward together. They came into the clearing, spotted Crime Sociere awake, Erik, their parents, and remained silent for a minute. Finally, after far to long, it was Nashi who spoke.

"So, uh..." She said weakly, rubbing the back of her head. "Did we miss something important?" No one spoke, no one could find the words.

"No, not much." Erik replied, who almost seemed unfazed. "Did you win?"

"Master Kronos is currently lying either dead or out cold back there." Damien replied casually, and saw the parents react in shock. "What?" he asked them.

"You guys..." Erza said slowly, pointing to them. "Defeated the Master of Devil Advocate?"

"Yeah." Simon told his mother, stretching. "No big deal, right?" Slowly but surely, everyone stopped staring in shock, and began to talk to their kids in hushed tones.

"You know." Jellal turned to look at Meredy as she spoke in his direction with a hushed tone. "I think the title of the strongest team is getting passed on." Jellal thought about it for a minute as he watched Nashi get put in a headlock by her father, Drake and Erik start yelling at each other, Gajeel patting his daughters head, Simon and Erza speaking quietly, Juvia hugging Ultear closely and crying while Ultear tried to get away, and Damien getting reprimanded for Xisplate, he chuckled.

"I couldn't think of a better team to give it too."

* * *

"Well, that as fun." Azzie gave Katsuchi a quizzical look as they trudged through the forest. After Kronos' defeat, they had opted for an escape rather than go back with Fairy Tail. They had been offered a place in the guild, but none of them felt that was a good idea.

"Yeah, really fun." Tetsu agreed from Azzie's other side, his hands behind his head as they walked. "I'm surprised we survived though."

"Agreed." Katsuchi replied. "Maybe Master Kronos wasn't as bad ass as we thought."

"I wouldn't say that." Azzie interrupted quietly, causing both God Slayers to look at her closely. "It took nine of us, A man on par with our Master, and good luck. We got lucky, that's all there is too it."

"Jeez, could you be anymore depressing?" Katsuchi asked her, and she shrugged. "Well anyway, now what?" Silence fell upon the trio, as the question stayed in their subconscious. Now what? Devil Advocate had been all they knew, what where they to do now?

"Anything." Azzie finally said, a smile creasing her face.

"Huh?" Tetsu asked, his face appearing in her vision. "Did you say something?"

"We can do anything we want." Azzie replied, tears forming in her eyes. "We're free, we can do anything we want." She saw both of her friends smile at the thought, and Katsuchi laughed.

"There's a small town not far from here." he said. "Maybe w could stay there for a little bit."

"Then what?" Azzie asked, wondering what her future held for her. Tetsu laughed as well.

"It's like you said." he said wrapping an arm around her. "Anything. Right Kat?" Katsuchi nodded, putting his arm around Azzie as well.

"But no matter what we do," he said. "Let's take a page from Fairy Tail's book."

"Which is?" Azzie asked curiously, and Katsuchi smirked.

"No matter what we end up doing." he said to both her and Tetsu. "We do it together." Azzie broke into the biggest smile that had ever graced her face , and nodded tearfully.

"Right...Together."

* * *

The man sighed as he tapped his fingers against the desk, waiting for the report. It had been a little bit since he'd ordered it. No matter what, he'd knew he'd get it anyway.

"Master Zeus." Zeus tuned as he was addressed to find the man he'd sent to report kneeling before him, and he smiled dryly.

"Report, Ares." he said, and the man stood. "Have you found out about Devil Advocate?"

"Yes." Ares said, growling. "They were defeated by Fairy Tail." Zeus nodded quietly and watched the sea from his window quietly.

"And Kronos?" he asked.

"Defeated," Ares reported. "However, recoverable. Shall I give the order?" Zeus thought about it for a minute before he nodded.

"Yes, recover him. His Arc of Time can use much improvement, perhaps he could even use that spell we've been crafting."

"Are you sure, Zeus?" Zeus nodded at Ares' question, who sighed. "Anything else?"

"Yes, actually." Zeus turned to glare at Ares. "Do not make a push for Fairy Tail, not yet."

"Why not?" Ares asked angrily, his face glowing with rage. "They're weak! if we attacked now..."

"She is not at full power yet, you know we need her as strong as she can be." Zeus shouted back, causing Ares to go silent. "If we cannot access the power within, she is worth nothing to us."

"yes, but..."

"I will give that order in due time." Zeus interrupted, not interested in whatever Ares was trying to say. "In the meantime, contact Apocalypse."

"Whatever for?"

"Tell him it is almost time. He'll mobilize as soon as he can."

"Yes, Master Zeus." Zeus heard Ares leave the room, and he sighed. So much pressure. If one part of this plan went wrong, it'd all go to hell. However he knew what he was after, and when he needed it.

"Just wait a little longer, comrades." Zeus murmured as he watched the waves from below assault the mountain face. "I know when we must mobilize, after the Grand Magic Games in seven months. Once that time has come to pass, we can take her. Once we have her, we can use her to destroy Earthland..."

"No matter what, I will have Nashi Dragneel."

**Lots of story stuff today, huh? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	99. Namesake

**Back again already! I'm so excited for this one shot, you guys have no idea. Anyways, it centers around everyone's favorite Gruvia love child!**

**Enjoy!**

"This is stupid." Ultear groaned, looking at the stupid uniform in her hands.

"Suck it up, cutie." Drake replied, straightening his bow tie. "Money is money."

"Yeah, but..." Ultear sighed as she continued to complain. It had been a few weeks since the Devil Advocate incident, and it was their first job since recovering from their injuries. They had accepted a job from a cafe owner in Crocus, who had been looking for someone to fill in for his sick employee's for a day. Had Ultear known that she'd have to dress up like a prostitute, she never would have agreed to do it. While the guys got basic dress pants, a vest and a bow tie, the girls got a revealing maid looking outfit, with a skirt that barely covered half of Ultear's thigh. it was embarrassing, honestly.

"I agree with Ul." Elise muttered, crossing her arms. "I don't want to servo food dressed like this.

"I don't know." Nashi said, smiling down at her outfit. "I like it." Ultear stared at the younger girl like she was insane, but she only smiled back.

"Exhibitionist." Elise grumbled, causing flame to lick across Nashi's forehead in irritation. Just as Simon was about to try and defuse the situation, the boss poked his head in the door.

"Almost opening time." he reported. "get ready, people!"

"Do you have anything more revealing?" Ultear asked. "This skirt doesn't show enough leg." She was promptly ignore and she groaned. She wasn't opposed to skin showing, but there was a difference between skin and showing it off for no good reason. She followed behind her friends slowly, really not looking forward to the days events. But, like Drake said, money was money. She stood next to Simon as they surveyed the people in the open air cafe, and she could see more than a few perverted old men (And a few young women) Checking her friends out. That only made the situation worse, as she sure as hell couldn't serve food while guys stared at the crevice in between her legs instead of her eyes, Just as they were told to go and serve, Ultear spotted an old woman near the back, and grinned, making a beeline towards her.

"Oh come on Ul, that isn't even fair!" Elise shouted as she saw Ultear's course of action, and the girl laughed as she made her way over.

"Can I get you anything today?" Ultear asked, making sure her voice was as sweet as honey. The old woman turned slowly to look at her, a small smile on her face.

"My my, such a pretty young woman." She greeted. "What's your name?"

"Ultear." She replied. "Ultear Fullbuster." She saw a flicker of emotion on the woman's face, but couldn't discern what it had been at all.

"Fullbuster, ah?" She asked, looking back out over the city. "Could you be related to Gray Fullbuster by any chance?"

"Yes," Ultear replied cheerfully, "I'm his daughter." The woman was silent for a minute before she turned back to her.

"I'm Ms. Milkovich." She said, and Ultear felt a buzz in the back of her head. She felt like she was supposed to know the name, but she couldn't place it. "Nice to meet you...Ultear."

"You as well!" Ultear said, happy she wasn't being checked out like practically everyone else. "Can I get you something?"

"Just some tea would work fine, dear."

"Alright." Ultear turned to walk to the kitchen and tell Simon, who was operating the kitchen solo, what the woman wanted.

"Ms Milkovich?" he asked, and Ultear watched him stir the tea.

"What?" She asked.

"I feel like I know the name." he said, rubbing the red stubble on his chin he'd forgotten to shave. "It's bothering me that I can't remember it."

"Me too, I think." She said. "Ah, who knows. Maybe were just misplacing another name."

"Yeah, maybe." he placed the tea on a saucer and put it on Ultear's tray. "oh, and another thing Ul."

"Yeah?" Simon's eyes fell downward, and he frowned. Ultear wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean.

"Your uniforms to far down." Ultear blushed as she fixed it as best she could, Simon doing his best not to stare.

"I'm not sure if you're a pervert or a good guy for noticing." She mumbled as he nodded approval.

"A little of both." he joked with a wink as Ultear took the tray back out to Ms. Milkovich, who was waiting patiently.

"Here it is!" Ultear announced with a smile, placing the tea down.

"Ah, thank you dearie." She said quietly. "Why don't you sit for a minute? Rest your pretty little legs."

"Oh no, that's okay..."

"I'm trying to do you a favor so that the unsavory gentleman here don't give you a good once over more than once." Ultear realized what she was getting at and sat across from her, watching the untouched tea sit there.

"So," Ultear said, resting her head on her hand. "Do you know my dad?"

"Once." Ms. Milkovich replied. "It was a long time ago, and I was much younger. it was easily over twenty years ago, now." She sighed. "He was in the GMG of that year, and it was Fairy Tail's first win too." Ultear had heard the stories, she didn't need another one. "I do believe many women fell in love with your father that day, Ultear. it was quite a ravenous sight."

"I can imagine." Ultear said, imaging her mother killing all of those women. It made her giggle to think about. "I've heard he was quite dashing back in the day."

"Yes yes, quit dashing. We met outside the city, while he was on the way back to Magnolia. I could hear him arguing with his friends inside the carriage, and it passed by. Your father tried to stop himself from killing the pink haired one, and looked out the window. If by only a fleeting chance our eyes met, and we understood each other. I in his endeavor to prevent his friends death, and he in my laughing about it." Ultear listened attentively to her as she sighed. "I knew him from the broadcast of the Games, and it made me laugh to think about how many women would kill for what I got."

"I can imagine that too." Ultear said, imagining her mother again. Silence fell upon them, before Ultear got curious. "Hey Ms. Milkovich, can you use any magic?"

"Oh, once upon a time I could." She replied, smiling at Ultear. "in my youth I was quite impressive."

"What magic did you use?"

"One called Arc of Time." The familiar buzz went off in Ultear's head again, but she shook it off. It was probably just from Kronos anyway. "I was good with it, too. One of the best, they said."

"I bet you were pretty good." Ultear said with a quick smile, and Ms. Milkovich smiled weakly.

"You look so much like your father." She said, sounding very happy. "Just without the constant look of uncaring about you."

"My Mother's guilty for that." Ultear said. "Much to peppy."

"Fullbuster!" Ultear froze as the boss shouted her name. "Get to work, I don't pay you to sit around!"

"Yes sir!" Ultear shouted, watching as the boss disappeared again, presumably to reprimand Simon for something in the kitchen. "I'm sorry Ms. Milkovich, I have to get going."

"I understand dear. Work is work, after all." Ultear stopped for a minute, contemplating all she had heard.

"Hey, Ms. Milkovich."

"Yes?"

"Can I...Can I talk to you after I'm done working?"

"Of course, dear. I live only down the street." Ultear smiled at the thought and went back to work, doing her best to ignore the looks she was now receiving for the outfit.

* * *

"Ugh, kill me." Drake said, rubbing his back as they finished closing up the cafe. "I was on my feet the whole day."

"Easy for you to say." Elise hissed, crossing her arms. "You didn't have to wear a ridiculous outfit like we did."

"I quite liked those." Nashi said, her eyes shining. "I don't see what the problem is."

"As much Fullbuster blood as I have in me," Ultear said, stretching. "They were a bit much. Especially those idiots who tried to flip my skirt." Ultear chuckled at the thought of that when she'd frozen them solid until closing time. Good times, good times. Her thoughts were interrupted by the memory of the old Ms. Milkovich, and remembered what she'd wanted to ask. "Say uh, guys. I'm going to go check out the market, alright?"

"Want me to come with?" Simon asked, and Ultear shook her head.

"No, you guys go ahead back to the hotel. I'll be right there." The other saw no objections to this and left her alone. Just as her friend disappeared, Ultear walked down the street looking for the house in question. Finally, finding the house with her name engraved on the small plague next to the door. She knocked a few times, and heard some sounds from inside.

"Come in, dear." She heard, and she took a deep breath. She opened the door quietly and observed the homey little house that the woman lived in. It gave her the impression of home, which was nice. Ms. Milkovich was sitting in a chair near the fire, and Ultear stood there watching for a minute before she was beckoned to come forward. "So nice you decided to come, dear."The old woman said quietly. Ultear did as she was told and went to sit down, regarding the flames silently. It was a moment before Ultear finally spoke.

"Do you think you could teach me?" She asked. "Arc of Time, I mean."

"In one night?" She replied, earning a nod. "I don't think so, but..."

"Maybe just the basics, then." Ultear said hopefully. "I think it'd be a cool surprise if I learned, you know?" There was silence for a minute before Ms. Milkovich sighed and nodded her head.

"Alright, the basics." She said. "See that plant on the mantle above the fire?" Ultear raised her eyes to the mantle, nodding as she laid eyes on it. "Arc of Time is a very temperamental magic, you must know what you want in order to learn it."

"So, what do I do?" Ultear asked.

"See the plant not as it is, but how it will be years or decades from now." Ultear focused on the plant, imaging how it would look if it were dead. Her head began to hurt before anything happened, which was a leaf falling off of it.

"Was, uh, that right?"

"For a beginner, I suppose." Ms. Milkovich said. "Now, try this one. Just say Arc of Time: Restore."

"Um, okay." Ultear looked at the plant, and focused. "Arc of Time: Restore." Ultear watched with a giddy smile on her face as the leaf that had fallen from the plant raised back up through the air and attached itself to the plant, right where it had been. "I did it!" She said happily, watching the plant. Ms. Milkovich sighed, she seemed to be doing that a lot.

"Congratulations." She said. It sounded sincere, but very tired. "Now, try it with other objects." Ultear did as she was instructed, aging various objects around the room and then restoring them. It exhausted her, but it was fun to learn.

"Woah." Ultear said weakly, trying to catch a breath. "That was...tiring..."

"It always is as first." Ultear's teacher yawned. "I'm sorry dear, but I'm really exhausted."

"Oh? Right, of course." Ultear stood shakily, bowing slightly. "Thanks for the quick lesson, I'll have to look more into it later."

"Goodnight, Ultear." Ultear froze at the door for a moment, wondering why this woman made her feel uneasy. She felt like she was forgetting something important, but she couldn't discern what. Finally sighing, she decided it wasn't worth the brain power this late at night.

"Goodnight..."

* * *

"No! I'll walk home!" Ultear rolled her eyes as she dragged Nashi by the legs towards the carriage. "Please, Ul! I'd rather fight Kronos again!"

"No you wouldn't." Ultear said simply. "It's not so bad if you don't think about it."

"You aren't motion sick, Ul. You don't even know the struggle."

"Have to agree with Nashi." Elise said, who was propped up against the carriage driving them home. "I hate carriages a little bit less than that outfit I wore yesterday."

"Was it really that bad?" Damien asked.

"Are you kidding?" Ultear asked. "Do you know what my mom would've said if she saw me like that?"

"Hm," Simon murmured, his head hanging off the side of the carriage, as he was currently on top. "Probably something like, 'Ultear Ur Fullbuster! How dare you dress like that in public!' Then your Dad wouldn't really care because nudity is kind of his thing." Everyone had a good chuckle about Simon's joke, but Ultear was frozen in shock, information she should've remembered flowing into her head.

Her middle name was Ur.

Ur's full name had been Ur _Milkovich_

Ur had a daughter.

Ur's daughter's name had been _Ultear._

Ultear put the whole puzzle together in the span of a few seconds, and her eyes went as wide.

"Ul?" Drake asked, waving a hand in front of her face, as she was pretty spaced out. "You okay?"

"...I-I-I'll be right back!" She shouted quickly, running away from the carriage.

"Oi!" Damien shouted back. "Where the hell are you going?!" Ultear ignored the Dreyar's question and launched into a full on sprint towards her namesakes house, a million different questions reeling through her head. Why? How had she not seen it sooner? Ultear was putting the blame on how tired she'd been from working a whole nine until nine shift. That and the outfit, always the outfit. She reached her intended destination and threw the door open, not caring what may lie inside.

"Ms, er...Ultear?! Where are you?!" Ultear did a systematic sweep of the house, double checking everywhere. Had the house been this dusty last night? She couldn't remember. Ultear walked into the living room, and something caught her eye.

The plant from last night was dead. Rather, it was long dead.

"Ultear?!" She shouted again, walking around the house. "Where are you?" Ultear opened the last unopened door, and found it too be the bedroom, also very dusty. As she was abut to leave the room, she noticed something lying on the pillow, and she walked over to it. it was a piece of paper, and a small book under it. Ultear picked up the ginger piece of paper, looking at the neat writing on it.

_Ultear,_

_if you reading this, it was my time to go. Truthfully I know this seems confusing, so allow me to explain. I'm dead, or rather have been, for a long time. The woman you spoke to was a remainder of my memory, that I left behind. You see, after I used Last Ages during the Eclipse incident and saved everyone, I frequently got visions of the future. One such vision was that of a beautiful baby girl named Ultear Fullbuster. I decided that someday I wanted to meet this girl, and that my memory would stay behind until that day came._

_That day was today, or rather this morning._

_When you came to my home afterwards, the only thing keeping the memory as a psychical presence was you. Once you left, my body began to disappear, much like a fading memory. You're probably wondering why you took so long to figure out who I was. I, personally, contribute that to the fact you are Gray's daughter. he's rather hard headed too, as I'm sure you are aware. I'm also sure you're asking yourself why._

_Because. The book you've found under this note is my memoir, including all of my knowledge on Arc of Time. If you really want to honor my name, use this magic well, unlike I did for so many years. A word of warning, though. On the last pages of my memoir, I describe the spell Last Ages and it's usage._

_Don't ever use it._

_Your Father has lost far to many people close to him like that, and losing his daughter would surely destroy him. Don't use it unless, like me, you have no other choice. Heh, but you are in Fairy Tail, so I know asking you to not sacrifice yourself for those you love is asking a lot._

_By now, I'm sure that my memory has faded from Earthland, the last surviving portion of me. Tell Meredy I loved her, okay? I'm sure she misses me a lot._

_Goodbye, Ultear Fullbuster,_

_Ultear Milkovich._

Ultear was brought out of her stupor as a tear dropped from her eye onto the page she held so gingerly. Her head was swimming with what she had just read, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. She had often wondered what she would say to her namesake had they ever gotten the chance to meet, and she'd missed her only chance.

"Damn..." Ultear muttered, rubbing her eyes to get rid of the tears. "I hear you, Ultear. I'll use this magic in your name, and I'll tell Meredy you loved her. I..." Ultear wanted to say so much more, but she couldn't find the words. She slowly opened the first page of the book and stared at it.

_Arc of Time_

_Ultear Milkovich_

Ultear ran her hand over the words, trying to think of more to say. She flipped another page, and saw her namesake's foreword.

_I wrote this book in hopes that one day, a girl named after me could use the contents. I have so many people to thank for turning me away from the dark path I was originally on: Jellal, Meredy, Fairy Tail...Gray. Thank you all for making sure I lived the rest of my life trying to atone for my previous actions than committing more atrocities. Goodbye._

"Heh, nice one..." Ultear said, closing the book and gripping it tightly to her chest. Slowly but surely, her body moved mechanically to move her from the house and back to her friends, who she was sure were still waiting. As she got to the door frame, she paused and looked over her shoulder, and saw something rather spectacular. She could see a spectral woman standing there, but not old Ms Milkovich. Ultear Milkovich, in her youth, stood there, watching her with a sad smile. Ultear chuckled weakly.

"I can see why I got the name." She murmured. "We do look a lot alike." Slowly the spectral vision faded, and Ultear sighed. "Mavis, I have to get out of here..."

* * *

Nashi was getting impatient, Ultear was taking forever. Just as she was about to suggest leaving without her, she spotted the Fullbuster walking towards them, clutching a small black book to her chest.

"Hey Ul." Nashi greeted as the girl got to them, but she remained silent and got into the carriage. "...Ul...?"

"Come on." The girls said quietly. "Let's go already." Something seemed off about her, but Nashi didn't want to ask, she seemed far to distant.

As they left the capital of Fiore and towards home, Nashi used her curiosity towards Ultear's quietness to quell her sickness. She groaned and leaned over her friends shoulder, who didn't even budge. Nashi then used this as an excuse to read the title of the book in the girls lap, even if it was partially covered by her hand.

_Arc of...what?_

Nashi slowly raised her eyes to the young ice wizard, who was staring out the window. She seemed sad and distant, a look very unfitting of the usually happy and cheerful Ultear.

"Ul?" She asked, and Ul's right eye turned to the side lazily to signal she was listening. "Are you okay?" Ultear turned to look back out the window, before she let out a small laugh.

"I can ask you the same thing." She said, and the carriage hit a bump and Nashi almost threw up all over the girl. "Mavis, Nashi! Get off me!:

"Heeeeelpp me!"

"I can't!"

"But..._*Burp*"_

"Nashi! I swear to Mavis if you throw up...!"

"Uh..."

"God damn it Nashi."

**So, how was it? I thought it was pretty good myself. For any of you wondering how Ultear was so dense about her namesakes true identity until it was too late, blame it on story telling. Also, as the next chapter is the big 100, I have a very special chapter planned! I'm sure you guys will love what happens. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	100. Lucy's Problem

**Chapter 100, huh? I honestly can't believe it myself. I mean, when I started this project way back November of last year, I can tell you I never expected to get this far without quitting. I've finished next to none of my other stories, and I recently deleted a bunch of unfinished stories. To say I have a three digit chapter story is...wow.**

**Of course, I couldn't have gotten this far without you guys. All of the support, kind words, and everything is so nice to see! Some of you I want to thank more than others, but I don't want to name anyone (If you're reading this, you know who you are, and I appreciate everything). I can't ever find enough words to be able to thanks you all, so maybe this chapter will be some form of thanks, huh?**

**Believe me, It's a very important chapter.**

**Thanks again, and enjoy!**

Natsu was angry, which he was more than sure as an acceptable response. He was currently lying in bed, by himself, staring out the window. He knew Lucy had already left, but that wasn't the problem. Or maybe it was, Natsu didn't know. Groaning to himself and throwing himself back into the middle of the bed, he stared up at the roof uselessly.

The problem, you may ask?

Natsu felt like, recently anyway, there was a rift between him and Lucy. She'd been acting weird for a while, but Natsu had shrugged it off. Now he was worried, as she was just not herself. Had he done something up upset her? Somehow he could see that, he usually didn't know how he pissed her off until it was too late. Natsu suddenly sat bolt right up in bed, wide eyed.

Had he missed Nashi's birthday?

No, no that wasn't it. Her birthday wasn't for another few months. he slowly slid back down and stared at the rook, thinking for anything else he may of done. Her birthday? No. Anniversary? No. Important event? No.

"What's the matter, Natsu?" Happy asked, landing on the foot of the bed. Natsu covered his eye with his arm.

"I don't know." he finally replied. "But that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" Natsu shifted so that he could look at the exceed.

"Lucy's acting weird." he told the small blue cat, who made a face in response. "I don't know why, but she is."

"Do you have any idea at all?" Natsu went through a list of important things he may have missed again, and shook his head.

"Nope." Happy thought for a moment, and Natsu waited.

"Maybe Nashi knows." The cat suggested. "She's a girl like Lucy, it's always possible she slipped it in on some mother-daughter time."

"Hm." Natsu said, thinking about it for a minute. "I guess it can't hurt to check, right?"

"Right!" Natsu got himself out of bed and got dressed lazily, his head still clouded with everything that had happened. His walk to the guild was uneventful to say the least, just casting friendly glances at all those who did it to him. Once he got to the guild, he looked around, finally spotting the recognizable back of Nashi's head, He walked over with a dead serious expression on his face, startling Ultear and Drake, whom Nashi was speaking to.

"At least it..." Nashi stopped speaking as Natsu grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away. "Ow! Dad, what the hell are you doing?!"

"We need to talk." He replied quietly.

"About what?"

"Stuff, now come on."

"Dad...!"

"Stay quiet, no talking."

* * *

Natsu pondered his many questions as Nashi ate her ice cream, which he'd bought in an attempt to soften her up. Perhaps it was a default response, but Natsu often bought her ice cream to talk to her.

"So what's on that small mind of yours, Dad?" Nashi asked, putting the spoon down. Natsu sighed.

"It..." he made a face, trying to think what exactly he wanted to say. "I didn't miss your birthday, did I?"

"Um, no..." Nashi seemed confused as Natsu breathed a sigh of relief. "Why? Did you think you did?"

"Not really, no, but..." Natsu sighed and rested his head on his hand. "Your mothers been acting weird lately."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Silence punctuated the remark, and Nashi rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"I assume you fucked up somehow, right?"

"Probably." More silence, then, "Any ideas?"

"Hmmm..." Nashi said, obviously thinking as hard as possible. "It wasn't your anniversary, or Mom's birthday..."

"That's what I thought, too." Nashi crossed her arms and groaned quietly as she thought, making Natsu smile slightly at the face she was making. "I can't think of anything, Dad."

"Ugh, great" Natsu leaned back in the chair and stared up at the blue sky above, once again back at square one.

"Well, there is one idea I have." Natsu peeked back at his daughter to find her watching him carefully.

"Yes?" He asked, and she frowned.

"It may be she feels unloved."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Natsu replied. "Why would she feel that way?"

"Maybe that wasn't the right word." Nashi said, twirling the spoon around in her sundae. "Maybe I meant to ay she doesn't feel special."

"Please explain." Natsu said, leaning forward, and Nashi shrugged and stuck the spoon in her mouth.

"Vwell mafbe is becaze you nefer..."

"Swallow your ice cream, sweetheart." Natsu said with a sigh. Nashi blushed furiously and did as she was told, and put the spoon down.

"As I was saying." She said. "It may be because you haven't really, I don't know, payed her much attention."

"Uh..."

"I mean take her out, Dad. Show her you do love her. Dinner, fancy, late at night, the whole deal. You hear me?" Natsu thought it over for a minute and realized that Nashi was partially right. he really never did do any of that.

"Maybe you're right." he said, thinking it over. He smiled at his daughter. "Where'd you learn that shit, anyway?" Nashi almost looked offended.

"I'm a girl, Dad." She said slowly, as if she constantly reminded him of such a fact. "I know what I'm talking about."

"Yeah yeah." Natsu furrowed his brow and sighed. "Do girls your age find it attractive to have ice cream ob their noses?" Nashi blushed again and wiped it off quickly, sticking the finger it was now on into her mouth. "But I do appreciate the advice, kid. Thanks."

"You're welcome." She ate the last few bites of her ice cream and stood up to leave, leaning down and kissing Natsu's cheek as she did. "Good luck Daddy."

"Thanks."

* * *

Natsu felt like an idiot that the idea was making him nervous. All he had to do was ask Lucy to dinner, was that not it? It was.

"Mavis, I'm like a teenage virgin." he hissed, downing another mug of alcohol. "You can do this, Natsu." Rolling his eyes at his own nervousness, he walked up to Lucy, who was alone, and sat down next to her, acting like his usual self. "Hey Luce! What's up."

"Eh, nothing." Lucy replied quietly, not looking up. Natsu frowned and shifted to sit more comfortably.

"Cool." he said. "So, I had an idea today."

"Which is?" Natsu grinned at the idea.

"How about you and I," he pointed between himself and Lucy in case she needed a reference. "Go on a dinner date tonight?" Lucy didn't react at fist, and Natsu started to sweat.

"Really?" She asked.

"Uh, yes."

"...Just the two of us?"

"Yep."

"...This wasn't your idea, was it?"

"Wah...Yes it was."

"No, I'm willing to bet Nashi put you up to this." Lucy could read him like a book, and it made Natsu laugh awkwardly.

"Okay well, even if she did, why does it matter? It's still a good idea, don't you think?" Lucy hummed to herself for a minute, before she shrugged indifferently.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Was...that a yes?"

"Yes."

"Alright, awesome!" Natsu knew he seemed way to happy about such a simple thing, but he could now show Lucy that he did still love her. "I got this, I totally got this."

* * *

Natsu didn't have it. Not at all. He had assumed that once he and Lucy got to the restaurant that they could talk like old times, eat, and be happy. Lucy didn't share the mindset, apparently. Natsu had tried everything to get her to hold a conversation but nothing worked.

Nothing.

Natsu was currently tapping his index finger on his face in irritation as Lucy picked at the salad in front of her, trying to think of something to say.

"This is stupid." Natsu finally said, causing Lucy to look up at him. "Like, really stupid."

"Why?"

"Because..." Natsu sighed and leaned on his forearms on the table. "I imagined this whole scenario would be livelier."

"How so?"

"I don't know." Natsu looked up at her. She seemed innocent enough, but Natsu wasn't as big an idiot as everyone pegged him to be. She knew he knew. "I figured you were being all quiet recently because I wasn't showing you the love or attention you deserve, and when I asked Nashi she did suggest this. I guess I figured it was the problem." Natsu looked for any sort of reaction, but Lucy's face barely flickered. "I guess I was wrong, huh?" Natsu looked up in confusion as Lucy giggled.

"You're such a moron, Natsu." She said, smiling brilliantly at him. "I'm fine, really. Although, it was nice of you to be so worried about me." Natsu raised an eyebrow at his wife, who just smiled back. "You're too cute when you try and make me happy."

Natsu felt like an idiot.

Or he would if he couldn't tell she was lying for his sake.

"Um, right." Natsu said, pretending to shake it off as nothing. "Of course I knew you were fine, you're capable." Lucy rolled her eyes and continued eating, much more heartily then before. Natsu just watched, looking for any sign she was messing with him.

_I know you're not okay, you don't have to lie to me..._

* * *

Once they had left the restaurant and were on their way back home, they did a small conversation going. Nothing important really, just about the upcoming S-class advancement.

"You think Nashi'll make it in?" Natsu asked, and Lucy shrugged.

"Before Devil Advocate I've had said no, but..." Lucy shrugged. "She's more and more like her father every time I see her." Natsu rolled his eyes, even if he knew it was true. Although not as dense and hard headed as he, Nashi was a lot like Natsu. "It's always possible."

"Mmm, yeah." They stopped talking momentarily as they spotted another couple across the street, except with a small child running around them. Natsu found the whole thing a little heart warming, as apparently did Lucy.

"I remember when Nashi was that little." She suddenly said, and Natsu grimaced.

"I don't." He said. It was meant as a joke, but he could tell he'd gone about it wrong. Lucy looked over at him sympathetically.

"Don't be like that." She scolded. "Everyone's over it, even Nashi."

"I know." Natsu said, pocketing his hands quietly. "I just...I realize when I talk to her that she's almost seventeen and I've only been there for half a year." Now he was just making himself feel bad, and Lucy rubbed his back comfortingly.

"As long as you're here now." She said brightly. "I'm sure she'd rather you're here now than not at all."

"I guess." Natsu was about to say something when Lucy's eyes widened.

"I got it!" She said, snapping her fingers together. "How the did I not think of this sooner?! Come on!" Lucy grabbed Natsu by the arm and pulled him along to the house, him staying in confused silence the whole time. Once they reached home, Natsu was thrown onto the couch. "Sta." Lucy ordered.

"But..."

"Stay!" Lucy barked, and Natsu stayed still like a good dog. Lucy disappeared into their room, cursing and muttering to herself. Natsu had absolutely no idea what she was doing, either. Once she reappeared, she was carrying a book. She threw the dusty thing down in front of Natsu, who just stared at it curiously.

"What?" He finally asked as Lucy said down next to him.

"It's a photo album, idiot." She replied, smiling brightly. "Of your little girl's childhood." Natsu now felt like he was staring at some sort of ancient object, as he could barely process the though of Nashi being any younger than she was. Lucy picked it up and placed it on both of their knees, opening it to reveal a picture of Nashi before she was year old. "This is when she was six months old." Lucy told him like she was reading off of a script.

"She's cute." Natsu commented, unsure of what else he was supposed to say. Lucy showed him a few more pictures of Nashi when she was extremely young, right up until it skipped from months old to four years, and Natsu stared down at the picture in shock. "That's her?" he asked in bewilderment, and Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, that was on her fourth birthday." Lucy replied. "That was when I gave her Igneel's scarf. She loved it from the moment she laid eyes on it."

"Are you sure that isn't me with long hair?" Natsu asked, but e was genuinely curious. It looked far to much like him.

"Yes, I'm quite sure." Lucy smiled weakly, a tear in her eye. "When I told her the scarf was from you, she refused to take it off."

"You told her that?" Natsu asked, and she nodded. "But she seemed surprised when I told her it was mine."

"I never said that it used to be yours." Lucy clarified. "Only that it was from you."

"You shouldn't have gotten her hopes up like that." Natsu grumbled, and Lucy sighed.

"I suppose not." She then laughed, saying, "But you didn't see her when I told her. I'll never forget the look she gave me as long as live." Lucy continued to flip through the book, explaining various pictures to Natsu in extensive detail. What confused Natsu was that in every picture, even leading up to Nashi's tenth birthday, she still seemed very happy. He voiced his opinion to Lucy, who now looked sad. "She hid that from practically everyone for a long time." Lucy said quietly. "I'm more than certain only her friends and Laxus knew."

"She shouldn't have tried to deal with it alone." Natsu said, feeling angry at the thought of Nashi being bullied.

"That just makes her more like you, though." Lucy said with a small smile. As the pictures became less frequently taken and Nashi grew older, Natsu could see her growing up much faster than before. There were only about ten or so pictures from eleven years to sixteen.

"Why are there so little pictures now?" He asked, and Lucy closed the book with a sigh.

"The older, and more depressed she got, the less she liked getting her picture taken." The book was placed n the table, and Lucy looked sad. "I suppose because she hated herself, in every sense of the word..."

"Lucy..."

"How she looked, how she was treated..."

"Luce..."

"Being who she was, your daughter...

"..."

"I...I can't stand thinking about all those years she spent, hating herself so much she'd rather death..." Natsu couldn't do much but sit there and listen to her ramble, every word a fresh knife driven through his heart. "E-Excuse me..." Lucy got up from the couch and ran away, stiffing what was obviously a sob.

Natsu went after her.

He found her in their room, staring out the window. He walked up behind her and hugged her tightly, resting his head on her shoulder.

"But she's fine now." Natsu said softly. "She's happy, cheerful, beautiful, friendly, loves herself and everyone around her...she's perfect, and now she can finally she it."

"No thanks to you." Lucy said with a weak laugh as she clutched Natsu's arms. "You were the fire that illuminated her darkness after so long. You saved her, Natsu..."

"I guess I did..." Silence enveloped the parents as they stayed in the embrace a little while longer, Lucy seemingly getting comfortable. Natsu didn't mind, tonight had been far more successful then he originally thought. It was nice to see so much about Nashi and lift what appeared to be a burden on his wife. Natsu, for lack of a better word, was happy.

"Hey, Natsu?"

"Yeah Luce?"

"Something, uh, has been bothering me lately..."

"Go on, tell me. Let me help." Lucy didn't reply, right away, just remained silent. Natsu could feel her shaking, which he didn't like, "Come on, Luce. Don't hid this stuff from me."

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"Perfectly." Lucy remained silent, before Natsu felt her guide his hand to her stomach.

"Natsu," She said softly. "I'm pregnant."

**...Too much? I cannot wait to read the response to this chapter! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten for the one hundredth chapter!**


	101. Nashi's Problem

**You guys have no idea how much fun I had reading the reviews from last chapter. Like, no idea. Anyways, enjoy!**

Lucy couldn't find her daughter nor her husband anywhere, and this vexed her greatly. Although she rarely saw Nashi anymore anyway, it wasn't like Natsu to disappear without a word. Not even Nashi's friends had seen her since she'd left the dorms that morning.

"Ugh, I give up." Lucy growled, sitting down in defeat next to Levy.

"Pregnancy troubles, Lu-chan?" Levy asked with a grin on her face, and Lucy shook her head.

"No, I can't find either other members of my family."

"Neither?"

"Nope."

"Well, how did Natsu take it when you told him last week?"

"Uh..."

* * *

_When Lucy felt Natsu's arm slack around her, she knew she was in for it. She remained silent for a minute, holding her breath._

_"...What?" His voice finally came, and Lucy stayed where she was. "What did you just say?"_

_"I..." Lucy faltered for a minute before she turned to face Natsu with a determined look on her face. "I'm pregnant." Natsu looked completely beside himself, his mouth moved for several seconds without any words coming out._

_"How?" Lucy laughed at his question, but she found no humor in his question. It was more of an icy laugh, truthfully._

_"I don't think I need to explain that to you, Natsu." She replied, and Natsu rolled his eyes angrily._

_"I don't mean..." He rubbed his forehead with his hand before he looked at her again. "It is mine, right?"_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"...You really just asked that, didn't you?" Lucy's voice had no trace of the previous sadness from their talk, or happiness. Rather, she felt her anger reaching a rather fervent pitch. "Who else's would it be?!"_

_"I don't know!" Natsu shouted back, now also getting angry. "Maybe because I'm only getting told now! Judging by how things have been going around here, you're almost a month along!"_

_"...So?" Lucy's voice had gone quite again, but Natsu was still visibly angry._

_"Why didn't you tell me?!"_

_"You're acting like I found out the second it happened!"_

_"I don't think that! I know how long it would take, but I should have been the first one to know, not Levy, not Erza, not anyone! Me!"_

_"How did you know I told Levy and Erza?"_

_"Please Luce, you tell those two everything. It may have been a long time, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten." Natsu had, at last for the moment, stopped yelling. It was really just stressing both of them out. Lucy could almost see Natsu trying to calm himself._

_"Are...you mad?" Lucy asked in a timid tone, and Natsu sighed again._

_"No." he said after a few seconds. "No, I'm not mad. I'm just worried is all."_

_"About me? Nashi?"_

_"No, the baby." Natsu met Lucy's gaze with a quiet look. "if their...anything like their father, you know what they'll be."_

_"Nashi's almost seventeen, and still nothing has happened with her."_

_"That doesn't mean she isn't one." Natsu took a deep breath, and wouldn't look Lucy in the eyes. "If Nashi's ends up being...you know, I'm willing to bet that unborn child will be as well."_

_"You seem to be trying to make me get rid of it." Lucy said protectively, feeling her anger rising again. "Is that what you're trying to say?"_

_"No, not at all." Natsu looked down at the ground, turmoil apparent in his eyes. "But one of me was enough years ago, the world doesn't need three. That's completely excluding Nashi's kids if she ever has any..."_

_"We'll deal with it then." Lucy replied, playing with the hem of her dress. "I just figured I'd tell you because...you'd be happy." Natsu didn't reply again for a few seconds, and Lucy felt on the verge of tears before he cast her a weak grin._

_"Are you kidding?" He asked. "Of course I'm happy. I fucked up with one kid, best to get a second chance, right?" Lucy grinned as tears spilled down her face, unable to keep them in anymore._

_"Natsu!"_

_"Gah! Lucy, I can't breath!"_

* * *

"...Well." Lucy finally said, finishing her sentence. "Better than I would've figured." Levy laughed.

"True, true. Than again, Natsu's a free spirit. How else would he have taken it?" Lucy had another flash back to Natsu's angry rambling, and shrugged it off with a smile.

"Don't know." Lucy busied herself by talking to Levy before Erza approached the two of them.

"Not to worry, Lucy." The redhead said with a smile. "I've located your daughter and Natsu."

"Really?" Lucy asked, getting a nod. "Where?" Erza grabbed Lucy by the arm and dragged her outside, pointing to the horizon. Outside of the city, way in the distance, fire was flying in the air, followed up by several explosions, before more plumes of fire. "Ah, so that's how Natsu decided to tell her."

"You're having Natsu tell Nashi?" Erza asked, causing the pregnant blonde to nod. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, I know their on good terms, but..."

"It might be better that way, actually." Levy said, coming from the guild house outside. "Natsu's still a teenager at heart, so he can tell her in a way she'll understand."

"But, you know." Erza said. "Natsu's really bad at that kind of thing..." All three women paled at the thought of Natsu doing that to Nashi. "Poor kid."

"Yeah, I feel bad for her too..."

"Sorry sweetheart, I forgot..."

* * *

Nashi had no qualms with an advanced training session with her father, she'd actually been waiting for one for a while now. Although he'd taught her everything she knew, There was a lot he'd kept hidden from her. However, they were currently just getting warmed up. Nashi was rather curious as to her fathers sluggish movements and flame, but she kept that to herself as she threw her father through a tree.

"Damn Pops, losing your touch?" Nashi called playfully as he reappeared from the tree, grumbling incoherently. "Hey, what's the mater with you?"

"...Nothing, I'm great."

"I've known you for all of six months and I know that's bullshit." Both pinkettes stared at each other for a minute before he sighed.

"Tired." Was his one word reply. "Haven't been sleeping."

"Aw Dad, that's gross!"

"...What?"

"..."

"...You're sick, Nashi."

"I jut assumed."

"That your mother and I were..."

"AAHHHH that's enough, Dad!" he chuckled quietly when Nashi panicked, and they both sat down on the tree Nashi had knocked over.

"You are way to sensitive about that." he said, in a tone far to serious for Nashi's liking. "Are you scared of it or something?"

"No, I just don't find the idea of talking to you about sex that appealing." Nashi quipped, and he snorted. "It'd just be weird."

"Well, can't disagree with you there." Silence fell upon them as Nashi stretched, watched a flock of birds fly overhead. "So, what's first on the advanced training agenda." He replied with an indecisive sound.

"Why don't you pick one?" he asked, and she nodded. "Alright, we can start with either Secret Arts, Duel Element, or Dragon Force."

"Oh man, they all sound awesome!" Nashi thought long and hard for a minute before she made up her mind. "We'll just start with Secret Arts."

"Alright, let's go." Both f them stood and walked back into the scorched clearing. Nashi was instructed to stand away from her father, who walked opposite her. "I told you about a few, have you used any?"

"Once or twice." Nashi replied, counting them on her fingers. "Once in Edolas, and a little while ago against Katsuchi."

"Who?"

"Never mind."

"Well, I'll give you a list of all of the ones I know." he proceeded to list off all of the Secret Arts he had knowledge off, but one caught her eyes.

"I've never heard of that last one."

"Crimson Lotus Supernova?"

"Yeah." Nashi watched her father think for a minute, before his face lit up. Or as much as his tired, baggy, gaunt face could light up.

"I learned about that one while I was gone." he explained. "It's pretty much as it sounds, it's a huge fiery explosion."

"How is that any different from any other attack?"

"No." He met Nashi's eyes, and she shivered at the predatory smirk on his face. "I mean a _huge _explosion." Nashi nodded as if the clarification made a difference, and he turned to the side, where they'd been throwing all of their attacks anyway. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" he shouted, fire swirling around him dangerously, concentrating in his hands as he placed them parallel to each other. "Crimson Lotus Supernova!" One huge gigantic burst was released from his hands, flying towards the area it was aimed at and exploded, engulfing the area. However, the heat was pathetic and the blast didn't do much.

"...Are you sure you're okay, Dad?" Nashi asked as the ball of fire faded. "Maybe we should go back, you need to rest."

"I'm fine." he said, the coldness in his tone making Nashi jump. "Why?"

"Cause that really wasn't...I don't know, all that."

"Oh yeah?" he challenged, and Nashi nodded. "Alright princess, your turn." Nashi turned and concentrated as hard as she could, the fire swirling in her palms.

"Dragon Slater Secret Art! Crimson Lotus Supernova!" Nashi repeated the attack, but the blast was twice as hot and deadly, even on her first try. "See, you're not well."

"I'm fine, damn it!" His outburst made Nashi jump back, his eyes fiery hot with anger. he took a minute to calm down. "Sorry, I really am tired..."

"No shit..." Nashi frowned as she watched him rub his head. "Listen Dad, we really don't need to do this now. If you're not well, I don't want you to push yourself too hard."

"I've been pushed harder, sweetheart. If you'll trust your old man on one thing, let it be this." Nashi nodded and he cracked his back, clearly making an attempt to look peppier than before. "Want to go to Dragon Force now? It'll be a quick demonstration."

"Demonstra...ah!" Nashi gasped as scales sprung up on her fathers face, and he laughed. "How the hell did you...?"

"I did tell you you needed an immense amount of magic to enter Dragon Force." he said, "Which I have."

"Still..." The scales slowly faded and he doubled over, coughing. "Dad?"

"Fine!" he called through coughs, and Nashi watched uselessly from afar. "Anyway, Duel Element?"

"Yes, that's what we're on."

"Right, well let's get it over with." Lightning began to flicker around him, and before long his body exploded with it, as well as fire. "Lightning is mine, as I'm sure you know."

"Yeah. Although, I don't have one of those."

"I didn't think you did, it hurts at first." He made a face. "I suppose there was one other things, but..."

"Does it have to do with God Slaying?" Nashi asked, raising her hand. "I can do that." he choked at her words, and Nashi watched him stare at her incredulously.

"You can?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"How?"

"I ate black flames."

"When?!"

"Devil Advocate." Nashi gave quick and simple answers, so she didn't see how it was getting harder and harder to believe. "What's the matter?"

"I.." he seemed at a loss for words. "You can enter it whenever?"

"You can't?"

"I...Show me." Nashi nodded and concentrated as hard as she could, before she felt her body heating up, far past that of a normal level. Opening her eyes revealed that she was engulfed by Katsuchi's fire, and she laughed at her father's bewildered look.

"What's wrong?" She asked, as the fire faded. She, currently anyway, couldn't hold the fire for very long, or it hurt too much or faded anyway.

"I'm just impressed, is all." He said, and Nashi beamed. "I haven't really tried to use Zancrow's fire after I beat him, but I doubt anything would happen." he shook his head and crossed his arms. "First Lucy drops a pregnancy bomb on me, then I get shown up by my own daughter..."

"...What did you just say?" Nashi felt like she was falling, all of the pride and joy from his praise disappeared into a cold void of shock. "Did you just say...?"

"Huh?" He asked, unaware of what he said, before he noticed her look. "Oh shit...I-I didn't mean...!"

"Mom is...Mom is..."

* * *

Lucy was more than a little bit nervous, to say the least. The day was winding away, so she knew Natsu and Nashi would be returning soon. Whether or not Nashi would return with the knowledge Natsu no doubt left to feed her was still remaining to be seen. Just as she was about to turn and ask Levy something, the door flew off from a burst of fire. Everyone turned, Lucy included, to find Nashi standing there, her bangs obscuring her eyes. As soon as she looked up, Lucy paled. Not once, in those sixteen years Lucy had raised her daughter, had she seen and sensed so much anger. Nashi stormed right in her direction, slid over the table, and grabbed Lucy by the collar of her shirt.

"Is it true?!" She demanded angrily, all eyes on them. "Are you...Are you..."

"Eh?" Lucy asked weakly, not even enough courage to tell her daughter off for the way she was being treated.

"Are you pregnant or is Dad bullshitting me?!" Nashi asked, loudly enough now for everyone to hear.

"I, uh...I..." Lucy didn't know what to say, this was certainly not the outcome she envisioned. Perhaps a happier Nashi or maybe slightly confused Nashi, not completely enraged. Lucy could see Natsu behind his daughter, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm, um..."

"Nashi." it was Erza who spoke, using her scary tone of voice. "Let your mother go."

"You stay out of this Scarlet!" Nashi roared at the redhead, stunning her into silence. Nashi turned her gaze back to her mother and glared as hard as she could, gritting her teeth. "So?" Her voice was deadly low, and Lucy gulped.

"...Y-Y-Yes...?" She finally said, and she could see a flicker of emotion of her daughters eyes. What is was though, she was about to find out.

"Tch! So that's how it is, then huh?!" Releasing Lucy with a push that almost toppled her over, Nashi put her head down and clenched her fists. "I'm not good enough, is that it? or maybe I'm not the way you'd like me to be..."

"Nashi..." Lucy spoke softly, but Nashi whirled to avoid her mothers gaze. "Calm down and let me explain..."

"Why?" Nashi asked, her voice deathly quiet, but undoubtedly upset. "So you can list everything you don't like about me? So that you can tell me why another version would be better?"

"What...?"

"Never mind, I don't care." Nashi turned back to Lucy, tears rimming her chocolate eyes. "Whatever the reasons are, I hope they're good ones." Holding Lucy's gaze before turning to storm away, Nashi was met by her father, who stood in her way. She laughed darkly. "I can see why you'd want another." She hissed. "I'm not your little girl, so I'm not really yours, right? I'm more adopted if anything to you."

"Nashi..." Natsu tried, but to no avail, Nashi wasn't listening.

"I hope you both enjoy your second try." She whispered. "I'm sure my little brother or sister will be happy." With that, Nashi left the guild, wiping her face with her arm.

* * *

Silence had fallen over the guild after Nashi's explosion, and Lucy wasn't sure she wasn't dreaming.

"What...Just happened?" Erza asked slowly. "I've never seen her so angry, she even told me off..."

"I wasn't expecting that." Levy said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I never knew she felt like that..."

"This is all my fault." Everyone looked up at Natsu as he spoke. "I knew from the day we spent together she's insecure, and I wasn't smooth with telling her at all."

"Just how insecure?" Lucy asked. She felt terrible she didn't know, but Nashi's true feelings had been locked up during her teenage years.

"Incredibly." Natsu replied. "I don't know just how bad, but she seemed unsure as to whether or not I actually loved her...I'm sure it's all because of her childhood and the bullying, which again, is my fault." Natsu growled. "I fuck everything up..." He remained silent for a minute, before he looked at Lucy. "I'm going to go and find her."

"I'm coming." Lucy said immediately, standing up. "She needs to hear it from both of us."

"We'll need to find her first, though." Drake said from across the guild, standing with the rest of Nashi's friends. "I don't feel like she'd explode like that and just go to her dorm room."

"We'll help you look." Damien said. "I'm sure she'd be less likely to run from us, anyway." Lucy felt incredibly grateful for the help, and she nodded.

"Alright." She agreed with a weak smile. "Let's go and find Nashi."

**So I'm sure a lot of you may be confused, so allow me to elaborate. Nashi is, currently anyway, going though what most people do. She thought, because of how useless she saw herself during her childhood, that she isn't good enough.**

**This in turn makes her see her mothers pregnancy not as a happy moment, but as an attempt to replace her, a Nashi 2.0 if you will. You see where I'm going with this?**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	102. Dragneel Problems

**Here to clear up everything before the new arc later! Dragneel family feels inbound!**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi was elusive when she wanted to be, and Lucy was only now just realizing this. They had a lot of people from the guild out and looking for her but nobody had laid an eye on her. They were looking everywhere, and no one had seen her.

"Mavis, how fast dd she run?" Natsu demanded, watching the streets. Lucy sighed.

"I don't know, she could've gone anywhere." Natsu nodded as the two continued down the street, looking for any sort of sign. They had given every group a mobile lacrima phone to keep in contact in case anyone found her, but nobody had called in just yet.

Until it rang.

"Hello?" Lucy asked, answering it immediately.

_"Hey Lucy, it's Ultear."_

"Did you find anything?"

_"No, I just called to say her dorm is empty, she isn't here. She didn't pack anything to run away though, everything's still here." _Lucy sighed at the news. It had been unlikely Nashi had run to her dorm of all places but it never hurt to check, right?

"Well, thanks for telling me that."

_"Ill call back if I find anything."_

"Alright." Lucy hung the phone up and followed Natsu as he did quick sweeps of the streets, looking for any sort of sign that would point them in Nashi's direction. Natsu's sense of smell was good, but he'd already said he couldn't pick up her scent. Taking the next left in a vain attempt to find the girl, Lucy wondered if letting Natsu doing it was a good idea. Even thought Lucy didn't see her daughter's reaction being that much different even if she'd said anything.

"I feel like an idiot." Lucy looked over at Natsu as he clenched his fists. "I should've kept my tongue."

"Don't worry about it." Lucy replied quietly. "I doubt even if you had let her know in a more reasonable way, she would've have reacted much better."

"Maybe, but..."

"Don't hit yourself about it." Lucy wasn't going to let Natsu take all of the blame for this, it was mostly her fault for not telling anyone if effected the most. Natsu had never been good at that kind of thing, anyway. "Do you have any idea where she'd go? At all?"

"I think I should be asking you that." he replied. "You know her far better than I do. Where does she feel most comfortable?"

"I sincerely doubt she'd go to her old room back at the house." She said. "That's really the only place I can think of."

"Her dorm room?"

"Ultear said she wasn't there." Natsu sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation, which Lucy could understand. "Maybe the park?"

"It's worth a try, I guess." Deciding that was their current best bet, the pair went off in the direction of the park. Once they got there, they once again came up with absolutely nothing. "God damn it!" Natsu cursed, slamming his fist into the Sola tree. Lucy crossed her arms as a light breeze rolled past them. She was just about to say something when the lacrima phone rang again.

"Hello?" She asked curiously.

_"Hey Lucy, it's Simon." _Lucy waited as she heard wind whistling past the phone. "_I can't see Nashi from up here, so it's possible she's not in the city anymore."_

"Really?"

_"Possibly. Here, I'll double check." _With that, Simon hung up the phone and Lucy thought about it. It was unlikely Nashi had fled the city that quickly, but it wasn't entirely out of the question.

"I have an idea." Lucy looked up as Natsu spoke, watching him.

"Yes?"

"Follow me." Lucy did as she was told, and began to follow Natsu through the streets again. She didn't pay much attention to where they were going, too wrapped up in what she wanted to say to Nashi once-if- they found her. She did look up when she bumped into Natsu.

"Why'd you stop?" Lucy looked over at their destination. "And why are we back at the guild?" Natsu had indeed brought them back to the guild hall, but why, she had no idea. However she got no response from her husband as he walked inside, leaving her nothing to do but follow him. Natsu walked to the back behind the bar and up a flight of stairs. Lucy knew where they were going now, the roof. It seemed unlikely, but worth a shot. "Why check the roof?" She asked.

"I couldn't smell her out." Natsu replied, starting up another flight. "And what does the guild hall reek of?"

"Booze?" Lucy asked.

"Exactly, even more so for a Dragon Slayer. Why couldn't Simon find her from the sky?"

"...Because he didn't check the guild?"

"Uh huh." Lucy began to realize what he was getting at, and followed him with more enthusiasm than before. Once they had made it up the final flight of stairs, Natsu stopped.

"What?" Lucy asked.

"I can hear her crying." He replied hoarsely, his eyes full of guilt. He slowly opened the door to the roof, and Lucy could see the back of Nashi from around the bell. She was either ignoring them or hadn't heard them, but they approached quietly all the same.

"Nashi?" Lucy asked sweetly, and Nashi curled up into a tighter ball than before.

"Leave me alone." She hissed, and Lucy felt the stab of guilt.

"Sweetie, don't be like that." She cooed, approaching closer. "Why are you so upset with us?"

"Why do you think?" She demanded, still not looking at them. "You're trying to replace me!"

"Who the hell told you that?" Natsu demanded.

"You didn't have to tell me!" She shouted as she turned around to face them, eyes full of tears. "Why else would you be pregnant and not tell me?!" She turned back around and buried her face in her knees. "Just go away, I don't want to talk to you." Lucy didn't really want to listen, and instead opted to walk up next to her and sit on the edge of he roof, looking out over the city as she wrapped an arm around Nashi. The teenager tried to shrug her off, but Lucy wasn't going away.

"I wasn't aware that this was how you felt about this." She said quietly, pulling the girl closer. "If I had any idea, I would've told you myself, and much quicker than I told even your father." Nashi didn't make any attempt to shrug her off, so Lucy continued, "I'm sorry you think that we're trying to replace you, because that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Don't try and lie to me." Nashi whispered quietly. "I can take it if you are."

"But we aren't." Lucy smiled weakly. "Why would you think this was an attempt to replace you? Because I didn't tell you?" Nashi didn't say anything, and Lucy sighed. "Why would we try and replace the perfect daughter?"

"Don't patronize me." Nashi hissed.

"I'm not, what about you do you feel needs a replacement?"

"I..."

"No, nothing. We love you just the way you are, even with your faults."

"I..."

"I mean, if I tried to replace everyone I loved who had any faults, I'd have replaced your father years ago."

"Hey." Natsu said indignantly. Lucy cast him a sorry glance.

"Just because we're having another baby doesn't mean it's to replace you. Don't you think you'd make a good big sister?" Nashi lifted her head a little bit at those words, a small smile on her face.

"I didn't think of that..." She said slowly. Lucy smiled back at her.

"See? Nashi-Onee-san has a nice ring, right?" Nashi's smile grew, so Lucy continued. "Your little brother or sister may get more attention when they're born." Lucy smiled as Nashi stopped resisting and her head hit Lucy's shoulder. "You may play second fiddle for a little bit, but absolutely nothing on this earth could replace my baby girl. Right, Natsu?" Natsu had clearly not been ready to get called on, so he jumped.

"Exactly." He managed, although he still seemed shocked. "Besides, how could he or she compare to you? I know you didn't have the easiest childhood in the world, but you came out of it a strong, loving person. I'm sure you'd make a great big sister." Nashi seemed to think these words over for a minute, her chocolate eyes full of thoughts.

"I..." Both Lucy and Natsu stiffened. "I...guess I overreacted a bit, huh?" Lucy breathed a sigh of relief as Nashi cast her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for what I said...and did, seeing as I wasn't being very respectful."

"It's fine." Lucy replied. "As long as you understand that we still love you."

"Hm." Silence fell over the three of them, then, "So, is it a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know, yet." Lucy replied. "Wendy says she's been researching some magic that may be able to help, so we'll see." Nashi nodded and stood, craning her neck to look down the building.

"Well, I'm going to go bury my head in a pile of booze and forget this ever happened." She informed her parents flatly. "Maybe it'll help when everyone starts teasing me over my overreaction." She smiled at the pair of them. "Thanks for telling me all of that."

"We shouldn't have had to told you." Natsu said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, well I'm a teenage girl." Nashi replied. "You should've seen it coming. Anyway, I'll go get that booze, you guys can do whatever. Well, not whatever..." Lucy reddened at Nashi's knowing look.

"W-What are you implying young lady?!" She demanded, and Nashi's eyes widened innocently.

"Um..." She said. "Dad's a pervert, he does this to me!" With that, she jumped off of the building, slid down the shingles, and sprinted inside the guild.

"Natsu..."

"Hah?"

"Just what the hell do you talk about with our daughter!?"

"Lucy, wait!"

"Get back here!"

* * *

It had been a week since Nashi's explosion, and she'd gotten over it. She wouldn't lie, it had been more difficult to except at first. Everyone acted as if it was her mothers first child, even with Nashi sitting next to her. Was it just because she was a teenager? Yes, surely that was it. Her mother's baby bump was also finally coming in a bit more, so that it was visible. For whatever reason, Nashi had wondered if it had been all a joke even after being told all of that by her parents, but the bump told her otherwise. Nashi sighed as she placed her brush back down on her dresser, observing her face quietly.

"Nashi...Onee-san..." She said to herself, observing her face carefully. "I suppose it does have a nice ring to it." Finally deciding to stop wallowing in her own confusion, she opened her door and left her dorm, walking towards the guild with the bottom of her face buried in her scarf. Once she got there, people were packed inside the guild, all seemingly waiting for something. Nashi knew perfectly well that Fairy Tail had other branches across Fiore, all of which got jobs and orders funneled down from the main guild hall here in Magnolia. Were these people from those branches?

"Excuse me..." Nashi said quietly. People who took notice of her scarf and hair color immediately moved out of the way, allowing her to squeeze her way inside. There were far to many people in the guild hall, even with it's size.

"Nashi!" Nashi turned as someone called her name, and her eyes widened happily.

"Asuka?!" Nashi held out her arms as the gun mage tackled her with a hug. "I haven't seen you in so long! How are you?"

"I'm great!" She replied, pushing her hat out of her face. "Although I hear through the grapevine you're much better."

"Everyone who hasn't seen me in a while has the same reaction." Nashi replied, lighting her open palm alight, causing Asuka to laugh.

"It's great your dad came back." She said. "I'd almost forgotten what he looked like, even after babysitting you so many times." Ah yes, Nashi remembered that well. Seeing as Asuka had been one of the only teenagers at the guild during Nashi's childhood, she'd often been tasked with babysitting them. That was until they'd moved to start another Fairy Tail branch in the west. "So, how old are you again?"

"I'll be seventeen in about a month." Nashi replied, and Asuka smiled even wider.

"Good! I'll be here for it!"

"Are you staying here?"

"I'll be doing rounds around the branches." She explained. "Although I'm sure I could find a reason to stay around here for a bit."

"Sounds good." Nashi replied. "So wait, how old does that make you?"

"Well, if I'm eight years older than you, how old is that?"

"Um...twenty-four? Five?"

"I'll be twenty-five soon enough." She replied. "Damn, I'm old!" Asuka and Nashi shared a laugh as more people filed in.

"Do you know what this is about?" Nashi asked curiously. "All these people, I mean." Asuka tiled her head to the side.

"Did you forget?" She asked. "It's the..."

"Attention everyone." Nashi turned to find Laxus standing in front of everyone, causing the whole guild to go silent. "If you're all here, I'll announce the participants of this years S-Class Advancement."

**I'll just leave it here, alright? Sorry if that whole scene with the parents and Nashi was a bit underwhelming, but I didn't want to drag it out anymore. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	103. Immediate Stipulation

**Chapter 436. That's all I have to say.**

How could Nashi have forgotten? The years annual S-class Advancement was happening. That was why so many people from other guild branches were here, they were here to see who would be advancing. Thanks to everything that had happened recently it had completely slipped her mind. She followed Asuka through the crowd and eventually made it to the front, watching Laxus, Nashi's father, and Gajeel stand above everyone. As everyone took their sweet time quieting down, Nashi watched Laxus clear his throat.

"As I'm sure you all know, this is when we announce our contestants for this year." He said, "Are you ready?" A collective agreement came from the guild, and Gajeel handed Laxus a piece of paper, presumably with the names of the contestants. He raised the sheet up a little bit, beginning to list off the names of the contestants. Nashi knew that due to the immense numbers they had there would be a lot of nominations, but were a lot of these people really that good?

"Asuka!" Laxus called out, resulting in the gun mage squealing happily.

"I got it!" She said happily, grabbing Nashi by the shoulders, who laughed in response.

"I know, I hear him!" Nashi replied. After a few more names, Laxus looked up again.

"Drake!" he shouted, and Nashi heard a cheer from somewhere off to her left. She smiled at the sound. It was good to see Drake nominated, he earned it. "Elise Redfox!"

"Got it!" Elise shouted somewhere, sounding incredibly determined. After a few more names, Laxus looked up again.

"Rocky!" Nashi flinched at the sound of his name and heard said person chuckling to himself off to the side, "Sammy!" Nashi smiled as she heard Rocky's best friend get called. No partnering up for them.

"They have to almost be done." Nashi said quietly as a few more names were called. "There's been like thirty people."

"Yeah, he's almost done." Asuka reassured.

"Na..." Laxus stared at the sheet curiously for a moment, before he cast a look at Nashi's father. He got a nod, and Laxus nodded curtly. "Uh...Nashi Dragneel!"

"...Eh?" Nashi asked weakly as her name resounded throughout the guild hall. Had she really been nominated among all those other people? It seemed unlikely, yet everyone was staring at her. "Did I just get..."

"Congrats, Nashi!" Asuka said, smiling at the shocked pinkette. "You got in!"

"How?" Nashi asked, finding her voice after a while. "Why?"

"Who cares?!"

Nashi did, as a matter of fact.

* * *

"Um, Master?" Nashi asked, knocking on the door. "Can I talk to you?"

"Come on in, Nashi." Nashi took a deep breath and entered Laxus' office, finding the man smiling at her. "How can I help you?"

"I just, uh, wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Um..." Nashi stood in front of the desk and fiddled her thumbs, wondering what to say. "I just want to know who vouched for me to be a candidate this year." Nashi seemed to have worded it correctly, as Master Laxus nodded in understanding.

"Alright, I suppose I should start from the first person." Before Nashi could ask what he meant by that, he raised one finger. "Ultear was the first, saying you miraculously defeated a man named Zindo. Ring a bell?"

"Yes, but..."

"Drake, for the incredible courage you showed while being locked up by Phantom Dove." He said. "Elise nominated you for your victory against the Dorma Anim."

"I..."

"Damien nominated you for strength you showed during the Ancient Trials. Simon, for your work against Devil Advocate." Nashi was stunned into silence, learning that all of her friends had told Gramps to nominate her. Did they think that highly of her magical power? "Oh, one more."

"Y-Yes?" Nashi asked, out of words.

"A man named Natsu Dragneel." He said with a grin as Nashi paled. "I'm sure you know him, he's said so because you'r untapped magical potential makes you a deadly opponent. That, and he has the utmost of faith in you."

"But why me?" Nashi asked, staring out the window. "There are s many people who've trained longer, worked harder, and are better suited for the S-class ranking."

"Maybe so." Gramps replied. "But there isn't s soul in this guild hall who can match your spirit."

"Hah?" Nashi asked, turning around in confusion.

"All the stories your friends told me ended the same way." Laxus explained. "You saved everyone by putting them ahead of yourself. In a guild like this, family comes first and in that regard, you have certainly excelled. Sure, other people have trained harder and worked towards it longer, but you've managed to pass them with ease and on top of that, you're on the best known faces in the guild." Laxus laughed. "Honestly, I can't think of anyone more deserving than you."

Nashi didn't know what to say, so she just blushed and nodded. How was she supposed to reply to that? Of course looking at it like that only told Nashi he was right. In the span of a few months since her father had come home she'd become incredibly powerful, almost as if it was nothing. She was more than certain she could beat most members her age with ease, minus her friends.

"Well, at last you understand." Laxus said, leaning back in his chair. "Now, you only have a week until we leave for Tenrou Island, so you'd best prepare. I can guarantee all of your opponents are doing the same." Nashi nodded and turned to leave, before an idea struck her.

"Say," She said turning around. "Aren't I supposed to pick a partner?"

"No need." He replied absentmindedly. "I have something different planned this year."

"...Alright."

* * *

"So how'd it go?" Nashi sat down at looked over at Ul, who had asked the question.

"Well I learned my amazing friends got me nominated." Nashi replied sarcastically, causing everyone to flinch at the rising temperature.

"Don't be mad!" Simon shouted. "We thought you'd be happy!"

"You at least could've cleared it with me first!" Nashi replied. "I really wasn't interested in this anyway!"

"Well, to late now." Drake commented, downing his drink. "You think you'll win?" Nashi scoffed.

"With you, Elise and Rocky in the running?" She asked, grabbing one of the cups from Mira as she passed. "I doubt it. Not to mention Asuka."

"Oh shit, she is." Damien confirmed, snapping his fingers. "I totally forgot about Asuka."

"She's gotten to be quite a good shot, I've heard." Elise said. "She'll be no easy opponent, to be sure. Can't wait to beat her ass!" Everyone else at the table sweat dropped as Elise fantasized, but Nashi was more curious as to why Laxus wasn't using the partners system this year. Was it due to the amount of participants? Probably.

"Anyways." Drake said, hitting Elise on the top of the head a few times to bring her back to reality. "I think I'll be spending the whole week until we leave training. Can't lose to either of you!" With that, Drake sprinted from the guild. Elise paled.

"Dad!" She shouted, running to find Gajeel. "We gotta go, now! Drake's gonna beat me!" Nashi realized this was a good time for her to go parent hunting, and went off to do so. She soon found her pregnant mother near the entrance, and she smiled as Nashi approached.

"Hey sweetie." She greeted. "Need something?"

"Where's Dad?" Nashi asked. "I need him, like, now."

"Training?" Sh asked, and Nashi nodded. "I don't know, but I have an idea."

"Which is?" Nashi asked, now getting dragged along by her mother.

"Shhh, just come on."

* * *

Nashi didn't appreciate the means of transport to Tenrou, mainly because she hated moving vehicles, which boats qualified as. That was until her mother told her about the stabilizers made of lacrima under the vessel, which had proven to prevent Dragon Slayers getting motion sick. That made it alright, and she and her friends insisted a test run beforehand. They'd seen said stabilizers work before, like Crime Sociere's airship. Once they were all certain they'd be fine, all fifty of the contestants waited eagerly for Laxus, who seemed to be running late.

"Where is he?" Drake asked. "He's like half an hour late."

"Probably still setting up the lacrima vision back at the guild." Elise replied with a chuckle. "You know how hopeless Mira is with that kind of thing." Nashi knew it to be true. Ever since they were little, the S-class Advancement had been broadcast from the island back to the guild hall and the other branches. Solely for entertainment purposes, obviously. If anything was holding Laxus up, it was certainly non lacrima savvy Mira. "Anyway, where'd your Dad go, Nashi?"

"No idea." She replied. "I haven't seen him since I got nominated."

"Think he disappeared again?" Nashi flinched and Drake elbowed Elise. "What? Totally possible and you know it."

"Why would he?" Drake demanded.

"Lucy is pregnant again."

"Elise, there's this line, right? You've gone over it, just like usual." Elise shrugged.

"Love me as I am or don't judge me." She replied, causing both her friends to snicker.

"Ah, so Dragneel did show up." Nashi's smile faded as the voice resounded in her head. She turned her head to find Rocky standing there, a smug look on his tan face.

"I decided to, yeah." Nashi replied. "I thought maybe I'd scare you off with my mere presence after our last fight, so I wasn't sure."

"You got lucky last time." Rocky snarled, getting it Nashi's face as she crossed her arms and glared at him. "I can guarantee if we meet on Tenrou, you're going down."

"See you there, asshole." Both growled at each other, practically nose to nose, until Rocky backed off a bit, still growling. They did so until Drake pulled nashi away a little bit, and Sammy decided to do the same with Rocky.

"Calm down Nashi." The maroon haired slayer warned. "He's not worth your energy."

"it's the fact that he thinks he is that irks me." Nashi growled. "He's just an asshole."

"I'm sure Edolas you would disagree." Elise said with a snicker.

"That's different, Edo-Rocky isn't that bad." Nashi replied, earning an eye roll. "And where the fuck is Laxus?!"

"Sorry I'm late." As if on cue, Master Laxus pushed his way through the crowd and towards the boat to address everyone. "Sometimes Mira's incapability is too much..." Everyone shared a hearty laugh and boarded the boat, only three people in the crowd dreading the experience should certain stabilizers not work.

* * *

"Oh my Mavis, does it always feel this nice?" And all three people in question were on the bow of the boat, enjoying the salty sea breeze as the boat approached the island in the distance. Nashi had almost never ridden anything without getting sick, and never enjoying it while doing so. Another warm breeze rippled through her hair, and she sighed in contentment.

"We're almost there." Drake reported, causing Nashi to frown. Even though she couldn't tell how close they were due to having her eyes closed, she didn't want to leave the boat. Soon enough she felt the boat come to a stop, though. She turned as the other people began to funnel out of the boat, towards Laxus who was standing near the edge.

"As you can see, we're here." he said. "And now I'm going to tell you the immediate stipulation. There are fifty of you here, but only twenty tunnels on the beach over there." Nashi followed Laxus' finger and could vaguely see said tunnels. "This means thirty of you will won't get to do anything, and lose immediately. Question is, who?"

It took all of three seconds for people to realize what Master Laxus was saying, and people made mad dashes for the edge of the boat, Nashi included. Even if she hadn't wanted to do this, she wasn't going to give Rocky the benefit of the doubt and quit after shit talking.

And once she began to swim towards the beach propelled by fire, the S-Class Advancement Trials had begun.

**Sorry for taking so long with chapters, but my hands are really starting to hurt. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	104. The Tunnels

**I'm going to say it here, this arc may not be as long as Devil Advocate or Edolas. Maybe, like, 15 chapters.**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi was somewhere in the middle of the crowd that reached the beach first, and she sprinted as fast as she could, propelled by fire, towards the tunnels. Everyone else was shouting either insults or complaints, but Nashi remained silent, breathing in and out rhythmically. Talking and shouting would waste air she could use to keep running, after all.

"Keeping up, Dragneel?!" Nashi cocked her head slightly to the left to find Rocky riding a wave of rocks, smirking at her.

"You had to catch up to me, Dirt Face." Nashi retorted, applying a bit more pressure to her flames and speeding ahead. She was now near the front of the pack, right up there with Drake and Elise.

"Hey Nashi." Elise greeted as she reached them.

"Hey." Nashi replied.

"We're almost there." Drake reported, jumping ahead. "Sorry girls, it's nothing personal!"

"What?" Nashi asked, but Drake was already attacking.

"Move!" Nashi felt Elise grab her by the collar of her vest and drag her out of the poisonous blast. Other guild members were not so lucky. Several of them were hit dead on and collapsed, paralyzed. "Bastard." Elise hissed as Drake laughed manically and disappeared down into a tunnel. "Trying to take out all of the competition like that. Come on!" Nashi nodded and spurred herself onward, finally reaching the tunnels.

"I'll take this one!" Nashi said, taking the tunnel next to the one that had been sealed off from Drake. "Maybe I can kick Drake's ass on the way through."

"Good luck." Elise replied. "Hey, uh, Nashi?"

"Yeah?" Nashi turned to look as Elise called out to her again. The shorter Dragon Slayer grinned, a competitive one.

"I better see you on the other side of these tunnels!" Nashi smiled back and nodded.

"Count on it." With that, both girls disappeared down their respective tunnels towards their first challenge.

* * *

Lucy waited impatiently as Gray helped Mira with the setup for the Advancement broadcast. Even with Laxus' help, Mira could not grasp the concept of the lacrima. She could hear Gray muttering insults to the magical stone as he played around with it, attempting to make it work.

"Come on, Gray!" Levy shouted from next to Lucy. "Put some back into it!"

"You wanna do it, shorty?!" Gray shot back, glaring at the bluenette. "No? Than shut up!" Levy chuckled as the angry Devil Slayer worked away at the lacrima, all with Mira standing there with a blank smile on her face.

"It'll be over by the time Ice Stripper gets it working." Gajeel grumbled from next to Levy. Just as Gajeel finished his sentence, the lacrima vision came to life, showing a still of Tenrou Island.

"Finally!" Gray shouted in triumph. He stood and was about to hand the remote to Mira, but frowned.

"Something the matter, Gray?" The takeover mage asked. Gray said something incoherent, before he shook hi head.

"It'd be best it you weren't in control of the lacrima." Gray advised. "You might break it or something." Mira frowned, but Gray showed no reaction whatsoever. Just as Gray was about to do it himself, Damien hopped up on the stage.

"I got it." he told Gray. "I'm much more competent then my mother." Gray nodded and relinquished control of the remote. Damien grinned and turned to the crowd. "Fairy Tail!" he shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Are you ready?"

"Get on with it, kid!" Gajeel shouted, causing everyone to laugh and Damien to falter.

"Yeah yeah, Gajeel. Lighten up! I'm sure Elise lost already anyway." Everyone laughed again, Lucy included. "Anyway! Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the annual S-Class Advancement broadcast! I'll be your host Damien Dreyar! So, before Gajeel loses all of his patience, let's get this underway!"

* * *

Drake knew he'd played rather dirty to get ahead of everyone, but he didn't plan on losing to anyone, Mavis forbid Nashi or Elise. He really didn't care which tunnel he'd picked though, it really didn't matter. He knew, though, he'd get one of three options. One, he'd face a mage from Fairy Tail who was already S-Class. That option he wasn't very fond of, seeing as he knew people like Erza were an option. The second was someone else who was trying to become S-Class, which he was more certain he could win. The last was one of the three safe pathways, which meant he didn't have to fight anyone at all. He was obviously most fond of the last option, the less energy he expended early on the better for later. After a moment, he approached a small slide down into what he assumed was either an exit or his fight.

"Here goes nothing." he muttered, sliding down into the open chamber. Once his walked into it, the path behind him was sealed off. "And it appears I can't go backwards." Drake looked forward and observed the area ahead of him, wondering who is opponent was. "Hello?"

"Oh, you're here." Drake's eyes widened at the familiar voice. The chamber lit up all at once, blinding him temporarily. Once he opened them, his eyes confirmed what he already knew. "So, how's it going Drake?" Simon asked, crossing his arms.

"Good, good." Drake replied, doing the same. "I suppose I'll have to defeat you to proceed?"

"About right, yeah." Simon chuckled. "I think it's pretty fair, personally."

"Me vs. a Scarlet. Yep, totally fair."

"You can hear everything I'm going to do before I do it." Simon replied. "Please explain how I have the advantage."

"You're a Scarlet." Simon face palmed at Drake's reasoning, but it was the truth. Simon had an extensive family history of kicking ass and not losing. Ever.

"Well, are you prepared to lose then?"

"I never said that, now did I?"

* * *

Elise was quite sure she'd chosen a safe tunnel. She'd hand't seen anyone else yet, and it was making her edgy. Maybe kicking someone's ass would calm her down a bit.

"Hello?" Elise called, listening to the echo to entertain herself. "Anyone else in here? At all? Nope, I guess not. Man, this is so boring! I thought I'd be able to beat someone up, but all I got was a safety path! This is bullshit!" Growling angrily and mumbling curses directed at whomever she deemed responsible for this. "Well, I suppose not using up any magic is always a plus. On top of that, everyone else except for two others will be exhausted, clearing the path to my victory!"

Elise laughed loudly as she realized this, and then gulped.

"Unless, by some cruel twist of fate, Drake and Nashi get the other two safe routes...Fuck! What if that happens?! They'll be just as energized as me! Not to mention Drake plays dirty and Nashi goes overboard all the time...Damn it!"

Taking a moment to attempt to cam herself down, Elise thought it over. The odds of one, not even both, getting one of the other safe routes was 1/19. As unlikely as it sounded, Elise also had to factor in how unlikely it was that all three safe tunnels were side by side. Almost seemed like a lazy setup, no?

"Y-yeah, no way that happened," Elise reassured herself. "At least one of them will have to fight, so I should be in the clear...for the most part, anyway."

* * *

Asuka had been in the middle of the pack when they'd all gotten attacked by Drake, so everyone out in front had taken all of the attack. This obviously allowed the slower members to get out in front. She'd jumped up on the cliff side to get to the tunnel of her choice, wondering who she'd come into contact with. She had half a mind to hope for Nashi, as she really wanted to see how much the pinkette had grown. However judging from the stories she'd been told, she really didn't want to do that. Apparently Nashi was a lot like her father in the power regard, and that if she got to angry or pissed, the worse the fire burned. Among a lot of other good stories, Asuka would have to see later. Right now she was approaching her chamber, supposedly with her opponent inside. Taking a deep breath, Asuka entered and immediately spotted her enemy.

"Oh hey!" Ultear greeted, waving with a bright smile on her face. "It seems I'll have to stop you here, Asuka."

"You're S-Class?" Asuka asked, and Ultear nodded. "Didn't know about that." Ultear hung her head.

"Yeah, most people forget." She mumbled. "Maybe because I work with people like Simon and Damien, I just get overshadowed...But!" Ultear brought her head back up with a determined smile spread across it. "I can guarantee I'm strong enough to take you out!"

"Hm?" Asuka asked, her rifle appearing in her hands. "Is that so?" Ultear nodded, and Asuka took aim. "Alright, let's see you dodge this!" Asuka fired off three quick shots, all three flying towards Ultear quickly. One wave of the girls hand later, however, and the bullets crumbled to nothing. "...!"

"Like I said." Ultear said, smirking. "I'm not someone you underestimate."

"...What magic was that?!"

"It's a secret, so...sh!" Ultear said, looking back a the lacrima floating behind her. The red light above it told Asuka it wasn't currently broadcasting back to the guild, so no one had seen Ultear destroy the bullets. "Good, no one saw that. Now," Ultear turned back and grinned. "Shall we do this, or no?"

"..."

* * *

Rocky was incredibly disappointed his opponent hadn't been Dragneel. He'd, obviously, already finished off the poor sap from some other branch who thought he could take on someone from the main branch.

"Idiot." Rocky muttered, staring at the unconscious form in front of him. "Did you honestly think you were any challenge for me? Ugh." Rocky wiped his hair out if his eyes. "I hope this ends with me kicking Dragneel's ass, otherwise I'll be disappointed. Severely." Of course Rocky had lost to the pink haired demon bitch once before, but he'd been unprepared for her amount of skill. He'd trained all these past few months in order to surpass her.

"She thinks she's such hot shit just because she's a Dragneel." Rocky muttered, his blood boiling. "Mavis, I hate her..."

* * *

Sammy considered it a stroke of luck he'd gotten a safe path. He wasn't the most battle oriented person that was nominated, so getting this was lucky as hell. How did he know, you may ask? He'd been walking for a good ten minutes or so and judging by what he knew, he should have already seen his battle chamber and an opponent.

"I'll probably be knocked out in now time flat after this, anyhow." He mused, chuckling. "How the hell did I even get in? I'm damn near useless, so..." He laughed at the thought of getting the absolute shit beaten out of him by any of the other contestants. He knew winning this would take a miracle, especially with people like Nashi, Drake, and Elise in the running.

"Oh well, whatever." he said, rounding another corner. "I really don't care anyway."

* * *

Nashi was still wandering around in the tunnel, looking for any sort of exit. She knew it was unlikely she'd gotten lucky and taken a safe tunnel, so she was looking around for anyone's ass to kick. She couldn't let Rocky beat her, after all. After a few more twists and turns in the tunnel, Nashi could see what appeared to be a chamber up ahead of her. Breaking into a sprint so she'd reach it, she stopped as she entered.

"Hello?" She called, and she could see someone standing across from her. As the chamber began to light up, Nashi paled.

Her opponent had the physic of a monster. They were much taller than she, and radiated raw magic.

And also had a head of salmon colored hair.

Nashi's father looked up and his eyes widened, then he laughed.

"So, it's you huh?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as Nashi stared. "I had a feeling me participating would result in this."

"D-Dad?" Nashi managed, feeling her chances of winning going down the drain.

"Hey." He replied. "I kind of agreed to be an opponent, so..."

"I have to beat...you...?"

"It would appear so." He said, grinning. "Just so you know kid, I don't like going easy." Seeing the competitive smirk on her fathers face made Nashi grin.

"Good." She replied, shedding her vest, leaving her in just the black wrappings over her chest. "Neither do I." As if on cue, both of them erupted in flames, causing the chamber to shudder. As they rushed forward and their fists met, fire exploded everywhere.

And with that, the Fire Dragon King Natsu Dragneel engaged in combat with his daughter, to determine who was stronger.

**I'm sure a few of you knew where Natsu was, am I right? I couldn't resist having Nashi fight him in this arc, it was too awesome of an idea to pass up. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	105. The Tests Begin

**Really sorry about the slow updating, guys. Between my drive to write slowing down and my final exams coming up, chances to write are few and far between. However, I will try and pick up the pace.**

**Enjoy!**

Lucy watched another member of another branch fall to another, who walked off. Damien chuckled.

"He stood no chance, let's all be honest for a second here." He spoke to everyone, who muttered agreement. "Anyways, let's see how one of our more interesting chambers is going!" Damien played with the remote for a minute, and Lucy saw the image on the scree change just in time to see an explosion of light. "And it appears the battle is underway! Simon vs. Drake!" As the receptor re positioned itself to get a better image, Lucy could clearly see the poison slayer standing across from Simon. Another rush and explosion, both were engaged in lightning fast hand to hand combat.

"You know," Levy said crossing her legs, "Drake really doesn't get a lot of credit as a mage."

"Yeah." Lucy agreed. "Everyone else has a family name to back them up, and Drake really doesn't."

"Or a last name, for that matter." Gajeel said gruffly, causing both girls to laugh. "But the kids as hard as a Dragons hide, he'll be fine." Lucy knew that to be true, what Drake lacked in expectation he made up for with surprising skill. Even without his father guidance for all that time, he'd become quite impressive. Drake uppercut Simon in the gut, then followed up with a poisonous roundhouse kick which sent Simon flying. The Scarlet recovered quickly, requipped into his flight armor, and flew at Drake to fast for the lacrima to catch. What was even more impressive was watching all of Simon's lightning fast attacks miss, as Drake dodged with relative ease.

"And here we see Drake utilizing his sound magic!" Damien shouted. "Really gives him an edge in this type of combat." Lucy didn't need Damien to tell her that, the battle spoke for itself. Drake was always a step ahead of Simon, no matter what happened. After Simon's fist missed it's target, Drake gathered poison in his hands and blasted him in the stomach, but it was blocked by a requip into his adamantine shield.

"Simon's going to want to avoid that shit." Gray said from behind Lucy. "Drake's gets him good enough and he'll fall unconscious all on his own." Lucy had seen Drake's poison work firsthand, in both his own unique style and his fathers, and knew that one good hit was all it took.

"Still," she said as she stretched. "He's got his work cut out for him against Simon."

* * *

Drake knew Simon wasn't going to fall over and give up at the first sign of being poisoned, which was really his biggest problem. He'd yet to be hit, but knew Simon was going all out just yet. Drake wanted to be insulted, but knew if Simon did go all out the battle would've been decided a long time ago. After he had blasted Simon away, the redhead got up and laughed.

"I suppose I don't give you enough credit." He said, swinging his sword back and forth. "You're good, much better than I had anticipated."

"Thanks." Drake replied. "Means a lot coming from a Scarlet." Simon rolled his eyes.

"Can I tell you something Drake? As a friend? Man to man?"

"I guess." Simon smiled at Drake, which almost made him lower his guard.

"You have a real shot of winning this thing." Drake nodded, he knew that. It wasn't very hard to see he was one of the top mages from the guilds young generation. "However, you can't rely on your sound magic."

"Why not?"

"Because there is one, fatal exploit no one seems to think about." The sly look on Simon's face made Drake worried.

"Like what?"

"Clouding one's own head and thoughts with nonsense." As if one cue, Drake's head was hit with a barrage of nonsensical rambling and shouting, which gave him a killer headache. "This, in turn, deafens you to my true intention!"

_A hard, heavenly uppercut to the chin._

Drake heard it through the bullshit to late. Simon's fist connected with his face and he sailed into the roof of the chamber, only intensifying his headache. On the way down, Simon tackled him with all his might, throwing him into the wall and destroying part of it. Drake coughed and he climbed out of the rubble, seeing Simon standing where he had been.

"Okay, nice one." Drake admitted. "Although I really didn't need a one way trip through the weird part of your head. Why the hell do you like strawberry cake so much?"

"Irrelevant." Simon replied quickly. "But see? You can't always rely on it entirely.

"You have grossly underestimated me if you think I wholly rely on it." Simon raised an eyebrow as Drake smirked. "I do use it to my advantage a lot, especially like right now."

"What the hell does that mean?" Simon asked. Drake pocketed his hands and smiled.

"We're in an enclosed space, with a high ceiling." He replied. Simon's eyes widened as he realized what Drake was about to do, but it was too late. Manipulating the sound waves around himself, the chamber turned into that of one made for torture, the erratic and deafening noise causing Simon to drop to his knees and shout in pain. After intensifying it a bit, Simon struggled to his feet. Drake watched as the redhead aimed for the roof, blasting it too pieces. Once the area was exposed to open area, the sound distorted and eventually faded into a dull sound, which even made Drake irritated, so he shut the spell down. "Nice job, distorting the sound like that."

"Wasn't that hard to figure out." Simon replied, cracking his neck. "How about we step this up a notch." By the tone he used, Drake knew it was no question. Simon was going to step it up, and he did so with his following movements. Requipping into his lightning emperor armor, arcs of lightning the size of the guild hall flew at Drake with absolutely no mercy.

_Wait until he jumps up to dodge the lightning, then attack him with my swords._

Drake pondered how his opponents always failed to realize he could hear them. Doing as Simon expected, he jumped up to dodge the lightning and was greeted by Simon and his swords. Drake was already a step ahead, sadly. Coating his hands in his toxic element, Drake used a wall of it to block the slashes. As they both jumped away, Drake watched his poison eat away at the blades with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Shit," Simon hissed, dropping the swords. "I should've seen that coming." Drake saw the blades disappear back into Simon's inventory, grinning. Simon hadn't removed the poison, now within his inventory.

"Well," Drake said, poison rising to his hands once again. "Care to try again?"

* * *

"Oh, look at that!" Damien said with a grin. "Drake's using his poison to burn away Simon's weapons! Nice strategy right there."

"I didn't know he could do that." Levy said, sounding impressed. Lucy nodded.

"From what I know, he was a different style than his father." Lucy replied. "Having taught himself for so long he learned different ways to use his magic."

"Gives him an edge, too." Gray said.

"Alright, then." Damien said, rolling his eyes. "That's enough of that, let's check out the Ultear chamber!" After pressing a few more buttons, the next chamber appeared on the screen. "Oh, look at that! It appears Asuka has found Ultear's chamber!"

* * *

Asuka was still trying to figure out where Ultear learned the bullet dissolving magic, when the lacrima transmitter made a beeping sound. Ultear looked at it and cursed.

"Damn, now everyone's looking. Can't use it anymore..."

"Why not?" Asuka asked curiously.

"Like I said, it's a secret." Ultear replied with a sneaky smile on her face. "I'll show everyone when I'm ready, I'm still in the learning faze of it anyway. Now..." Ultear made a big show of dropping the temperature around them both. "How about we have more fun with this?" Asuka grinned.

"Well, the cold doesn't make that much of a difference to me." She said, aiming her rifle at Ultear. "Gun Magic: Blazing Shot!" The bullets that flew from the gun blazed with hot fire, burning through the cold air. Ultear raised a hand, and a geyser of water stopped the bullets immediately.

"I suppose I should've taken elemental bullets into account, huh?" Ultear asked. "Oh well, it doesn't matter."

"Gun Magic: Electric Barrage!" The bullets laced with electricity flew at Ultear, who grinned.

"Ice Make: Shield!" The bullets hit the ice and exploded, Ultear completely protected behind it. Once the explosion cleared, Ultear moved through the smoke with surprising speed. "Ice Make: Excalibur!" Asuka almost didn't have enough time to dodge the slash, using the handle of her rifle to deflect the blow. Placing the rifle on the holster attached to her back, she pulled out her two pistols and fired off a lot of rounds, all of which got their trajectories altered by Ultear's blast of water. Dodging the few that flew her way, Asuka fired off rounds designed around poison, all of which Ultear once again altered the course of. Asuka was going to have to find a way around that water, it was stopping everything.

"I'm surprised you're so good." Asuka said, opting to tease the younger girl. "I remember when you were flatter."

"Gah!" Ultear shouted, covering up her chest in embarrassment. "Why does everyone talk about my chest!?"

"...Maybe because it's glorious?" Asuka watched Ultear deteriorate after her words, which was what she hoped for. While the girl was so focused on covering herself up, Asuka fired off more rounds, which caused the younger to fall over to dodge them. As she did, Asuka charged up and placed one of her guns at Ultear's temple, effectively cutting her off from any escape. "Checkmate, Ul." She said. Ultear laughed weakly.

"Yep, totally." She agreed. "Except for one thing."

"That is?" Asuka watched in shock as Ultear swiftly reached up, grabbed the gun, aimed it at her temple, and made Asuka's finger pull the trigger. "No!...?"

"See?" Ultear asked, the watery remains of her blown out head returning to normal. "I can make by body made of water. Even if your previous shots were to hit, they wouldn't have hurt." Asuka was at an incredible disadvantage. How did anyone ever beat this girl, anyway?...Or had she been beaten? Asuka sighed and backed up as Ultear stood.

"I guess this is why you're S-Class, huh?"

* * *

Almost everyone had a heart attack when Ultear tried to blow her own head off, and only a select few remembered what she could do.

"Ha!" Juvia shouted triumphantly. "Juvia wasn't the worried one this time! Juvia wins!" Everyone had a hearty calming laugh as Juvia bragged about her lack of being worried before Damien managed to shove her off stage.

"Alright, well," He said, a grin on his face. "How about we go to the hottest chamber of them all?" Everyone cheered in agreement, Lucy included. Although she felt bad for whoever managed to run into her husband. "Alright, Natsu, let's see who you get to destroy!" Damien activated the lacrima in Natsu's chamber, but nothing happened at first.

"Whats wrong?" Gajeel asked.

"Don't know." Damien replied, slamming the remote against his hand and trying again. After a few more tries, a picture finally started to appear, much to the glee of everyone else. However, it became quickly apparent that the lacrima was not malfunctioning.

It had been blinded by an explosion that was only now just dying. Everyone leaned forward in anticipation was the view cleared, before a collective gasp was heard.

"Seriously?!" Levy asked.

"Awesome!" Gajeel laughed.

"Well, I still feel bad for her." Gray said.

"You've got to be kidding..." Lucy managed weakly. Damien laughed heartily.

"Look what we have here, everyone!" he shouted gleefully. "Nashi vs. Natsu!"

**Once again, sorry for the slowness. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	106. Natsu vs Nashi

**Couldn't keep you guys waiting for long, seeing as I didn't show any Natsu vs. Nashi.**

**Enjoy!**

The temperature in the chamber was unlivable to anyone who wasn't either of the people currently in the chamber. That, of course, being Nashi and her father. Both of them stood across from each other, their combined magic power making the entire mountain range tremble. Nashi knew there was next to no way she was winning this, but not trying wasn't an fun.

"It's almost warm in here." her father commented. "Shall we continue, Nashi?"

"Sure, let's go!" Nashi ran at her father and attacked quickly, but all of her punches and kicks were easily deflected. Her father sighed.

"If this is all you got," He told her, grabbing her arm. "Maybe you are a disappointment!" Nashi growled as she used the momentum from his grab to kick him in the back of the head. Following up with grabbing him by his vest and flinging him across the room, Nashi got a face full of fire. She ate it quickly, only to find her father back at her throat. He landed so many consecutive hits Nashi wasn't even sure where he was hitting her, the pain was delayed. A hard punch right to the face sent her flying, embedding her in the wall. Crawling out just in time to evade another punch, Nashi could only retreat as her father went on a heavy offensive. Finally managing to scramble to her feet, she once again found herself opposite him.

"Shit, calm down." She managed through panting.

"It's hopeless." he informed her. "I've got years on you, and I know your style inside and out. Give it up."

"Who was it that told me never give up?" She asked with a defiant grin, watching him chuckle. "Like hell I'm giving up, not until I can't get up."

"Than prepare to get thrown to the dirt." The speed in which he threw himself at Nashi was unforeseen, and she was thrown away once again. He was always one step ahead on her, no matter what she tried to do. Landing hard and dodging to the left, Nashi was hit by the debris from the explosion that followed her fathers attack. Before she landed, she was engulfed in fire. Smiling to herself, she opened her mouth and began to absorb the power from it, feeling adrenaline flow through her veins. Once it all disappeared, her father clicked his tongue. "Should have seen that coming."

"You really should have." She said. Nashi didn't know why, but she was having fun. This was supposed to be more serious, but she could tell her father was also having fun. Flying at each other again, the boost from the flames allowed Nashi to fight him off, actually landing a few hits herself. He laughed.

"I want you to know," he informed her as they locked hands and butted foreheads. "I'm only applying, maybe, 50% of what I'm really capably of." This news made Nashi's stomach turn, but she grinned back.

"Why not 100?" She asked, feeling her father increase the weight he was pouring into his arms, and fell to one knee. "Scared it won't be enough?" He laughed darkly.

"No." he said. "I'm afraid our new kid won't have a big sister." He was afraid of killing her? Seemed logical. Nashi was about to lose their pushing contest before she allowed her arms to fail completely, giving her enough time to roll out of the way of her father, who face planted where she had just been. She used this spare time to attack, which didn't do much. Her father recovered quickly and blocked the majority of the attacks, once again sending her away.

* * *

The whole guild had their eyes glued to the screen during the fight, no one dared look away for even a second. Lucy would have smiled as Nashi was actually able to fight Natsu off, but she could tell her husband was doing all he could.

"He's not trying." Gray pointed out, a frown on his face. "She'd have lost already if he was."

"I agree." Gajeel muttered. "Salamander's not going all out."

"Does he have any reason to?" Levy asked. "I mean, I know it's for S-Class and all, but Natsu going all out isn't fair means for a trial to be a king of Ishval." Lucy nodded her head in agreement, as she knew that was true. If Natsu really did go all out...She shuddered at the memories. There was a reason Natsu disappeared for so long, and that was it. But he wouldn't dare...would he? Especially with Nashi...

"He wouldn't." Lucy reassured. "He may be a blockhead, but not even Natsu is stupid enough to do that again, against his own daughter no less..."

"You never know." Gajeel said quietly. "He is really stupid sometimes."

"But who's know what that would do to Nashi..." Levy said quietly. This caused the adults to go dead silent, all pondering what that meant.

"You think she'd awaken?" Gray finally asked, voicing their fears in a whisper.

"Maybe so, maybe not." Levy replied. "Let's all hope her...you know, human half can keep it in check."

"People can hear you." Lucy hissed. "Stop talking about it!" No one spoke anymore, and kept watching the battle.

_Don't do anything stupid Natsu...It isn't worth awakening that thing..._

* * *

Nashi coughed violently as she struggled to stand, her father watching without a hint of remorse.

"Just quit." he said. "I'm not found of beating my own daughter."

"No." She said. "I'm going to pass this idiotic test, even if I nearly kill myself!" the two observed each other for a minute, and he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Nashi, you're just as bad as me, so allow me to give you some fatherly wisdom.." She nodded, so he continued. "Just because you can keep getting up doesn't mean a damn thing. This is one battle you will not win. I will not, and cannot, lose to you. It isn't possible."

"Coming from you!" Nashi spat. "You are the last person who can talk like that! Every single story is all about you getting up at the last minute and destroying something!"

"Nashi," he spoke, a tone he'd never used with her before. "You and I are on completely different levels. If I were to go all out, and I mean all out, I'd kill you with a flick of my finger."

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah"

"Then come and get me!" He raised an eyebrow in confusion as Nashi raised her arms out. "Come on! You want to teach me a lesson, Daddy?! Attack me with all you've got!" Nashi knew she was testing her luck, but she hated being spoken down too like this. He rolled his eyes.

"You really want a taste of what I'm capable of?" She nodded, and he sighed once more. "I'm not to be held accountable for this, got it?" Before anything could happen, Nashi could smell ozone. Spending so long around Gramps and the like, she knew what this smell entailed. Before she could do anything, lightning crackled around her father's form, merging with the flames that did so as well. Nashi gulped.

"T-the Lightning-Fire Dragon..." She whispered. Now she was in for it. Well, she had asked for it. A stray bolt of lightning flew past her head and obliterated the wall behind her.

"Are you sure you want to play this so confidently?" Her father asked from the mixture of lightning and fire. "I won't hesitate." Nashi was about to say something when a different idea went through her head. Concentrating, she felt pain flow through her entire being.

"I'm game." She replied, the black flames of Katsuchi the Fire God Slayer wrapping around her figure. Although she could entire Fire Dragon-God mode whenever she wanted to, it caused her a great deal of pain to do so. Most likely due to the God flames not being compatible with her body. "Who's stronger? The Lightning-Fire Dragon or the Fire Dragon-God?" She grinned at her father, who rolled his eyes, an almost playful smirk on his face.

"You really like testing my patience, don't you?" he demanded, earning a nod. "Alright, let's find out!" The first thing Nashi realized as she attacked was her father winced from the heat. Due to not coming into contact with it a lot, he was more susceptible to the black flame.

"Fire Dragon-God Brilliant Flame!"

"Lightning-Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" Fire clashed against fire, lightning against the black fire. The balls of pure magic exploded in the center of the chamber, throwing both of them back a little bit. Once the smoke cleared, neither looked very effected by it at all. Nashi smiled.

"That mode sure is something." She complimented, ignoring the pain in her gut.

"As is yours, albeit much less practiced then it should be."

"How so?" Nashi demanded, the fire flickering in response to her anger.

"You're in a great deal of internal pain, no?"

* * *

"Why would she be in pain?" Lucy asked.

"God Slaying and Dragon Slaying are completely different tiers of magic." Levy explained. "Dragons are lesser beings than Gods, so it takes less to kill them. A Dragon Slayer utilizing a higher tier slaying magic would be incredibly painful."

"So she's digging herself a bigger hole." Gajeel said bluntly.

* * *

"With more practice, you wouldn't be in so much pain." he explained. "But it doesn't matter, you're just helping me win." Nashi responded by propelling herself forward and slamming a black fire coated fist his chest, causing him to wince. He attempted to kick her away, but Nashi grabbed his leg and flipped him unto his back, blasting him with more black fire. Managing to distance himself, Nashi took a heavy breath as he did so.

"Bellowing Roar of the Fire-Dragon God!" The black and red attack flew towards Nashi's father, and he raised his arms to block it. This resulted in a huge explosion, blinding Nashi. As the smoke faded away, her father still stood, almost untouched.

"I told you." he said, straightening from the defensive stance. "Fire doesn't work on people like us." Nashi grinned like a madman.

"Are you sure, Dad?" She asked, getting a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I'm sure, why?" Nashi simply pointed to her chest, in reference to the same area on her father. He slowly looked down, and gasped.

There, right in the center of his chest, like a branding, was a burn mark, still smoking.

"Impossible!" He shouted angrily. "I can't get burned!"

"You just did." Nashi replied with a grin on her face. "Told you I stood a chance!" She burst into laughter, at her fathers expense. She stopped when she heard the crackling of the lightning. "Uh...Dad?" Looking over at him, the fire and lightning was circling him violently, which made her pale.

"Lightning-Fire Dragon..." Nashi nearly fainted at the words, as her father inhaled deeply. "ROAR!"

There was no time to get out of the way, in came to fast. Nashi took the full force of the explosion head on, and it detonated against, causing everything to go a bright white, then dark.

* * *

Simon watched Drake stiffen, which confused him. Sure, their chamber was shaking violently, but it was no reason to worry.

"Something the matter, Drake?" he asked. Drake paled.

"Hit the dirt!" he shouted, tackling Simon to the ground. Before Simon could ask, fire and lightning tore through the wall and right through the other side, not stopping for anything in it's path.

"W-What the hell is that?" He asked weakly, watching the attack continue through the rest of the mountain.

"Don't know." Drake replied weakly. "But I feel sorry for whatever sap got caught in that.

* * *

Natsu stood and waited for the debris to stood falling and the smoke to fade away, and when it did, he observed the area where Nashi had been standing.

Key word had been, she was gone.

"Nashi?" He called, fear rising to his chest. "...Nashi? Sweetheart?" No one called out to him. No w he was beginning to panic. He hadn't meant to go so overboard and possibly seriously hurt her, but sometimes he lost himself in the moment. "This is what you get for taunting me, you idiot..." Just as Natsu was about to go and see if he could dig her out of the rubble, it shifted. He sighed in relief. "Thank Mavis, I thought I..." jut as he was about to finish his sentence, the rubble was flung away, revealing his daughter standing there. However, Natsu noticed something odd.

Mainly, the shining golden key in her hand.

"Open, Gate of the Lion! Loke!"

**Ah? Ah? What did you guys think Lucy wanted with Nashi before this started? Anyways, I have something interesting to ask you guys!**

**How about we do some Question &amp; Answer?**

**Seeing as this is a story dominated by OC's and original story lines, I'm sure you guys have a lot of questions. So, every chapter, at the beginning and end, I want to answer some questions you guys have! Just send them in your reviews, and I'll answer them! Don't swamp me though, It'll only be two per chapter!**

**Like always, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five, with some questions!**


	107. Teaching a Lesson

**Back again! And, like I said, answer time!**

**The most asked question was about the Celestial magic I had Nashi pull out of her ass in the last chapter, so here's what I got for you guys: The reason Nashi was able to use it as oppose to before is due to the immense magical growth she's experienced in the past few months, far surpassing where she was last time she tried. This is only a one time thing, so it really doesn't matter if the contracts extend or not.**

**Enjoy!**

Natsu drew a complete blank as the leader of the Celestial Spirits appeared in front of him. Loke grinned.

"Natsu." He greeted.

"...What?" Natsu finally asked. From what Lucy had told him, Nashi couldn't use Celestial Spirit magic. So how the hell...?

"I can see you're confused." Natsu looked up as Nashi spoke, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Did you honestly think I spent the week of preparation for this doing nothing?"

"Ah, I get it now." Natsu said, crossing his arms. "You learned. You're quite good at doing that spontaneously."

"I know." Nashi agreed, still grinning.

"Although I think you've failed to realize something."

"Which is?" Natsu grinned as fire and lightning crackled around him again.

"Loke isn't enough to stand up to me." Nashi giggled, only confusing Natsu further.

"I know, that isn't the plan." Nashi looked at Loke determinedly. "You know what to do Loke!"

"Of course Princess." Loke replied, Regulus shining in his hands. The light grew to the point where Natsu couldn't see, and he flinched as the light burned his eyes, even closed. Natsu growled angrily, sensing Nashi's presence somewhere in front of him.

"Damn it, I'm ending this!" Natsu took aim as best he could with his eyes shut, and swung his fire coated fist. He managed to open his eyes as soon as he did sop, seeing quite the scene.

Nashi was staring at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen in his entire life, making him stop cold right before his fist made contact.

"You wouldn't hurt me, right Daddy?" Nashi asked weakly, eyes seemingly so innocent.

"Ah..."

"I'm your baby girl, after all. Aren't I exempted from getting punched in the face?"

"Um..."

"Daddy?"

"Y-Yeah?" Natsu asked, and a grin spread across her face.

"I love you." Natsu had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do, Nashi was throwing him all sorts of off. Did he give up? Attack? Say something? Anything? Luckily, he got his answer shortly, as he felt a pair of hands constrict around his waist.

From behind.

Natsu gasped in surprise as black flames licked around him, burning him. He was thrown backwards into the wall, and coughed as rocks and debris fell everywhere.

"What the hell...?" He asked, looking up as Nashi laughed.

"I got you Dad/Daddy!" Natsu's vision cleared after a few seconds, granting him a view of what was happening. Sure enough, Nashi stood where she had been when he'd been attacked, but what confused him was what was next to her.

Another Nashi.

It took Natsu a moment to realize what was going on but once he did, he got up and chuckled.

"Good to see you too, Gemini." he said, referring to the Celestial Spirit. The Nashi that had tricked him smiled.

"You too, Daddy!" She replied.

"So," Natsu said, crossing his arms. "Your plan was to use Loke to blind me, giving you the chance to summon and swap places with Gemini for a sneak attack. Your certainly my daughter, only a Dragneel could come up with something like that."

"..Thanks, I think..." Nashi on the right replied. "Now, can we continue or not?"

"Sure, come and lose." Natsu replied with a grin. "Another of you doesn't make a difference."

"Now now don't be like that." Gemini and Nashi looked at each other, nodded, and rushed forward as one, going at Natsu with everything they had. Natsu waited and blocked the first blow from Gemini, and it quickly turned into a one on one. "Didn't make a difference, huh?" Natsu's eyes widened as attacks began hitting him in the back, the combined black fire from both of them actually hurting a little. He quickly realized he couldn't defend against them both, as blocking ones advances only gave the other an opening. Gemini moved and attacked like Nashi perfectly, only confusing Natsu further as he couldn't discern who was really attacking him. Both slammed a fiery fist into him and he stumbled backwards, growling.

"Mavis." he hissed. "I may actually break a sweat." Just as he was about to charge forward, he felt his legs give out underneath him. Looking around in confusion, Natsu found the source. "Virgo?!"

"Hello Natsu." the pink haired maid said, deadpanning at him. "I'm sorry about this, Nashi told me to do it."

"...Hah?" Natsu looked over at the sound of feet leaving the ground. Both Gemini and Nashi had jumped high into the chamber, and began to fall, Natsu watching in disbelief.

_Two Gates open at once..._

"Dragon-God Slayer Secret Art!"

_Accessing God Slayer magic she consumed..._

"Dragon-God Slayer Secret Art!"

_Using Gemini to double her power..._

Natsu watched as the pair charged up the blast, a grin settling down on his face.

"Marvelous, kid. Simply marvelous."

"OBSIDIAN LOTUS SUPERNOVA!"

* * *

When the lacrima vision lost the feed from Natsu and Nashi's fight, the guild waited in tense silence as Damien fiddled with the remote. He chuckled weakly.

"It would appear we lost the transmitter in the chamber." he reported, causing everyone to whisper among themselves. "I guess we'll see who came out on top later. I'll just swap the feed now." Lucy shook her head at the news. Leave it to those two to cause such a commotion that the feed was lost without any chance of getting it back.

"Where the hell did she learn to do that, Luce?" Gray asked, breaking Lucy out of her daze from the fight. "I don't recall her knowing how to do that."

"What do you think we worked on during her week of training?" Lucy asked. "Since she'd grown so exponentially during these past few months, I saw no harm in trying to teach her again. Not only that, but she excelled quickly, with the two gates as you saw."

"Do you think she won?" Levy asked. "That was a pretty huge explosion."

"If the Salamander loses to that he's lost his edge with age." Gajeel said gruffly. Lucy couldn't help but agree with that. If Nashi did somehow win, Natsu had given it to her out of pity, or perhaps she'd earn it in time.

"I guess we have to wait to find out." She tld them with a small smile. "they both tried so hard we can't see the rest of it." just as Lucy finished her sentence, Damien laughed in triumph.

"I got it!" he shouted. "back to Ultear vs. Asuka!"

* * *

Asuka knew only two people could procure such explosive power, both had pink hair. The entire mountainside was getting rocked by the explosive power the Dragneel's were giving off. That however, was not her current problem. That was the S-Class wizard standing in front of her, stopping her from advancing. Ultear was playing with Asuka at this point, allowing the bullets to enter her body while it was liquefied and pass through some other part, usually staying inside for a little bit. Or she did her weird white magic and they disintegrated before they even got close, either way there was no openings Asuka could take. Ultear chuckled as more bullets passed through her harmlessly.

"If this is all you've got, you may as well concede defeat." She was informed. "You've tried everything." Admitting that wasn't on Asuka's to do list, but she knew it was true. If bullets didn't work on the girl, Asuka didn't have much she _could _do. Asuka was a gun mage, after all. The girl did a mental count of her skills and knew she had to come up with something soon or she was screwed. She hadn't worked her way up from nothing to lose to a kid whom had surpassed her.

"There has to be something I haven't tried yet, come on..." Asuka thought long and hard, before a light came on in her head, causing her to smirk. "Gun Magic: Electrifying burst!" Firing off five shots from her rifle, she smiled as the bullets passed into Ultear's body harmlessly.

"I already said that won't work." Ultear said with a sigh.

"That wasn't what I was going for?"

"Huh?" Asuka snapped her fingers, and the bullets, which had previously not been electrified, started to spark within the liquid mass of Ul's body, causing her to pale.

"Basic science, Ul." Asuka replied. "Water conducts electricity." After another snap of the fingers the bullets released their charge, causing Ultear to shriek in pain. The shocking lasted several seconds before Ultear collapsed, her body looking slightly crispier than before. "Ul?"

"..." No response at first, before her body convulsed a few times, and she coughed. "Ow...Shit, that hurt. I've been electrocuted before, but that was an all new level of pain."

"Because you were in water form." Asuka replied. "it conducted for longer."

"Should've thought of that, but I got to ahead of myself..." Ultear coughed again as she sat up. "Well, go on, get out of here. You win, I feel like I wouldn't survive another one of those." Asuka nodded with a small chuckle, walking towards the chambers exit. "One thing, Asuka."

"Yeah?"

"Coming from someone who beat it, it doesn't get any easier" Asuka nodded as Ultear turned to face her. "I'm betting money that Drake, Elise and Nashi are going to make it too. I can guarantee, that with how you fought me, they will thrash you."

"You so sure?" Asuka asked, earning a nod she wasn't looking for.

"Yes. I've seen the three of them fight, and they've pulled a lot of stuff out of no where. If you aren't prepared to fight any one of them, you've lost." Asuka knew the thee were powerful, but she didn't want to think three people she'd babysat at some point were more powerful than her.

"I'll keep an eye out for it..." She replied. Leaving down the tunnel that was the exit, pondering the younger girls words. She knew a head on fight with any of Dragon Slayers would result in a loss, no matter how you looked at it.

_I just hope I lose spectacularly..._

* * *

Nashi panted weakly as the result of her attack continued to smolder. She and Gemini had hit her father dead on, and couple that with God flames and two times the power, Nashi liked her chances. So far she couldn't sense any movement from within, which she liked.

"Dad?" She called weakly, not getting a response. Waiting a few more seconds, Nashi smiled. "Did I...?"

"Wow, unimpressed." Nashi drained of color at the voice, and the smoke whipped around violently. After a few seconds it faded, and her father stood there, completely unharmed. "I figured that would've hurt more than it did."

"...H-How..." Nashi asked, almost dropping to her knees.

"Stop underestimating me, Nashi." he replied. When she tried to stand up straighter, he frowned. "Just stop, this isn't worth it."

"No!" She shouted back, mind drifting off to what Rocky would taunt her about if she lost. "I'll make it past you, God damn it! I don't care how long it takes."

"This is one fight where spirit will get you nowhere." he retorted simply. "Just accept it."

"No! If you're so confident you can off me, stop holding back!" Nashi knew her anger was making her say things she didn't mean, but she wanted to win, damn it. If for nothing else, to shut Rocky up. "Why are you so afraid of hurting me?!" he frowned, one that was laced with anger.

"My full power?" he asked. "You don't know how dangerous that request is, Nashi. For either of us."

"...?" Nashi didn't know what to say to that, it wasn't the response she'd been expecting.

"..However, if a lesson has to be taught..." Nashi was about to ask what he meant when the whole chamber began to shake violently. Bright red magic outlined her fathers figure as the shaking intensified.

"What the...!" Nashi was thrown back as her father erupted, a column of fire exploding through the roof. Looking up weakly, Nashi noted something that terrified her.

Despite the amount of flames in the chamber, the aura her father exuded was deathly cold.

**Well shit Natsu, the fuck man? Anyways, questions!**

**One that caught my eyes was: What is Nashi and Drake's relationship?**

**( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

**Well, they're best friends, the bestest.(Not a word, but who cares...). Obviously due to Nashi's childhood they share a bond deeper than the rest of the group, as Drake was always there for her...****( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

**Anyways, another question, not story related, was how many chapters do I plan to post a week? As you've seen it's pretty sporadic, but maybe, like three.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	108. Who Won?

**So last chapter, Natsu decides to pull some shit. Let's find out what!**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi felt like her soul was being ripped apart by this fire, it was too hot. Something about it made her feel weird, a feeling she'd never felt before. A strange combination of restlessness and and unease. Her father had, at this point, been engulfed by the column of fire in the center of the chamber, no longer visible to her eyes.

"This is insane." Nashi hissed, only knowing she was speaking because she felt her mouth move. Other than that, the pure power in the room made her voice near inaudible. "Just what the hell is this?" Nashi tried to lit a fire in her hand, and what happened shocked her to her core.

The fire in her hand sputtered and died as soon as it gained any substance.

Nashi stared at her empty palm, trying again to lit the fire. The same thing happened, but this time the fire flickered in her father direction before it died. Was this his doing? Was his fire using all the oxygen?

"Dad?!" she shouted as loud as she could, voice still inaudible. "I get it! You can sto..!" Nashi yelped and dodged rocks that flew from the wall behind her and into the flames, melting them instantly.

_This power..._

_Why does it feel so familiar?_

Nashi didn't like how she felt while this was happening. She felt compelled to do something, but what? Just as she though it, the vacuum wave coming from her fathers fire knocked her feet out from under her, causing her to lose her balance and slide slowly towards him in the center of the fiery crater where he stood. Nashi began to panic as her skin prickled in irritation. Was he not thinking straight? This wasn't just going to be a little painful, it might kill her.

"Dad!" She tried again. "Please, stop it!"

Still no response, and now Nashi was terrified. No, no she wasn't! This was nothing compared to Kronos or the Dorma Anim!

Her thoughts were whisked away as the vacuum wave brought her closer and closer, and she gulped.

"DAD!"

Then, her vision went dark.

* * *

Drake ducked another blast of light from Simon and rolled his eyes at the inaccuracy of it in the first place.

"Losing your touch there, Simon?" he asked innocently, and the redhead shook his head.

"No, just keeping you busy." he replied. "Seeing as I could end this anytime I really wanted to."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Go ahead." Drake knew perfectly well that requip was coming, then Simon would notice the problem. Once the sequence for said action had begun, Drake only smiled wider, unable to contain it.

"Requip! Lightning Emperor...What the he...!" Simon noticed as Drake did, which was a huge spot of poison eating away at the armor. There was already a sizable hole, and Simon looked up bewildered. "How did you...?"

"When you slashed my poison earlier, it was on your blades when you put them away." He grinned. "Poison went with it." Simon growled in frustration and requipped in several different armors, presumably checking them all. All, however, had holes eaten into them. Simon's eyes were wide.

"I'm honestly impressed, if you did it on purpose anyway." Drake was willing to pretend it hadn't been an accident. Simon smiled. "See? This is why you deserve it, you're a cunning individual."

"I know I deserve it, I don't need you to tell me." Drake replied, earning an eye roll. "But, I still haven't used my secret weapon."

"Which is?" Drake grinned as he felt the paralyzing poison he'd eaten in Edolas flow through his system. He never really said anything about it doing anything more, but as it stated, it paralyzed people. Instead of his normal black and red poison, it was dark green and black. "What's up with your...?..!" Drake had thrown a ball of it at Simon, who had been unprepared and tried too late to dodge. The ball hit him in the forearm, and he stared at it in confusion.

"Paralyzed." Drake answered before Simon could ask. "Don't ask where I learned to do that, because it really doesn't matter."

"Ugh, you're full of surprises, aren't you?" Simon said, shaking his arm to little effect. "Fine, looks lie this just got a little more difficult, huh?"

"Alright, but I'm going to end this now." Both of them rushed at each other, and Drake noticed how careful Simon was to dodge his paralyzing fists. However, the more hits Drake landed, the less and less Simon was able to actually dodge. Eventually, Simon fell over on his ass, Drake standing over him. "Done?" Drake asked innocently, and Simon chuckled.

"You sure are cocky." he replied. "Yeah, I'm done, go on. A word of warning though." Drake nodded for him to continue. "Don't stay so cocky. You're good, but you aren't the best contestant. Stay on your toes."

"Who's better then?" Drake demanded.

"I don't really think I need to answer that, do I?" Drake partially agreed to that, he really shouldn't have. They both knew the pinkette has far more sheer force to her than Drake by contrast. "Besides, cockiness won't get you anywhere, anyway."

"Even if I don't make it, I gotta leave an impression on the people from other guild branches." he replied, beginning to walk away from Simon. "The poison will wear off in about twenty minutes, so don't sweat it. And try not to do anything stupid."

"What in the hell could I possibly do?" Simon called as Drake walked away, making him laugh.

* * *

"And Drake takes down Simon, of all people! Very impressive showing by the Poison Dragon!" Lucy clapped along with everyone else, Drake deserved it.

"He got lucky." Gray pointed out. "Without that paralysis, he couldn't have won."

"I think he's aware, Gray." Lucy replied. "Simon would've gotten him otherwise. Getting something numb and unmoving every time it's hit kind of slows you down, don't you think?"

"He still did it." Levy said happily. "Mavis, it seems like yesterday he was just a kid." Lucy knew the feel, not just for Nashi. She could remember like it was yesterday what they'd all been like as kids, and now they were all grown up. Lucy watched Damien swear a few times, smacking the remote angrily.

"We still can't make contact with Natsu's chamber, as expected." he told the crowd with a laugh. "Natsu did destroy the transmitting lacrima, after all. So, I'll just boot up one of the replacements, give me a minute." No one complained, it was quite apparent even the replacement wouldn't last very long.

"You think it's possible Natsu would let her win?" Levy asked somewhat hopefully. Gajeel shrugged.

"Don't know, depends if she can make him feel bad enough too."

"I hope he does." Lucy said honestly. "It wasn't fair that she had to go up against someone like him, anyway. Why did Laxus let him be a fighter, anyway?"

"Probably because he's a legend." Gray said, leaning back in his chair. "There isn't a soul here who'd not want to be sent forward by _the _Natsu Dragneel."

"Still, he doesn't know the meaning of holding back." Lucy suddenly became very worried. Natsu really didn't know how to hold back, so he wouldn't, not even against this own daughter.

"She'll be fine." Levy reassured. "It is Nashi we're talking about.

* * *

When Nashi came to, she was face down in the dirt, which confused her. After her vision became less blurred, she looked around and saw what had happened.

The chamber had expanded quite a bit since her father had completely destroyed it, only the roof completely gone. Looking around, she spotted said father standing farther away from her than she remembered, back to her. He was staring at his hand almost angrily, before making a fist with it.

"Dad?" She managed to croak out, making him turn to look at her. "Wha-wha..."

"Sorry." He murmured. "Didn't think that through whatsoever."

"What did you just..."

"Never mind, it isn't important." His expression softened a little. "I don't think I need to explain your situation though."

She'd lost.

It occurred to her after a moment, which made her feel sad. She'd lost to him. Then again, who hadn't seen that coming? Her winning was a grasp into the darkness.

"I was terrified." She told him finally, sitting on her knees. "I didn't know what you were doing, and you wouldn't talk to me..." Nashi recalled the strange sensation in he chest, neglecting to mention it. He chuckled weakly.

"Terrified?" He asked. "You were?"

"Yes." Silence fell upon them, punctuated by the rocks falling down every so often.

"You know," he finally said. "I think it was this very chamber where I fought Gildarts." Nashi remained silent, wallowing in her loss, and her fear. "Come to think of it, our situations were quite similiar."

"How so?"

"I was afraid to admit I was afraid." He chuckled. "Roundabout thinking, really."

"But I haven't been scared like that before!" Nashi said, still not looking up. "I..I've been in a few close calls, but I've never been so scared for my life!" He didn't reply right away, but Nashi remained silent. She couldn't find the words to explain the angry feeling in her chest, the feeling she got while he did whatever he'd been doing, and her anger at herself for losing, even if it was to her father.

"I believe Gildarts said something along the lines of, 'fear is not evil, it tells us what are weaknesses are. And knowing your weakness helps you become stronger as well as kinder', or something like that."

"What's your point?" Nashi demanded, playing with the debris below her.

"I'm saying that you don't have to be embarrassed to look things like certain death, pain, or being a big sister in the face and saying you're afraid." Nashi looked up angrily ready to refute his final point, but he waved her off. "Don't even start, you know you're scared of it."

"I..." Nashi thought about it for a moment, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She didn't know how to act around a small child, much less one she was related too. Was she even capable of being the responsible, mature, older sister her new brother or sister could look to and say proudly, 'Yeah, that's my big sister!' "I guess I am afraid of that..." Nashi growled, angrily, feeling small and stupid. How could she face dragon mechs and crazy strong old wizards, but be afraid of sisterhood?

"Everyone has a trivial fear,Nashi, don't be upset by it." She knew that, but still. "Sometimes, fear isn't rational, it isn't supposed to be. If fear was rational, then we'd have no reason to fear death."

"Why?"

"We don't know what happens, why be afraid of it? Maybe nothing happens and we go swiftly, or maybe there is an afterlife, but fearing something you cannot see is stupid." Nashi found it hard to believe these words were leaving her fathers mouth.

"I...I suppose." More silence, then,

"Go on, get out of here." Nashi looked up in confusion, seeing him lying down.

"What do you mean" She asked. He laughed as his back hit the dirt.

"You beat me, remember?" Her eyes widened in shock at his statement.

"But I..."

"Sweetheart, I'd feel bad failing anyone stuck with me, not just you." he then smiled at her. "Besides, you held your own against me, I can guarantee people will see that as enough proof you're ready." He positioned himself in the dirt. "Now, stand above me and look all menacing."

"Why?"

"You don't hear that?" Nashi listened for a moment before she heard a strange high pitched sound. "That's the replacement transmitting lacrima, to see what happened to us. Want to shock the shit out of them?" Nashi had seen the devilish smirk on his face somewhere before.

Oh right, when she looked in the mirror.

* * *

"Is it not there yet?" Lucy asked impatiently. She really wanted to see what had happened with Nashi and Natsu, she was sort of worried.

"It's almost there, look." Levy replied, the lacrima vision showing the camera flawlessly navigating through the tunnels. "Look, we made it...!"

Lucy wished she could breath, but she couldn't.

"Holy fuck!" Damien shouted, the glee all to apparent in his tone. "Nashi...Nashi has..."

"Impossible..." Gajeel hissed.

"...huh?" Gray asked.

"How..." Levy whispered, Lucy was beyond words. There, in the middle of a huge crater, were Nashi and Natsu. Only one seemed conscious, only one still stood, and only one looked up at the lacrima as it appeared.

Nashi smiled at the lacrima.

_"You missed it!" _She shouted, almost sounding upset._ "I won though!"_

She had, she certainly had.

Lucy felt something between pride and confusion well up in her chest as Nashi got out of the crater, and exited the chamber.

**Good guy Natsu, huh? Okay, so I have some news for you guys. After starting another new story, I've decided to post an upload schedule on my profile, so go and check it out! If you only read this story, not to worry, nothing will change. It's just my side projects have to be organized or I'll end up abandoning them, which I don't want.**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	109. Paired Up

**Back again, really got the urge to write!**

**Enjoy!**

Elise was playing with her feet in the water as the others who passed their test showed up out of the tunnels, but she couldn't care less about that. She was still at full power from not actually getting to fight anyone, which sort of irked her if it wasn't for the slight advantage it gave her.

"Hey, there you are." Elise turned to find Drake standing behind her, smiling. "I see you made it."

"Yeah, safe route." She replied. "I got lucky."

"Hm. I had to fight Simon." The Poison Dragon sat down next to Elise, and she smiled dryly.

"Must have been hard."

"No shit." Drake stretched, yawning. "I managed easily enough, though." Elise nodded and played with the water a bit more. "Nashi here?"

"No, not yet." She replied. "Can you hear her?"

"Too many other people, wouldn't be able to tell. I can't smell her either." Elise knew that, due to the amount of people here, both of their enhanced senses were not working very well. She couldn't really discern anyone specific smell amidst all the sweat, blood, and various other smells.

"Alright, everyone here?" Elise turned to find Laxus walking up to them through the brush, but she had no idea where he'd come from. "Good, I'll start telling you the results." As he began to list off names, Elise noted the people looking rather proud of themselves.

"Still don't see her." Drake said, and Elise nodded, not really listening.

"Drake, for his victory over Simon." Everyone looked over at Drake, and Elise could smell the arrogance leaking from him as they did so. Elise also noted a few girls from other guild branches giggling and winking at him, but he payed them no mind.

"I think you have some more fangirls." She told him, pointing them out. He groaned under his breath.

"Great. The last thing I need are girls I don't know hitting on me."

"I figured you'd like that, as a guy."

"You really don't know me at all, do you? Fangirls don't care who I am as a person, only what I'm capable of."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

"Rocky, for defeating Derek." Elise didn't know who this Derek was, but apparently he'd been no match for the earthen wizard. Rocky, however, seemed rather observant of the faces around him as well. Probably seeing if Nashi made it so he could fight her later on. "Elise Redfox, for taking the safe route."

"Yay me." Elise say nonchalantly, earning a few laughs. "I did so good, look at me." After a few more names, Laxus stopped naming people.

"Asuka, for defeating Ultear." Elise smiled as the gun mage laughed, defeating Ul was no easy task.

"Good for her." Drake said.

"Alright, now that that's..." Just as he began to speak, something kicked rocks in one of the tunnels. Everyone turned back to the rock face to find none other than Nashi walked out of the tunnel, and Laxus choked.

"Hey," She greeted Drake and Elise, ignoring everyone else. "Did I miss something?"

"Except for the looks everyone is giving you, not much." Elise replied, watching as Nashi took notice of the staring, which made her blush and wave awkwardly.

"Uh..." Laxus managed. "And, uh...Nashi Dragneel, for defeating Natsu..." Elise nearly fell over, Drake choked and began to cough. Everyone else started to whisper something fierce, all while Nashi just stood there with a airheaded smile on her face.

"Just how strong is she?"

"She beat her Dad? Mavis..."

"She's kind of cute, you know, for a monstrously powerful wizard..."

"A-Anyways," Laxus said, clearing his throat, "Now that we have everyone here, let me explain the next leg of the exam." Elise watched him do a head count of everyone there, nodding to himself. "Alright, out of the twenty people who could be here, fourteen people made it. That makes seven teams of two.

...

"What?" Elise asked, voicing everyone's confusion. "You said we were doing this without a partner."

"I did." Laxus replied. "I said you didn't pick a partner." Elise didn't like the dirty word play her Master had used, as he had obviously partnered them all off for whatever was next. "The next exam will see how well you work together with another wizard. The test is simple. On the opposite side of the island is a finish line, and only three teams can get past it for the next exam."

"So basically six people." Nashi pointed out, and Laxus nodded. "Why do it in teams then? Just do it with six people."

"To see how well you work with others." Laxus replied. "Just because you can all handle yourselves doesn't mean you can do it with someone else." Now Elise just hoped she'd get paired up with someone she knew, she didn't want to field questions from someone who didn't know her at all. "After all, not everyone is a team player."

"I can see the logic, I guess." Drake drove his elbows into both the girls on either side of him. "Let's just hope we get paired off together."

"Don't get your hopes up Drake." Nashi replied. "Gramps knows we work well together, why would he pair us off?"

"Damn it, good point." Drake swore, sounding upset. Elise chuckled.

"No hard feelings if Nashi and I thrash you." She said, earning a chuckle. Laxus began to pair people off, usually the other branches among themselves.

"Drake and Asuka." Laxus said, and Drake sighed in relief.

"Nice," he commented as the gun mage made her way over."

"Good thing I got stuck with you, huh?" Asuka asked gently, smiling at Drake who nodded.

"Better you than someone I don't know." he agreed, highfiving her.

"Elise and Sammy."

"...Fuck." Elise slammed her head into the tree next to them in frustration at that announcement. She really didn't like Sammy, they're personalities clashed way to badly. Where she liked to rush in and attack, he preferred to hang back and wait. This was going to be a long exam.

"Wait a minute..." Nashi said, her face growing pale. "Uh oh."

"What?" Asuka asked.

"I think I'm stuck with..."

"Rocky and Nashi."

* * *

"I hate you."

"No, I hate you." Both of them glared at each other angrily, trying to kill each other with stares. Nashi tried her hardest to seem deadly with her eyes, but Rocky didn't back down. They were currently sitting together on a log, a map of the route to the finish line in Rocky's hand. They were supposed to be thinking of the fastest way there, but neither of them could move past their hatred, not even for a moment.

"I hope you realize," Rocky pointed out. The exams are over for the two of us."

"How so?" Nashi asked.

"Because this exam requires teamwork." he replied. "that is not a trait we both posses in each others presence, sadly. So..."

"I still hate you." This caused another glaring session, both absolutely livid. They'd already spent a good ten minutes trying to convince Laxus it was a bad idea, but he didn't budge. They were stuck with each other.

"Alright everyone, times up." Laxus shouted. "Good luck, you'll need it." With that, he disappeared in a bolt of lightning and the booming of thunder, leaving the fourteen contestants to leave. Nashi stretched and began to walk in the direction she felt like, and Rocky growled.

"Where the hell are you going?" he demanded. "We'e going this way."

"I don't want to." Nashi replied flatly. "I want to go this way."

"It's the wrong way, Dragneel."

"No it isn't."

"Yeah, it is."

"Fuck off Rocky, I don't need you."

"You want to get any farther in these exams, you sort of do." Both glared at each other for a moment as the other contestants wandered off in various directions, obviously looking for the right route. "Plus, this place is kind of dangerous to do alone."

"Aw, are you worried for my safety, Rocky?" Nashi teased, "That's so cute, really." He growled as he walked up to her.

"Listen Dragneel, I know we aren't friends. As a matter of fact, I despise you." Nashi crossed her arms angrily as Rocky insulted her. "Your ugly, your difficult, your insane, your moody, Mavis knows what goes on in that head of yours." He shrugged. "Fact of the matter is, we have to work together. I don't want to, you don't want t, but we don't have a choice."

"It's rare for anything sensible to come out of your mouth, Rocky." Nashi pointed out. "I'm sort of impressed your head isn't filled with what your named after." He didn't reply to her insult, but she shrugged. "Besides, your right. Even if we can't get long, we will have to work this out somehow."

"I'll never thank you again, but thank you." Nashi nodded and continued to walk away. "Did you actually even hear a word said, Dragneel?!"

"I heard you, but we're going this way." Nashi replied, giving him an innocent, yet snarky look. "Problem?" He muttered something, presumably an insult, under his breath and shrugged indifferently, walking a fair distance behind her. For a moment for two it was silent, and almost not that bad.

"It's not the right way." he informed her.

"If it means you lose, all the better."

"I lose, so do you. We're a team right now, remember? Or are you too caught up in being a bitch?" Nashi did her best to prevent the literal explosion she felt on the way, trying to block Rocky's words out. "Because quite honestly, I don't know how your friends can stand you if you're like this all the time."

"Same goes to you, fuckhead." Nashi quipped. "I don't know how anyone stands you."

"I'll have you know that away from you I'm a likable individual. It's just you I enjoy being an asshole to."

"Of course, how could I not have guessed that?" Nashi shrugged. "How could I possibly not see the single rudest, idiotic, retarded looking, moronic person in my life as a good person?"

"Listen up, Dragneel..."

"You can talk all you want, but I'm not listening in the slightest."

* * *

Laxus sighed as he and the others watched the broadcast from base camp. The people here consisted of those who were put out to stop others, like Simon, Ultear, and Natsu, and those who had already lost.

"Why did you pair those two together?" Simon demanded, irritation quite apparent. "They can't stand each other whatsoever."

"That's the point." Laxus replied. "The test was all about trusting whoever you got stuck with, which is why I didn't let them pick whoever they wanted. Putting Nashi and Rocky together and seeing them past this round will prove they can work together with anyone."

"But this is beyond petty hatred." Ultear tried. "They genuinely would not care if the other was killed brutally right in front of them. I'd wager Rocky would actually like it too turn out that way."

"Again, all the more reason why pairing them up made sense, don't you think?" Laxus asked. "If they really want to be S-Class, they have to prove they are agreeable, and can get along with those around them even in the worst of situations."

"Coming from you." Natsu said with a snicker, which made Laxus falter. "You were the biggest douchebag on the planet before Gramps threw you out of the guild, remember?"

"Don't remind me." Laxus hissed. He knew it was true that he had been rather unlike what he was looking for in this test, but hell, he'd been a completely different person back then. So had Natsu, believe it or not. "Besides, we all got over our initial distrust of Gajeel, so why can't this be any different, just short term?"

"Fair enough." Natsu replied, leaning back in his chair. "But if that guy does anything to her I don't like, I'm going out there and I'm going to kill him." Laxus chuckled at the overprotective look on Natsu's face. Turning back to the screen showed Laxus a shot of Nashi and Rocky rolling around in the dirt, yelling at and punching each other. He face palmed as others laughed.

Maybe it was a mistake.

**So Nashi and Rocky get stuck together, that sucks.**

**Anyway I though of something. Seeing as the asking questions thing sort of went downhill, how about I ask you guys questions? You can just leave your answer in a review or PM, it doesn't matter which. So, we'll start off easy!**

**Who's your favorite character in this story?**

**And I don't mean people like Natsu or Erza, who already existed. I mean the characters I made, like Nashi or Damien.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Seeing as we've always hit it lately, let's try and get ten!**


	110. Dead Area

**Unsurprisingly****, Nashi and Drake seem to be everyone's favorites. No surprise there, seeing as you all ship them religiously. Elise got a few, Simon got one.**

**Oh, and I'm writing so much to vent my feels from the newest episode of Plastic Memories, don't judge me. That show is going to destroy me on the inside, I can't do this. If you haven't seen it and don't mind watching subs, episodes come out on Saturdays.**

**I'll stop now, enjoy!**

Drake couldn't take his mind of Nashi. All he could think about was what he would do to Rocky if he laid a finger on her, and to top it all off, Asuka was trying to talk to him.

"Drake, did you hear me?" Drake didn't even acknowledge she'd stopped walking, and walked right past her as he thought. "Hey, Drake!" Drake stopped as she put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to her.

"Yeah?" he asked, trying not to sound irritated. The look she gave him made him realize he'd failed.

"What's up with you?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. "You've been ignoring me for half an hour." Drake looked back down, now feeling even worse.

"I'm sorry." He replied. "I was thinking about something else."

"What?" Asuka asked innocently. Drake shook his head and looked away.

"Nothing." He said all too quickly, not doing anything to quell her curiosity.

"Come on, don't give me that." She complained, pulling at his sleeve. "Tell me." Drake sighed at her childish, which reminded him this girl was seven years older than him.

"Fine," He said, pocketing his hands. "I was thinking about Nashi." He didn't get a response at first, and when he looked up, Asuka was stifling a laugh. "What the hell are you laughing for?!"

"Nothing." She replied, looking away. "I just..._*snicker*..._I just think it's adorable you're thinking about her." Drake didn't understand what she was talking about until he re-thought his own sentence and realized what he'd actually said.

"I didn't mean like that, you airhead." he growled. "I meant I don't like her with Rocky."

"Of course you don't." Asuka replied with a smirk. "You'd prefer she be with you."

"Exactly." Drake replied before thinking, realizing what she'd said. "Damn it Asuka, I'm not in love with her!"

"Your defensiveness begs to differ." She replied, causing a temple to pop on Drake's forehead. "But if you aren't why are you so worried?"

"Surely you know her past with Rocky." Drake replied, and Asuka shook her head. "Wow, seriously? Here I thought you were a good babysitter." Drake knew he's jabbed at Asuka's pride, but she deserved for teasing him about worrying for Nashi.

"I was a good babysitter, but I wasn't always around you know." Asuka informed him, a hand on her hip. "Besides, Rocky was never around when I was."

"Yeah, because he knew if you found him doing the shit he did you'd tell on him." It sounded like such a trivial threat to Drake now, but being told on when you were little was like hitting a brick wall. "That's why I'm uncomfortable about it."

"What did he do?" Asuka asked, making Drake growl.

"Never mind that, telling you would only make me angrier." He turned and began to walk away. "besides, we have a race to win."

"Alright, I'll give up." Asuka said, running to catch up with him. "...For now."

"...You're going to keep pestering me about this, aren't you?" Drake asked as he slid down a small hill, Asuka following him.

"You know it." She replied with a laugh. "Besides, even if Rocky's done horrible things to her, it's no reason to worry. She's a big girl, after all." Drake knew that, Nashi was more than capable of dealing with it herself. He was too used to be be the one to protect her from it all. Even during Phantom Dove he'd felt the need to do so, even though he'd been able to do nothing about there situation.

"I know." Drake replied. "That doesn't help, though."

* * *

"So, uh, how have you been Elise?"

"Fuck off, Sammy." This was how the majority of their conversations went as they walked, and Elise had no qualms with that. However, this was because Elise hated her partner. She, as she hated to remember, had once been someone who bullied Nashi over her inability. She hated that person with a vengeance, and being around people like Rocky or Sammy only made her feel worse becuase she had usually been in their company when she'd been doing it. However Sammy didn't seem to realize this, and kept trying to strike up a conversation with her. He sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry I'm not your boyfriend Drake, but..." Elise burst out into laughter at these words, ones that confused him thoroughly. "Why are you laughing?"

"Me?!" She asked, pointing at herself to clarify. "And Cyanide Breath?! You're fucking kidding me right?!"

"No, I heard it was true." he replied, clarifying it as a rumor, which only made Elise laugh harder. "It isn't?"

"Do I look like Nashi?" Elise demanded, earning a shake of his head. "Then no, I'm not."

"They're dating?"

"No, but Drake wouldn't pick me over her, let's be realistic for a second here." Sammy nodded and they became silent before Elise got curious. "Who told you we were a thing?"

"Well, nobody really said you were together, but there was a rumor you'd showered together or something." These words caused Elise to get a splitting headache, and she groaned. "What's wrong?"

"You gave me a headache with your idiocy, that's what." She hissed, her temples throbbing. She'd been getting these weird headaches occasionally, but Wendy had confirmed it was nothing more than a headache. But, from what exactly? "Where the fuck did you hear that from?" Her accusation made Sammy's eyes widen, as if he'd tread on ground he shouldn't have.

"I-It's nothing, let's talk about something else." He excused quickly, refusing to meet Elise's eyes. What was that? At one point he'd been extremely curious, and then the next scared and completely uninterested.

"Fine, what?" She asked, feeling the pain in her head die away considerably. Sammy shrugged, his blonde hair falling over his eyes.

"How about when you and Nashi became friends again?" he asked, making her growl.

"You just had to go there, didn't you?" She asked angrily, and he shrugged again.

"Like before, just curious." He replied. "One day you did what Rocky and I did, the next you were her BFF." Elise thought over a response that wasn't kicking his ass for saying that.

"I'm not like you two, that's why." She replied. "When she exploded at her Dad that day he came back, I felt bad. As oppose to you and your boyfriend, apparently." Everyone she was friends with took jabs at Sammy and Rocky's sexuality, just because they got so offended about it.

"He's not..." he sighed. "I'm not even going to say it, you already know."

"Yeah, whatever. How about we not talk anymore?"

"...Fair enough."

* * *

He'd seen it firsthand. Sammy had been told, as with everyone else, that Elise's memory of the Phantom Dove incident had been overwritten and replaced with her being sick. Mest had said himself that if anything that was overwritten was brought up she'd experience a killer headache, but he'd never seen it happen. It just had. Of course the 'showering with each other' meant something totally different now, that memory had been taken away from her.

Mest hadn't specified if it was possible for her to remember anything from these headaches, but he had said she could be in so much pain from the experience she could black out from it. She seemed fine now, but Sammy didn't want anything to happen to her while he was with her.

_Just what was so bad it had to be erased, though...?_

* * *

"This is why I hate you, Dragneel!"

"Fuck off, this is anyone's fault but mine!" Nashi and Rocky, in there haste to hate each other and start a fight, had rolled down a huge cliff and gotten area wasn't on the map anywhere, and Rocky had already expressed his discontent more than once with a string of colorful insults directed at her.

"You got us lost because you can't listen to me! This is why I think you're a bitch!" Nashi had no problem kicking him in the manhood, and she hoped he realized that as she prepared her right leg.

"Maybe if you stopped egging me on until I fucking explode this wouldn't happen!" Nashi shouted back, getting in his face. He growled.

"You see? This is the problem." He said, more calm than before. "All you do is yell at me more speaking the truth and when I go off on you for it, it's somehow my fault." He pushed her away from him, presumably to stop himself before he attacked her with more force than a push. "You just can't admit you're wrong!"

"I'm not saying I'm not wrong! the only reason we got lost is because you had to keep pushing and pushing! Somehow because I had enough of you insulting me and saying I have no idea what I'm doing, it's my fault?!" Rocky rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation at her words.

"We'll agree to disagree, then. At this rate we'll be stuck here for days." Nashi rolled her eyes but didn't argue, knowing full well it might just result in another pointless fight. Rocky began to walk away. "Now, can we go this way, or does thy princess have a better idea?"

"Fine, lead the way." Nashi followed behind him quietly, allowing him to take any turns he so wished. Quite honestly she didn't really care what happened anymore, anyway. Her sole drive in these exams was to beat Rocky, but she was stuck with him instead, which defeated the purpose. If her antics prevented him from winning though, she could live with that. Besides, she'd already proved a huge point by 'defeating' her father, so she really didn't care. Rocky lid down a small hill and Nashi jumped down after him, watching him survey the area. Doing so as well didn't provide Nashi with anything useful, just seeing animals watching them. Keeping her eyes glued to the ground, Nashi followed him until he made an abrupt stop, which made her bump into him. "Why did you stop?" She asked.

"What the hell?" Rocky asked. Nashi looked past him to what he was looking at, and saw the problem. The entire area in front of them was dead and gray. It was as if a disease had passed through only this one area. Trees, plants, grass, animals, all of it was dead.

Nashi didn't know what propelled her to walk past Rocky, much to his indignation, and right into the center of the dead area. Despite the eerie feel the area gave off, Nashi felt at peace once she reached the center, as if it was calming the feeling she'd experienced while fighting her father.

"Dragneel, you're starting to creep me out." Nashi knelt down and ran the dead grass through her fingers, pondering what exactly had happened her to make it like this. "Dragneel, oi! Can you even hear me?!" Nashi could but she ignored him, not to piss him off. Nashi felt like this area was special but she had no idea why, only that the center of this dead place made her feel safe.

"...What happened here?" She finally asked, standing up again.

"I don't know, but you're really creeping me out." Looking at him did confirm he looked genuinely spooked, but she didn't know why. She was only standing here, was she not?

"Why?" She asked, confused.

"I don't know, but it doesn't feel right." he said, backing up a bit. "Now, can we please get out of here before you grow horns and extra arms and start to kill me?" Nashi allowed a chuckle to pass her lips at his words, following him out of the dead area. However, something occurred to her.

She felt angrier and more on edge the farther away she got.

**So what was that huh? I'm sure you guys can figure it out.**

**Anyway, today's question is: Who is your favorite villain?**

**People like Apocalypse, Kronos, etc.**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	111. Wildlife Issues

**So it seems you guys liked Apocalypse, Katsuchi, and Tetsu the most. Not surprising though.**

**Enjoy!**

"Is it gone yet?" Drake slowly looked over the log he and Asuka were hiding behind to observe the problem.

"No." He hissed, slowly falling back down. "It's still wandering around. I told you not to shoot at it."

"You told me that after I shot it!" Asuka cried, "I can't be held accountable for that."

"Why not?" Drake demanded. "You should have known better than to see a huge monster and thing, 'Oh! Let me fire a bunch of rounds at it to see if that pisses it off!" Asuka huffed at Drake's terrible impersonation, looking much like a small child.

"Alright, I get it." She said quietly. "Blame me and we can move on."

"Already did." He replied, enhancing his hearing. "Okay, I think it's on it's way off. Now, can we proceed like adults or do you want to fire at it again?"

"Shut up, Mavis." Asuka hopped down from the ledge they'd been positioned on and Drake followed suit, staying quiet to prevent aggravating her any more. He sometimes had a problem with being to cynical in bad situations, but he couldn't help it. Like humor, it was often his defense mechanism. Cynicism and humor. It was a wonder Drake had any friends at all, honestly.

"So, which way do we go?" He asked, breaking the silence. Asuka's bare shoulders shrugged.

"I don't know." She replied. "You're the one with the killers ears and nose, you tell me."

"Can't." He replied. "Too many weird smells blocking up my sense of smell, and my ears would only pick up all the wildlife."

"What are you Dragon Slayers good for, then?" She asked in a teasing manner.

"Killing Dragons." He replied. "So our claim to fame is killing huge, extinct flying reptiles."

"Sounds pretty shitty to me, honestly." Asuka said.

"Except everyone knows your name." Drake replied, knowing he sounded arrogant. "Only real problem is the fangirls."

"You don't like them?" Asuka asked.

"No." Drake replied, trying to keep his mind off of a certain purple haired girl he'd met a while back. "All they do is cling to me and tell me how awesome I am."

"Again," Asuka said, stopping for a moment as she looked around the area. "Thought a guy like you'd appreciate that kind of thing."

"Mavis, how lowly do you think of me?" Drake demanded, making Asuka giggle. "Besides, I hear how awesome I am all the time, I don't need to hear it from some airheaded girl."

"Yeah, your mom must tell you a lot." Asuka said, sticking her tongue out at him. He chuckled.

"Yeah, my mom does tell me I'm awesome." Drake grew a little serious. "Then again, she can turn into a fifteen foot flying snake." Drake snickered as Asuka shivered. He knew she hated snakes.

"Don't say that." She hissed.

"Sorry." Drake grew silent again as they walked, keeping branches out of his face as they did.

"So," Asuka said. "I hear you and the others...Got into some trouble lately." Drake raised an eyebrow at the back of her head as she looked over her shoulder to look at him. "Something about a dark guild?"

"Oh." Drake replied, thinking back to the incident. "Yeah, we did."

"I hear you fared well."

"Of course we won." Drake said, allowing his pride to seep into his tone. "We're Fairy Tail."

"You're impossible sometimes, you know that?"

"So I'm told."

* * *

"I think we should wait it out." Elise rolled her eyes at the asinine comment in her ear.

"We do that, we've wasted even more time." She told Sammy, making him pale. "Besides, it's only a few wolves for Mavis' sake. We can take 'em."

"You can," He said, backing up a little bit. "I'm not good in combat unless it's against another mage." Elise sighed at the terrified look on his face.

"Are you seriously terrified of a few dogs?" She demanded irritably, and Sammy glared at her.

"No, I'm afraid of that pack of wolves." He hissed. "It's different." Elise rolled her eyes and walked out from their bush hiding spot, drawing the attention of the pack. She showed no fear as she walked up to them, keeping eye contact with the one closest to her. She got right up to them and knelt down on eye level, observing the four legged creature. After a moment, the growling died. Elise smiled and patted the wolf on the head a few times, before he and the others in his pack walked away.

"See?" She called back to Sammy. "Easy."

"H-How did you...?"

"It was their territory." Elise replied. "They were trying to scare me off and it didn't work. I earned their respect."

"R-Respect?!" Elise turned to find Sammy walking up to her, furious. "They don't know the meaning of the word respect! They're just animals! Don't you know how utterly stupid you just sounded?!"

"Coming from the guy afraid of a few dogs." Elise shot back, putting her nose in the air. It didn't have much of an effect seeing as Sammy was slightly taller than her, but she didn't care. She could take him any day, but sadly that day wasn't that day.

"Ugh! You don't get it!"

"You're right, elaborate for me."

"The wolves don't respect you! if anything, the'yr afraid of you! They're just stupid animals who..."

_*Growl*_

Both turned to find the Alpha of the pack standing near the bushes, growling at Sammy, his eyes not leaving the blonde's. Elise smiled.

"Go on, get out of here." She told him, and he began to walk away. Sammy just stood there, awe struck. "Are you going to stand there all day, or can we get moving?"

"...Lead the way, wolf queen." Ignoring what was obviously an insult, Elise continued walking in the direction they had been heading in before Sammy pissed himself at a few wolves. Come to think of it, Sammy was a little bit of a wuss. All he did was complain and complain. Elise could fight dragon mechs or men with the power to slay the Gods above, and her partner for this exam pissed himself at the sight of a few dogs.

"Why did you even accept the nomination for this, anyway?" She asked, the curiosity kill her on the inside. "All you've done is complain and complain about whatever suits your fancy at that moment."

"Just because I get scared like a normal human being doesn't mean I'm useless." He countered, sounding a little miffed. "Not all of us can take anything head on and keep on trekking, Elise."

"Still," She countered his counter, "I can't imagine someone like you on an S-Class job, where death could b all around you. Or are you going to let Rocky carry you to victory?"

"Even if I ever went on an S-Class job, I'd probably fail it anyway." he then chuckled a little bit. "Besides, there's no way in hell I'm going to be able to pass these exams as long as you, Nashi and Drake are in them at any stage. You three are arguably the strongest of the new generation."

"You're discounting people like Damien and Simon." She pointed out. "I can't take Damien in a fight."

"No?" Sammy asked. "Why? Xisplate?"

"No, because Damien rarely shows his full power. Simon too. Push either of them hard enough, and they're bound to pull something out of somewhere." Sammy shrugged at these words and she narrowed her gaze. "What?"

"Nothing." he replied, eyes full of what he wanted to say but didn't have the balls too. "They're already S-Class, and we're not. What I'm getting at it is people like me don't stand a chance with people like you in the running."

Elise didn't like how he seemed to be holding back saying something to her, probably for fear of getting a swift kick to his non-existent man parts. Then again, she knew he was always a bit smarter than she gave credit for.

* * *

"YOU INSUFFERABLE PIG!"

"YOU STUBBORN BITCH!"

_ROAR!_

_"_YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" Columns of earth and fire slammed into the gigantic creature, sending it flying across the island and presumably somewhere where it could stay and retell the legend of the hotheaded pinkette and the furious tan skinned man fighting.

"MAYBE IF YOU TOOK THE TIME TO LISTEN TO ME YOU'D REALIZE I KNOW WHERE TO GO!" Rocky shouted, spitting venom more deadly than Drake's in Nashi's face as they argued.

"MAYBE IF YOU STOPPED BEING SUCH A SHIT HEAD YOU'D REALIZE I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!" Both backed off momentarily and took a few deep breaths, stopping themselves before they lost their voices. Nashi didn't see that as a very bad option at this point, actually.

"Just..." Rocky's voice broke her from her thoughts. "can we just follow...The fucking map?"

"Take a minute to smell, Rocky. You smell that?" Rocky sniffed in a few times.

"Ocean?" he asked. "So? We're surrounded by water Dragneel."

"Could you smell it before?" Nashi asked, watching the realization kick in on Rocky's face. "See? I told you I knew what I was doing."

"Just because you went out of your way to piss me off and find a completely different path by shear luck doesn't mean a fucking thing." Rocky nearly shouted in response. "Seriously, what kind of backwards thinking is that?"

"It isn't backwards, I just followed my nose." She replied innocently, covering up for the fact that the many new smells on the island had actually rendered that useless until recently. "Besides, how are you to complain? I got us here, didn't I?"

"That isn't the point." Rocky hissed. "We were supposed to work together to do this, and you threw me under the bus and did it all by yourself."

"And?" She asked. "You said it yourself, the two of us cannot work together, it isn't something we can do. Besides, we'll probably be one of the first three to get there anyway, what does it matter?"

"You know what? Whatever." His sudden lack of caring irritated Nashi a little bit. "Do whatever you like, just let me keep up." Nashi nodded and began to walk away, Rocky following a little bit behind. She could see an opening just ahead, and in turn she assumed that would lead her right to the beach that Laxus had told them about. It was still irritating her he didn't care anymore. Was it his irritation that drove her to keep acting against him? That seemed like her, especially if it came with her and Rocky.

"See?" She demanded, stepping near the edge of the cliff and pointing out at the ocean. "I told you I knew where I was...Kyaaahhh!" The footing underneath Nashi gave out and she fell straight down, right towards a thicket of trees. Just before she made contact, the rocks from the cliff began to float back upwards, taking her with them. Once she made it back up, flat on her ass, Rocky stood there with his hands in his pockets, watching her with a look of snarky indifference.

"Knew where you were going huh?" he asked, tone laced with venomous sarcasm.

"Uh..."

"Watch where you're going next time, Dragneel. I'd hate to be the one to haul your corpse home."

"...Thanks, I think..."

**Basically nothing happened today, but sometime you got to have those days, right?**

**Anyways, yesterday's question got me thinking. Seeing as the most popular villains were Apocalypse, Katsuchi and Tetsu, here is today's question:**

**If it were Apocalypse vs. Katsuchi and Tetsu, who would win and why? Leave your answers in a review!**

**Also, I hate to be this guy, but I start my final exams next week, which means I'll need to get off Fanfiction and study. So, sorry if no or little updates come next week.**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	112. Riddles

**It seems you guys couldn't decide if Apocalypse or Katsuchi and Tetsu would win, the votes were pretty even. Personally, I'd have to go with Apocalypse. Not because I don't like Kat and Tetsu or anything, but because Apocalypse just has a huge advantage with rapture.**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi was surprised they were the first ones there, honestly. She could see the finish line right in front of them, and no one else was there yet.

"Well, great job Dragneel." Rocky commented, throwing himself in the sand. "We're first."

"You're welcome." Nashi replied, ignoring the rude tone he used. "And, thanks again for saving me from falling off the cliff."

"Well, it wouldn't look good if my partner for the exam ended up dead, you know what I mean?" Nashi rolled her eyes and muttered a string of insults under her breath, not caring whether or not he heard her or not. At this point, she didn't care if Rocky came after her. Maybe it'd let her get rid of some of her pent up frustration. Literally anyone else would have been a better pair for her, but Laxus puts with him. She'd have to have a talk with her master at some point about that. Even if it was for the sake of the exam, she hated it.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Nashi asked suddenly.

"No."

"I'm going to anyway." They met each others gaze for a moment, before Rocky sighed in defeat.

"Fine, but don't expect an honest answer."

"Why do you hate me again?" Rocky choked and sat bolt right up, glaring at her.

"What?" He asked in a low tone. Nashi didn't back down.

"I said why do you hate me so much." she repeated, meeting his intense glare with her own. After a few moments of dead silence, Rocky grumbled and laid back down.

"None of your business." He said, making Nashi even more irritated than before.

"It is, you hate me. I want to know why."

"No real reason." Rocky replied indifferently, his eyes closed. "Your face, voice, attitude, it's a whole collection of things."

"Then I suppose we do have some things on common." Nashi said, making Rocky open an eye to look at her.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" He demanded.

"We hate the same things about each other." Rocky began to get up and walk towards her, but Nashi held her ground.

"You want to have a go, Dragneel?" He demanded. Fire licked around Nashi's temples.

"Why not? We do have some time to kill." She stood and they got within a few inches of each other, fire and earth creating an incredible tensity.

"I've wanted to crush that face of yours since the first time I saw it." He hissed, seething with anger.

"I've wanted to burn your face so bad since I saw it that it'd look like charcoal." Nashi hissed back, the magical intensity increasing. Rocky chuckled darkly.

"I don't care if this disqualifies us." he told her. "I'm going to kill you."

"Same." Both were about to rear back and attack, before Nashi's hearing picked up voices. She turned to look down the beach, and paled. Rocky did the same, and a surprised sound came from his throat. Right down there beach were the remainder of the candidates, running at top speed towards the finish line. They were all bunched up and yelling insults at each other. After a moment or two, Nashi saw an explosion of poison and iron from somewhere in the middle. After everyone else had been blown out of the way, Elise, Sammy, Drake and Asuka emerged. Elise was pulling Sammy by the arm and the rest of his body flailed behind them uselessly.

"Suck it, Cyanide Breath!" She heard Elise shout, getting angry at Drake.

"Up yours, Iron Face!" Drake replied, his fist becoming poisonous and taking a swipe at Elise, who used Sammy as a meat shield.

"Ow!" Sammy shouted, rubbing the area Drake had made contact with. "That hurt, Drake!"

"Don't be such a wimp, Sammy!" Elise shouted angrily. "He doesn't hit that hard!"

"Want to bet, Elise?!" Both slayers stopped and growled at each other, Sammy and Asuka trying to calm them down.

"Drake, she's not worth it." Asuka tried.

"He's trying to make you angry, Elise." Sammy said quietly. Just as the other candidates got close to the debate, Elise and Drake roared at them, sending them flying backwards again.

"We'll settle this later." Elise told him.

"I'll be waiting at the end." Drake replied, grabbing Asuka's wrist and pulling her ahead, coming in second with Elise and Sammy not to far behind.

"You guys get way to competitive." Nashi informed her friends, who were still shooting dagger at each other. She gave them both a weird look as they stared at her in bewilderment. "What?"

"How the hell did you beat us here?" They asked at the same time.

"Uh..." Nashi tried. "Shortcut?"

"So you cheated." Drake replied, crossing his arms. "Okay, seems legit."

"Oh shut it." Elise replied. "You're just mad you lost to her and Rocky."

"Maybe so, but at least I didn't get paired with Sammy." Elise backed up a bit from the insult.

"Drake!" She shouted, and Nashi found in surprising she was going to defend Sammy. "That was a low blow! Not all of us can get useful teammates!"

Never mind.

Nashi watched uselessly as the two bickered, the other teams who wouldn't get to keep going finally crossing the finish line, muttering about 'main branch favoritism' or something along those lines. Nashi did find it kind of funny only people from the main branch of the guild were going on, but she had to admit her branch was no joke.

"And with that, we have our six finalists." Everyone stopped arguing and turned to find Laxus approaching them, arms crossed.

"That's great Master." Rocky said. "Please tell me we aren't in teams for this next exam."

"And why not?" Laxus asked, a smug grin on his face. "You and Nashi got here first, why would you not want to be her partner again?" Rocky kept his mouth shut to prevent saying something he'd regret, which Nashi had to admit was the smartest thing he'd done all day. "Besides, you are in the same teams for this next one anyway."

"Damn it." Nashi muttered under her breath. Laxus cleared his throat.

"Now then, the next event is a test of wits." he informed them. "Scattered across the island are pieces of a puzzle you can only attain through answering riddles. One you have another piece, it will lead you to the next one, five in total. Once you have those five, it will lead you to the final destination for this event."

"Okay, easy enough." Elise said. "What's the catch?"

"Only three of you can pass this test." the nine looked among themselves, trying to decipher who would be the ones to make it. "Question is, who will lay down their place in the finalists for their partner? Will a team make it? Only you can find out."

"Alright, what the hell is our first clue?" Drake asked. Laxus threw three pieces of paper, one for each team, out to them. Nashi caught theirs and looked down at it.

"_The first piece is at which where it all began." _Nashi raised an eyebrow at the paper. "What the hell does this mean?"

"Figure it out." Laxus replied. "Oh, and by the way, a thunderstorm is on it's way. Thought I'd mention that." And with this, he disappeared in another thunder clap, leaving the teams to figure it out.

* * *

"I told you already, I don't know!" Nashi ignored Rocky's complaints as she sat on the beach, trying to decipher the riddle. No one else had left yet either, walking around and trying to come up with something.

"Alright, Alright, let's start at the beginning." Nashi said slowly. "Tenrou is our guilds holy land, correct?"

"Correct." Nashi ignored Elise and Sammy running away. She wanted to figure this out on her own.

"And Mavis lived here, correct?"

"Correctimundo." Nashi nodded as she thought, Drake and Asuka running away as well.

"And she founded the guild..." Nashi rubbed her temples as she thought, trying to come up with something.

"Look Dragneel, let's just follow everyone else. They know where it..."

"That's it!" Nashi shouted, jumping to her feet. "I got it!"

"...What?" Nashi ignored him and dragged him by the arm into the forest before he kept pace with her running. "Oi, Dragneel! Explain to me what the hell is happening!"

"Mavis lived on this island!" She shouted, dodging a tree in their path. "That means that the guild started here!"

"And?!"

"The old village!" Nashi shouted earning an eye roll from Rocky. "You know, the one where Mavis' old guild was?"

"I don't know the story, Dragneel." Stopping momentarily to wonder where to go, Nashi took off again.

"Mavis used to belong to an old guild here, called Red Lizard! When it was attacked, Mavis stayed here! The village the guild was at it where it all began! Understand now?"

"...I got to hand it to you Dragneel." Nashi looked over at Rocky to find his face actually looking soft and almost grateful. "I never would have figured that out. Good job." Nashi wished that his praise didn't feel so good, she ignored it.

"Never mind that, pick up the pace! We can't let the others beat us!"

"Slow the hell down then!"

* * *

Elise would've been a lost dog without Sammy for this. She was terrible with riddles, but Sammy had figured out the location of the first piece easily enough. Blah blah blah, Mavis, blah blah, Red Lizard, blah blah village. Afterwards, with Elise's superior sense, they found their way there, at the top of a million and a half steps.

"Come on, man!" Elise shouted to Sammy, who'd collapsed near the middle of the stairs. "Get up here! the others are on their way!"

"I..." he managed. "I-I can't...I'm not...as athletic...as you..." Elise groaned and jogged back down, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him up with her.

"Come in, idiot!" She shouted, showing him the village. "Where's our clue?"

"Uh..." Sammy took a few deep breaths and pointed in the general direction of a huge building. "I think the restored guild hall is that way."

"Good!" Elise took off towards said building, taking as many twists and turns as she could count. After a moment, and waiting for Sammy to find her, they stood in front of the old Red Lizard guild hall. It had obviously been restored, the story had it being destroyed.

"Look!" Right there, on the steps of the hall, where three slips of paper. Elise ran and picked one up, staring at it.

"_Your next clue resides where the Dragons defeated the Gods." _Elise stared at the paper in confusion. "What?"

"Dragons and Gods?" Sammy demanded. "What the hell?" Elise was about to ask a question when her sense told her to duck.

"Sammy! Negation Wall!" Sammy reacted as he was told and shot one up, just in time to negate a poison ball and gun shots.

"Damn it!" Drake voice came as he and Asuka appeared. "I was sure I had you guys!"

"Too late, I guess." Asuka agreed, grabbing another of the clues and reading it. Elise was happy to see a lack of reaction on the girls face. "Dragons? Gods? I have no idea."

"Damn." Drake said, grabbing the clue from her. "Let me see."

"Damn it Dragneel! We're last here!"

"Shut up, Rocky! You wouldn't be here without my help!" Elise saw both the last contestants reach them, and pick up their clue.

"Good luck." She told Nashi. "We have no idea."

"Dragons...Gods..." Nashi whispered to herself, her eyes widening as she snapped her fingers. She whispered something to Rocky, and his eyes went wide as well. With that, the least likely duo to win took off, leaving everyone else in the dust. Elise saw Drake's ears twitch, and he face palmed.

"Of course!" he shouted, grabbing Asuka and taking off. "It makes so much sense!"

"Damn it Sammy, let's go!" Elise growled, grabbing Sammy and pulling him off his ass. "Let's follow them!"

"But..."

"Shut up and run, you pansy!"

**So where does the second clue reside? Do you guys know? Anyways, today your question is:**

**Which villain did you despise thoroughly?**

**Just so we're clear, I mean in my story and ones I thought up, not actual ones.**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	113. Where the Rain Stood Still

**With today's chapter, I have no doubt we will hit 800 reviews. It's incredible to see, really, especially on an OC story.**

**Also, after looking at my notes, I really want to get through this arc. The one shots, followed by the End of the World arc...hhhhnnnnnggggg!**

**Also, since I'm a huge gamer, Fallout 4 and Dishonored 2. SO MUCH HYPE. Okay, I'm done.**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi knew the others were right on her heels, she could hear them. The second clue had been so obvious it was crazy. Dragons, her father. Gods, that crazy guy from Grimoire Heart. It clicked in her head almost immediately. She should've known Drake would be listening, but there was no way to prevent that. Taking another wide right in an attempt to lose at least Elise and Sammy, Rocky growled behind her.

"This is getting us nowhere." he hissed, stopping.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nashi shouted, looking over her shoulder. "Come on! The faster we get there the faster we can..."

"Rock Wall!" Rocky executed his magic, and a gigantic wall of earth sprung up from the dirt, cutting off them from the other contestants.

"...Oh." Was all Nashi could say as Rocky caught up to her, panting.

"That took... a lot...out of me...Can we...slow down...a bit?" He managed, looking at her desperately. Nashi wanted to say no purely because she wanted to get this over with, but she could tell he was on the verge of collapsing as it was.

"Alright, just come on, we still need to hurry." Nashi grabbed him by the arm and started to drag, earning a moan.

"Why?...I put up...a wall."

"Yeah, but have you forgotten?" Nashi asked, looking at him seriously, making him raise an eyebrow. "Elise is on the other side of that wall." Rocky's eyes widened at these words and he quickly tried to keep in step with her.

"You're right." He hissed. "My wall doesn't stand a chance."

* * *

Damn it!" Drake growled, slamming his fist into the solid earth in his path. He knew there was no way around this a while either direction, and he doubted he could make it through without breaking a few bones.

"Don't get mad." Asuka advised, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes and look around. There's got to be a way around this thing.

"Yeah, but..." Drake muttered, letting his back hit the wall in frustration. "Ugh, of course Rocky'd pull something like this..."

"You can't lie, it was a good strategy." Asuka added. "I mean, throwing up a wall this big to impede on our own progress so it was almost a guarantee he and Nashi could maintain a lead and win two of those three spots."

"I know." Drake said, sliding down to sit. "At least I can rest for a little bit." Asuka nodded and continued to look around while Drake rested, the hot sun boring down on him. He only realized right then how much he was sweating underneath his trench coat and black shirt, and it made him seven hundred different kind of uncomfortable. Shifting on his ass, Drake took his coat off, followed by his shirt, which got stuck over his head. "Hey Asuka, give me a hand with this."

"Uh..." Upon getting no response from the girl, Drake struggled foe a bit longer and finally got the fabric over his head. When he looked at Asuka, he found her staring right at him, face slightly red.

"What?" He demanded.

"Eep! Nothing!" She excused quickly, face growing even redder. "It's just, uh...uh..."

"What? Spit it out!"

"I wasn't expecting your body to be so developed..." Drake stared at her quizzically before looking down. Sure he was muscular and everything, but he didn't see the big deal. "Gah! This is weird, you're like like eight years younger than me!" Asuka put her back to him, and he rolled his eyes, resting his head on the wall and staring upwards.

And he noticed the top of the wall. Sure it was wide to prevent a very quick passing, but it was only, maybe, thirty feet tall. Drake grinned as he stood, shouldering on his trench coat and discarding his shirt. Backing up a bit past Asuka, Drake craned his neck to get the best view possible.

"What are you doing?" She asked. Drake ignored her, outstretching his arm and testing the angles. "Drake?"

"Poison Dragon Fang Thrust!" The curved fang shaped poison attack shot through the air and hit the top of the wall, latching on tightly. "Bingo! I'm a genius, you can thank me later."

"What?" Drake pulled his arm a few times to show her the durability of the attack, and she grinned. "Oh! I get it, an impromptu grappling hook."

"Exactly." he replied, outstretching an arm. "Come here."

"...W-What?" Rolling his eyes and making a grab while she was flustered, Drake grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close, causing a panic. "Gah! W-Weird! Weird!" Drake backed up a bit for launching them both in the air, shooting up on the hook of poison and straight to the other side of the wall. Landing on top, he observed the area around them.

"Around, now we go down." He said, aiming up another shot before Asuka butted in, face red. "What?" Fumbling with her belt, Drake saw her pull out a pistol and shoot it at the ground, revealing it to be her own grappling hook, which made him falter. "Why didn't you say anything about this at first!?"

"I-I forgot..." he glared at her as she smiled weakly. He sighed in defeat, and tested the strength of the line.

"After you, Miss Forgetful." Asuka nodded, pulling out a hook from her belt, she slid down the rope with little effort. Drake coated his hand on poison and did the same.

"Easy!" Asuka said.

"Any more awkward situations you want to make before we proceed?" Drake asked. Earning a blush and a fearful shake, Drake nodded. Alright then, let's go. We've wasted enough time as it is."

* * *

When Elise saw the huge wall no doubt created by Nashi's partner, her mood darkened considerably.

"Great." Sammy said as Elise dropped him off her shoulders. "The last thing we needed was a wall Rocky created"

"what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Elise demanded, staring at him as he sat down.

"We aren't getting through that thing any day soon." Sammy replied. Something inside Elise cracked, and her arm turned into a club. "We may as well just sit down and give up, because he aren't..."

"Hiyaaahhh!" Elise shouted, slamming her club into the wall, and it resounded with a dull thud.

"Damn it Redfox, I told you we aren't going to get through here anytime soon!" Ignoring his complaints, Elise slammed her club into it again, as hard as she could. "Redfox, for the love of...!"

"Break you piece of shit!" Elise roared, giving another slam. The wall crumbled in the vicinity where she'd been hitting, enough for them to walk through. "Come on you, we have to catch up!"

"How the hell did you...?"

"No time!" She roared, grabbing him again and dragging him through. "If I lose to Drake of all people he'll never let me forget it!"

* * *

When Nashi got close enough, the scent of God Slaying magic entered her nose. It was faint and clearly very old, but it was undeniably there. Entering a clearing, both she and Rocky looked around for their clues and the next riddle. Finding the second piece, Nashi also saw three slips of paper resting in the center of a scorch mark. Walking over to it, Nashi noticed they were now labelled according to the teams. Nashi assumed this would maybe split them up, making it less of a close race.

"Hurry up, before the others get here and get ahead of us." Rocky told her, and she nodded, picking up their slip of paper. "What does it say?"

"_Your next hint is at where the rain stood still."_

"Rain doesn't stand still, Dragneel."

"I know that, thank you." Nashi replied glaring at him. "Obviously it's a riddle,. we need to solve it."

"Where the hell would rain stand still?" Rocky demanded. "Doesn't gravity stop that kind of thing?" Nashi shrugged thinking as hard as she could.

"I honestly don't know." She replied, sighing. "Great, this is exactly what we needed." Nashi heard shouting in the distance. "Shit, someone else is coming! Come on!"

Wait...!" Nashi ignored his plea for halting and dragged him into the bushes away from the scorch mark, trying to put as much distance between them and the area as fast as they could.

"Don't argue!" She hissed, trying to be quiet even with one of the competitors having amazing hearing. "Let's just pretend we knew where to go!"

"What will that accomplish?!"

"Pissing you off, for starters!"

"Ugh, you're impossible..."

"For you. Now shut up and move!"

"I'm tired!"

"No one cares!"

"I do!"

"No one important cares!"

"..."

"Hurry up!" Nashi ignored the incoherent mumbling from under his breath and made him keep pace with her, although she still had no idea where to go. Rain didn't stand still, Rocky had made that more than clear with his point about gravity. Did Tenrou have some place with enough magic that did that? She knew gravity magic existed, but certainly not in abundance outside of a mage using it. Thinking as hard as she could, Nashi could not remember anything from any stories about rain standing still. Once they were a ways away, Nashi slowed a bit. "Any ideas?" She asked.

"No," Rocky replied, "Then again, you've made it extremely clear my opinion means nothing."

"It's not an opinion, it's an idea."

"Whatever." Rocky said this, but the look on his face clearly said he was thinking. "It obviously has to do with gravity, otherwise rain cannot stand still."

"Hmm..." Nashi said, rubbing her chin. She ran through the barrage of stories she'd been told about Tenrou, trying to place anything from it that would link to their problem. "Ugh, I have nothing."

"Like almost all things with you, sadly."

* * *

Once Drake got to the area where he'd tracked Nashi's scent, he saw the remaining two slips of paper resting in the center of a scorch mark.

"Damn, they already left?" He demanded angrily. "They knew that fast? It's almost unfair."

"Maybe they were mistaken?" Asuka asked, grasping at straws. Drake shrugged and walked to the center of the scorch, reaching to pick up his hint. He stopped as he realized they were labelled with name, his and Asuka's the opposite of what he had been about to pick up. Reaching for the one intended for him, he unfolded it and read it, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, what?" He asked, staring at it.

"What?" Asuka asked, bending down to look over his shoulder. He could hear her brow furrow. "_Your next hint rests where the devil fought the giant. _Giants and devils?"

"Must have to do with Grimoire." Drake reasoned, rubbing his chin. "The devil must mean Hades, but..." Drake made a face and thought as hard as he could, but nothing arose until Asuka snapped her fingers.

"Grampa!" She shouted, face elated. Drake stared at her.

"What?" he asked.

"Gramps...er, Makarov, Laxus' Grampa, used giant magic!" She shouted, the pieces forming in Drake's head. "He tried to hold of Grimore's airship on the coast of the island!"

"Let's hope you're right." Drake said, standing. "I have absolutely no ideas."

"Alright. Which way is the coast?"

"Which one? We're on an island, Asuka." Drake frowned as Asuka did. "You don't know which coast, do you?"

"...No." Drake moaned in frustration. "Well how the hell is that a fact someone would remember?!"

"I know, but we're just wasting time by guessing."

"Can't do much else, can we?" Drake sighed and listened intently, finding the fastest way to the coast.

"Come on, it's this way."

* * *

Elise was livid to find no one else and two pieces to the puzzle and clues gone.

"Look, we're last!" She shouted at Sammy, who cowered at her anger.

"How is that my fault?" he asked timidly.

"You couldn't figure out the last clue!"

"You couldn't either..."

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing! Just go get our slip!" Elise narrowed her gaze at him before she huffed and did as he advised. Picking it up and staring at it, she read it.

"_Your next hint is where iron was trumped by the power of the soul." _She recited, rolling her eyes. "Wow, could they have made this any easier?"

"What do you mean?" Elise threw the piece of paper down on the ground and looked over at him.

"It's where my Dad beat those two Grimoire members, obviously." She answered. "And I already caught his scent earlier. Give me enough time, and I'll find it." She flipped her hair out of her eyes and strode past. "Come on, we have an exam to ace."

"Right behind you..."

**Yeah, Elise's riddle was a huge cop out. What do you want from me, there's only so much I can do with these riddles and this island. Anyway, today's question is, even though I already know half the answers, is:**

**Which ship do you support within my universe? Sadly, some of the end game ships have yet to interact much, but as of now, which ones? let's get creative, and not just a tidal wave of Drashi, even though that's like, all of yours OTP.**

**I hope you enjoyed as always, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	114. The Fourth Clues

**It was a nice combination of main group ships you guys support, apparently. Also, why so much KatsuchixNashi? Are they that compatible? Anyways, Enjoy!**

Drake may have been the one directing them around, but he felt like Asuka had no idea what she was talking about. They'd already tried the closest beach, but found nothing. Asuka suggested they try and see around to the west, and he had nothing to say to that. It occurred to Drake that Asuka had no idea where exactly this Makarov vs. Hades fight had happened, but he had less of an idea than her.

"Are we there yet?" Drake asked, kicking up more sand as he trekked behind her.

"I don't know, do you see our paper anywhere?" Asuka retorted, sounding a bit irritated, probably with him. He wasn't exactly being helpful at the moment. "I told you it was on the coast, I didn't say I knew which."

"Fair enough." Drake replied. "But I can't help but get the feeling we're losing terribly."

"Nah, we're doing fine." Asuka reassured, doing nothing to quell Drake's losing feeling. "Who knows how difficult the others clues were?"

"I could have looked at Elise's." Drake said. "I wonder how hard it wad, I should have looked.

"That may have qualified as cheating, though." Asuka pointed out. "Then we'd lose no matter what."

"...Yeah, you're right." Drake didn't say anymore, and neither did Asuka, but she was probably to busy looking for their clue and puzzle piece. Speaking of which, Drake picked the pieces up out of his pocket and played with them in his hands, pondering what they were supposed to be. It seemed to be some kind of area on the island, as the visage with the pieces he had seemed to be grassy land. Playing with them in his hands, Drake did not notice Asuka had stopped until he slammed into her. "What?" he asked.

"I feel like we're close, do you feel that?" She asked, and Drake took in their surroundings. Now that she mentioned it, he did feel a rather harsh presence from the area, as if a lingering evil. He'd been around enough evil to know what it felt like.

"Maybe, look around." He replied, doing so himself. Nothing really stood out to him, but he could say for certain that the scent of powerful magic definitely came from this area. "I don't see anything, do you?"

"...Maybe." Drake turned to find her walking over to a rock near the grass. On top rested the third piece of the puzzle and another slip of paper. "Here, read this." She said, tossing him the paper. He caught it as it fluttered around in the breeze and unfolded it, reading the sentence inside. "What does it say?"

"_The final clue is where the water woman won through feelings." _he read, raising an eyebrow.

"Juvia." Asuka replied. "Meredy, too easy." Drake watched the girl look around.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Have you listened to the Grimoire story?" She asked. "Juvia beat Meredy by convincing her she wasn't doing the right thing. That was, if I recall, in a marshy area, so over there." She finished, pointing inwards into the island. Drake nodded, pocketed their next piece of the puzzle, and followed her into the forest.

"Where do you think this stupid exam will lead us?" He asked, the question coming to mind. Being truthful he had no idea himself.

"I have a few ideas." Asuka replied, pushing a few plants out of their way. "Although who knows, it could be anywhere."

"...Who do you think will be the finalists?" he asked suddenly. Asuka stopped and cast him a look from over her shoulder. They stared at each other for a moment before she snorted and continued. "What?"

"I don't know." She lied. Drake sharpened his hearing and indulged himself on her thoughts on the subject.

"You don't think you'll make it?" he asked.

"How did you...oh right, sound magic." Drake nodded and Asuka sighed. "I...Well, I'm the least deserving of the people in this exam."

"How so?"

"Think about it, Drake." Asuka replied, stopping again to look at him. "You, Nashi and Elise took down a dark guild, stopped an invasion of Earthland, and so much in the short time you've been adventuring." Asuka laughed weakly. "I don't think it's very difficult to see who the final three contestants will be."

"Even so, it's no reason to put yourself down." Asuka rolled her eyes and continued pushing her way through the bushes, Drake close behind. H could tell by her body language she was done talking about it, but his curiosity still bugged him. If Nashi, Elise, and himself were the 'obvious finalists', what would the final exam be?

_I guess we'll find out, won't be ladies?_

* * *

"Asuka does have a point, Gramps." Laxus heard Simon say from behind him. "The three finalists were hurtfully obvious the moment you said it."

"I know." He replied. "I know."

"So, what sort of game are you playing, here?" Ultear asked. Laxus smiled at the questions, knowing they'd surface eventually.

"You'll see."

* * *

It was painfully easy to find their next clue once Elise stumbled across the path of destruction from her father Iron God Sword. She just followed the path until they found where it originated from, a small clearing. Right in the center of the clearing was their next clue and the puzzle piece, both of which Elise picked up, tossing the piece to Sammy, who has right behind her.

"The clue?" he asked, pocketing the piece.

"_Your final clues location is where the imagination defeated the beast and the fairy." _Elise replied. "Any ideas?"

"Hm," Sammy hummed, placing a hand on his chin. "Imagination...beast..." He napped his fingers and smiled. "Rustyrose!"

"Eh?"

"Grimoire, Redfox." he replied. "Rustyrose's magic used his imagination. He defeated Elfman and Ever, remember?" Elise mind went back to the story she'd been told a million times, and grinned.

"Good job!" She shouted, looking around. "Now, how do we get there?"

"Beats me." he replied, looking around as well. "Although I think it was near that old village."

"Well, where is that? We'll start there." Sammy did a few more spins before he pointed deeper into the island.

"Seems to be in that direction, given what I can see." Elise was already headed in that direction after he'd told her where to go, and he jogged to catch up. "You think we're ahead?"

"Who knows." She replied. "Drake and Nashi aren't stupid, so it's anyone's game at this point."

"Yeah, maybe we're behind." He replied. "And poor you got stuck with me." Elise sighed at his self-deprecating attitude. Truthfully she'd have already lost if she hadn't been stuck with him, but she wasn't about to come out and say that. The last thing she wanted wast to try and be nice with this guy by going back on saying he was worthless.

"I'd have already won if not for you, basically." Elise decided to say, hoping the joking manner in her tone was obvious enough.

"Keep telling yourself that while you try to figure out the first clue." he shot back, making Elise choke.

"Alright alright, you aren't entirely useless." She conceited, making him laugh. "Just, you know, usually."

"I know." he replied. "Rocky tells me all the time."

"Rocky's got his head on straight then." Sammy nodded. Silence was about to befall them when Sammy made a sound. "How do you think Nashi and Rocky are doing? You know, with the hating each other thing they got going on."

"Don't know." Elise replied honestly. "I don't see either of them making the effort to get along with the other whatsoever."

"Heh, yeah." Sammy replied, smiling. "They really do hate each other thoroughly."

"Can't imagine why." Elise said it in a threatening tone, and Sammy flinched.

"I tried to apologize." he hissed. "Why wanted to hear none of it."

"Who's to say you weren't just going to lie because she could beat your ass?"

"She could, that's why I tried." He rolled his eyes, then, "You know what? I don't even want to argue about this with you."

"Fine, whatever. I don't care." Elise tried to calm herself after Sammy brought them around to an irritating topic, but it didn't work very well.

_I wonder how they're doing..._

* * *

"Dragneel, for the last time, I don't know!"

"Try and use that pathetically small brain of yours! Or is your head really filled with what your named after?!"

"At least I admit it when I don't know something, smartass!"

"I don't know!"

"See?! Baby steps to realizing your a bitch!" Nashi growled deep in her throat and got even closer to Rocky, who remained still and stoic.

"You want to call me that again?" Nashi demanded, and Rocky rolled his eyes.

"You're. A. Bitch." he emphasized for her. "There, was that clear enough for your dumbass?" Nashi's response consisted of grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and lifting him up. "Now what, are you gonna...!"

"Fuck you!" Nashi shouted, slamming a fist into his face, sending him like a meteor over the tree lie and into the distance. Nashi huffed and crossed her arms, swearing under her breath as she tried to calm down. "Rocky?" She called.

No response. Nashi knew she'd sent him completely flying, but just how far? She walked towards the tree line and peeked through seeing nothing.

"Rocky?" She called again, this time a bit louder, but still not getting any response from her teammate. Rolling her eyes, Nashi stepped into the brush and waded through it, looking for Rocky. "Rocky! I swear to Mavis if you're trying to prank me...!" Coming out on the other side of the tree line showed Nashi a gigantic hole right in the center of the area. Looking down into it, Nashi spotted her teammate lying face down in the center. Sighing and sliding down the side of the crater, she walked towards him with her hands on her hips. "Come on jackass, get up."

"..."

"Well come on, let's go!"

"..." Growling in frustration, Nashi stormed up to him and flipped him onto his back, revealing his pained expression and weak groaning.

"Oh come on you big baby, I didn't hit you that ha..." Nashi paused as she noticed Rocky' chest, or rather, the slip of paper stuck to it. Gasping happily, Nashi grabbed the paper and unfolded it, reading their next clue.

_Your final clue resides where everything else has died._

"Uh..." Nashi thought for a moment before a visage of the completely dead area came to her mind, and she smiled. "Got it! Come on Rocky, I know where our next clue is! Grab that puzzle piece, too!"

"...Give me a minute..."

"We don't have a minute, come on!" Nashi grabbed him again and dragged him towards the edge of the crater, throwing him up with a pained groan and a thud. Jumping up herself, she grabbed him again and dragged him through the bushes, ignoring his groans and complaints as if they were nothing. She had the drive to win, and she wasn't about to let him ruin it, even if he'd done so only a moment before.

"Nashi please...Just wait a moment..."

"No!"

"Nashi..."

"I took hits from dragon mech to the face, you can do this!"

**Not much happened in this chapter, but we're nearing the end anyway. Anyways, today I thought I'd do something interesting with your question:**

**Nashi vs Drake: Who wins?**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	115. The Final Sprint

**So in a landslide of votes, you guys think Nashi would win. Personally, unless it was life or death, I'd have to give it to Drake. He's just more experienced and has that OP sound magic.**

**Enjoy!**

Drake didn't particularly like swamps. The muggy atmosphere, the water constantly getting in his boots, the fact that the fuse on his temper got extremely short when he was hot, it was a recipe for disaster.

"See anything yet?" He asked Asuka, whom was leading currently. Drake counted his lucky stars he'd already shed his shirt, because it'd be killing him right now.

"Nothing that says,' hey, you're final clue is around here!' Or anything like that." She replied. "You hear anything?"

"I've already told you all I can hear is the wildlife, remember?"

"Alright, Mavis, no need to snap at me!"

"...Whatever." Drake ignored Asuka's exasperated sigh and observed his surroundings, wondering which of these murky swamps was the one Juvia and Meredy had fought was sure he could sense it if they got close enough, but no such luck yet.

"Did you hear me?"

"What?" Asuka sighed again at Drake's inability to listen.

"I said I think it's right over there, across this swamp." Drake followed her finger and spotted the small patch of land amidst the water, on which rested what they were looking for.

"How do we get to it exactly?" He asked. "It's across the water."

"Easy." Drake was about to ask what easy meant until he felt Asuka's hand connect with his back, sending him into the water on his face. He flailed around for a bit before he managed to get on all fours, glaring at Asuka. "What?" She asked innocently.

"You're lucky I was really sweaty." He informed her. "Or I'd be a lot more irritated." She rolled her eyes bemusedly at his words.

"Whatever, just go and get our clue." Drake stood and nodded, wading through the water towards the small rock and knelt down at it, picking the paper up and unfolding it, putting the puzzle piece in his pocket. "Well?"

"_The final piece of the puzzle that will lead you to your final location if at the grave of the first._"

"Mavis' grave?" Asuka asked.

"It would appear so, yeah." Drake said, standing. "Although I don't know where it is."

"I do, don't worry." Asuka said as he walked back to her. "It's somewhere in the mountain area where the first test was."

"How do you know?" Drake asked, causing the girl to snicker.

"Aunt Cana is terrible at keeping secrets when she's drunk." She replied, and Drake chuckled at the thought of the hammered Cana telling Asuka the location. "Although the exact location comes down to you."

"I have to bounce my hearing off of the walls to find it, I know." Drake said. "I'll pick up less wildlife in there, and I'll find it easily."

"Well come on!" Asuka shouted, beginning to run towards the caves. "We have to get there first!"

"Who said we'll be there first?" He asked, picking up his own pace to keep up with her. Asuka didn't reply, only kept speeding up, forcing Drake to do so as well. the riddles hadn't been that hard, but it did pit his competitive spirit through the roof. "Well, let's hope we're there first."

* * *

"See anything yet?"

"No, nothing in here." Elise sighed as Sammy exited the house and sighed. "I'm sure it's here somewhere."

"Positive?"

"Yes, completely." Elise frowned and looked out across the village, pondering where exactly they should be looking. She could sense the magical power from the area, confirming there had been some form of struggle, but where had their clue been placed?

"Check over there." She instructed Sammy, pointing over to a different house. "See if it's in there." Doing as he was told, Sammy watched him disappear ito the house with a sigh. The longer they spent here the more likely it was they were losing, and she was not losing. Deciding to start looking around herself, Elise walked to the far end of the village and looked around, still not spotting anything significant. Muttering curses to herself, she walked along the edge and inspected the long drop to the ground belong, wondering if maybe the wind had taken their clue into the valley. Shaking he head to clear the oncoming paranoia, Elise looked to the right and spotted a small outcropping. Sitting on the outcropping was a slip of paper stabbed through the center with a blade embedded to the ground, presumably to keep it from blowing away as Elise had worried about. Jogging over to it, Elise observed it from afar, pondering just how weak the outcropping was.

"Elise?" She heard Sammy coming up behind her, but she ignored his call for her attention. "Did you find it?" All Elise did was point ahead, and Sammy made a surprised sound. "That ledge looks really unstable."

"Yeah." Elise agreed, taking a step forward. This caused Sammy to grab her shoulders and pull her back.

"Did you not hear me?" He demanded. "That's too dangerous, just extend your arm and get it!"

"Ugh, this is why people say you're no fun." Elise informed him, stretching. Extending her arm with iron, Elise grasped the paper in between her fingers tips, and then made to grab the puzzle piece. Retracting her arm, Elise unfolded the clue and read it out loud, "_The final piece of the puzzle that will lead you to your final location if at the grave of the first."_

"Grave of the first..." Sammy said. "that would mean it's at Mavis' grave, but where is that?"

"No idea." Elise replied. "Ugh, of course we'd get this one!"

"Don't starting complaining, let's go." Elise mumbled to herself angrily as she followed Sammy away from the ledge and out of the village. This pretty much guaranteed their failure, neither had any inclination as to where to go to find Mavis' grave. She had no idea where he was leading her either, but the problem meant it didn't really matter where they were going either. "Any ideas?" he asked, breaking her out of her rage induced stupor.

"No, not at all." She replied. "Which means we've lost."

"...Normally I'd try and say we could still win, but I agree." They slid down a small hill and landed near some bushes. Elise was about to suggest sitting own and giving up when she heard a branch snap to the left of them.

"Get down!" She shouted, tackling Sammy to the ground and covering his mouth with her hand before he could shout in protest. Peeking between the branches of the bush, Elise watched as Asuka sprinted left to right in front of them, looking over her shoulder.

"Come on Drake! It's over here!"

"Are you sure?!" the Dragon Slayer complained as he appeared. "I get the feeling you don't know where you're going."

"Hey, which one of us knows where her grave is again?" Asuka demanded, making Elise's eyes widen. they were looking for Mavis' grave too? Did that mean the final clue was all the same?

"You do, if you could get us back to the starting caves." Drake replied, pocketing his hands. Elise tried to shift to get a more comfortable position, and a twig beneath her snapped. This in turn alerted Drake, who whirled. "Who's there?" He demanded. Elise sighed and stood up, revealing herself.

"You're losing your touch, Drake." She told him. "It took you until I snapped a twig for you to hear me."

"What the hell are you doing back there, Elise?" Drake demanded.

"Eavesdropping." She replied, reaching down and picking Sammy up. "Turns out you guys know how to get to Mavis' grave, and we need to go there." Asuka made a confused face.

"It's your final clue too?" She asked.

"Yeah, it is." Sammy said. The four remained silent for a moment.

Until Asuka and Drake bolted away.

"Chase them!" Elise shouted, Sammy nodding and actually keeping pace with her. Together the two of them kept of Asuka and Drake's tail, following them right to the grave of the first.

* * *

"Alright Dragneel, we're here, do you're creepy thing." Nashi ignored Rocky's comment about the area and stepped into the center of the dead area again, feeling calm once more. Not even Rocky's insults would anger her at the moment. "Hurry this up, I hate watching you do that."

"Let me enjoy creeping you out, Rocky." Nashi replied, not giving him any look as she approached the clue and puzzle piece. Picking it up slowly, she read the clue and frowned. "Mavis' grave, maybe?" She asked, tossing it to Rocky, who read it as well.

"Seems to be, not sure what else firsts grave could mean."

"Alright! Progress. Now we just need to find Mavis' grave, and get our final piece!"

"Except we have no idea where the hell that is." Rocky replied. Nashi now realized Rocky had a point, a glaring hole in their plan. Where was the grave? As if on cue to her question, an explosion rocked in the distance, making her jump in surprise. Turning, more explosions rocked in the distance, and Rocky sighed. "I think the others ran into each other."

"Come on, let's go!" She replied, breaking into a sprint into the woods and towards the explosions. It didn't take them long to find the source, as just when they got close to one of them,, she spotted Drake and Asuka sprinting away, and before she could ask any questions, iron spears came from no where towards the pair.

"just tell me where the grave is!" Elise shouted, running in from the side, Sammy close behind.

"Not a chance!" Drake replied angrily. "Go to hell, Elise!" Drakes response got him even more spears, and he yelped. "Where is it, Asuka?!"

"Over here!" the gun mage shouted. "Come on, we'll lose them in the caves!"

"Aright!"

"Their in the caves, Elise!" Sammy shouted, referring to the area of the first exam.

"Get them!" the iron dragon shouted in reply, tailing after the two.

This of course left Nashi and Rocky standing on their small ledge in total shock.

"What just happened?" Rocky finally asked, and Nashi shrugged weakly.

"I honestly, couldn't tell you, Rocky." She replied. "But Elise was shouting about a grave, which means Asuka and Drake know where it is!" it took a moments stare at each other for them to slide down the ledge and run for the cave full speed, having to use Nashi's sense of smell to track down the other contestants.

* * *

Drake had to make split second decisions with his hearing to get himself and Asuka to Mavis' grave and also to try and give Elise the slip. Asuka blowing a hole in the wall had revealed many interconnected tunnels, and Drake'shearing allowed him to bounce sound waves off of walls and map out several turns in advance, giving him a better chance of losing Elise.

"Over here!" he shouted, blowing another hole in the wall beside them. Asuka followed him, and they took three more random turns before Drake mapped out more twists.

"Do you think we lost them?" Asuka asked, panting.

"No, it's Elise." he replied. "She won't give up, not when we're so close."

"I think we lost..." Asuka was cut off as the wall in front of them exploded, and Rocky of all people appeared in front of them. He laid eyes on them and the widened.

"Dragneel, over here!" He shouted to Nashi, who's footsteps could be heard running towards them.

"Come on!" Drake shouted, running past the earth mage and to the right, hearing the other pair running right behind them. Drake could sense the magical power from the grave, and he knew they were close. Just as they took a left, Elise and Sammy appeared in there path.

"Over there!" Elise shouted, dragging Sammy down the hall with her until he regained his own footing. This forced Drake to make another hole in the wall and run through it, everyone else in close pursuit.

"There's no losing them, not with Nashi and Elise's senses!" Asuka shouted, Drake acknowledging her with a nod.

He could see the exit shining light right at them.

"We're there!" he shouted, alerting everyone to this fact. Everyone sped up and tried to get in first, making the small tunnel incredibly crowded.

* * *

Everyone got stuck in the entrance to the grave, glaring at each other as they all tried to squeeze through at once. After a moment, they were able to get free and sprinted towards the final piece of the puzzle resting in front of the grave. No one spoke, there was no time for such luxuries. Making a grab for the three pieces all at once.

This only got them all in a pile up.

"Get off me, Nashi!"

"You're sitting on my leg, Rocky!"

"Stop elbowing me in the face, Asuka!"

"I can't breathe, Elise!"

"You're breaking my arm, Drake!"

"You're dead weight, Sammy!" Comments like these persisted until the pile up dissolved into the teams trying to figure out the puzzle, piecing it together multiple different ways and trying to discern the image in created on their final goal. It was Drake who spoke first.

"Hey, isn't that..."

"It is..." Elise replied.

"It's the.." Everyone looked at each other, and then at the exit. As one, everyone broke into a sprint.

"It's the base of the Tenrou Tree!"

**We're nearing the end of this arc, which make me excited for End of the World, because I know you guys will love it as much as I do. Anyway, your question today is:**

**Damien vs. Terra, who wins?**

**Keep in mind we haven't seen the full extent of what Terra can do, so don't sell her short because Damien is a main character.**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	116. The First

**In a landslide of votes Damien apparently decimates Terra. Kind of my own fault for saying that as Damien has main group plot advantage.**

**Enjoy!**

Elise wasn't stupid, she had a plan as everyone rushed for the exit. Drake and Asuka were already ahead, there was nothing she could do about that. However, as she got to the door, she turned with a grin.

"Sorry Nashi." She said, causing the other girl to make a confused face. "Every mage for themselves!" Slamming her hands into the ground, an iron wall sprung up from the earth and all the way across the cavern where Mavis' grave was.

"Elise!" Nashi's angry voice came from inside. "Let us out!"

"No can do!"Elise shouted back. "You guys can just stay in there until the exams are over!"

"Redfox!" Rocky roared from inside, causing Elise to burst into laughter. Sprinting as hard as she could to catch up to the others, she saw Sammy waiting for her by he exit to the caves.

"What the hell were you doing?!" he demanded.

"Nothing." She replied innocently. "Where did Asuka and Drake go?"

"I don't know, the tree!" he shouted. "Mavis Redfox, let's go already!" Elise rolled her eyes and ran in the direction of the giant tree.

"I though you didn't want to win anyway!" She shouted, looking back at him.

"That doesn't mean I want to be last!"

"Tch!" Elise laughed, "We won't be, I trapped Nashi and Rocky by the grave!"

"How did you do that?! He demanded.

"Doesn't matter, let's go!"

* * *

Drake was laughing knowing he and Asuka had pulled away the fastest, Sammy staying back to see where Elise had gone. He didn't know where Nashi or Rocky had gone, maybe taking a different path.

"Alright, now what?" Asuka asked as they finally stopped to see where they were.

"The tree is that way." Drake replied, pointing towards the giant tree in the distance. "Although I think our best bet to get there would be..."

_"Hurry up, Sammy! I can smell Drake going this way!" _Drake's eyes widened as he heard Elise yelling behind them.

_"I'm going as fast as I can!"_

"Shit," he hissed. "Elise is coming, she can smell us."

"Well how are we supposed to lose her?" Asuka demanded. "Dragon Slayers have an unfair tracking ability." Drake made a face and observed their location, seeing a ledge leading up a huge hill next to them.

"This way." Drake said, grabbing at tree branches and hoisting himself up the ledge.

"That seems incredibly pointless." Asuka commented from below him.

"You want Elise to attack us on our way?" he demanded, looking over his shoulder. "She gets close enough and she won't let up on the attacks."

"Ugh, fine." Drake heard her begin to climb up next to him, and he pulled her up the rest of the way. Drake looked down and spotted the wet dirt below them, grinning.

"Sorry, Asuka." he said, crouching down.

"What?" She asked." Before she could respond, Drake picked up fistfuls of the wet dirt and threw it at her, and she shrieked. "What the hell was that for?!" She hissed, wiping the dirt from her clothes.

"To mask your scent." Drake replied, doing the same to himself, smearing mud and dirt all over his coat. "Elise may not chase us this way, but she can still smell us."

"Stop making so much sense, it's making it too difficult to be angry at you." She hissed. "Well, how did it work?"

"You smell like shit." Drake replied with a laugh, "On the other hand though, not like Asuka. Come on, this way." Asuka sighed as Drake pushed branches out of their path, continuing on their way towards the Tenrou tree.

* * *

Elise paused as the scent of her friend and the gunslinger faded. She stopped and looked around, wondering what had happened.

"Did you lose it?" Sammy asked.

"Weirdly enough, yeah." She replied. "I don't get it, I followed it loyally!"

"Maybe we passed them?"

"I followed it _right _here." Elise emphasized, "we didn't pass them or anything, the trail just stops right here." Elise did her best to think of how Drake and Asuka possibly masked their scent. Drake probably knew she was tailing them, but she didn't see anything that would've allowed them to mask Elise's scent. "I just don't understand..."

"We don't have time for this!" Sammy shouted, grabbing Elise by her shoulders. "If we stay here and try to figure it out, we're going to lose!"

"...You're right, come on!" Elise and Sammy took off in the direction of the tree again, the scent losing disappearing from Elise's concerns.

* * *

"God damn it!" Nashi looked up as Rocky swore, bounding on the iron surrounding them uselessly. "Fuck you, Redfox! I swear on the grave behind me I'm going to kill you when I get out of here!"

"Calm down, Rocky." Nashi advised. "We've lost, except it." He didn't reply, but Nashi wasn't done. "Just like most things, you can't take a loss."

"You know." Rocky said in a voice so low in was almost a whisper. "This is all your fault." Nashi perked up at these words and glared at the back of his head.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, asshole?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like." Rocky replied, voice raising above the angry tone he'd been using."If you weren't so useless maybe we'd be able to get out of here!"

"My fault?!" Nashi shouted, standing and approaching him, but he didn't back down. "I've done everything for this fucking team! I've carried you this entire way and all of a sudden, Elise's crafty plan is my fault?!"

"Exactly!" Rocky shouted. "If you're so goddamn perfect that break us the fuck out of here! Oh that's right." Rocky said before she could respond. "What could you do? You're useless."

"Listen here. Boulder Brain." Nashi hissed, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and glaring at him, her body slowly igniting. "I'm in way over my head with your bullshit."

"Oh yeah?" Rocky demanded with a laugh. "I've been over my head with yours for over ten years, bitch." The earth beneath her feet began to shake violently, and Nashi allowed her fist to catch fire.

"I've waited years to kick your ass thoroughly." She said flatly.

"So have I, I've had dreams about it" Nashi reared back and coated her fist in flames, Rocky doing the same with a fist covered in rocks. The magical tension in the cavern intensified, and Nashi felt her rage reach the boiling point. She threw her punch, and Rocky threw his.

"Stop it!" Both fists stopped and inch from the intended face to punch and stared at each other quizzically.

"Was that you?" Rocky asked, his eyebrow raised.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Nashi replied. Nashi let go of him and the fire died away, just as Rocky's rocks fell back to earth. Together, the both of them looked over near the grave, and found the source of the problem.

A small girl with incredibly long blonde hair stood there in a pink dress, glaring at the two of them.

"Uh..." Nashi said weakly. "Where did you...?"

"You two shouldn't be fighting!" The girl said angrily. "I didn't start this guild so the members could kill each other in front of my grave!"

"My...Grave?" Rocky asked weakly, and Nashi finally put it together.

"Master Mavis?!" She asked, making Rocky gasp. Mavis sighed.

"Took you long enough, seriously." She said. "You really are Natsu's daughter." Nashi suddenly felt very self-conscious about all the times she's used the First's name to swear. "Now, what is this all about?"

"Nashi's useless." Rocky replied. Nashi let out a sharp, cold laugh.

"Rocky's an asshole." Nashi replied, and the two started to glare at each other again. Mavis sighed.

"You shouldn't say such things about each other." She told them. "Fairy Tail is supposed to be a family, and families don't say such hurtful things and mean them."

"I don't count him as my family." Nashi replied.

"The feeling's mutual." Rocky said.

"Why?" Mavis asked. "What deep-rooted problems have caused such a division between you two?"

"Ask him." Nashi replied, jabbing a thumb at her exam partner. "I only hate him because he bullied me for years."

"Well?" Mavis asked, now in Rocky's direction. "Why do you resent her so much?"

"Uh..." Rocky started.

"Surely there must be something. Deep issues from childhood, insecurity, something." Rocky looked down at the ground, obscuring his eyes from the two girls.

"...I joined the guild when I was four." His voice finally came. "Some people left me there, saying I could rebuild my family after losing them to bandits." Nashi looked over at him almost sympathetically. "Once I got there, everyone treated my so nicely, and I made some friends. I continued to work on my magic, and eventually got half decent at it, which was enough for Gramps to clear me for jobs."

"Continue." Mavis replied softly. Rocky sighed, still not looking up.

"That was when it started. I did job after job, constantly got better at my magic, and made a name for myself. But..." he looked away. "She never had to do any of that."

"Eh?" Nashi asked, knowing that referred to her.

"Everyone treated you like a goddamn princess." Rocky said. "And for what? Sitting around and watching your friends improve while you never could? I didn't understand why you always got so much love and attention from everyone, and someone like me never got anything, even for all my hard work." Nashi felt conflicted at his words. "Eventually, as it got worse, this confusion turned into resentment, and then hatred. I know it's a childish reasoning, but..." he sighed. "I couldn't help it."

"Rocky..." Nashi said weakly. Rocky chuckled darkly.

"And then, when your dad came home and you exploded and...and said all that stuff about wanting to kill yourself and wishing everyday was your last...I don't think I've ever gone that long without sleep in my life. I didn't sleep for a week, I couldn't eat, I threw up...I realized what I'd done to you for so long, but there was no going back on it."

"What do you mean?" Nashi asked weakly. Rocky laughed, a cold one.

"I'd already burnt the bridge between any civil interaction between us." he replied. "Every time we interacted, being rude and acting like an asshole was just... it was the only way I remembered how to talk to you." He collapsed to the rock hard floor. "I only continued to say those things because...I didn't know how else to talk to you. You acted all angry and rude, and I knew there was no acting any different."

"But...But..." Nashi couldn't form her words. That was why Rocky resented her? It seemed so...justified. Perhaps not the bullying, but the hatred, surely.

"If there was ever a way I could make this up to you, I'd..." Rocky paused. "There isn't anything, I know, but if anything could change how we talk to each other, maybe make some sort of truce or understanding..." Rocky didn't say anything more, and Nashi just stood still attempting to process all that she had just heard. Looking over at Mavis, the blonde nodded, and Nashi gulped. She stood in front of Rocky, the motion garnering his attention.

Nashi outstretched her hand and held it there.

"Dragneel...?" He asked slowly. Nashi smiled determinedly.

"You want to make it up to me?" She asked. "Start by getting yourself together. I need my exam partner, we haven't lost yet." Rocky stared at her in complete bewilderment. "Well, Boulder Brain? We doing this or not?" Rocky stared at her for another moment, before he smiled and grabbed her hand, standing.

"Well Dragneel, you've inspired me." he said. "Now how the hell do we get out of here?"

"I've got a pretty good idea."

* * *

Mavis watched with a small smile as the duo burst through the iron wall riding a wave of earth and propelled by fire.

"They sure grow up fast, huh?" She asked with a chuckle. "Good luck Nashi, Rocky...You'll need it. Especially you, Nashi..."

**I really like this chapter, personally. Really explains Rocky in a nice way, don't you think? Anyway, the question today is:**

**You change one thing about one character from the story, who is it, what is it and why?**

**I hope you enjoyed,l eave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	117. The Final Stretch

**Man, I'm on fire with these chapters! Actually if I'm being honest, I just want to get this arc over with. Not that I don't like it, but The next little bit is when shit starts to pick up.**

**Enjoy!**

Elise prided herself in her endurance, but even she was feeling the fatigue from all the running she was doing. Having to drag Sammy behind her for the past ten minutes didn't help either. Monitoring her breathing carefully, Elise's felt her legs starts to go numb. She paused and started to breath deeply, attempting to get some air into her lungs.

"Are you okay?" Sammy asked through his own labored breathing. Elise coughed in response and felt herself almost throw up, causing her to double over even more.

"I..I...I can't...anymore..." She managed through her coughing and keeping your lunch were it had been originally. "I can't...run anymore..."

"I told you to pace yourself, moron." Sammy scolded, and Elise flipped him off as she spat in the bushes next to them. "If you need to take a break, it's fine. You already trapped Nashi and Rocky, so one way or the other, one of us is guaranteed a spot in finals...What the fuck?!"

"What?" Elise asked, before she focused and heard it too. Both of them turned to face where they had come from and found the source of the sound. A giant wave of dirt, rock, and earth was roaring towards them at speeds earth should not have been able to reach. The wave was being propelled by columns of fire protruding from the back. "Hit the dirt!" Elise shouted, tackling Sammy out of the way if the incoming wave. As it reached them, Elise looked up to find quit a sight.

Both Nashi and Rocky were grinning cockily at them, a smug look that sparked Elise's irritation.

"See ya Elise!" Nashi voice came. "I've got a race to win!" Both laughing voices disappeared into the distance, and Elise growled.

"Great!" She shouted. "Now we're going to lose to...!" Elise jumped back as a circular board of magic appeared in front of her. She looked over at Sammy to find him climbing onto it. "What the hell?"

"What?" he asked. "It's a circle of negation magic. We can ride it to catch up with the others."

"Why the hell didn't you say that ten minutes ago?!"

"I didn't think of it ten minutes ago!" Elise was a little bit taken aback at how Sammy defended himself, but it made her feel less terrible for constantly yelling at him. He offered her a hand. "Now, I believe we have a finish line to cross before everyone else!" Elise smiled and grasped his hand, climbing onto the board.

"Get this thing moving then!" Elise replied, and the board shot forward at speeds Elise wasn't ready for, almost causing her to lose her balance completely. Regaining it and taking a lower stance so she wouldn't get blown off, Elise could see the wave of earth ahead of them, and the flames propelling it.

"Are we faster?!" Elise asked over the speed of the wind.

"Right now, yes." Sammy replied. "When they see us passing them? Probably not."

"It's a wave of earth though."

"You haven't seen Rocky maneuver a wave of earth, especially if Dragneel's handling the propulsion." Just as Sammy said this, they caught up to the earthen wave, and both people on board looked over in relative shock.

"What were you saying about passing the finish line ahead of me, Nashi?!" Elise demanded, extending her arm into a club and taking a swing at the wave.

"Damn it Redfox!" Rocky shouted as the wave slowed temporarily and they almost fell. "Take this!" Rocky waved his hands, and nothing happened, making Elise laugh.

"What the hell was that Rocky?!" She demanded. "Seems like a dud...!"

"Shit!" Sammy served the negation surf board into a hard right, causing Elise to almost fall over. Looking ahead of them, Elise saw pillars of earth rising up, blocking their path and forcing Sammy to take some rather hard turns to avoid them. "Hold on Elise, this is going to get rough!" Grabbing onto his shoulders as instructed, Elise barely held on as he swerved in and out of the pillars Rocky raised, and sped up to match the earth waves speed.

"How are you so good at this?!" Elise shouted over the wind. Sammy laughed.

"I've done it a lot!" he replied. "Hold on, I don't think it's over yet!" Sammy went over a rising pillar, and poured more speed into the board, and they caught up.

"You're not a half bad surfer, Sammy!" Nashi shouted over the roar of earth, flames, and the hum of negation magic. "Can you surf on fire, though?"

"...!" Elise cowered as Nashi moved the earth waves propulsion flames far to close.

"What the hell Dragneel?!" Sammy hissed. "Are you trying to cook us alive?!"

"No, not really!" Nashi shouted back, wiping her brow of sweat. "I just like winning and rubbing it in Elise's face after she tried to keep us in with the grave!"

"had I known doing that would result in a high speed chase across Tenrou," Elise roared back with a grin. "I'd have done it years ago!"

"River!" Everyone looked ahead at Rocky's warning to find the river indeed right ahead of them, and Rocky winced. "Keep those flames hot Nashi, that thing looks deep.!"

"You just focus on keeping us out of it and I'll do my own thing!" Nashi shouted in reply. While the two of them coordinated to make it through the river, Sammy just deadpanned as they crossed over it with ease. The Tenrou tree's base was easily visible from there, and Elise grinned.

"This is going to be close as hell!" She told Sammy, and he laughed.

"Not as much as you might think." He replied. Elise didn't bother asking what he meant, she just looked around for any sign of the other two competitors. While it was totally possible Drake and Asuka had been passed a millennium ago during the race, she didn't really see Drake giving up that easily. Especially with S-Class on the line like it was. She didn't see anything around them that would indicate either were even close. Maybe they had already passed the finish line? That was entirely possible too.

"Last stretch!" She heard Sammy shout. "This us, uh, where I get off!"

"...Wait, what?!" Elise shrieked as Sammy jumped off the negation magic surf board, but it didn't dissipate. "What the fuck Sammy?!" She shouted, trying to keep her own balance as best she could.

* * *

Drake could see the base of the tree from where he was, and a certain blonde master waiting for them. As there could only be three finalists, the possible exams meandered through Drake's conscious as he pushed more and more pushes out of his way.

"We're almost there!" Asuka shouted happily.

"Don't get too excited." Drake replied. "We still haven't gotten there."

"But no one else is even in sight, Drake." Asuka replied, a hand on her hip. "How could anyone possibly..."

"What the fuck?" Drake demanded, turning around as his ears picked something up. His eyes widened as he honed in on it. "You've got to be kidding me right now..."

"What? What is it?" Drake walked to the edge of their vantage point and looked down across the open, rocky plain to the base of the tree. Down below, approaching the finish line, was a earth wave propelled by fire. The other was much smaller in size, what appeared to be a surf board of negation magic. Asuka walked up next to Drake and gasped.

"Wow, look at that!" She said. "They're going so fast!"

"...Run." Drake said, backing to keep running.

"What?!"

"They're going to beat us! RUN!" Asuka realized what he was talking about and sprinted with him, both doing their best to keep ahead of the other contestants. They exited the forest and ran right into a cliff near the Tenrou tree, the finish line directly below them. "Great, how the hell are we going to get down from here?!" Drake question was answered as Asuka fired a grappling hook from her gun, the hook flying through the air and latching on to something below. Asuka backed up a little and tied to rope to a tree, testing its firm tightness.

"That'a how." She replied. She pulled out a hook from her belt and handed it to Drake. "Go."

"What about you?" Drake demanded.

"We don't have time!" Asuka shouted, pushing Drake towards the edge and making him latch the hook onto the rope. "Just go! You deserve it more than me, anyway!"

"I..." Drake realized Asuka was giving up so he could keep going. He smiled. "Thanks, Asuka." She smiled widely back.

"That's nice and all, but if you don't hurry up, you won't make it!" Asuka pushed him off the side of the cliff, and Drake panicked. He only just managed to get a firm grip on the hook's handle right before his fall picked up to much speed, and he rocketed towards the finish line.

* * *

Nashi was still pouring a lot into the fire rocketing the earth wave, when Rocky appeared next to her.

"It's time." he told her. Nashi didn't have any clue what he was talking about until the frontal half of the earth wave crumbled into nothingness, leaving them on a much smaller one.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nashi demanded.

"Both of can't cross the finish line."

"Why not?" Nashi watched him gesture to Elise riding the negation surf board solo, and he then pointed upwards. Nashi's eyes landed on a small, white trench coat wearing dot in the sky riding a grappling hook.

"Only one deserves to pass that finish line." he corrected himself. "And I don't think I have to tell you who that is."

"..." Nashi remained silent s Rocky smiled at her, and she chuckled. "Alright, thanks."

"I'll keep the wave up." he told her, preparing to jump off the back of the wave and ride another to slow down. "Good luck...Nashi." her first name rang in her ears as Rocky jumped off the wave and landed hard, but hers did not falter.

_He called me Nashi..._

"Nashi!" Nashi looked over to find Elise casting her a look out of the corner of her eye. "Don't expect me to go easy on you in this final exam!"

"I'd never forgive if you did!" Nashi replied, looking forwards. They were so close, neck and neck, Drake just above them. All of a sudden, Nashi felt her foot lodged in some of the earthen wave beside her.

She tripped and fell forwards.

She flew through the air for a little bit before she felt herself make contact with Elise, who had pulled ahead slightly. This sent them both flying through the air, Elise glaring at Nashi, totally unimpressed.

"Hehe," Nashi said weakly. "Oops"

"Damn it Nashi." Both of them looked forward as they were about to cross the finish line.

Until Drake landed right in front of it, who hadn't clue.

"DRAKE!" Nashi shouted, putting her hands out to soften the impact.

"MOVE YOUR ASS, CYANIDE BREATH!" Elise roared. Drake turned just in time for both of them to see the panicked expression on his face, and Nashi impacted him, sending all three over the finish line at the same time.

* * *

"Ow." It was Drake's voice Nashi heard first as she came was lying on her back, staring up at the sky, slightly blotted out by the Tenrou tree. "What happened?"

"We crashed." Elise replied.

"Sorry." Nashi mumbled.

"Leave it to you three to mess up simply passing a line." All three of them looked up at the voice to see Laxus standing there, arms crossed. "You did, however, get here. So you can't be completely incompetent."

"Where's everyone else?" Nashi asked, looking around for their partners.

"Already went back to base camp." Laxus replied. "Now, you three have to follow me."

"What for?" Drake replied.

"The final test, obviously." All three of them remembered why they were there at the same time and sprung to there feet, following their master who has already begun to walk away. Following him closer and closer to the actual base of the tree, Nashi felt as if she was getting closer and closer to something holy. It sort of unsettled her. Laxus disappeared into the brush in front of them, and the three of them followed suit, showing up right at the true base of the giant tree that dominated the island.

"So, what is this final test?" Drake asked, pocketing his hands. Nashi realized he'd discarded his shirt somewhere.

"Ah yes, the final test." Laxus said, turning to them. "Are you ready for it?"

"Yeah." They all responded, and Laxus got an evil smirk on his face.

"The final test, it seems, is Drake vs. Nashi vs. Elise. A Last Dragon Standing match."

**And the final test is revealed! Probably two more chapters left. Anyway, the question today is:**

**take a wild guess at who the antagonist is for the End of the World ;)**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	118. Nashi vs Drake vs Elise

**Some of you guys guessed correctly, but I won't say anything. We should be done this arc by 120, if not next chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

It took a few seconds for it to register in the everyone's head what Laxus had just said, and everyone watched the screen with baited breath, Lucy included.

"Oh, what a turn of events!" Damien shouted. "A three-way last mage standing for the final exam! Nashi vs Drake vs Elise!"

"Wow, we probably should have seen that coming." Levy whispered, Lucy nodding slowly. She had a bad feeling that this would be no easy fight, purely because of the three involved. It wasn't hard to say three of the biggest potential powerhouses from the new generation were now pitted against each other.

"This is going to be good." Gajeel said, laughing a little. "I wonder who'll win."

"No easy way to say." Lucy answered, watching the three back away from each other and watch carefully. "No easy way to say."

* * *

Nashi was one point of the triangle she, Drake and Elise had formed after Laxus told them the final exam was a fight between the three of them. All three watched each other carefully, waiting for the first sign of attack. Nashi flexed her fingers, feeling the adrenaline start to flow through er veins. She'd never had a fight with either, she was suddenly doubting her own power considerably. Elise cracked her neck, her eyes not leaving either of them.

Drake attacked first.

Before anyone could do anything, Nashi covered her ears and tried to block out the horrible screeching sounds coming from her friend, who took this chance to attack, slamming a fist into her stomach, causing her to fly back and hit a tree. She looked up in time to see Drake dodge a club hit from Elise, slamming his elbow into her face and then kick her feet out from under her. Nashi got up and roared at him, an attack he dodged and the flames hit Elise instead, throwing her back a few feet despite blocking it. Nashi ran towards Drake and threw out punches at him,all of which he dodged and drove a knee into her stomach, sending her up into the air.

"Fire Dragons Brilliant Flame!" She shouted, throwing the enormous fireball down onto the battlefield, one so huge Drake's dodging wouldn't do much. It struck him dead on,and he flew threw the air and landed on the trunk of the Tenrou tree, using it to propel himself through the air and towards Nashi, but was intercepted by Elise, who drove an iron coated fist into his stomach and he flew up into the branches. Nashi and Elise both landed and went at each other, fire striking off of iron and vice versa.

"Iron Dragons Hard Fist!"

"Fire Dragons Iron Fist!" Both fists connected and sent out a shock wave that blew the trees around, both growling at each other. Elise brought up another fist and threw a punch, but Nashi moved her head slightly to avoid it, also letting go of Elise's fist to kick her in the back. Just as Elise faltered, random blasts of poison came from above, throwing up dirt and making it difficult for either girl to dodge relying on eyesight.

"Where is he?!" Elise shouted somewhere next to Nashi.

"Up above, in the branches!" Nashi shouted, getting an idea. Aiming her open palms to the ground, she blasted fire out of them and propelled herself into the air, heading right for the top of the tree. Blasts of poison tried to intercept her, but she dodged them all and grabbed onto the nearest branch, only for it to be destroyed by another blast. Drake blasted through the smoke and he and Nashi grappled through the branches of the tree, using the environment to jump around.

"Poison Dragon Fang Thrust!" Nashi felt the jaw-like attack clamp around her leg and pull her back to Drake, who awaited with an open fist.

His mistake was not watching Nashi inhale deeply.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Drake's eyes widened as the torrent of flame made a space between them, the fang releasing Nashi's leg and she climbed to the top of the tree, looking down at Drake coming up. Nashi aimed and blasted the branch he was holding with flames, but he heard her and latched on one after the other. Just as Nashi was about to aim again, she saw a gray blur blindside Drake, and Elise perched on the branch he had previously, making her Nashi's new target.

"Fire Dragon..."

"Iron Dragon Lance: Demon Logs!" Nashi paled as the spears came toward her without mercy ,forcing her to dodge to he right as they embedded themselves where she had been only a moment before. Bouncing off of several branches, Nashi threw herself at Elise and slammed a fist into her stomach, sending her down the tree. Nashi watched her latch on somewhere halfway down, and took aim with a roar, until a blast of red obscured her vision and Drake grabbed her by the collar of her vest, sending her into the body of the tree. Nashi recovered in time to move her head and avoid a fist that landed next to her face, driving a foot into Drake's chest and then a fire coated fist in the same area, sending him far away from the tree. He boosted back towards it with poison and Nashi went after him, only to see him lose his footing on a branch Elise cut with a sword that came from nowhere. As Drake fell, Nashi felt poison wrap around her legs and drag her down as well, causing them both to fall to earth. She reached Drake in mid-air and the two grappled, trying to be the one on bottom before they hit the ground.

"You know." Drake said over the rippling wind as he ended up there. "I never would've guessed you like to be the bottom." Nashi rolled her eyes.

"I don't, I'm not submissive!" With these words Nashi ignited her body, sending Drake away from her. She boosted with fire to slow her descend, landing hard and feeling her legs threaten to snap from the pressure. She looked up to see Drake and Elise both attacking each other on the side of the tree, before they both fell back to earth, panting. Nashi was feeling the burn as well, but she grinned.

She as having fun.

Sprinting towards her friends and meeting them halfway, they began to trade blows. Drake hit her in the stomach only to get a club in the back from Elise, who had been to focused to see Nashi throw a fireball at her. All three parted again, panting a little.

"Well," Drake said. "This is a workout, huh?"

"No shit." Elise replied. "I'm winded."

"Oh well," Nashi said, grinning. "Looks like I win!"

"In your dreams, Nashi!"

"Get off your high horse!" Both went after her, poison and iron so synced, Nashi faltered more than once, getting a decent hit in the face more than once. Ducking both attacks, she swept Elise off her feet again and Drake grabbed the Iron Dragon by the shirt, throwing her into the brush. Nashi used his attack as an excuse to gain some distance and try and formulate a plan. Of her two opponents, Drake was the bigger problem. The only reason he'd been hit so far was because he'd only focused his sound magic on her or Elise at once. Drake came at her, and there was nothing Nashi could do. He expected every dodge and every attempt to attack back, always one step ahead like always. Grabbing her arm and throwing her back, Nashi realized that to do anything against Drake, she couldn't think. She had to attack erratically and in ways he wouldn't see coming, or nothing would work. She watched him fight with Elise, dodging all of her attacks. She ran up from behind and tried to strike him, but he ducked once more and her attack hit Elise, who growled and attacked her back.

"Iron Dragon Club!"

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" They traded blows, more than once their attacks being blocked, before Drake reappeared behind Elise, hitting her in the back and pushing into Nashi, who acted on reflex and caught her.

"Poison Dragon Roar!" Before either girl could react, Drake's roar hit Elise in the back and the sheer force sent them through several trees.

"Did he poison you, Elise?" Nashi asked weakly. She knew Drake often got rid of his poisonous abilities in a fight with them, but the roar was always deadly.

"Nah, My back was coated in my scales." Elise replied, both watching the scales disappear.

"Oh good, I'd feel bad otherwise." Before Elise could react, Nashi kicked her, sending her back into the clearing. After dodging several blasts from both parties, Nashi managed to get a hold of Drake's trench coat and threw him into Elise, who slammed a club into his face instead of catching him as Nashi had her. Drake slid back and his back slammed into the Tenrou tree. As Drake recovered from what was obviously a huge strike, Nashi was left to deal with Elise. Elise roared at her, and Nashi had no choice but to block it, feeling the razor sharp iron cutting her skin. Once the attack was over Nashi went on the offensive, attacking Elise with everything she had. However, due to the iron armor that now covered Elise's body, she very rarely stopped to block a hit, and Nashi received more than her far share of painful ones. Seeing a sword swing coming, Nashi caught the flat side and slid as Elise applied force to her attack, making her slide back. Ignoring the pain, Nashi applied an incredible amount of heat to her hands, melting the blade and making Elise's eyes widen.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Still having a firm hold on the sword made sure Elise could not dodge the roar, and it sent her into a roll, causing her to land on her back. Just as Nashi was about to claim victory when Elise didn't get up right away, a blast from behind sent her to the ground. She rolled just in time to avoid an attack from above as Drake landed where she had been only a moment before. She managed to dodge a few more strikes and stand, connecting a fist to his and sending him back. Around at this point Drake's ears twitched, giving him enough time to dodge an incoming sword from Elise, whom he kicked in the stomach and flew away from him.

"Mavis." Nashi said, panting. "This...is really hard..."

"No...Shit..." Drake replied. "None of us...want to lose..."

"Question is..." Elise started, pausing to spit on the ground. "Who's going to fall first?" All three of them exchanged glances, still gathering themselves. Nashi wiped her hand across her forehead, knowing she was incredibly sweaty.

"Alright well," Drake said, stretching. "I guess we should keep going."

"Yeah, I suppose." Elise replied, yawning. "I'm really tired, though." Seeing Elise yawn caused both other slayers to do so as well, and Nashi frowned.

"It'll suck when you both lose." She informed them. Drake smirked.

"Oh yeah Nashi?" He asked.

"Yeah, because I promised more than one person I'd win" She replied, body igniting. Drake laughed as he shed his trench coat, leaving his chest bare.

"You're not the only one who can catch their second wind." Drake told her. Nashi watched as his arms bulged and slowly turned red and scaly, much like they had in Edolas. Elise laughed as her body began to shine.

"You guys are leaving me out." She complained, her body now covered in grey armor. "Now, let's do this!" Nashi grinned and ran forward, just like they did, and raised a fist.

It had only just started.

**Chapter may seem shorter because of all the paragraphs, but it's about as long as the others. Anyway, your question today is:**

**Based on what you read today, who do you think will win?**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	119. Exams Aftermath

**Seems Drake is the most likely candidate for victory. Anyway, let's get into it!**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi was surprised that she hadn't lit the entire forest on fire yet with how much she'd been missing lately. She tried to hit Elise with another fireball, but she blocked it and it missed wildly. Nashi jumped in time to avoid a tree that fell as a result of Elise's wild aiming, but this only brought her to Drake, who swiped at her with his poisonous claws. She managed to avoid it for the most part, but she felt a section of her left arm go numb where the claw had made contact. Pushing him away with a kick, Nashi blasted at him with fire, and watched him maneuver through the air to avoid it. He landed in time to dodge Elise's preemptive strike at him, and kicked her away. Elise landed next to Nashi and cast her a look.

"Drake's the biggest problem right now." She told her, grinning. "Truce?" Nashi grinned back.

"Truce." Drake chuckled. Looking back at him, he had his scaly arms crossed and was grinning.

"I find it cute you two think you're enough to take me down." He told them. "You, what, think because you have a more powerful background you're enough to take me?"

"Maybe so." Nashi replied. "Question is, do you think you're good enough to handle the two of us?"

"Guess we'll find out." Drake replied, gesturing for them to come at him.

They obliged.

* * *

Lucy watched as the transmitter was temporarily blinded by explosions every now and then.

"Mavis." Levy whispered as Drake drove his elbow into Elise's back and sent her to the ground. "They're really not going easy on each other."

"Of course they aren't." Gajeel replied. "These aren't your regular mages. We're talking about three Dragon Slayers who all want the same thing. Going easy on each other would be insulting."

"Still." Lucy said, flinching as Nashi got a scaly fist to the face from Drake. "Thy're best friends, and they're acting like mortal enemies."

"They're passionate about it." Gray replied as Drake fended off assaults from both girls. "Can't help but admire that." Lucy smiled at his words.

"True enough." She replied.

* * *

Drake was handling them both, Nashi couldn't believe it. It was still like he wasn't even trying, and if they did somehow manage to get past the poison, he threw up sound walls to halt them and send them back where they wouldn't go deaf.

"Damn it." Nashi hissed as Drake stayed stationary.

"I knew he was good." Elise replied. "But I really underestimated him."

"We haven't even moved him." Nashi replied, making Drake chuckle.

"You guys seem to have forgotten." he told them, smirking. "I can hear everything you want to do before you do it. You can't beat me with an attack pattern like that." That was when Nashi realized it.

She'd been fighting by Drake's side a long time. That was how he knew what to do, it had nothing to do with sound magic. Sure that helped him, but he'd fought with her enough to know what she did and when she did it. Elise too. He knew them, simple as that.

Of course, that was a two-sided sword.

"You think we can't hit you?" Nashi asked. "You aren't perfect, Drake."

"Not saying I am." he replied. "Come on Nashi, I won't even fight back. Try to hit me." Nashi nodded and ran towards him, making sure all she thought about was punching him in the face with her right hand. She raised it, preparing to attack. Drake was already tensing to duck to the left.

His mistake was not listening to everything. Drake's sound magic had a glaring weakness, as his ears twitched when he was listening intently. When Nashi noticed the small motions made by his ears stopped, her attack pattern changed.

She used the momentum from the running to bring up her left fist and uppercut Drake in the face. The Poison Dragon flew through the air and hit the Tenrou tree, groaning in pain as he stood.

"Alright, you got me." he replied, grinning. "I just won't stop listening."

Damn it.

Elise and Nashi attacked again, but Drake kept his word by not ceasing to listen. Every move was flawlessly dodged and the girls hit each other in the face more than once as a result. Drake's foot connected with her face and she flew back, aiming a roar for him. However Elise chose this moment to swing with her sword, and Drake motioned so she was in Nashi's path. The Iron Dragon was hit with the torrent of flame and, as a matter of fact, hit Drake as she flew through the air, leaving both in a heap.

"Damn it Nashi, watch it!" Elise shouted, thrusting a club into Nashi's stomach.

"If you stopped getting in my way it wouldn't be a problem!" Nashi shouted back, grabbing the club and swinging Elise into Drake.

"Get off me Elise!" Drake shouted angrily, punching her in the back of the head and forcing her away from him. Elise replied by grabbing the fist he'd used to punch her and squeezing. Nashi heard a crack and Drake grimaced. "oh, so now we're breaking bones?" Drake drove his free fist into Elise's ribs, and another crack was heard and Elise faltered, clutching her ribs as Drake massaged his broken wrist.

"We have to end this before we kill each other." Nashi said.

"Agreed." Drake hissed, poison gathered around his left fist, the not broken one. "Wouldn't you, Elise?" Iron formed around Elise's arms.

"I suppose." She replied. The three moved at each other at once, attacking whatever body got in their way. Nashi hit Elise, Drake hit Nashi, Elise hit Drake, it was a never ending cycle. Nashi felt her body reaching it's limit as well, which caused her to slow considerably. Drake grabbed her by the scarf and threw her into Elise, who pushed her away, the three of them once again forming a triangle. They all gasped for air and waited for someone to make the next move, no one doing so as they waited for someone else to do it.

"Shit." Elise grasped at her ribs. "I think I'm almost done."

"Allow me to show you the door then." Drake said, taking a stance Nashi didn't recognize. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art!: Toxic Viper Strike!" Nashi watched in amazement as the poison formed around Drake, a rough outline of a snake, and it arced it's head as it shot towards Elise, much like a viper going in for the kill.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" Elise shouted back, her arm glowing. "Karma Demon: iron God Sword!" Elise brought the huge blade up and brought it down at Drake's attack.

Needless to say, Nashi felt left out.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" She shouted, hands glowing red. "Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Edge!" She aimed the circular attack right for where the poison and iron where going to meet, and it rushed to meet both other elements.

_BOOM!_

* * *

Everyone in the guildhall flinched as the three secret arts flew at each other, blinding the transmission lacrima for at least ten seconds, after a while, it finally started to fade.

"Who's still standing?!" Damien shouted. After a while, figures could be seen through the smoke.

They were all still standing.

Elise looked like shit, with some bits of her clothes still burning.

Drake had shards if iron sticking out of his now normal looking arms.

Nashi had received a brutal hit from both iron and poison, as she had been stabbed multiple places and some areas of her skin glowed blue and green.

"They're all still standing!" Damien shouted to the shocked crowd. "All three Dragons still stand! What a show of strength! Of just how badly they all want this!" Lucy could do nothing but stare at the three of them in awe, wondering how they'd taken so much abuse. truly a testament to their strength.

"I don't believe it." Levy said, sounding equally in awe. "They all took a combined explosion of three secret arts and are still standing."

"They're tough, that's for sure." Gajeel agreed.

"I think at this point they all..." Lucy started, but Damien made a shocked sound.

"What?! WHAT?!" Lucy shot her eyes back over to the screen, just in time to see it.

All three Dragon Slayers hit the ground at the same time, not moving.

* * *

Damien made a face as he observed the job board, Ultear and Simon next to him.

"You guys see anything?" He asked, getting a shake of the head from both.

"None of this seems good." Ultear said, shaking her head sadly.

"Hold up!" Simon sad, grabbing a flyer. "This one looks good. Some monsters terrorizing a town."

"Basic, I like it." Damien agreed, walking towards the counter where his mother stood, awaiting them. "Hey Mom, we're doing this one." he said, thrusting the flyer at her. She smiled.

"Have fun sweetheart." She said. Damien nodded and turned to walk away with the others, and got an idea.

"Don't you guys think we're missing something?" Damien asked, the other two getting mischievous grins on their faces. All three of them walked up to the people in question, grinning. "Hey guys, you want to come?"

"Fuck off Damien." the three Dragon Slayers said at once, glaring at him as he laughed. After all three of them had collapsed at the end of the final exam, Damien's father didn't know who had fallen first, and the replay couldn't give a certain answer. So, instead of choosing one over the others, he just picked all of them.

Needless to say, none of them were very happy all of them made it.

"Why are you guys so upset?" Simon asked with a grin. "You're S-Class!"

"Because we're all wrapped up like an ancient mummy?" Elise asked. Damien had forgotten to mention the three had banged each other up so bad practically their whole bodies except their faces were covered in gauze. That didn't improve their mood whatsoever, sadly.

"Besides." Drake said, shifting awkwardly, "This is all Nashi's fault." Nashi looked over at him with an exasperated look on her face.

"My fault?" She demanded. "Who's the idiot who decided it was secret art time?!"

"Yeah Drake!" Elise shouted from Nashi's other side.

"Who decided to launch some fire into the middle of that?!" Drake shouted back. "That's what caused such a huge explosion!"

"Yeah Nashi!" Elise shouted. Nashi glared at the iron slayer angrily.

"You're the one who lost her temper at the smallest things!"

"I always do that!"

"And it's what caused that!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"Get over here you...!" Damien watched weakly as the three began rolling around on the floor and yelling at each other angrily, ranging from blame to insults to whatever else they could use as ammo.

"Maybe we should just go."Ultear said, backing away from the three slowly. Damien followed suit, not wanting to stay around when one of them destroyed something.

"Just a day at Fairy Tail..." he muttered as he heard explosions from the guild.

* * *

Zeus watched the water below his window churn violently, but this was not his concern. He was waiting for someone to show, as he needed to talk to them.

"Master Zeus." Zeus turned to find the man in question kneeling before him, and he nodded in acknowledgement.

"You made it." He drawled. "Excellent, I have a task for you."

"Which is?"

"You are to take your old guildmates to a small town west of Era. You know your task there." The man chuckled darkly.

"It's time? Finally?"

"Yes." Zeus replied. "Make sure you fire it correctly, You don;t want to know what'll happen if you miss that accursed guildhall."

"Yes, Master Zeus." The man stood and prepared, to leave, Zeus watching him.

"Apocalypse." Zeus called out, causing the man to stop. "Do not betray me." Apocalypse straightened his back and nodded, but he did not look at Zeus.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Apocalypse replied. "Don't worry, Magnolia is toast, as long as I can fire it correctly."

"Good. I'll be seeing you then." Zeus watched the man leave, and excuse himself as a woman with black hair entered. "Athena, what can I do for you?"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Master Zeus." Athena said, bowing. "But I've run simulations based on...that mans tasks."

"And?" Zeus asked, watching the water once more. "What have you discovered?"

"There is only a 23% chance, factoring in as many variables as possible, that Apocalypse will succeed in his mission. More than likely, he will be defeated or will mess up during the firing sequence."

"And?" Zeus asked, watching Athena carefully. The strategic woman had long since learned to hide her surprise at his words, but he knew he shocked her.

"Well...I'm just saying maybe this isn't the smartest course of action."

"It is, trust me." Zeus replied. He didn't say anymore, and Athena saw herself out. He sighed as the doors to the room slammed shut.

"All in due time Athena. All in due time."

**Sorry about the fight, I just wanted to end it. Also, Apocalypse is on the move! Your question is:**

**What do you think Apocalypse is doing?**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	120. The Former Devils

**This is going to be an extra long chapter, so prepare yourselves! Enjoy!**

Yawning, the girl flipped over in her bed and stared at the roof, wondering what that amazing smell could be. It seemed rather early in the morning, so she couldn't fathom what the smell was. After inhaling it a little more, she decided she couldn't take it anymore and flipped the sheets off of her bed, standing up and stretching. Walking over to her mirror, the girl observed herself in her pajamas, which was just one of her normal purple tops and pajama bottoms.

Oh, and Azzie's hair was everywhere.

She frowned as she observed the mess of purple on her head, picking up her brush and doing her best to tame it. There was a reason she usually slept with a pony tail, and this was it. Finally getting all of the knots out from her vicious tossing and turning, Azzie picked up one of her elastics and wrapped her hair in it, leaving it in a pony tail. After she'd made herself at least semi-presentable, Azzie wandered from her room and down the hall to the kitchen, where she was greeted by quite the sight.

Katsuchi and Tetsu, her two roommates, were cooking. Although not exactly the way you were probably thinking. Katsuchi had a black flame going on his palm. Alright, nothing wrong there right? Well, it was the Iron God Slayer next to him with his hand in the shape of a frying pan and both of them wearing aprons that confused her. Oh, and the amazing smell seemed to be coming from the pan that was above Katsuchi's fire.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Azzie demanded, earning a deer in headlights stare from both of them.

"Uh..." Tetsu said weakly.

"Cooking?" Katsuchi asked. Azzie rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"And you aren't using the stove because...?" She asked, gesturing to the metal appliance next to them. Both looked back at it, then at her.

"It's broken." they both said.

"How?" Azzie demanded.

"Uh..." Tetsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Doesn't matter."

"..." Azzie gave them both a silent death stare, and they only grinned back at her. "Sometimes I don't know why I live with you two."

"Because you love us." Katsuchi replied, a stupid grin still on his face.

"...I'm going back to bed." Azzie told them, causing them to frown.

"But we made breakfast!" Tetsu said, brandishing bacon at her.

"I'm tired." She replied.

"But you'e hungry, right?" Katsuchi asked hopefully. Azzie's stomach betrayed her before she could even say a word. Both of them laughed at her hunger and she walked up to them,

"What did you make?" She asked.

"Bacon." Tetsu replied.

"And?" Azzie asked. Both stared at her blankly before Tetsu opened the fridge. It was empty. "...Oh, there was nothing else."

"We'll go get groceries after you eat" Katsuchi replied. "And by that I mean you'll do the buying while Tetsu and I act like spoiled children and throw stuff at you." Azzie's head spun at the premise of dealing with that and turned on her heel.

"I'm going to lie down." She said weakly, eating her portion quickly. Throwing herself back to bed, she hugged her pillow and rested for a whole of five minutes before a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her out of bed. "Gah!"

"Come on!" Katsuchi laughed as he spun her around. "Time to get up!"

"K-Katsuchi-sama! Put me down!"

"Hurry and get her a shirt to wear Tetsu!" Katsuchi shouted as Azzie squirmed. "She's slippery!"

"I'm going!" Tetsu's voice came from Azzie's closet. "Will any color do?"

"Yes!" Azzie tried her hardest to free herself from the God Slayer, but his grip was too tight. She stopped squirming long enough to see Tetsu come over with a shirt, frowning as he did.

"Get that one off her, dude!" he complained.

"W-What?!" Azzie asked weakly as she felt Katsuchi's fingers grip the end of her shirt. "Don't strip me! What the hell is wrong with you two?!"

"Oh calm yourself, Azzie!" Katsuchi replied. "It's just a shirt!"

"W-Wait! I'm not wearing a...!" Katsuchi didn't listen, and the shirt flew over her head.

There was nothing underneath.

Azzie screeched and covered her bare upper half as best she could, glaring at Tetsu as he approached.

"Woah Azzie, didn't know you slept freely." He joked.

"Shut up you moron!" Azzie hissed, face filling with red. "I can dress myself!"

"Get her a bra, Tetsu." Katsuchi advised.

"Where are those?" Tetsu asked.

"I don't know, check those drawers." Azzie watched Tetsu wander over to her dresser and open the first drawer, proceeding to make a face.

"Nope." he replied. "Those are panties."

"Tetsu-sama!" Azzie shouted, blushing even harder. "Don't go through my underwear!"

"Than where are they?" He asked indifferently.

"..._*sigh*, _Over there." Azzie replied, pointing back to her closet. Tetsu wandered over to it and looked back inside, eyes lighting up as he found them. He pulled one out and wandered back, working together with Katsuchi to put it on her.

"And...Got it!" Katsuchi said as the hook latched. "Simple." Azzie remained silent as Tetsu and Katsuchi raised her arms, sliding her shirt on.

"There, was that so hard?" Tetsu asked. "Now we do the pants."

"You two..." Azzie began to shake angrily now that she had been released.

"Uh...A-Azzie?" Tetsu asked weakly.

_SMACK! SMACK!_

* * *

Katsuchi rubbed the red welt on his face as he and Tetsu wandered through town behind Azzie, staying quiet as they had been instructed. After getting slapped with the fury of what he was supposed to slay, both God Slayers had been given strict instructions to stay quiet and obey every order to a fault. Neither were stupid enough to defy Azzie when she got that mad, and did as they were told.

"You'd think we tried to feel her up." Tetsu hissed.

"I know." Katsuchi replied as Azzie looked around the market. "How many times have we seen her naked before?"

"Ever since we got loose, she's been acting...girly." Katsuchi laughed quietly.

"She's a woman, dude." He replied. "She's supposed to be girly."

"I know, but it never bothered her that bad before."

"I told you two no talking!" Azzie shouted from the fruit stand she was at, and both stiffened at her words, nodding viciously. "Uh haha, sorry about them..." Azzie said to the vendor, who appeared quite surprised at her outburst.

"He must think we're so whipped." Tetsu muttered.

"We are." Katsuchi said lowly. "She said shut up and we did."

"...Whatever" Rolling his eyes, Katsuchi watched Azzie take her fruit and turned to them, holding the bag out expectantly. Both stared at her before Katsuchi realized she was waiting for one of them to take the bag. Rushing forward and doing so, he smiled weakly at her , which got nothing but anger. Sighing, both of them followed her through town some more, watching her browse more stands. Katsuchi decided to gather his courage and speak up.

"Um...Azzie?" he asked weakly. The girl looked over her shoulder to acknowledge him. "Can we just apologize?"

" Go ahead." She replied. "Maybe if you grovel enough I'll forgive you." Tetsu nodded at Katsuchi, who sighed.

"Look, we're sorry. I know you're mad at us and everything, but it's not a big deal."

"I can argue that."

"Well..." Katsuchi paused, thinking over his words. "I can understand why you're mad, but come on, it's not like we were trying to feel you up, we were just fooling around." Azzie remained silent, and Katsuchi laughed weakly. "I mean, come on. You know we're jokers." Azzie sighed.

"Yeah, I...I know." She turned and smiled weakly. "I appreciate you guys, really, I do. Sorry I overreacted."

"Thanks for not getting even more enraged." Tetsu said, smirking. "I was worried there for a minute." Azzie laughed weakly.

"Yeah yeah. Come on, guys." Now that the tense atmosphere had lifted considerably, Katsuchi and Tetsu felt considerably safer walking right behind her. Azzie rarely stayed mad at them for long, so it was bound to pass eventually.

"Oh great." Katsuchi looked up to see a crowd around what appeared to be the appliance store. "Now we have to fight out way in."

"I got it." Tetsu said, hoisting Azzie up like a princess and walking towards the crowd.

"Wait. Katsuchi-sama, can you go see if our order of clothes made it yet?" Katsuchi groaned.

"You know I hate that store though!"

"Please?" Katsuchi looked at Azzie's hopeful look, before he swallowed his pride and nodded. "Great! Just ask someone at the front desk, they'd know."

"...Go and get help to fix the stove." Katsuchi hissed, walking away. Tetsu took this as his cue to wade through the crowd, Azzie still in his arms. Katsuchi watched weakly for a moment before he gave up and dragged his feet in the direction of the clothing store down the street. Azzie had ordered more clothes from them with the money they'd taken from Devil Advocate's savings and they were supposed to come in today. Finally making it to the store, Katsuchi made sure no one could see his face as he walked to the front desk and asked about it, the woman telling him to wait. Once she came back, Katsuchi payed her and practically bolted from the store, eager to get away from that place. Once he had, he took a breather outside, standing next to the magazine stand. Looking down, something caught his eye.

_The Results of Fairy Tail's S-Class exams! _

Katsuchi recognized three people on the cover as the Dragon Slayers, and this piqued his curiosity. _Whatever, what harm could it do? _Katsuchi reached with his free hand to grab the magazine, already pondering who won.

Another hand grabbed the magazine at the same time. Looking up, Katsuchi was greeted by the sight of a girl with white hair and dark blue eyes, who'd looked up to stare at him at the same time. The problem was, that was the last copy of the magazine.

"Ah, sorry." he said, tugging on the magazine a bit. "It's mine." The girl made a face.

"No no, it's mine." Both lifted it up and pulled on it, eyes never leaving one another. After a few tugs both ways, she frowned deeply at him. "Be a gentleman." She advised.

"I am, it's mine." Katsuchi replied, frowning as well.

"Why do you want it so bad?" She demanded.

"Why do you?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Because I'm friends with those people in the exams." She replied. "I want to know who won."

"I'm friends with them too." She didn't seem convinced, easily so. It wasn't a widely known fact.

"Oh yeah?" She asked. "Who's the pinkette?"

"Nashi Dragneel." he relied instantly.

"Black haired girl?"

"Elise Redfox."

"The guy in the trench coat?"

"Drake." The girl humphed, clearly even more irritated than before.

"Not impressive." She said. "That's easy stuff to know. You're probably just a fanboy." Katsuchi chuckled.

"Quite the opposite, actually." he replied. "But I can guarantee we're friends." The girl stared at him before pulling roughly.

"Just give me the damn magazine." She said, voice lower and more threatening than before. Katsuchi did not waver, this girl wasn't shit.

"How about you give it to me?" The tension tripled as neither planned to let go. Damn, this bitch was stubborn.

"Don't make me hurt you." She said.

"Likewise." She growled and the wind whipped around them more forcefully than it had a moment ago. Before long, the magical tension increased as well. The girls clothes and hair whipped around violently. _Huh, storm mage huh? She ain't shit. _Katsuchi lit his body on fire, black flames sprouting forth. Neither made the first move, scanning each other carefully. Both reared at the same time, preparing to attack.

"Katsuchi-sama!"

"Winter!"

Both froze instantly. Katsuchi looked over his shoulder to find Tetsu and Azzie standing there, looking unimpressed.

"It's not what it looks like." he said immediately. Tetsu laughed.

"I think it's exactly what it looks like." He said flatly. Before Katsuchi could reply, he felt the girls grip on the magazine lessen, and he looked over to find the cause, which appeared to be the taller, tan, black haired girl who had Katsuchi's potential opponent by the scruff of the neck.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The girl demanded. "We're on a job, don't be provoking locals!"

"I-I'm sorry, Terra..." The girls eyes then darted up to look at Katsuchi, who shied away at the ferocity in her eyes, it reminded him of Damien. Before anything else could happen though, the other girl was released and the tan one was bowing to Katsuchi.

"Uh.." He started.

"I'm terribly sorry for my friends behavior." She said, not looking up. "She's quite stubborn sometimes."

"I-It's okay..." The girl stood out straight and smiled at him, extending a hand towards him.

"I'm Terra." She said, and then gestured to the other girl. "That's Winter." Katsuchi shoved the magazine in with Azzie's clothes and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you Terra. I'm Katsuchi." he looked over at Winter. "Winter." The girl did nothing but nod at him, and then Katsuchi felt the bag leave his hand. Looking back, he saw Azzie looking inside.

"Oh good, you got what you were supposed to before you went around starting fights." She glared at him, and he sweat dropped. Azzie then looked at Terra. "By the way, I'm Azzie, Katsuchi's roommate. That's Tetsu." Tetsu nodded at the girls as Azzie shook Terra's hand.

"Well, how about I make it up to you for Winter's behavior?" Terra asked. "We were about to get lunch, you interested?"

* * *

And that was how Katsuchi ended up at an open diner with two girls from Lamia Scale, listening to them talk with Azzie and Tetsu. he was too busy deflecting angry stares from Winter.

"That sounds like Damien." Azzie said with a small laugh as Terra finished her story about being stuck at a meeting turning into a death match between her and Fairy Tail's Demon Lord.

"He got me good, I have to say." Terra agreed with a small chuckle.

"So If I could just interrupt for a moment." Winter said, gaining everyone's attention. "How do you three now our friends from Fairy Tail?" All three paled and looked around weakly. "Well?" Winter demanded.

"They, uh, came through once." Azzie replied for them. "We met them, talked for a bit..."

"Azzie fell madly in love with one." Tetsu added, earning a smack on the arm.

"Who?" Terra asked curiously.

"Drake." Katsuchi replied before Azzie could stop him. As Azzie wallowed in embarrassment, Katsuchi saw something in Winter's eyes. "What's wrong with you?" he asked her. She seemed shocked at being addressed, and shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh, nothing." She replied. "it's just...Well..."

"Are you in love with him too?" Tetsu asked.

"No no." Winter said with an awkward laugh. "He's my ex."

...

...

The awkward silence that fell over the table with these words almost made Katsuchi burst out in laughter. Azzie was just sitting there, a stunned look on her face. Terra seemed indifferent to all the uncomfortable people, and Winter almost looked apologetic.

"O-Oh..." Azzie said weakly. Winter looked anywhere but at Azzie.

"Yeah..." She coughed. "if it makes you feel any better, I know he's single"

"..."

"..."

"Well, anyway." Tetsu finally said, and Katsuchi was thankful he'd spoken up. "What brings you two fine young ladies to our humble little town?"

"Well," Terra said, leaning on the table. "Can you guys keep a secret?"

"Sure." Katsuchi replied. Terra grinned.

"Somewhere in the mountains near here, there are some bad people." Katsuchi felt like he was a five year old getting an explanation. "And we're on our way to deal with them."

"Just the two of you?" Azzie asked, getting the courage to speak.

"You are looking at a Neekis." Terra replied, winking. "My dad is Jura, who I'm sure you've heard of." Katsuchi had, actually. The Wizard Saint who led Lamia Scale. He suddenly realized why this girl reminded him so much of Damien. "And Winter's a God Slayer, so..."

"S-Say what now?" Katsuchi sputtered, knowing he'd misheard. Winter answered him by raising her hand, a ball of black energy circling there.

"Winter the 2nd Sky God Slayer at your service." She said. All three stared at her in shock. Katsuchi knew enough from Kronos that God Slaying magic was incredibly rare, as with any Slaying magic. How was it this random girl from a guild was in league with himself and Tetsu? And, of all places they passed through, it was here?

Anyway," Terra said, standing and stretching. "We really should get going, and take those guys out. Ready Winter?"

"As I'll ever be." She replied. Both stood, and Winter looked over at Katsuchi. "Sorry." She said quickly, getting glared at by Terra, "For before, I mean."

"It's cool." he replied. The two vacated the area, leaving the three former dark guild members to their thoughts.

"Well..." Katsuchi said weakly. "They were, um..."

"Interesting." Tetsu agreed. "Maybe we should just go home now..."

* * *

Azzie sat in her bed and stared up at the roof, still not recovered from learning that Winter girl had dated Drake.

"What does she have that I don't...?" Azzie wondered into her pillow. "She's not that great..." She was thinking to far into it, they'd probably dated years ago. Azzie didn't know much about childhood, but she knew relationships like that didn't mean much. Groaning and rolling over to get out of bed, she looked around her her bag of clothes Katsuchi had picked up. Not seeing it in her room, she wandered out to where both her roommates were.

"You guys see my new clothes?" She asked. Katsuchi cursed under his breath.

"We forgot them at the diner." Azzie nodded and made for the door, leaving into the cool afternoon air. Making her way to the diner, Azzie was once again lost in her overreacting thoughts about the Sky God Slayer and Drake. Surely nothing had happened, mostly innocent childish stuff right?

"Stop thinking about it!" Azzie hissed to herself, making sure she didn't scream it and draw attention to herself. People already thought she was weird, no reason to make it any worse, right? Turning into the fenced area of the diner, Azzie spotted the bag and made her way to it, picking it up and turning to leave. This was when she spotted a folded up flyer on the seat where Terra had been. She picked it up and unfolded it, seeing what exactly the two girls were after.

_Defeat the dark guild Crimson Nexus!_

Azzie's eyes widened as she read the words. She knew the guild name, It was a dark guild under Devil Advocate's control. She's even heard Icas had been sent to help with the relocation. They'd been relocated near here? Winter and Terra had gone after them?

This was bad, very very bad. Why? Because Azzie knew what the master of Crimson Nexus was capable of. Breaking into a sprint, Azzie rushed home, knocking people out of her way.

"Katsuchi-sama! Tetsu-sama!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as she got home,both of them staring at her. "They're in trouble!"

* * *

Terra wished she'd known about the master of Crimson Nexus, he was a pain in the ass. She and Winter had dealt with the lessers easily enough, but the Master had sapped her and Winter of their strength in one go.

"Terra Neekis and Winter Vastia." The man said, smiling. "Lamia Scale's pride and joy, underneath my boot. Pitiful."

"How the hell...?" Terra managed, looking up at the man above her.

"My little secret, darlings." he replied. "Long story short, I've sapped you both of all of your strength. Or rather, I've dispelled it."

"Are you okay, Winter?" Terra called behind her.

"Yeah, I'm just..." Terra heard the girl cough. "Where'd all our magic go?"

"I've dispelled it, I already told you." The master replied. "Besides, it won't matter it a few seconds, after I've offed the two of you." Terra had to find a way out of this, and quick. "But, before I do, anything you'd like to say?"

"I can think of a few things, yeah." Winter growled, causing him to laugh.

"You'v got spunk Vastia, I like that. Maybe I'll keep you around for a little bit." he laughed as he unsheathed the sword at his side. Terra tried to move as he approached her, but it was no good. "Now then, I think it's about time I...!" Terra heard the sounds of swords clashing, and attacks flying around the room. Looking up, she spotted why.

Katsuchi, Tetsu, and Azzie stood in between them and the Master.

"Azzie?" The man demanded. "Katsuchi? Tetsu? What the hell are you two doing here?! I heard everyone in Devil Advocate got arrested or died!"

"Here we are." Katsuchi replied, black flames licking around his figure. "Leave them be." The Master laughed.

"Just because you three were in Devil Advocate doesn't mean you can order me around, you know. From what the underground is saying, you three defected!"

"So what is we did, Master-sama?" Azzie asked, white energy emanating from her body. "What do you plan to do?"

"This!" The Master raised his right hand, the same white light that had sapped their strength aimed at the others. Azzie raised hers as well, a similar light there. A strange sound was heard, and the Master backed up. "W-What?"

"Have you forgotten?" Azzie asked. "Master Kronos-sama sent me to train in dispelling magic under you." The Master backed up, a fearful look on his face. Terra was still trying to figure out what was going on. "Seeing as Master Kronos-sama was defeated, I think it's only fair you are as well!" All three of them charged forward.

It was over as soon as Azzie touched the master, and he collapsed. Katsuchi and Tetsu picked him up, threw him into the air and took aim.

"Iron God's Bellow!"

"Fire God's Bellow!"

The two attacks formed together and hit the Master of Crimson Nexus head on, slamming him through the walls and out int the open air. Terra watched the three deal with him like it was nothing.

_Who the hell are you people_

* * *

That was the story about how Azzie, Katsuchi and Tetsu saved Terra and Winter. They brought both girls back to their home and allowed them to rest, both sleeping soundly into the morning. Once Terra had awoken, Azzie explained how the Master of Crimson Nexus' magic had dispelled all of them magic in their bodies, rendering them completely helpless. Terra complained about how she never seemed to be able to do anything, as she always needed help/

"So," Terra said. "Azzie. You said you studied under him?" Azzie sighed, pausing at the counter. Terra was sitting at the table, while Katsuchi and tetsu listened from the living room.

"We're were in a dark guild too." Azzie explained, looking over at Terra. "The one he mentioned, Devil Advocate." Terra nodded for her to continue. "We never liked what we did, but Master Kronos-sama gave us a home in exchange for our service. We would be killed if we tried to escape him, so many others met that fate."

"What happened?" Terra asked.

"Fairy Tail." Azzie replied, smiling at the thought of her six saviors. "We had to attack them, but they came after us. One by one we all got defeated, and we saw our way out." Azzie then turned to Terra. "We helped them defeat our master, and then we took all the jewel he had. He won't be needing it anyway."Terra nodded and chuckled.

"Does sound like them." Terra said aimlessly, sipping her tea. "Regardless, thanks for the help. Oh, and if you didn't want anyone to know who you are, don't worry. I won't say anything."

"Thanks." A sound came from down the hall, and everyone turned to see Winter yawn and enter.

"I'm beat." She said. "Can we go home yet?" Terra chuckled.

"yeah yeah, give me a minute." Before Terra could stand, a ringing sound came from Winter. Taking a lacrima phone from her pocket, she stared at it. "Who is it?" Terra asked.

"It's Drake." Azzie's heart jumped into her throat.

"Put him on speaker." Terra said. Winter did so and answered.

"Drake?" She asked.

_"Winter! I need you!"_

_..._

_..._

"W-What?" Winter asked weakly, Azzie's head spinning.

_"I said I need you, and quick! This is important!"_

"What is it? Is someone hurt?"

_"No no, it's much worse." _There was a pause, then, _"It's almost Nashi's birthday, and everyone's panicking to get everything ready and all that. We really need your help. Like, now."_

"Drake, I can't just jump to help you whenever you need me."

_"But...But...It's her birthday!" _Winter sighed.

"Alright, alright, Terra and I are on our way. Anything else?"

_"Uh, well, no, not really."_

"Alright then, bye."

_"See you." _Winter hung up and sighed.

"Why does he always expect me to jump and help him at a moments notice?" She asked no one in particular. "Come on Terra, we have to go."

"Wait!" Everyone looked at Azzie as she bolted from the room.

* * *

It was a while before the dispelling mage reappeared, a small envelope in her hands. Winter hand't the faintest idea what it was, she'd even called Katsuchi and Tetsu in there.

"It's for Nashi-sama." Azzie explained as she handed the envelope to Winter.

"Ah, okay." She said, pocketing the present. "You guys want to come? I'm sure she'd love it."

"Nah." Katsuchi said. "They may love it, but who knows who everyone else in the guild would react to us just showing up. Just give her that, and said he said hi." Winter nodded and turned, following Terra out the open door. Once they got a fair distance away, Terra chuckled.

"What do you think they're planning for Nashi?" she asked. Winter shrugged, thinking back to the tone Drake had used over the phone. He almost sounded desperate.

"Who knows." She replied, smiling. "But it's Fairy Tail, so Lord above knows it's going to be crazy."

**I know the fight scene was lackluster, but it was supposed to be a comedic chapter, not anything serious. I'm sure you guys can guess what comes next! :)**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	121. Nashi's Birthday

**And so, Nashi's birthday is upon us. I don't have an actual date mind you, so just go with it, okay?**

**I've wanted to write this oneshot for so long, ever since the end of Edolas actually. Glad I finally got around to it.**

**Enjoy!**

To the average observer, nothing was wrong in Magnolia that day. The birds were singing, the people were happy, the sun was shining, just your average nice day in Magnolia.

However, if that average observer took one look inside Fairy Tail's closed doors, it was a whole other story entirely. People were running everywhere, shouting at each other almost nonsensically. People rushed around to get everything as ready as possible, which was saying one thing, but for Fairy Tail to get ready in a calm and orderly fashion, this was a whole other problem entirely.

And of course Drake got caught in the middle of it.

"Drake!" he heard Ultear shout. "Heard anything?"

"No, she's not here yet." Drake replied. he'd been put on door duty to make sure Nashi didn't walk in on them getting her party ready, which was obviously what everyone was rushing around for.

Nashi's seventeenth birthday.

Drake should've known this would happen, everyone would forget until the last second and they'd have to rush around getting ready. For some reason he thought differently, and now it was costing everyone.

"Fuck!" Drake looked over to find Elise coming out of the kitchen, covered in flour.

"Damn it Elise!" Ultear said, walking up to her. "I left for three seconds!"

"Three seconds too long!" Elise replied angrily.

"Ge back in there, we don't have time for this!"

"I didn't get her anything yet!" Simon shouted, which caused him to look around in a panic. "Great. Damien, I need you to come with me!"

"Why?!" Damien demanded, as he was floating several feet in the air helping his mother put up a banner. "I'm busy!"

"Now!" Simon shouted, causing Damien to flinch and nod, running to Simon. Just as the two were about to leave, Drake's eyes widened.

"SHE'S COMING!" He roared, causing everyone to panic even harder.

"Shit, what do we do?!" Elise asked. Ultear brightened.

"Drake!" She shouted.

"W-Wha...?" Drake asked weakly as the water wizard pushed him to the door.

"You're her best friend, distract her while we get ready!"

"I can't distract her, she'll know right off the bat what's going on!" Drake retorted.

"No one else can do it!" Ultear replied. "Now get out there and distract her!" Drake was about to protest as he was pushed through the exit, but it was too late. Ultear sent him through the door, which caused him to lose his balance and land on his face, the door shutting behind him.

"Drake?" Drake tensed at the sound of her voice, looking up to see her standing in front of him, the sun above framing her face as she stared down at him. If he hadn't been panicking, maybe it would've been cool.

"Heyyy." He drew out, getting up and smiling. "What's up Nashi?" The girl smiled at him.

"Not much." She replied, "It's a beautiful day huh?" Drake took a moment to observe his surroundings, and realized it was a rather nice day. He'd spent his day so far on look out for the girl in front of him, so he hadn't noticed.

"Yeah, it is." He replied. A silence then appeared between them, Drake grasping at straws for what to say while Nashi just stood there with an unknowing smile on her face. He had to come up with something, or she'd find out.

"Well anyway, I'm going to go get some breakfast." Nashi made to pass Drake, who got in her way without knowing what he was going to say to stop her. "Drake...?"

"...Elise caught the kitchen on fire." Drake stammered, hitting himself mentally for such a shit excuse. "We're still cleaning up." Nashi sighed.

"Again?" She demanded. "How many times have we told that girl she can't cook?"

"A lot of times." Drake replied, realizing they'd put the Iron Dragon on cake duty. They were so fucked. "How about we uh...go out for breakfast, my treat?" Drake tried to not visibly sweat as she observed him, before she smiled and nodded.

"Alright, let's go." She said, grabbing his hand and dragging him away. Somehow, Drake felt like it would be a long day.

* * *

Ultear breathed a sigh of relief as she heard Drake getting dragged away, meaning they still had time.

"Alright people, look alive." She said, everyone watching her. "What Drake said it true, he can only distract Nashi for so long before she starts to get suspicious. Let's hurry this up!" Everyone shouted in agreement and started bustling around, Simon walking up to her, eyes full of dismay.

"What the hell am I supposed to buy her?" he demanded.

"Clothes." Ultear replied.

"Like hell I'm going anywhere near a store to buy girls clothes without a girl near me."

"I know a girl that would help you." Simon frowned at Ultear's words, thinking them over. He scowled once he figured it out.

"No." he said. "Not her, don't make me."

"Just saying Simon. She'd be more than willing to help you out, I'm sure."

"But..." Damien laughed and patted Simon on the shoulder.

"Just grow a pair and let's go, man." he said. "I still have to buy her something too." Simon sighed in defeat as Damien steered him in the direction of the exit, both taking off int the sky. Ultear had enough time to go before an explosion sounded from the kitchen. Running back, she face palmed to see Elise sitting in the midst of exploded cake, a shocked expression on her face.

"I told you to wait!" She shouted angrily, Elise rolling her eyes.

"I didn't think it'd detonate!" She shouted back. "You know damn well I'm a shitty cook!"

"Now we have to start all over!" Ultear tried her best to not lose her cool. "It's fine, it's fine. I'll get Mira, she can help us."

"Hurry up then. we don't have all day! Those two may be best friends but Drake doesn't have much to work with!"

* * *

"You know, just because I said it was my treat didn't mean you could order the most expensive thing on the menu."

"But you didn't stop me." Nashi pointed out, jabbing her fork in Drake's direction. "So ha." Drake frowned and rested his head on his hand, trying to think up a strategy. He didn't know how much longer everyone at the guild needed to get ready, and it worried him that he'd mess up and Nashi would walk in on them getting ready. "Hey, Drake."

"What?" He asked, opening his eyes to see the girl watching him closely.

"Why are you being so quiet? Is everything okay?" The amount of concern on her face made Drake feel bad he made her worry, and he sighed.

"It's nothing." he replied, knowing full well the problem was back at the guild hall. "Just a little tired."

"Are you sure? You seem tense." Drake nodded again, knowing Nashi was still watching him. There wasn't much he could do about that though, he couldn't relax himself at all.

"It's nothing Nashi, really." he told her. "Don't waste your time worrying about me."

"...Alright." Silence, then, "You know you can tell me, right?" Drake frowned at her as she stared back, he shrugged her off.

"It's nothing." he insisted. "Really Nashi, I'm okay." She rolled her eyes but didn't pursue the subject, instead allowing it to drop. It occurred to Drake Nashi was being rather quiet about it being her birthday. She'd never been one to throw the day around like she was a princess or something, bit it unnerved Drake that she wasn't the least bit suspicious about him keeping her away from the guildhall. And right about then is when it occurred to Drake, and he almost face palmed in front of her.

Nashi had said she didn't want to do anything for her birthday anymore.

That had been a few years back, when the old depression had been in it's peak. On her fourteenth birthday, she'd told him and the others in confidence she didn't want to celebrate the day anymore. It made sense at the time, she was depressed out of her mind. However, she had done a complete one-eighty since, so Drake hoped she would be surprised.

At least he stopped worrying abut her being suspicious.

"Alright, well, now what?" Nashi asked as the waitress took her empty plate away. Drake looked up at these words.

"I don't know." he replied. "You want to just hang out today?" Nashi smiled at this.

"How long has it been since we just hung out?" She asked as they stood.

"A while, I would think." Drake replied, breathing silent sighs of relief that worked. As he stayed behind at the counter to pay, Drake tried to think up more ways that he could distract her. Once he left and found Nashi waiting for him, he still didn't have anymore of a clue what they were going to do.

It was so hard to hang out with people when you had a specific mission.

"Well, now what?" Drake asked, looking around. "I suppose we could...!" Drake was cut off as a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and leg around his midsection. "Nashi! What the hell are you doing?!"

"I want a piggy back ride." the girl informed him flatly.

"You could've asked, you know!" he shouted, almost losing his balance as she giggled gleefully. "How old are you?!"

"Sixteen." Drake made a face before he almost burst out laughing. Had she forgotten? This was almost too good. Come to think of it, she along with him and Elise only did get out of all those bandages from the S-Class exams recently, so maybe she really had forgotten.

"Act it." he told her. "And...Ugh, if you're going to make me carry you, at least make it easier!" The two moved around awkwardly, with everyone watching them, until Drake got a better grasp on her.

"Keep those hands where you won't get a punch in the face Drake." Nashi warned him, he only just realizing how close his hands where to her ass.

"It's your own fault for making me carry you." Drake replied. "Where are we going?"

"Let's go to the park!" Nashi arm appeared in the center of his vision. "Onward!"

"How old did you say you were again...?"

* * *

So, you have come to me." Simon nodded and waited with baited breath. The girl laughed. "Thank God for that, you two have no fashion sense!"

"Thanks for pointing that out, Mami." Damien replied. "Now, we're kind of short on time, so could we hurry this up?" The heir to the mastery of Blue Pegasus laughed.

"Of course, of course! Come quickly, we must find something!" Simon and Damien followed the girls brisk pace around town, neither man having a clue where they were headed.

"Where are we going?" Simon asked.

"A Girls Best Friend." Mami replied. Simon was about to ask what that meant before he saw the store ahead of them, literally called a Girls Best Friend. Simon, and no doubt Damien, felt like aliens in the store dominated by young women, and kept as close to Mami as possible to avoid people thinking they were there without her.

"So uh, what would..." Damien started, before Mami cleared her throat.

"BELLA!" Mami shouted, making both of them flinch. "I need you!"

"Coming!" Simon watched as an easy 11/10 appeared from around the corner and made a face at Mami. "What, Mami? I told you I'm working today!"

"I know, I need you're help." It was around then when Bella took notice of Simon and Damien, both of whom straightened at her gaze.

"Well hello there." She purred. "What can I help you hunks with?"

"Uh..." Damien stuttered.

"C-Clothes." Simon managed, and Bella laughed, a sound that soothed all of Simon's worries. Mami growled.

"Easy there, Realight." She told Bella. "Last thing I need is you turning these two into paste." Bella laughed.

"I'm sorry." She said, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder and winking at Simon. "It isn't every day two handsome men walk into the store."

"I bet not." Damien muttered. "This place is every boyfriends worse nightmare."

"Oh believe me, boyfriends do hate this place." Bella pouted. "Don't tell me you two are taken." Simon realized he would do a lot of unspeakable things if that upset look would leave Bella's face, and it unnerved him.

"ANYWAY." Mami said loudly. "Guys, this is Bella Realight."

"Isn't your mom a model?" Damien asked, and Bella nodded.

"Yeah, explains where I got the looks, huh?" It certainly did. "Mami, I do believe you haven't introduced them yet."

"Simon Scarlet and Damien Dreyar." Mami replied, and Bella's face flickered with recognition.

"Oh Mami," Bella said, another incredibly seductive face directed at the two of them. "you really are testing my self-control bringing such attractive men in here."

"Anyway," Mami said, stepping between the practically drooling men and Bella. "They need a good birthday present for Nashi Dragneel, you remember what she looks like?" Bella hummed to herself.

"Yeah, pink hair, nice body..." Bella mumbled, counting things off about the girl in question. "Alright, yeah I got it." Bella walked off without another word, leaving both Simon and Damien in confusion.

"We didn't even say what Nashi usually likes to wear." Damien pointed out.

"I know." Mami said. "It's like Bella's sixth sense, she can tell someone's style just by seeing their face. It's incredible, really."

"The perks of being in Blue Pegasus, huh?" Simon asked, earning a snicker from Damien. Bella soon reappeared, carrying two already wrapped boxes.

"There you go." She said, handing them to Simon and Damien. "She'll love it, I guarantee."

"Thanks," Simon said, making a move to pull out his wallet. Bella stopped him by getting right in his personal space. Simon didn't mind.

"It's on the house." Bella whispered, drawing away slowly. Simon felt like he was in a daze as Mami pushed him and Damien out of the store.

"Don't pay her flirting any mind." Mami warned them. "Any guy she sees gets subjected to it."

"I can see why." Damien said. "I'd tap that."

"Right?" Simon asked, fist bumping the other wizard. Mami sighed in defeat.

"Just get out of here." She told them.

* * *

"One more lap!"

"How about no?!" Drake stopped and tried to catch his breath, the girl on his back not exactly helping the situation. Of course, she didn't seem to care. "Why the hell do you want me to carry you around anyway?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer."

"I know, it's an excuse."

"Not a very good one." Drake sighed in defeat and stood a little straighter. "Alright, get off, come on."

"Why?"

"People will start to talk, seeing us around town like this." Nashi laughed and gripped tighter instead of letting go.

"People already talk." She told him. "Let them."

"You don't hear all the things they say." He replied, "They see this and it'll just add fuel to the fire."

"Oh well, they're just jealous." Drake growled and shook her off, making her laugh as she landed. "Well, that was fun. Let's go see the others."

"Uh, w-what?" Drake asked weakly, but Nashi just started walking.

"Come on, let's go." She said. "They'd still be at the guild, right?"

* * *

Ultear wiped the sweat from her brow and looked around the completely decimated kitchen. She and Elise had been trying all morning to finish this stupid cake, and it was their third try now. They'd finally managed to get it into the oven, which was progress.

"Alright well, this is good right?" Elise asked, wiping flour off of her chair and sitting down.

"Yeah." Ultear agreed. "It's good."

"So, uh..." Elise started, looking around weakly. "How the hell are we going to clean all of this up?" Ultear took more time to observe their surroundings, and realized the whole kitchen as covered in flour, broken eggs, and milk.

Everywhere.

"Shit..." Ultear hissed, feeling exhausted just by looking at it. "Well, I suppose we should start cleaning..."

"Okay so," Both girls turned to find Winter standing in the door to the kitchen. "Drake calls and says he needs me ASAP, and I get here, and he's not here. Apparently he's out on a date with the birthday girl, so tell me Ul, what's going on?"

"It's a disaster, Winter." Ul replied. "We're trying to get everything ready in time, and Drake had to distract Nashi. I think everything's almost ready, but now we have to clean this crap up." Winter sighed and rubbed the bride of her nose in irritation.

"That man really has to work on not blowing things out of proportion." She said, the wind blowing around them. "Stand back guys, I got this." Ultear and Elise did as they were told and stood back, watching the white haired mage stand in the center of the room. Before either of them knew it, Winter had whipped up a hurricane in the kitchen, blowing the whole mess into one giant pile of flour, eggs, and various utensils. Once the hurricane had died down, the three observed the pile of crap.

"What now?" Elise asked.

"Open a window." Winter replied. Elise did so and Winter blew the whole mess directly out of the window, right into the back of the guild. "We may need to clean that up later."

"Details, details." Ultear replied, hearing the oven make a sound, telling them the cake was more or less finished.

"I think the cake is done." Elise said, walking towards the oven. Ultear stopped before she got there. "What?"

"Don't you dare touch that cake." Ultear warned. "You've ruined it every time prior, not this time." At first Elise frowned, but then she chuckled and nodded.

"Good idea." Elise looked over at the God Slayer sitting on the counter. "Better get an apron Winter." Winter sighed.

"Great."

* * *

Nashi didn't know what Drake's problem was, and it was sort of irritating her now. A first she was worried about him, then it was sort of endearing, and then petty irritating. It was like he had a vendetta to keep her away from the guild hall, and it was getting a little ridiculous.

"Drake, what is your problem?" Nashi demanded as her friend once again threw himself in the way.

"I don't have a problem." he said, smiling weakly. "I'm just walking."

"People don't purposefully throw themselves in the way of other people while they walk." Nashi replied. "Are you sick? Angry? What?"

"Uh..." Nashi raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm, uh..." Drake sighed and faltered. "I didn't want to have to say this..."

"What?" Nashi demanded. "What is it?"

"..." Drake gave Nashi a steely glance. "I'm in love with you."

...

...

...

"Nice try." Nashi said, crossing her arms. Drake doubled over and paled, and Nashi watched him irritably. "Got any other shit excuses?"

"Uh..." Drake mumbled. "I'm pregnant?" Nashi rolled her eyes and walked past him to the guild door. "Nashi, wait...!"

"Why?!" Nashi demanded "What the hell are you trying to hide from me...?!" Nashi turned to look into the guild hall, and froze.

As did everyone else.

Nashi looked around the guild hall weakly, everyone giving her the same wide eyed stare. Some had various boxes in their arms, others had banners, and some just stared.

"What the hell...?" Nashi asked. Everyone smiled.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

* * *

"W-What?" Nashi asked, feeling as if she was in a daze as Drake guided her inside where everyone was waiting.

"Did you forget, sweetheart?" Her mother asked. "It's your seventeenth birthday!"

Birthday?

Nashi had said she didn't want to celebrate that day anymore. However it hadn't occurred to her that anyone would try anything. After all, she'd made it pretty clear she didn't want to celebrate.

"W-Who...?" She began. Her mother smiled.

"Who do you think?" She asked. Nashi watched her mother as she smiled, before she did a one-eighty and looked at Drake.

"Did you...?" She began weakly.

"Maybe." Drake replied. "You, uh...You aren't mad, are you?" Nashi just stared at him for a second, before she acted.

She grabbed him in the most forceful hug she'd ever given, smiling as she heard him gasp in surprise.

"Y-You're welcome" He managed, patting her on the back. Once Nashi had calmed down a bit, her father guided her to the center of the guildhall, where everyone gave her the utmost of attention. Present after present passed through her lap, and she felt in a daze as she thanked everyone who gave her one. It surprised her to see such fashionable gifts come from Simon and Damien, who excused it as nothing. The plethora of gifts that passed her, and she'd never felt happier. Just as she was able to get away, she was approached by Winter.

"Hey Winter." She greeted as the girl reached her. "What's up?"

"First of all, happy birthday!" Winter replied, smiling. "Also, I didn't have any time to get you anything, but I do have this." Winter pulled out an envelope and handed it to Nashi, who stared at it curiously.

"What's this?" She asked.

"It's from some people who said they were your friends." She replied. "Hopefully they weren't just bullshitting." Nashi opened the envelope and she noticed some pretty handwriting, and began to read.

_Happy birthday, Nashi-sama! Just in ase you didn't see the picture, its Azzie, Katsuchi-sama and Tetsu-sama! Hopefully you haven't forgotten us since the incident, since you've become an S-Class mage and all, huh? Anyway, we've been doing good since the incident ended. Since, you know, we robbed the Devil Advocate vault of every single jewel in it. But, it's not about us today, is it? So, from the bottom of our hearts, we hope you have a happy birthday!_

_Sincerely,_

_Azzie, Katsuchi and Tetsu._

Nashi smiled at the one name written neatly and the other two written crudely. It was good to hear that the three of them were doing good. Looking at the picture in the envelope showed the three of them, with Azzie in a one armed hug from both of them.

"So?" Nashi looked up as Drake sat down next to her. "How do you like the party?" She smiled at him.

"It's perfect." She replied, nudging him with her shoulder. "Thanks for doing his." He shrugged, but she smiled. "No, really. You didn't have too, and you did anyway."

"It's all good." He replied. "You'd do the same for me. If I couldn't hear you, that is." Nashi laughed.

"Well, that's just chea...!"

_BOOM!_

Both Nashi and Drake looked over as an explosion sounded from the kitchen, and Elise flew out.

"Um..." the Iron Dragon said weakly. before frowning. "I told you t was a mistake to put me in charge of the kitchen."

**And, I'll just leave it there. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	122. The Headaches

**So as the final one shot before the End of the World, I've decided to do something interesting.**

**Enjoy!**

Elise wished she knew what it was about her parents bathroom that gave her such a kill headache. Every time she walked by it her head throbbed painfully and, if she got to close, she almost passed out. That was where she was at the moment, as she had gone to see her parents before her and the others went to the beach.

"What are you doing Elise?" She heard her mother ask. She turned and rubbed her forehead.

"What is it with that bathroom?" She demanded. "I get a killer headache every time I walk near. Are all your beauty products tat harmful on my head?" Elise noted the panicked expression on her mothers face as she ushered her away.

"It's nothing." She excused quickly. "Just uh...Don't go in there." Elise watched her mother with a weird look as she was shoved into the living room, but didn't pursue the subject. Just as she made to leave, her father came in and passed her, patting her head.

"Hey pipsqueak." He said. "What're you doing here?"

"Just stopping by." she replied. "Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?" Elise made a face as she met her fathers gaze.

"Do you know why the bathroom here makes my head hurt so much?" There was a flicker of emotion on his face but, other then that he didn't say anything, and instead opted to take a bite out of some utensils in the kitchen.

"Not a clue." He lied through his teeth. "Want a fork, kid?"

"...No, I'm good." She replied. "I'll see you later dad, if I'm any later the others will leave without me."

"Alright, see ya." Elise nodded and left, leaving herself with her thoughts. She honestly had no idea why she got these seemingly random, intense headaches, and it was starting to piss her off. Maybe her friends knew, however unlikely that was. Once she got to the guild, she could see her friends waiting near the front of the door, all really for their trip to the beach.

"About time you got here." Ultear said as Elise made it, "What the hell took you so long?"

"I was busy" Elise replied.

"Doing...?"

"...Whatever." Elise said, shouldering the question away. "Let's just go."

* * *

Once the group of friends reached their destination, Elise knew what would happen. The second any of the guys looked away every straight guy on the beach would stare at her. Nashi, and Ultear. She was used to it by now, it wasn't like she minded.

"Alright, let's do this!" Simon shouted.

"Race you there!" Ultear said, shoving Simon and running towards the water. Simon laughed and used Meteor after her, flying right into her and throwing her into the water. Elise smiled and turned, sitting down on her towel.

"Mind if I join you, Elise?" Elise looked over to find Damien lying down next to her.

"No," She replied. "Are you going to get a tan?"

"Yeah, I figure it can't hurt. Also, I like to time how long it takes for some girl to come and hit on me for all of this." He gestured to his inhumanely good form and Elise laughed.

"I don't think that'll take very long at all." She told him, eyeing it herself. "It's quite impressive." Damien grinned and closed his eyes, soaking up all f the rays from the sun above. Looking over at the other two, Elise saw Drake rubbing sunscreen on Nashi's back. She grinned at the scene in front of her.

"Enjoying yourself Drake?" She called, and Drake cast her a smug look as he ran his hands down Nashi's back.

"You jealous?" he asked, and Nashi cast him an irritated look over her shoulder.

"Not really, no." She replied, before something occurred to her. "Can you even get sunburns Nashi?"

"You'd think I couldn't." She replied. "But I've been burned more than once, so it doesn't hurt."

"Huh, never would've thought it." Elise sighed and took her shirt off, enjoying the sun warming her pale skin. "Drake! Come do me when you're done."

"Ugh, fine." Drake replied, sitting down behind her. As he squirted the sunscreen on her back, Elise chuckled at his resistance.

"You know, " She said, "You're the only guy I know who'd be reluctant to put sunscreen on a girl who asked you." Drake chuckled.

"It's because it's you, Elise." he replied. "I've known you to long to be turned on by your back."

"Ow," Elise said, clutching her chest. "that hurt, man. Are you saying I'm unattractive?"

"Take that any way you want it." he replied. "It makes no difference to me." Rolling her eyes at his words, Drake finished up applying the sunscreen and, before Elise could run to the water, Drake caught her arm. She turned to find him smirking at her.

"You haven't done me yet." he replied. Elise tried to pout and get out of it, but he was having no none of it. Growling angrily as she sat behind Drake, she instructed him to take his shirt off. Once he had, Elise's eyes widened.

Drake's back was covered in scars. Some were huge, some were small, but they were everywhere. As soon as Elise saw them, her head began to throb painfully.

"What's up?" Drake asked, looking over his shoulder.

"N-N..." Elise grabbed her head as it began to spin violently. "N-Nothing...It's...I'm fine."

"You sure?" He asked.

"I..." Elise met Drake's eyes, her vision blurring. "I don't feel so good..." After several more seconds of blurred vision, Elise felt light headed.

"Shit!" Drake shouted. "ELISE!

What Drake said no longer mattered, as she blacked out.

* * *

"What happened?!"

"Is she okay?!"

"I don't know, she just blacked out!"

"What do we do?!"

"Do you think it's because she remembered?!" Elise flinched and opened her eyes, looking up. She could see her five friends looking down at her with worried expressions on their faces.

"Elise?" Nashi asked. "Are you okay?" Elise groaned and sat up, looking around as her friends knelt down next to her.

Wha-Wha...What happened?" Elise asked weakly.

"You were going to put sunscreen on my back when you blacked out." Drake told her. "How do you feel?"

"Ugh..." Elise felt her head spinning, and the feeling angered her. "Like absolute shit."

"Man, You had us worried there for a second." Ultear said, smiling. "At least you're okay."

"Yeah..." Elise agreed. "Hey, uh, guys?" They all looked attentively at her, and she sighed. "Do...Do you guys know why I get really bad headaches sometimes?" All five of them just stared at her, but she sensed the tension from them increase.

"W-What?" Nashi asked weakly.

"I get really terrible headaches sometimes." She replied.

"They're just headaches." Damien replied. "Don't worry about it."

"They're not...!" Elise took a moment to calm down. "They're not just headaches. I always get them near the bathroom at my parents house, for instance." Drake shifted uncomfortably at these words. "And, when I was going to put the sunscreen on Drake's back and saw his..." Elise's head spun at the mere thought. "..His scars, that's when I blacked out." When she looked around at their stoic faces, she could sense that, one way or another, they were hiding something from her.

"Don't worry about it, Elise." Nashi said, putting a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "You're fine!"

"...Thanks, Nashi." Elise said, putting a smile on her face for her friends. Nashi smiled and stood.

"Now," She said. "Are we going to enjoy our day at the beach or not?" Drake laughed.

"Damn right we are!" He shouted. Elise watched her friends rush back towards the water, leaving her y herself. She sighed.

"So you guys won't tell me, huh?" She asked lowly. "Fine. I'll find out one way or another."

* * *

Elise was in her parents house, waiting for her parents to come home. She had decided that, as of her beach trip that day, she was done not knowing what was wrong with her, and if anyone could be guilt tripped into telling her what was up, it was her parents, especially her mother. She looked up as the door opened slightly.

"Just saying shrimp." She heard her father say. "It'd be better if...?" Both of them stopped as they saw Elise standing there looking at them.

"Elise?" Her mother asked. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at the guild, or the dorms."

"We have to talk." Elise said. "Sit down, the two of you." Both of them raised eyebrows as they moved past her and to the couch.

"Elise, what is this about?" Her mother asked, and Elise took a deep breath.

"This is really serious, and I need you both to answer me as truthfully as possible, alright?" Elise asked, just to confirm getting some semblance of truth.

"Get on with it, Elise." Her father advised. Elise took a deep breath, suddenly becoming nervous.

"Well, I guess what the problem is, uh..."

"Oh my God, you're pregnant aren't you?!" Elise and her father both stared at her mother like she was insane.

"What?!" Elise shrieked. "No! What the...! What the hell mom?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She said, going red and hiding her face. "I jumped to conclusions."

"No shit shrimp." Her father growled, sitting back a bit. "Why would you even think that?"

"I don't know..."

"Who would even be the father?!" Elise demanded. "Why of all things, would you assume that?!"

"N-Never mind, just continue."

"G-Give me a minute..." Elise rubbed her face with her hand and tried to gather her thoughts. "Alright, alright, what I as going to ask was about my headaches."

"Huh?" her mother asked, but Elise stood her ground.

"My headaches, Mom." She replied. "You both know what I'm talking about. I tell you about them all the time, and you both shake me off like it's nothing and..." She took a deep breath. "Today it got really bad. Drake wanted me to apply sunscreen on his back and I saw his scars...I blacked out." Both sets of eyes on her widened at these words.

"You did?" Her father asked.

"Yeah. I'm done with this, and I know you both know something about why I suffer those headaches. I want an answer, and I want it _now._" Emphasizing the end of her sentence, Elise watched her parents carefully. There was a stretch of silence before her mother sighed, her father rubbing her back.

"Alright, I..I suppose you deserve to know." She said. "Elise, the reason you suffer those headaches sometimes is...it's because you're memory has been reworked." Elise felt her eyes widen She'd had her suspicions, but this?

"It...It was?" She asked weakly. Her father nodded.

"Remember Phantom Dove?" He asked, and she nodded. "The reason your memory was reworked because, well, some stuff happened."

"What kind of stuff?" Elise demanded, ignoring the spinning in her head.

"We don't even know." Her mother replied. "The only people that really know are Nashi and Drake. Because, you know, they were there." Elise's head was spinning even more violently then before, and she felt sick.

"W-What?" She managed.

"Well," her father said, sighing. "I guess it all really started with that Apocalypse guy..."

_Apocalypse..._

The name rang through Elise's head like a bullet. The spinning intensified and Elise gripped her forehead again, flashes of green magic circles and black hair going through her head. She groaned and leaned against the couch.

"Maybe this was a mistake." She said weakly.

"Elise?" Her mother asked as the blurring vision came back. "Are you oka...?"

* * *

Levy and Gajeel both watched as Elise collapsed in a heap. Levy sighed as Gajeel took initiative to pick his daughter up and carried her like a princess.

"Was that the best thing to do?" She asked weakly as Gajeel made for Elise's room.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, we used Mest's memory programming to make her pass out so we wouldn't have to say anything." Gajeel sighed at these words and looked over at her

"Look at it this way shrimp, if we'd said anything it might have faulted the programming." He smiled slightly. "It's better she wakes up with no memory of that conversation then that happens." Levy nodded and looked down at the ground, feeling a little sad.

"Hey, Gajeel?"

"Yeah?"

"Are...Are we bad parents?" Gajeel made a frustrated sound as he put Elise in her bed and they both turned to leave the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Listen to me." he said. "We are not bad parents, and you are not a bad mother. Sometimes, shit happens. And, unfortunately,this is one of those times. We don't know what could happen to her is she remembers what happened with Phantom Dove, it could kill her. She might have killed herself knowing what happened."

"Yeah I...I guess." She smiled up at Gajeel. "Thanks Gajeel." He grinned and laughed.

"No problem shrimp." He said, putting a hand on her head. "Now, stop worrying about it shrimp." Levy nodded and followed him to their room. She knew Elise's problem was bad, but it was for the best.

No matter what, Elise could not remember.

**Sadly Levy, that won't happen. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	123. Rapture

**Enjoy!**

Nashi groaned as she and the others stopped.

"How far away are we?" She demanded.

"Maybe another day." Simon replied, wiping the sweat from his brow, "Half of one if we're lucky."

"Kill me." Elise said, falling over on her face. "Let's just stay here for the night."

"Oh good, are we stopping?" Ultear asked, sitting down next to the already passed out Elise. "Because I'm completely beat."

"Alright well, stargazing is cool." Damien said, laying down an closing his eyes. Nashi took initiative to go and break off a few branches from the trees around them and threw them in a pile around her friends, and threw a fireball a them, igniting them.

"Remind me why we chose a job in a town with no train station?" Drake asked. "And remember, I'm a Dragon Slayer."

"It paid well." Simon replied. "A day or two walking is worth all that money."

"I agree with that." Drake said, looking over at Nashi. "My wallet feels pretty empty." Nashi rolled her eyes.

"Oh please." She said. "You didn't do a damn thing to stop me, stop trying to make me feel bad." Drake just laughed, which made Nashi laugh.

"Alright well, if you two are just going to flirt, I'm going to sleep." Elise said, lying back. Everyone watched her getting comfortable and close her eyes, waiting a little bit before anyone spoke.

"I'm scared she'll remember at any moment." Ultear said lowly. "That blackout at the beach terrified me."

"It's the same for all of us." Damien said from his own position lying down. "I thought for sure she'd find out. Apparently she passed out at home too."

"Mavis, it must be hard for her." Drake said, "Not knowing what happened to her, why everyone is avoiding talking to her about it. The headaches, I mean."

"She'll find out eventually, that's the thing that worries me the most." Nashi said. "I just hope she can take it when she does eventually find out." Silence fell upon the not sleeping five, before, one by one, they all excused themselves to go to sleep. Nashi was the last one to do s, as she tried to keep the fire going as long as possible before she too decided it was too late for her to still be up. Yawning and leaning back, Nashi rested on her arm and close her eyes, drifting off into a deep, interrupted sleep.

* * *

Once they had all woken up, they continued on their long walk to the town in the middle of nowhere. Truthfully, Nashi was a little suspicious that a town that was, as she said, in the middle of nowhere, could afford to pay them so much. After all, all that jewel could be used much better to better the shitty situation in said town.

"You'd think they'd spend our paycheck on the town." Simon said, pointing out Nashi's on thoughts. "I almost feel bad knowing I'm getting paid to be here."

"Oh well." Ultear said. "Let's jus get this over with so we don' feel too guilty." Nashi looked over at Damien at these words.

"Where does our client live again?" She asked. Damien scratched his head and looked around.

"Uh, I think it's...Okay, well that makes a lot of sense."

"What?" Elise asked. "What's the problem?"

"He lives up there." Everyone followed Damien's finger and saw a giant estate at the top of a hill just outside of town. "Which I guess makes sense, because I doubt any sensible person I this town would spend that much money on anything that wasn't themselves or their family." Nashi did have to admit, seeing that estate made the paycheck make a lot more sense. She followed her friends through town and up the hill, which gave them a better view of just how terrible looking the town was. Buildings were destroyed, people looked hurt and untreated, and everything just looked terrible.

"What he hell happened here?" Nashi asked. "It looks like there was some sort of huge fight."

"Huh, it does." Elise agreed. "Come to think of it, that may be why we're here."

"Definitely." Simon agreed. As they reached the house, Damien leaned forward and gave it a few hard knocks. Silence followed. No one answered the door, no one called from inside, nothing.

"Did they hear us?" Ultear asked.

"Here, I got it." Elise said. The girl turned her fist into iron and gave the door as many knocks as Damien, albeit they were much louder. Still, nothing came. After Simon and Ultear also tried, Drake's ears twitched.

"No one's home." He said. "I can't hear anyone moving around inside."

"Where could they be?"

"Or something happened." Nashi said, walking forward. Before anyone could question her she melted the door handle and kicked it open, walking inside.

She was right.

It looked as if a bomb went off inside the estate. Furniture had been thrown everywhere, the floor was destroyed in some areas, and the house looked destroyed.

"Shit." Elise said. "Some shit went down in here."

"Drake, can you hear anything?" Nashi asked, but her friend shook his head.

"Nope." he said. "There's no one in here."

"Do you think he's...?" Ultear didn't need to finish her sentence, it was obvious what she meant. The group went of the stairs, now all on edge and ready, even if Drake couldn't hear anyone. They all checked the surrounding rooms, but all they saw were destroyed things. Once they had checked all of the rooms, the only one that remained appeared to be the office behind the double doors.

"Ready?" Simon asked, a sword appearing n his hand. After everyone nodded, Simon slowly opened the door, revealing the torn up office. All of them walked in and looked around. Nashi walked around to the back of the desk, and gasped.

"Uh, guys?" She asked. Everyone walked to her, and looked where she was.

"That's the client, isn't it?" Damien asked. The man in question was sprawled out behind is desk in a torn up suit, his face frozen in a state of fear and pain.

"Mavis, what he hell happened here?" Ultear asked.

"Who knows." Nashi said, bending down and observing the mans face. Just when Nashi was about to let it go, she spotted a weird mark on his chest. Ripping his shirt and tearing it off, Nashi observed the marks on his chest, circular in nature, and looked like intense burns. Cuts and bruises also marked up and down his chest. And, for some reason, Nashi recognized the marks.

"Alright, I don't think we have much of a choice but to lea...!" The door slammed shut. Nashi jerked up at the sound to find a shadowing barrier between them and the door.

"Drake, you said no one was here." Simon said.

"Shadows are shadows." Drake replied. "If the asshole who did this was a shadow mage, him being a shadow would render him a shadow to my hearing, not a person." Nashi walked up to he friends from behind the desk, and everyone stared at her like she had a screw loose.

"What's wrong?" Nashi asked. Slowly but surely, Damien pointed at her stomach. Nashi looked down, and gasped.

A giant green magic circle had appeared there.

Before Nashi could react, the circle brightened, pain shooing up and down her body. She screamed as a small explosion sent her to the ground, and she hit it hard, breathing labored.

"Nashi!" Nashi heard the sound of more of these circles appearing, causing her friends to fly all across the room from the explosions. Pain circulating through her entire system as she tried to move, but the magic had done a number on her.

"What the hell was that?!" Damien demanded.

"Everyone okay?" Simon called.

"I think!" Ultear replied. "What the hell was that?!" Nashi thought about it for a moment. Green magic circles, pain, explosions. Her eyes widened.

"Rapture." She whispered, voice so low only Drake heard her.

"Mavis above..." He whispered.

"what did you say Drake?" Elise asked. Before Drake could respond, someone chuckled.

"So much magic..." It said, and the voice sent shivers done Nashi's spine. Lot's of magic...This'll be fun." Nashi hadn't heard that voice for months. It was the voice that haunted the deepest darkest part of her mind. Looking over at the doorway where the shadow covered, a figure stepped out. This figure had hair as black a midnight, haunting green eyes, and a smirk that haunted Nashi's nightmares.

"Apocalypse." She hissed, body shaking with rage. The former torturer laughed.

"Little Nashi Dragneel." he greeted, holding his arms out with a smile. "What? Uncle Apocalypse doesn't get a hug?" Nashi didn't have the brain power to respond, it was all too busy repressing her anger. "You've grown so much since I last saw you my dear, how are you?"

"Fuck off." Nashi hissed. Apocalypse laughed.

"Always with the spunk, huh?" he asked. Before he could continue, Simon sprung from his position on the ground and flew at Apocalypse, sword in hand.

Apocalypse caught him with one hand on the neck.

"My my, that is not how you greet someone." he said. green magic circles popped up all over Simon's body, and Apocalypse laughed. I'll give you the Phantom Dove greeting I'm sure your slaying friends are familiar with!" The circles brightened, and Simon roared with pain and writhed in Apocalypse's grasp before dropping to the ground, not moving.

"S-Simon?" Nashi asked weakly. The scarlet haired mage did not respond. Apocalypse chuckled.

"Truthfully, I had hoped all these months we've spent apart would've meant you guys weren't as big of pushovers, but..." He snapped his fingers, and more circles formed on all of them, exploding all at once. Nashi squirmed as pain circulated through her form, and when it finally stopped, she felt like she could barely move.

"Why the hell are you here?" Drake demanded. Apocalypse shrugged.

"Was on my way to the mission Zeus gave me and figured, you know, why not see some old friends before I carry out my mission." Nashi didn't know what the hell that meant, but she didn't like it. "If you haven't figured it out yet, I tortured this more idiot and made him write that request specifically asking for your team. Then, I killed him and kept him where he died, as evidence. Then, I had Quintus hide us all in the shadows until you got here. Speaking of Quintus, get the hell out here!" Nashi looked back over at the shadow over the door to find four more figures emerge from the shadows.

"Stop fucking with these kids, Apocalypse." The one on the far right said. "We have a job to do. Zeus will have our heads if we fail." Apocalypse sighed.

"Alright, I guess." Apocalypse smiled at Nashi. "I have to go Dragneel, I have people to kill and things to destroy. Oh, before I go..." Nashi watched as Apocalypse walked up to Elise, who was grabbing her head and writhing in pain. Apocalypse knelt down, grabbed her wrists, and made her look right at him. "Remember me?"

"I..I..." Elise shrieked in pain and blacked out, making Apocalypse laugh and throw her aside.

"See you Dragneel." He said, striding past her. "I've go places to be." Nashi watched him, shaking angrily as he did. Once they were gone, Nashi observed her friends; Simon and Elise were out, Damien and Ultear were barely moving, and Drake was watching her carefully.

"Nashi, don't do anything stu..!" Nashi didn't even hear him, climbing to her feet and sprinting out the door after Apocalypse.

* * *

Apocalypse rolled his eyes as Lennix gave him numbers.

"I don't care about an of that shit." He hissed. "Zeus sent us cause we can do it."

"Keep telling yourself that Apocalypse." Lennix replied. "It'll be your downfall eventually."

"Let's just go." Shuichi said, grinning and rubbing his hands together. "I'm really eager to do this."

"As you should be." Quintus said with a laugh. "I can't wait to hear all the screaming." Apocalypse listened to his guild mates talking and laughing about their objective, only half caring. Quite honestly, he didn't care about that. He'd do what he had to and do it good. That was that. Before we could say anything, however, he felt someone coming up behind them. He turned just in time to catch their assailant by the scruff of the neck. He laughed.

Well well Nashi." he said with a grin, meeting the girls angry glare. "Miss me that much, did you?"

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!" Nashi shouted at him, and Apocalypse acted hurt.

"Is anything to say to an old friend, Nashi?" he asked, magic circles forming all over Nashi's body as he spoke. "Seeing as you survived this once way back when, I'm sure you'll survive t this time, right?"

"W-What...?"

"I seem to recall the situation being you taking that other girls session with me. So, right now, just as many effects are being used on you right now." Apocalypse grinned as her eyes widened.

"You...!" Apocalypse laughed as the circles brightened.

"Nice try, Dragneel!"

**I'll just leave the chapter there. What is Apocalypse's plan? Who is Shuichi? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	124. Some Assistance

**Still super hyped for this arc, so I hope you guys are!**

**Enjoy!**

"Nashi?" Drake called, limping along. He, like everyone else, had been decimated by Apocalypse's attack, and his old wounds had flared up a the mere sight of the former torturer. Limping along the countryside and sliding down a small hill, Drake continued following the smell of the Phantom Dove group and his best friend, praying to the First Master she was okay. She didn't often act on impulse like that, and it worried him to see her like that. That defiant, angry look she'd given him when she'd taken off worried him even more. Sighing, Drake rubbed the area Apocalypse had attacked on his side.

"Damn," he said with a small laugh. "I forgot how much it hurts when he does that." Shaking his head to clear the off the laughter that was about to come, Drake looked back down the path he was on and his eyes widened.

Nashi was sprawled out on the ground, circular burns all over her visible form. Drake limped over as fast as he could and shifted to cradle her in his arms.

"Nashi." He said, shaking her lightly. "Nashi, wake up! Please, you have to wake up!" Nashi's brow furrowed at his words and slowly but surely, her chocolate colored eyes opened.

"...Drake?" She asked weakly, voice hoarse.

"Thank Mavis." he said, grinning down at her. "I thought I'd lost you. What happened?"

"Ugh, that bastard attacked me as much as two torture sessions back when we were captured." She flinched and shook a little bit in his grasp. "That hurt like shit."

"I bet it did." he said. He watched her try to move, but he stopped her. "Don't move to much, you'll make it worse." Nashi groaned and her eyelid drooped.

"Is...Everyone else okay?" She asked.

"Well Damien and Ultear got the least of it, but they're still in pretty bad shape. Elise is out cold, and I don't know how long that'll last. Simon was conscious when I left, but he's still pretty bad.

"That's..." Her eyes drooped again. "That's good..." Slowly her eyes closed, but Drake could hear her heartbeat going strong. She'd be fine, her tolerance for pain had grown since last time Apocalypse had down this to her. Slowly picking her up, Drake started to limp back to the estate.

"I just hope this doesn't bite us in the ass." He said to no one in particular.

* * *

Once Drake had returned, everyone else was sitting around on the front lawn, covered in wounds.

"How is she?" Simon asked.

"Bad, but she'll recover." Drake replied, lying Nashi down. "You okay man? How's Elise?"

"I'll be fine." Simon replied, flinching as Ultear wrapped his arm in what appeared to be the remainder of a curtain. "Elise is still out cold, we did what we could."

"You were stupid to attack him, Simon." She scolded. "He got all of us, and yet you thought you could take him on your own."

"I had to try, Ul." He replied. "No one attacks my friends and gets away with it." Ultear rolled her eyes and tied another piece of curtain around Damien's wounds, and he growled.

"Where the hell has that asshole been for the past three months?" he demanded. "He had all the time in the world to attack us and yet he chooses now. Why?"

"From what he said, it sounded like he was given a mission from the Olympians." Drake said, making everyone go silent. The Olympians, the mysterious third and most powerful dark guild in the New Balam Alliance, had sent Apocalypse after something. Drake wasn't sure if the asshole has taken a detour to fuck with them or not, but it bothered him as well that after three months, Apocalypse chose now. Maybe it had something to do with whatever the Olympians had told him to do.

"What the hell could he be after?" Ultear asked. "I mean, there's nothing very important around here."

"Who knows. If the Olympians gave him the mission, it may be something we aren't even aware of." Simon replied.

"Yeah." Drake agreed. "That guild is as mysterious as..." Drake trailed off as his hearing picked up a familiar sound.

Drake?" Damien asked. "What's the matter?"

"That sound." Drake replied. "Do you guys hear it?" Drake watched all of his friends trail off for a moment, and before long, the sound of an engine filled the area.

"Sounds like an engine." Simon said as Drake stood.

"Not just any engine, an airship engine." Drake said, looking around. "And if my ears are as good as I like to think they are, that may just be our saving grace." Drake walked around to the back of the estate grounds and grinned. "Bingo." Flying in the sky just near the estate, was the familiar horse headed Blue Pegasus airship. Taking out his lacrima phone, Drake called the extension he knew would get him in the airships system.

_"Hello?" _The familiar voice came.

"Hey Mami, it's Drake." He said, and he heard the girl make a recognition sound.

_Oh hey Drake! What's up?"_

"Well, I'm glad you happened by in your airship Mami. Look out your left side mirror, you should see me firing off poison." Drake raised his hand and did as he told her he would.

_"Alright, I see you."_

"Good, come land the airship over here, we need you're help."

* * *

Once the airship had landed, and Nashi had Elise were put in the medbay, Mami put her hands on her hips.

"Alright well, care to tell us what the hell happened to you guys?" She asked.

"Apocalypse happened." Simon replied, and Mami's eyes widened.

That torturer from Phantom Dove?" She asked, earning a nod of confirmation. "Where the hell did he disappear to?"

"Who knows." Damien replied. "But wherever he went, it must've been secretive." Once tending to Nashi and Elise had finished, everyone left the medbay and went to the bridge, where Taro was flying the Christina, Ken was using Archive on a lacrima, and Akio was watching the open sky in front of them.

"Alright, now," Mami said, sitting down in a seat in the center of the bridge, "Tell us the full story."

"We took a job from the guy who lived in that estate we were near." Drake told her. "Turns out Apocalypse tortured the guy and made him write th job to lure us there."

"Damn." Ken said, running a hand through his hair. "That blows."

"After he revealed himself, he destroyed us pretty quick." Simon continued. "Didn't even hold back for a moment. Elise blacked out from Mest's programming, and Nashi chased after them and got herself hurt even more."

"Smooth move." Taro said, keeping the airship stable.

"And then they left us there." Simon concluded. Mami made a face and nodded, before she grabbed a weird looking device and brought it up to them. She clicked a button on the back of it and did a few circles around the them.

"what the hell are you doing?" Drake finally asked as Mami stopped doing whatever the hell it was she was doing and brought the device over to Ken, who took it and plugged it into the console, then used his archive too start doing something.

Hello?" Simon asked. "Earthland to Blue Pegasus?"

"What?" Mami demanded.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ultear demanded. Ken sighed and turned around.

"We're tracking Apocalypse's magical signature to see where he went." The Archive mage told them. "So that we can track him down and take him out." Everyone stared at the Blue Pegasus mages like they were insane, and it was Damien who finally spoke.

"What?" He asked.

"We're tracking him from the magical signature he left on you so we can find him and track him." Mami replied. "Easy enough for you?"

"Yeah uh, I guess." Drake replied. They all watched Ken's Archive screen as it ran a scan on Apocalypse's magical signature, before a basic looking map appeared on it, and a blinking red light starting moving up the screen.

"Looks like he's moving north." Ken said.

"What's in that direction?" Mami asked.

"Not much if I recall." Taro said. "Some trees, mountains...Oh shit."

"What?" Ultear asked.

"Era is in that direction." silence fell on the bridge of the Christina, before Drake finally spoke.

"That's where the council is, right?" He asked.

"Yeah." Mami replied. "That's probably not good. What could Apocalypse want there?"

"The Council?" Simon offered. "Pull a Tartarus?"

"Unlikely." Damien replied. "The council's still run by some pretty powerful people, people I doubt even Apocalypse would try and cross."

"Then what is it?" Mami said, rubbing her chin.

"Who knows." Akio said. whatever it is, we have to stop them before they pull it off."

"Agreed." Taro said, pressing a few buttons and pulling a few levers. "The Christina's on autopilot to Era, we should be there in a few hours." Drake sighed and leaned against the wall, Rubbing the bandaged part of his arm.

"Well," He said, "I guess we've started our next quest to save Fiore as we know it, huh?"

* * *

Apocalypse took a deep breath as he and Quintus waited outside council headquarters.

"Ready?" he asked.

"When you are." He replied. Both of them nodded at each other and entered the building, and Apocalypse made his way toward the front desk as Quintus hung around the entrance.

"Excuse me." Apocalypse said to the cute girl behind the counter. "Where can I find the public files?" He smiled for added effect, and she smiled back.

"Normally citizens cant enter there." She said. "But since you're so cute, I'll let you in." She pointed him to the door across from them, and Apocalypse made his way in and waited until Quintus appeared next to him, forming up from a shadow.

"What're we looking for?" he asked.

"It won't be in the public records, it'll be closed off." Apocalypse replied. "Which is where your shadow ability comes in." Quintus nodded and followed Apocalypse into the room, dominated by filing cabinets stacked to the roof. After walking around for a little bit, they found what appeared to be a heavy metal door with a sign telling them to stay the hell out.

"I think we found it." Quintus said.

"Alright." Apocalypse said. "You've got five minutes, tops. God knows if anyone's watching." Quintus nodded and dissipated into a shadowy mist, disappearing behind the door. Apocalypse knew if he just hung around the door he wasn't allowed behind anyone who saw him would be suspicious, so he began to wander around aimlessly, checking a few files for no good reason, learning far more than he even cared about several local families and when a local bar downtown had been banned. Rolling his eyes at the files, he put the back and wandered back to the metal door just in time to see the sae shadowy mist reappear holding a file.

"Got it." Quintus said, tossing it to him. Apocalypse caught it and opened it, reading the first few lines.

"Silverridge." He said, turning and throwing the file in the nearest cabinet. "It's there."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Come on, let's go." Apocalypse and Quintus turned and left the file room, looking as normal as anyone else there. Once they got out, Apocalypse got directions from some woman standing outside, and he smiled as Lennix, Ramin and Shuichi walked up to them.

"Find it?" Shuichi asked.

"Silverridge." Quintus replied. Lennix smiled.

"Good, so we get there, find what we need, and destroy Fairy Tail."

"Seems pretty simple." Shuichi said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's do this." Apocalypse smiled at the groups enthusiasm.

_Pretty soon, Fairy Tail will be nothing but a pile of ash._

**What are they planning, exactly? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	125. Apocalypse's Target

**I have nothing else to do but update, even with only three reviews.**

**Enjoy!**

"Here we are!" Mami said as they stepped out into the city. "The city of Era. Home of the magic council, memorials, and really shitty coffee." Simon looked out over the city, not really noticing any that made the city look very important, except for the council HQ on top of that huge mountain. The lack of destroyed buildings, dead people, and screaming also told Simon whatever Apocalypse had been after he'd either already gotten, of hadn't found.

"Be on the look out." He warned. "Who knows where they are."

"He's good at covering up his scent." Drake said, inhaling deeply. "I can't smell him anywhere."

"What do you think he's looking for?" Ultear asked. "What could possibly be in Era the Olympians would want, if not the council dead?"

"Guess we'll find out." Damien said. As the group walked through town, Simon ignored the injured group got. He knew they looked like shit, and he didn't need people he didn't know to tell him that.

"Still nothing Drake?" He asked.

"Nope." Drake replied. "Can't tell if he covered in up or if he hasn't been here."

"His magical signature lead here." Mami said. "He's been here alright." Simon was about to say something when a familiar pair caught his eyes.

"I'm telling you Terra, this place is more boring than the guild hall after a party." Winter said, arms crossed.

"Don't disagree with you there." Terra replied. "Nothing to do here." The girl sighed and turned, spotting Simon and the others, smiling. "Oh, hey guys! What are you doing here?"

"And what the hell happened to you?" Winter asked, staring at their wrapped wounds. "It looks like you went through shit."

"We did." Ultear replied. "What are you guys doing here?"

"My dad dragged me to another council meeting." Terra said. "I dragged Winter here." Damien laughed.

"Well that sucks, doesn't it?" he asked.

"So," Terra said, "Care to explain the wounds?"

* * *

"Well shit." Terra said, leaning back. "That's some rough shit right there."

"So you tracked Apocalypse here?" Winter asked. "The place is so calm though."

"We don't exactly know what he was after though." Drake clarified. "It may be something with the council."

"Hm." Terra said. "I think I have an idea." Simon took a sip of his coffee, and almost threw up.

"You're right Mami." He said. " The coffee here does suck." Terra ignored him and stood.

"Come on, let's go." She said. Simon stood with everyone else and followed Terra through Era, wondering where it was they were taking them. As they walked in the direction of the council headquarters, Simon wondered what exactly Terra's idea was. As they reached the headquarters, Simon could see Terra's father Jura standing outside and talking to someone. He turned to see them as they approached.

"Ah, there you are Terra." he took notice o Simon and the others. "And, what happened to you four?"

"It's a long story." Damien said.

"Well, it's good I found you Terra, the meeting was about to start up again." Terra flinched.

"Uh, actually, we won't have time for that Dad." She told him. "They were attacked by Apocalypse." Jura's eyes widened.

"That guy from Phantom Dove?" he asked, Terra nodding. "How did he escape?"

"The Olympians sent him after something." Simon said, crossing his arms. "After he attacked us, Mami tracked his magical signature here to Era, which means he may be after something here. Is there anything he may be after?" Jura rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

"I can't think of anything that would be significant." he replied before his face flickered, Simon saw it quite clearly. "Oh...Oh no, this could be a situation."

"What is it?" Drake asked. "Did you think of something?" Jura looked up, looking conflicted.

"I'm unsure." he said. "I have to check on something. Please, come with me." No one spoke as they followed Jura inside the building, and he strode to the counter.

"What is it, Master Jura-san?" The receptionist asked.

"I'll be looking into the top secret files, they'll be with me." The receptionist nodded, and Jura turned and went into a door to the right, everyone still following him. Simon looked around as the seemingly endless rows of files as Jura walked with a purpose.

"What the hell is in here?" Simon asked.

"Public files." Jura replied aimlessly. "Family trees, historical artifacts, that kind of thing."

"There's a shit ton of it." Damien said, whistling.

Oh, and incident reports." Jura added, making Simon and his guildmates double over. "There's a shit ton on incident reports."

"Can't imagine from what..." Ultear said, trailing off purposefully. Before long they made it too a metal door that was sealed of, saying only those with the right clearance could go in. Jura pressed his hand against a lacrima next t the door, and the stone mad a buzzing sound. He opened the door without a second thought and went inside.

"What's in here?" Drake asked.

"Things eyes such as yours should not even be seeing." Jura replied. "Everything in here is top secret. Absolutely top secret. Dark Guild reports, Balam Alliance information, projects that their code names enough carry enough wait to start a war..." Jura shook his head. "Everything in here is dangerous." He turned to Drake. "Don't listen to anything." Drake flinched and nodded.

"G-Got it." Drake said. Jura walked around a corner and towards a corner of the room, where there wasn't anything. Simon watched Jura press his hand against the wall and it opened up, revealing a bunch of files. Jura mumbled a little bit, before he frowned.

"Damn." he hissed, rubbing his head. "It's not here."

"What's not there?" Damien asked.

"The Silverridge files." Jura replied, his face pale. "This is bad, this is really bad."

"Master Jura, what is it?" Winter asked.

"This is bad." Jura hissed.

"Come on Dad, what the hell is the problem?" Terra demanded. Jura took a deep breath.

"Silverridge." Jura replied. "Is small town not to far in the west of here. Taking the Christina, it my take another few hours..."

"What's so important about Silverridge?" Simon asked, crossing his arms.

"Silverridge is..." Jura took a deep breath. "Silverridge has an underground lab used by the council." He explained. "It's, basically, the council's experimental town."

"Do people live there?" Terra asked.

"Yes, it's a thriving town. However, it was built on the premise as a cover for the council's...ideas."

"Get to the point, Jura." Damien said. Jura sighed.

"There's one kind of weapon beneath Silverridge that's is very dangerous, so dangerous it should've been derailed years ago, but was kept active for the security of the state. and with these missing files, it's been made very clear that is what Apocalypse is after."

"And...?" Drake asked.

"..." Jura didn't say anything for a moment, before he turned and gave them a steely gaze. "Below Silverridge, there's an Etherion cannon."

...

Simon wasn't sure he knew what to say, no words would come to him. An Etherion cannon? No, that wasn't possible, he'd been told the Etherion program had gotten shut down years ago.

"Impossible." Mami said, voicing Simon's thoughts. "That program was shut down after the Tower of Heaven incident."

"That's what you were told." Jura replied. "When I served in the council, the program was secretly started back up under Silverridge, a cannon being one thing they built."

"Mavis..." Damien said, leaning against the wall.

"That's not even the worst of it." Jura said. "From what I remember, the cannon is fired by a systems lacrima, one that can control the density and power of the blast. In doing this, the council hoped controlled Etherion blasts could keep invading armies at bay."

"Who the hell okay'd this to start up again?!" Simon demanded. "Etherion is far to great a lure for evil people, it should have stayed deactivated!"

"Sometimes people don't see that logic until it is too late." Jura said. "Regardless, if Apocalypse is after something in Silverridge, I'm placing my money on that Etherion cannon. There's no other explanation."

* * *

"Taro!" Mami roared as they rushed on the board to the Christina. "Set a course for Silverridge!" Taro cowered a little bit.

"Silverridge? Why do we nee..."

"DO IT!" Mami shouted, and Taro flinched.

"Setting course for Silverridge!" He said weakly.

"What did you learn?" Ken asked, trying to not anger Mami anymore than she already was.

"Apocalypse is after the Etherion cannon beneath Silverridge!" Terra replied. Terra and Winter had insisted on coming with them, and Simon saw no problem with that.

"E-Etherion cannon?!" Akio said from the window. "How is that even possible?!"

"Jura said it was reactivated for the safety of the state." Simon replied. "And now the safety of the state is being targeted by Apocalypse and in turn, the Olympians." Simon replied as the Christina began to float upwards and Taro worked like a mad man to set their course.

"How long will it take, Taro?" Mami asked.

"U-Uh, a few hours."

"Gah!" Mami shouted, grabbing at her head. "Apocalypse could start the firing sequence by then!" Simon was about to speak up when Winter sighed and started stretching.

"Batten everything down."She said, heading for the door. "I'll get us moving."

"Winter?" Drake asked, and the girl smirked back at him.

"Buckle up guys, it's going to be a bumpy ride." Winter then walked out onto the flight deck and ran to the back of the Christina, out of Simon's vision. He turned to find everyone else gripping the hand rail on the bridge. Rushing to meet them, Simon gripped it as well as Ken activated the loudspeaker.

"Alright Winter, we're ready." Ken said, then braced. Simon was confused.

"What the hell is she...?!"

"SKY GOD'S BOREAS!" Simon had a fraction of a second to tighten his grip before the Christina shot forward at three times the speed from before, and he felt his hands screaming in protest from the pressure he was putting on them.

"Holy fuck!" Damien shouted somewhere to Simon's right. "What the hell is she doing?!"

"Speeding us up!" Mami shouted, rapidly tapping buttons. Before long, the pressure on the bridge lessened considerably, which sent Simon and the others right over the hand rail.

"You're damn right she is." Taro said. "At this rate we'll get to Silverridge in, maybe, half an hour!"

"Thank Mavis for her then." Simon said,standing and offering Ultear a hand, which she took. "Any ideas where we can start looking for that Etherion cannon?"

"Jura said underground." Drake said. "So I think it'd be best for Terra to look for it."

"Won't do anything." Terra pointed out. "The most we can do is look around, my Dad said that there were anti-magic measures in place to prevent the chambers detection from a mage."

"So Apocalypse knows how to get there but we don't." Ultear said. "Perfect."

"Our best bet is to track down each member of Phantom Dove, then." Simon reasoned. "Who knows where Apocalypse went, but only tracking him down would do no good. All of them half to fall."

* * *

Damien listened to Simon giving orders to the others, only half listening.

"Keeping up with the plan, Damien?" Damien sighed as Xisplate walked up next to him on the bridge.

"Nice of you to show up now." Damien muttered, low enough so that no one else could hear him. "What do you want?"

"To wish you luck in the oncoming battle." The demon replied. "It will be no easy one."

"No shit, Apocalypse won't go down without a fight." Damien looked over at the demon, who regarded him coldly. "What the hell do you want?"

"I get a bad feeling about this battle, Damien" Xisplate replied. "I know not what, but something is going to happen before his battle is over and, for better or for worse, it'll change everything." Damien perked up at this and turned to the demon.

"What?" He demanded. Xisplate shrugged.

"I can't see the future, Damien." he replied. "Only bits and snippets." Xisplate looked at Damien again, an actual flicker of concern crossing the demon's face. "Just be careful, my boy. Who knows what'll happen before the day is over." Damien watched the demon disappear, and could only just hear Simon still talking in the corner of his mind.

_Why does that dick always give me the bad news?_

**Xisplate being all cryptic again, huh? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! And about that guys, let's try and hit our goals, hm? It's ten, not a million. You guys are perfectly capable of getting ten reviews. How about some of you guys who never leave reviews leave me one? There's over a hundred of you guys that don't do that, so let's see some new names leaving reviews!**


	126. The Chase Begins

**Rapid fire updating, am I right?**

**Enjoy!**

"We're here." Drake looked up from massaging his wrist as Taro shouted this across the bridge. Getting up and walking to the window with everyone else, Drake was confused.

"Nothing's destroyed." he pointed out.

"Or on fire." Ultear added.

"Look like a nice place." Damien noted.

"Don't let it confuse you." Simon warned. "Somewhere beneath this city is a weapon capable of wiping out the country." No one said anymore after this, nothing more was required. As Taro landed the Christina at the outskirts of the city, Mami walked up to them.

"Alright everyone." Mami said as Winter walked back inside. "We don't know where in the city Apocalypse has gone, but it's assumed he knows where the Etherion cannon is and how to get there. That being said, the rest of his Phantom Dove buddies are also in the city somewhere. Whether or not they're with Apocalypse remains to be seen, but they most likely know where he went. If you find anyone of them, beat it out of them."

"Simple enough." Drake said. "If I catch any of there's scents, I'll track them down."

"I'll go with you." Winter said. "Just in case you need backup." Drake nodded thankfully, as he hadn't wholly trusted his injured form to hold up against one of them anyway.

"I guess this means we're splitting up then." Simon said. "Sounds like it'd be our best option."

"Divide and conquer." Damien agreed.

"If anyone of you sees Apocalypse, don't try and be the hero." Ultear warned. "He's too powerful for anyone of you on your own."

"So basically don't be a Nashi." Damien said. It was obvious he meant it as a joke, but no one took it that way. "Anyway, let's do this, we're wasting time."

"Agreed." Simon said. "Move out, and let's do our best to stop this before it's too late."

"We'll stay here." Mami said, referring to her and the others from Blue Pegasus. "Ken'll keep tracking his magical signature, see if it can be narrowed down."

"And make sure Nashi and Elise are okay." Akio added. Drake nodded as he headed to the door with everyone else.

"Well, let's do this."

* * *

They had broken off into groups once they left the Christina to be a little safer in the event they found Apocalypse. Ultear had gone with Simon, Drake with Winter, and Damien and Terra. Ultear felt bad for whatever poor sucker got stuck with Damien and Terra, because those two together was bound to destroy some shit.

"Sense anything?" Simon asked, and Ultear shook her head.

"Nope." She replied. "Seems like a normal city."

"Just act as normal as possible then." He said. "The less people we freak out, the better."

"We're both wrapped up in various places and look like shit, and acting normal is what's going to keep it calm?" Simon cast her a bemused look at this outburst, and she just smiled back.

"What I'm saying is don't start some shit and freak everyone out." he replied. "The last thing we need getting in our way is freaked out citizens." Ultear agreed with that wholeheartedly, they were on a timer as it was.

"What do you think he plans to do with that cannon?" She asked in a low tone. Simon shrugged.

"Could be a lot of things." He whispered back. "Leverage on the royal family, a power up for the Olympians, or he could just started targeting shit at random for fun."

"Royal family huh?" She asked. "Could Crocus be his target? The castle?"

"It's a possibility." Simon agreed. "But if he's working for the Olympians, I doubt he wants to take out the royal family as the display of power. Probably lesser targets first as a threat for something."

"Jewel? Control? Something else?"

"All of the above." Simon replied. "Mavis, I don't know." Ultear nodded and they didn't speak again, too focused on looking around for anyone suspicious. Ultear could see nothing but store owners, customers, and various citizens milling around, indirectly concealing the enemy from her and Simon. Just as Ultear was about to ask Simon if they should split up, he threw a hand out in front of her to stop her.

"What?" She asked. Simon nodded ahead of them, and Ultear followed his nod to see two figures standing in front of them, both looking around suspiciously. One had white hair and a disfigured face, while the other had a much better face, given the same hair color. "They were with Apocalypse." She whispered.

"Found them." Simon said. "Try your best not to alert them, we need to see if they know where they're going." Ultear and Simon did their best to remain silent, pretending to window shop so they could keep an understandable distance from their target. Getting to close would only alert them, an the two seemed to be heading for less crowded roads.

"We might have to follow them where it'll be obvious what we're doing." Ultear whispered as she pointed to a purse and gave Simon a false look of wanting. He sternly shook his head.

"You're right, they seem intent on losing the crowd around here." Simon walked in the direction of them again, and Ultear followed. Pretty soon, the two men took a turn into an alleyway, which immediately made sirens go off in Ultear's head.

"They're baiting us." She warned as they approached the alley.

"We can't follow them any less discretely." Simon replied. "I have an idea anyway, I just hope you'll forgive me."

"...Eh?" Simon said nothing as he peered around the corner, and then walked into it. As they approached the turn into another alleyway, Simon cleared his throat.

"It's just right over here, don't be so scared!" he said. Ultear realized this was his attempt at making the two men think they weren't tracking them, and played along.

"I'm not used to men luring me into alley." She replied loudly.

"Calm down, you've known me too long, you know I'd never hurt you." Just as they rounded another turn, Simon's face flickered with panic. Before Ultear could ask, he grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around, pinning her against the wall. They're faces were mere inches away from each other, and Ultear's face exploded with red.

"W-What...?" She began as she heard chuckling. After listening for a little bit, she heard more laughter and something along the lines of, 'kids these days,' before Simon released her.

"Like I said." he said, shrugging it off. "I hope you'll forgive me." Ultear tried to clear the daze her had had been thrown into my the action.

"...For the sake of the tracking, it's fine." She managed. Simon nodded gratefully and began to walk down the alley again after the men, Ultear right behind him. She did her best to not dwell on the action, but her female mind refused to let her forget it.

"Do you think we...?"

"Shit!" Simon shouted, sprinting out of the alleyway. Ultear followed just in time to see their targets taking off down the street. Both her and Simon gave chase, just in time to see both men take off in different directions.

"We can't lose them!" Ultear said.

"You take the ugly one who sent left!" Simon replied, veering off to the right to take off after the other man. "Good luck Ul!"

"You too!" She said, sprinting down the alleyway after the uglier one as Simon activated meteor behind her and jumped from rooftop to rooftop after the other. "I just hope one of these idiots knows where Apocalypse is..."

* * *

Drake felt worthless. This was because he couldn't pick up a scent from any of the Phantom Dove targets, and it irritated him. Winter had already tried reassuring him that it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but feel like he wasn't trying hard enough.

"They're here somewhere." Winter said. "Don't worry about it."

"I know." Drake said, sighing. "I just feel like I should have picked one of them up by now."

"Who knows where they came in from." She replied. "We probably just haven't crossed paths with them yet."

"Yeah." Drake agreed, keeping his sound magic at an all time high to pick anything up that could help. He kept his ears away from Winter's thoughts, he'd learned a long time ago intruding on his friends thoughts when it wasn't necessary got him hit. This, however, made sure he heard every bit of gossip from the women of Silverridge, and he was ready to kill himself. All he heard were women gossiping about how shitty their husbands were, how the guy they liked friend zoned them, or something to that effect. It also meant he heard every time a young woman found him attractive. He was used to knowing right off the bat, but hearing it still irritated him.

"Anything?" Winter asked, intruding on his plans to say something about having a girlfriend.

"A lot of women are interested in me." he replied, making her laugh. "Other than that, not much."

"Here, let me help." Before Drake could ask what she meant, Winter grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. Drake wanted to laugh as every women's thought immediately turned venomous, insults directed at Winter.

"Great job," he said, "now they just hate you."

"Let them, we're trying to save Fiore here. They'll change their tune pretty soon." Drake nodded, not as if he cared either way. Just as he was about to make a comment on Winter's clammy hands to piss her off, he stopped dead.

"I got one." He said, inhaling deeply. The scent was definitely one of the guys Apocalypse had been with at the estate, he could tell.

"Where are they?" Winter asked. Drake inhaled a few more times before he got a trail, and he began to walk before, losing his grip on Winter's hand. He knew he must've looked like an idiot walking around town inhaling deeply, but that wasn't important. Pretty soon, the rail led them into a crowded street, which made the various other scents of citizens get in Drake's way.

"I'm going to lose it." Drake muttered. "All these people are getting in the way."

"Not much we can do about that." She replied. Drake did his best to follow the trail, but it started to go cold quickly. Before long, however, it strengthened abnormally, and Drake froze. "What happened?" Winter asked.

"It got really strong right here." He replied, looking around. Taking a few steps away, the scent got weaker once more. "Okay, what the hell. It's really strong right here, but anywhere else it's weak."

"Uh, Drake?" Drake looked back at Winter, and she pointed at the ground. There, right where he'd been standing a moment before, was a manhole leading to the sewers below the city.

"...Oh." Was all Drake said. Winter had a disgusted look on her face, and Drake could understand why. They were talking abut the sewers here.

"Is it possible you were just smelling the sewers?" She asked weakly.

"Not unless everyone in Phantom Dove smells like absolute shit." He replied. "Come on, we don't have time to spare." Drake knelt down and pried at the manhole, cursing to himself as it wouldn't open.

"Lets just think this over." Winter said weakly. "Your sense of smell will become useless and seeing as we're underground, your hearing becomes less powerful too. We're being set up to get attacked down there."

"I hate to break it too you Winter," Drake replied in a whisper, looking up at her, "but we're talking about an Etherion cannon that can destroy anything Apocalypse aims it at. I think that, for the sake of Fiore and the whole world, you'd deal with a little sewer water and shit smell." Winter watched him for a little bit before she sighed and waved her hand. This caused a gale if wind to come up from the sewer and the manhole flew off, causing Drake to fly back and land on his ass with it in his hands.

"Come on." She said, walking up to the hole. "We're wasting time." Winter jumped into the air and right down the hole, using her Sky magic to slow her fall. Drake sighed and he tossed the manhole cover aside and walked up to the hole.

"Here's to the shitty job." he said, grinning slightly at his terrible joke before jumping down the hole himself.

**And the chase begins! Also, due to an email fiasco I had last night, seven reviews haven't shown up on the actual review page for this story. I'm sure if you guys check you'll know who you are, but just know that I did see them regardless!**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	127. The Prey

** Did anyone else see FT's new opening? SO HYPE! Sorry for not updating yesterday, feel kind of sick. Still do, but I wanted to update!**

**Enjoy!**

Simon had lost his target, which pissed him off. He'd been on his trail only a moment ago., but lost him in what appeared to be a residential area. Weaving in and out of the people and ignoring the looks he got for not apologizing when he slammed into someone, he kept his eyes open for the white haired man he was chasing.

"How the hell did I lose him?" Simon muttered, "I was right behind him..." Pushing past a few more people and muttering half hearted apologies, Simon was about to lose it. He was already worried about the Etherion blast and where that'd be, but now he had a rogue asshole on the loose.

"Excuse you, sir." Simon had half a mind to turn and confront whoever had addressed him like that, but he knew it'd only get him into trouble. After a little more pushing, Simon spotted a mop of white hair through the crowd.

"Got you." Simon said, watching the man walk. Before long he broke into another sprint, forcing Simon to follow. The man broke down a door, and Simon heard screams inside. Appearing in the doorway, Simon saw a frightened family staring at him with wide eyes.

"Where'd he go?" he asked. The mother pointed to the stairs in front of them, and Simon bolted up them in pursuit. After getting there, Simon found the man in what appeared to be the parents bedroom, staring at the wall. "Stop! You're cornered." He told hi, causing the man to turn and smile.

"Quite the contrary, Simon." he replied. "I can get out any time I want."

"Who are you?" Simon demanded.

"Name's Lennix." He did a sarcastic bow. "I'd ask you to say the same, but I already know the answer."

"How?"

"I'm observant." He replied. "Calculating. I can rattle off some facts about you right quick, if you'd like."

"Amuse me." Lennix grinned at this.

"Simon Scarlet." he said. "Righteous attitude, daddy issues. Your Dad showed up so little while you were growing up you no longer know how to talk to him and it worries you that you're drifting away from him, you and your mother not even taking his last name." Simon stood there, mouth agape, as Lennix listed things off about him.

"I..."

"You consider yourself the protector of the group, often taking it personally if another team member gets hurt." Lennix continued. "This is why you attacked Apocalypse when he surprised your team, because he hurt your friends."

"I..."

"It's possible you're pushing away feelings of affection for one team member..." Simon's eyes widened. "Am I correct? It's always hard to tell with you hero types."

"Dead wrong." Simon replied, ignoring the thumping in his chest. "Now, explain to me why you're here. What are you after?"

"Surely your trip to Era was not that uninformative." Lennix replied. "Surely you learned why we're here."

"Something about an Etherion cannon."

"Correct. Apocalypse is currently on his way to that, yet you're wasting your time here with me." Simon narrowed his eyes.

"You're just a distraction then?" He demanded. "Apocalypse is already going to the cannon?"

"From what he said, yes, he's on his way." Lennix smirked. "Although he did give us very specific instructions."

"Which are?" Simon waited as Lennix stretched and yawned, smiling at Simon.

"If the Fairies catch up to us, make sure they don't reach me." Lennix said, making Simon growl. "You don't know where he is, neither do I." Simon requipped a sword into his hand and pointed it at Lennix.

"Tell me where he is before I run you through." He threatened.

"I don't know, honestly." He replied. "He told me to take out any Fairies and then disappeared."

"Then looks like I can find him once I've finished you off." Lennix laughed.

"Come and get me." Simon launched himself at Lennix, who brought up a hand and hit Simon in the face with his open palm. The resulting white explosion threw Simon backwards and through the wall, leaving a crater in the house next to them.

Impact magic." Lennix said as Simon watched him. "Now, come and get me, Scarlet." Lennix planted a hand on the bedroom wall, and it exploded. The man disappeared out it, and Simon fell on his hands and knee's coughing up blood from the impact.

"Bastard." he hissed, running towards the hole and looking out it, seeing Lennix run across the rooftops. Activating Meteor, Simon flew after him, reaching him in no time. A fist met a palm, and Simon flew back through the air again, cursing as he regained control of himself. Lennix was now waiting for him on the roof next to him, smiling.

"What's the matter Simon?" he asked. "Did I hurt you? Or are you still in pain from Apocalypse?" Both statements were true, but Simon showed no reaction.

"It would seem a head on interaction with you would do no good, huh?" he asked.

"Apparently not." he agreed. "I'll have you know, I technically wasn't even defeated before. That water wizard Juvia only put me to sleep." If Gray and Juvia hadn't actually beaten the guy, Simon felt a little more intimidated. "One last chance, Simon. Turn around and pretend you never saw me." Simon growled, the light around him growing.

"Never."

* * *

Ultear didn't know where the mist had come from, but it was annoying her greatly. Wiping the moisture from her brow, she looked around. The street she was on was mostly vacated, save a few merchants and old people. None seemed like they'd have any clue where her target what, or what she was even talking about, given the age of a few people she saw. Continuing down the street, Ultear took a moment to ponder if she had lost him. That was entirely possible, given how fast the man had run from her.

"I can't believe this." She hissed, putting her hands on her hips. "How did I lose him?"

"You didn't." Ultear jumped and looked around, looking for the voice that had spoken.

"Where are you?" She demanded. "And what do you mean I didn't lose him?"

"I'm right here."

"Where?"

"Here."

"Where?!"

"Look around you, Fullbuster." Ultear did as the voice said, still not noting anything that wasn't there before. Aside from the fact that all other citizens had left the area. there was nothing.

"What?" She demanded, doing another three-sixty. "I still don't see you."

"Where do you think the mist came from?" Ultear's eyes widened as a face formed from the mist. "I am the mist, the mist is me." Ultear panicked and threw a fist at the face, which dissolved around her fist. He laughed.

"What the hell is so funny?" She demanded.

"That you think mere physical hits can touch the master of Mist magic, Ramin." Ultear rolled her eyes at the ego that leaked from his tone.

"Alright, great." She said. "But what's the point of this? All you're doing is making this difficult on the both of us." Ramin chuckled.

"Quite the opposite, actually." He said. "Apocalypse gave us one job, which is to distract Fairies. I'd say I'm doing an excellent job of that, wouldn't you?"

"So what you're saying is that all you're doing is distracting us?" Ultear said, earning a hum of confirmation from the mist. "What if I just, you know, leave and go look for Apocalypse?" As if on cue, the mist thickened to a point where Ultear couldn't see anything.

"There." Ramin said. "Mist is a misdirection magic. So please, leave and go look for Apocalypse." Ultear sighed and turned on her heel.

"Watch me, assho...!" She had turned and slammed right into the side of a building she could have sworn wasn't there before. "Since when is that there?!" She demanded, wiping the blood from her nose.

"Do you know what misdirection means?" Ramin asked, his voice full of egotistical pride. "As of right now you have no idea where you are." Ultear couldn't see a foot in front of her, she almost couldn't even see her own feet below her.

"Well, you've got that right," Ultear said, unsure if it was moisture from the mist or nervous sweat running down the side of her head. "I really do have no idea where I am."

* * *

Drake splashed down in the sewer water and almost threw up. The smell was going to kill him and he doubled over, almost throwing up.

"You okay?" Winter asked, rubbing his back.

"I'm going to hurl." he threatened. After gagging more than a few times, Drake finally realized he had no choice but to breath out of his mouth and block his nose off, or he was going to hurl.

"You good?" Winter asked as he straightened.

"Not at all," He replied, enhanced senses still smelling the sewer. "But I'll have to make do."

"How do you intend to track this guy if you can't smell him?" Drake's felt rather stupid as Winter put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Uh..."

"You can't." She answered for him. "You almost threw up without even inhaling a lot to track him. Come on Drake, we can't track him down here."

"..." Drake cursed under his breath, but nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I can't." Winter smiled at him.

"Thank you," She said, turning to the ladder up. "Now, let's get the hell out of here." Drake followed Winter up the ladder and away from the shitty sewer until she stopped, causing Drake to hit his head on her ass.

"What?" He demanded. "What's the matter?"

"Did you shut the manhole?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

"No..." he replied slowly, seeing the manhole was indeed covered up again. "What the hell? I promise I didn't."

"Well, someone did." Drake shrugged.

"Open it." He said, "As nice as your ass is Winter, I'm really not keen on it being in my face."

"You wouldn't have said that if we were dating." She shot back, pushing at the manhole. "Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me."

"What's the matter now?" Winter looked back at him with an exasperated look on her face.

"It's stuck." She said weakly. Drake's eyes widened.

"How the hell is it stuck? Push harder!" Winter did so, put it still refused to open. "Here, come back down." Both slid back down the ladder and landed in the water, Drake looked up. "Poison Dragon Roar!" The spell hit the manhole dead on, but it still didn't budge.

"Didn't work." Winter said as the roar disappeared.

"No shit?" Drake asked sarcastically.

"Here, let me try." She said, inhaling. "Sky God's Bellow!" The black winds hit the manhole, but it still refused to open. "That manhole is a trooper." Winter said angrily.

"There must be another one around here." Drake replied, "Come on, let's try this way." Drake walked off to the left, Winter close behind. Spotting another ladder, Drake launched a few attacks at it to test it. Nothing happened, and Drake made a face. After walking a little farther and trying another, still nothing happened.

"I'm going to panic pretty soon." Winter warned. "Why are they all stuck?"

"Hell is I know." Drake replied. "There must be another way out of here. Come on, let's go." Drake turned and slammed right into Winter, who made a sound and pushed him away.

"What the hell man?!" She demanded.

"I can't see anything!" Drake shouted back. "I'm sorry!" Taking a moment to look around, Drake's stomach turned: He couldn't see anything. He could just barely see Winter's outline in front of him, staring at him.

"It's really dark down here." Winter said, only making Drake feel worse.

"I have a bad feeling they're all stuck for a reason." Drake said weakly. He tried to listen for a direction to go in, but his hearing just bounced off of walls and made everything distorted.

"Which is?" she asked, hugging herself.

"We tracked a Phantom Dove member down here." He told her, earning a nod. "It's just a theory, but I get the feeling the one who created the shadows they hid in back at the estate is causing all this darkness." Winter hummed in agreement.

"That would make sense." She said. "Now he's trapped us down here with him." Winter's face contorted into a fearful one. "That means..."

"Yep." Drake agreed, looking around. "The hunters just became the prey."

**Ohhh! Sorry for practically nothing happening today, just trying to drag it out a bit, you know? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	128. The Darkness

**Sorry the update took a few days, the sickness was too great.**

**Enjoy!**

Damien had to admit, Silverridge seemed like a nice place.

A nice place that had a weapon that could decimate entire countries, but a nice place nonetheless.

He and Terra were walking through a crowded street, looking for any signs of Phantom Dove. Given that the city wasn't burning to the ground, he assumed they hadn't struck yet. Damien had been in a lot of high risk situations the past few months, most of which being life or death. He had never, not even in the face of Taisho or Kronos, felt so worried. It wasn't even about Apocalypse or what he wanted, it was what he planned to use to get what he wanted that had him worried. An Etherion cannon that could fire on anything in the world with controlled bursts was a very dangerous weapon, and if they didn't hurry one of the most evil, vile men Damien knew of would get his hands on it.

"See anything?" Terra asked. As Damien had gotten a look at all the Phantom Dove members prior to them running off, Terra had told him to keep an eye out for any of them should he see them.

"No." Damien replied. Terra walked a bit ahead and started to look around. It was about then Damien sensed another presence, and sighed. "Go away." He said.

"Why?" Xisplate demanded. "We can't talk."

"I'm busy." Damien cast the demon an irritated look. "And you seem to have the idea we're friends or something."

"I assumed what happened was water under the bridge." Damien stared at the demon like he was insane.

"Water under the bridge?" He demanded. "Need I remind you you hijacked my body, used it to destroy my home, and killed my sister?" Xisplate sighed.

"The fact that you've yet to get over that shows how immature you really are." He informed Damien, making him growl. "The fate of your country, your world, is hanging on the ropes right now. Show some sense Damien, I'm on your side." Damien kept the demon's gaze for a few more seconds before he growled and looked back in Terra's direction, walking away. After a moment, Damien sighed.

"Sense anything?"

"A great evil." Xisplate informed him. "The Olympians no doubt have a hand in Apocalypse's being here, only they could convey such a feeling." Damien gulped nervously.

"Are...They here?" he asked weakly. Xisplate shook his head.

"The Olympians wouldn't waste their time with you mere mortals." He replied. "That's why they send their underlings to do it for them."

"Mere mortals?" Damien asked lowly, so Terra and no one else could see him talking to himself. "Are they really Gods?"

"No." Xisplate replied. "However, they are just as powerful as one, which is why they refer to themselves as such. Why would someone of their caliber deal with you directly?"

"You seem to know an awful lot about these Olympians." Damien said, narrowing his eyes at Xisplate. There was no sign of reaction on Xisplate's face, so Damien couldn't read him.

"It is not just your world at stake, Damien." He told him. "The Olympians get what they want and everything falls apart. Remember, I'm on your side."

"You seem really intent on reminding me of that..." Damien muttered as they rounded a corner.

"Keep forgetting and I'll remind you." Xisplate informed him flatly. "Now, pay attention. Your peaceful trip will not last much longer." Xisplate then disappeared and before Damien could ponder what this meant, the hair on his arms stood up on end. Slowly looking towards the park, he spotted one of the Phantom Dove men sitting on a bench, as nonchalantly as possible.

"Terra." he said, making the earth mage stop. "Found him." Terra followed his gaze and narrowed her eyes.

"Which one is he?" Damien made a face.

"He's new." He replied. "He wasn't there when we fought Phantom Dove the first time." Terra groaned, and Damien looked over to find her clutching her head. "What's the matter?"

"My head hurts." She replied, rubbing her temples. "Ugh, what the hell..."

"A headache?"

"I guess, but..." Terra groaned again. "It's not my thing to get random headaches..." Damien turned back to glare at the man,who still had not moved. Hell, he even cast a few people kind looks. Damien wouldn't mistaken him for some random passerby if he hadn't sensed him.

"Come on," Damien said, pushing through the crowd. "Let's get this guy."

* * *

It was dark, far far to dark. Drake and Winter were currently wandering around in the sewers, blinded by the darkness around them. Drake only had a very vague idea where they were going, as the echoing of his hearing negated it's usefulness.

"This is insane." Winter hissed from directly behind Drake. The two had resorted to staying close as too not lose each other. "I'm going to give it to this guy when we find him."

"If we find him." Drake corrected. "I have no idea where we are right now."

"You're in my game, Dragon Slayer." Drake and Winter jumped and looked around on instinct, of course seeing nothing. "And I'm making the rules."

"Who are you?" Drake demanded.

"Quintus." Drake recalled the name from the original fight against Phantom Dove, and the man who had created the shadowy veil Apocalypse had hidden in at the estate.

"What do you want from us?" Winter asked, making Quintus chuckle.

"Fun." he replied. "I was the only one Apocalypse also wanted on the look out for an entrance to the Etherion cannon, as I'm sure you've all learned is underground. But of course, after sensing a powerful pair on my trail, I decided some fun would be in order."

"You...sensed us?" Drake asked weakly.

"Of course, Dragon Slayer." Quintus said, chuckling. "We're talking about the son of Cobra the Poison Dragon and the daughter of Chelia the Sky Goddess, I'm no fool." Drake could practically see the smug look on his face. "I see what the shadows see."

"Why don't you come out and fight us like a man?" Winter asked, trying to challenge Quintus' manhood. Quintus snorted in derision.

"Like I said Winter dearest, I'm no fool. A fight head on with you two would be asking for it. Besides, I'll give your little group, hmm, an hour until Apocalypse can start the firing sequence. After that, you've already lost."

"What the hell are you targeting with that cannon?" Drake asked, hoping maybe Quintus would be stupid enough to say something.

"Not my place to say." Quintus replied, making Drake curse under his breath. "Besides, you two have enough problems to worry about right now. Will you make it out of these sewers alive? Only one? Two? I guess you\ll have to find out." Quintus spoke no more, leaving Drake and Winter alone.

If only it felt like that.

Ever step Drake took, he could practically feel Quintus' eyes watching him take it, and it was unnerving. His hearing couldn't pick up shadows, so he had no idea if the man had vacated the area or was watching their every step. He and Winter were about to turn the corner when something shattered as it hit the ground, followed by a rustling noise.

This caused Winter to cling to him tightly.

"W-What the hell was that?" She whispered in his ear.

"Rats." Drake replied, hearing the small rodents scurry away from them. "Harmless little sewer rats." Winter had yet to let go, and Drake started to feel uncomfortable. "You can let go Winter."

"I..." Drake could tell she was red in the face.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Your body heat is comforting..." She mumbled under her breath. Drake wasn't one to get embarrassed about things like this, but even he felt the heat rise to his face. It wasn't like Winter to admit something like that.

So of course he opted to tease her.

"Wow," he said with a smirk. "That might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Winter growled and punched him in the chest as she let go.

"Not interested, Cyanide Breath." She told him. "We broke up years ago, we'll keep it that way."

"Fine, I don't care." Drake turned and started to walk again, but did not hear Winter behind him. Sighing, he turned and outstretched his hand. "If you're that scared of the dark, you can hold my hand." He said it in a teasing manner, so he did not expect Winter to actually grasp his hand and hold in firmly. "Uh..."

"Something the matter?" Winter asked in a sweet tone. Drake wished he could see her face so he could punch her.

"No, nothing." They continued on their path into the darkness, still no clue where they were going.

"..."

"...Your hand is clammy as shit though."

_SMACK!_

"Ow!"

* * *

When Mami walked onto the bridge, the amount of concentration was unnerving her. Ken was rapidly typing away with his archive, paying her no one else any mind.

"What's he doing?"| She asked Taro. The tan man shrugged.

"He isn't talking to us." he replied. "All he's doing is sitting there and typing away." Mami nodded and was about to check on him when Akio walked past them.

"Where are you going?" She asked. Akio stopped to talk.

"To check on Nashi and Elise." He replied. "from what we were told Nashi might wake up at any moment, Elise might stay out." mami nodded and he walked past them, allowing Mami and Taro to advance on Ken.

"Yo, Ken." Taro said. Like he'd told Mami, the dirty blonde did not look up at them.

"Ken." Mami tried, tapping his shoulder, still not getting a response.

"Ken."

"Ken."

"Ken."

"Ken?" Still nothing, and now the droning was even pissing Mami off. Sighing, she stepped back a bit.

"Oh man." She said in a low purr. "it's sooooo hot in here, I think I'll take my shirt off."

"Say what?" Ken asked, immediately turning around, making Taro face palm.

"Perv." Mami said as she walked up ti him. "Now, before you get lost in your fantasy world again, what are you doing?" Ken sighed and turned back around, resuming his typing. It was a moment or two before he spoke again.

"I'm running simulations of an Etherion strike on multiple key targets." He said.

"Like what?" Taro asked.

"The castle, Crocus in general, Era, the like." Ken replied. "Hell, I'm even running simulations on how big the blast would be to wipe out the whole country."

"I doubt he's targeting the entire country." Mami said. "He'd kill himself in the process."

"Yes, because he's totally sane." taro said sarcastically.

"Well, in any case," Ken said. "Without the actual stats of the blast I can't get an exact detail of what he might be hitting."

"Well, good job anyway." Mami said, patting him on the back. "Now we just have to wai...!"

"GUYS! GUYS!" Everyone turned as Akio sprinted onto the bridge, completely out of breath.

"What? What happened?" Mami asked as she walked up to him.

"It's..." Akio took a deep breath. "It's...Nashi..." Mami's stomach turned violently at these words.

"What about her?" Mami asked. "Is she dead? Dying? In pain? Come on Akio, open up!" After Akio spent too much time catching his breath, Mami grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him violently. "Come on! What is it?!"

"Mami, calm down!" Taro shouted, grabbing her and pulling her away. "Now Akio, catch your breath and tell us, how bad is she?" Akio stood up straight, his eyes full of worry and confusion.

"She's gone."

**Oh Nashi, you so sneaky! Sorry again for the long wait on updates, I wasn't feeling good. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	129. Water vs Mist

**I'm back already? I must be feeling better. Enjoy!**

Simon wasn't accustomed to fighting in so much pain, even after Icas. When he'd fought Icas, the pain was normal muscle and nerve pain. After getting attacked by Apocalypse, Simon felt a painful strain on his entire form as he moved sluggishly and irregularly. After getting more then a few Impact Palms to the face, it was even worse.

"You're much slower than I heard, Simon." Lennix informed him as he watched him from a nearby rooftop. Simon slowly floated down to the opposing rooftop and tried to catch his breath. "Why is that?"

"..." Simon didn't have any words to reply with, Lennix was just taunting him. So far they'd fought around the area where Lennix had broken down the wall, and more than a few people in the streets below had stopped to watch. Simon could hear them muttering in concern and confusion as to why two mages were fighting. Glowing with light again, Simon charged at Lennix, who rolled his eyes and caught his fist as it came for him.

"If you're not at your best, you can't beat me." he informed him. Lennix placed a hand on Simon's chest and it glowed white, which caused Simon to blow backwards through the roof and into the street below, making a crater. He could hear people crowding around him inspecting him to see if he was alive, and he sat up to find Lennix now on street level as well, advancing slowly.

"Run!" Simon shouted, referring to the citizens offering him a hand up. "He's dangerous!" it took all of three seconds for people to back up and start to run, only a few staying around in buildings and such to watch. Lennix chuckled.

"I sort of wanted an audience to your destruction, Simon." he said. "Why did you tell them to run?"

"How do I know you won't use them to your advantage?" Simon shot back. "I've seen firsthand it isn't above you dark wizard types to use innocents as fodder."

"That protective attitude coming in again, huh?" Lennix chuckled. "Oh Simon, you really are Erza's son, only a Scarlet could be so righteous." Simon struggled to stand, using his knees as support. It wasn't that he was magically drained, his magical tank was still pretty full. It was Apocalypse's brutal Rapture beating prior to arriving here that left him drained. Looking up at his opponent, Simon took a moment to examine him closely. He had noticed during his beating Lennix always waited for him to go to him, always playing on the defensive. He was a cold, calculating man, being able to list off facts about Simon like that right off the bat after a sentence or two of conversation. He also always got in Simon's way right at the last moment, making sure no attack ever hit. A side effect of his calculation not being archive? How was he to go around beating a man who'd always wait for Simon to go to him?

"I've noticed something." Simon said as he stood up straight. "Despite all the shit you talk, you never attack me."

"You're kidding, right Simon?" Lennix asked, "There's a reason you ended up in a crater on the street."

"I meant you never come to me." Simon smirked as a flicker of realization went across Lennix's features. "Every time you've attacked me, it was after I came to you, while you've never made the offensive push." Tilting his head to the side in a mocking manner, Simon's smirk grew. "Is it because all of that calculation doesn't work in an offensive push with no knowledge of my own defensive mannerisms?" Lennix frowned at these words before he chuckled.

"Seems you are quite observant yourself, Simon." he said, crossing his arms. "It's true I'm not as confident in my abilities in a full on offensive push, because I do not know how you will or would defend yourself. However, at it stands, I don't have to."

"And why would that be?" Lennix smirked at this question.

"Because if neither of us attack each other, the battle is at a never ending stand-still." Simon's eyes widened. "And if that happens, you're just wasting time you could've been using to find and stop Apocalypse." Lennix held his arms out and smirked. "You see, Simon? You have to come to me, or the Etherion cannon will fire, and you will lose." He was right, completely. If Simon waited for an attack as well, it would never come, and Simon was giving the victory to Apocalypse. He was about to growl in frustration when he remembered his second point, and grinned.

"Requip!" he shouted. "Soaring Armor!" The leopard print armor materialized around Simon, and Lennix frowned.

"Didn't know you liked cosplaying animals, Simon." he said, making Simon double over.

"What gave you that idea?!" Simon shouted.

"You just put on gear that's made of leopard skin." Lennix replied. "Please tell me how I'm wrong."

"It isn't cosplay, it armor!" Simon retorted, taking a moment to calm down. "However, with this I can exploit your second weakness." Before Lennix could respond, Simon activated the armor's speed boost, darting to the right and behind Lennix, slamming the butt of his rapier into the back of his head, sending him flying forward. As Lennix growled and stood, Simon crossed his arms.

"What the hell...?" Lennix demanded, eyes wide.

"You may have incredible calculation abilities, but it's no Archive." Simon told him. "You always waited until the last second to attack me to make sure your calculations on my attacks were correct. If I attack to fast for you to make any conclusive calculation on my attacks..."

"Then I cannot appropriately defend against them." Lennix finished, smirking. "Impressive Simon. And here I thought this fight would only consist of mindless attacks from your side, and here you turn out to be rather intelligent."

"Like you said," Simon replied, lowering his rapier for another rush. "I am a Scarlet."

* * *

Ultear didn't have any clue what she was going to do, and it was irritating the hell out of her. She was wasting precious minutes being stuck in this mist being taunted by Ramin, and her patience was wearing thin. So thin in fact, she was considering just running in a certain direction and destroying anything in her path to get away from him. Although, seeing as it was misdirection magic, he'd probably throw her sense of direction out the window and make her run in circles.

"So, while we're stuck here." Ultear said, leaning up against a wall she'd almost run into. "Care to explain what exactly you plan to do with an Etherion cannon."

"What would you do if you obtained an Etherion cannon?" Ramin's reply came from the mist. "The Olympians wanted Apocalypse to secure and use it on key targets, making sure that they retain dominance in Fiore's underground."

"What are you're targets?"

"I'm not a fool, Fullbuster." Ultear cursed under her breath. "Why would I just reveal that to you?"

"Because you're a nice villain?"

"Hm, no." Ramin chuckled. "But if you really want to know, I suppose you could defeat me and find Apocalypse. I'm sure by the time he's finished the firing sequence and aimed the cannon he'd be liable to tell you." Ultear sighed and looked around, wiping more moisture from her brow. The mist was so thick that the water in the air clung to her.

Water.

Ultear grinned as she realized what exactly mist was. Concentrating, Ultear felt her body become lighter and liquefied, effectively making her water. This however, was not enough. Concentrating even harder, she made her body disperse into the air, trying to become one with the mist.

"W-What the hell?!" When Ultear looked up, the effect was much different then she'd envisioned. While she imagined being dispersed across the mist, her dispersal of her form had brought her into the mist itself in a different way, right into where Ramin concealed himself from.

"What is this, your man cave?" Ultear asked, looking around.

"How did you get into the mist?!" Ramin shouted in surprise.

"Maybe you need a science lesson, Ramin." Ultear replied, smirking. "Mist has water in it. I'm a water wizard, so by dispersing my body into your veil, I accessed it directly. Now," Ultear focused, and the moisture in the air whipped around her. "How about we get on to your ass kicking?" Ramin grinned, the mist whipping around him.

"It seems just messing with you won't be enough." He said. "While my magic was only misdirection back in the old Phantom Dove days, the Olympians have some incredible magic development facilities." Ultear formed the water into a whip like weapon and flung it at Ramin, he commanded the mist to do the same. Before long, the two were trading blows with water and mist, throwing the mist surrounding them into a violent turmoil as both used it's contents to attack the other. Ultear tried to form another whip of water, and gasped as it dispersed in her hand and back into the atmosphere.

"What the...!" Ultear's sentence was cut off as the mist around her constricted her, all air leaving her lungs as it wrapped tighter and tighter. Ramin laughed.

"The mist is my domain, Fullbuster." he told her. "The water here does not strictly obey you." The mist became even tighter, and dark spots appeared in Ultear's vision.

"Bastard..." She managed to hiss, already regretting using the air she had left to curse.

"I wouldn't speak if I were you." Ramin said. "Conserve that air for basic brain function." Ultear needed a plan, and she needed one now. Her brain went into overdrive, thinking up all the possibilities she could come up with.

Water.

Ultear grinned. She had all the experience in the world with the element, and she concentrated once more. The temperature began to drop, and the mist around her slowed in it's movement.

"What the..." Slowly but surely the frost emanating from Ultear clung to the air and in turn, the mist constricting her. She smirked at Ramin as she easily flexed within the frozen trap.

"The elements here do not strictly obey you either." She informed him smugly, breaking the frozen trap encasing her with enough force. "The mist, no matter who conjured it, is till an element of nature, not yours." Ramin grinned.

"And here I thought you'd be dead by now."

* * *

When Nashi had awoken in the medbay of the Christina, she'd been incredibly confused. How had she wound up here? Then it all came back to her, albeit painfully, as she relived Apocalypse taking her down and Drake finding her. From what she'd been able to draw together, the Christina had been in the area and had been called down to assist, and where ever they were was where they had tracked Apocalypse and Phantom Dove. Once Nashi had pieced that together, rage overtook her at the sight of the calm and nice seeming town they were at. These people had done nothing to deserve whatever the hell Apocalypse was after, and she didn't intend to let him get away with it.

So she escaped to track him down.

That in itself hadn't been too difficult of a task, there was a door to the flight deck right near the medbay. As she got into the city, however, she realized something that should have been rather obvious: She had no way of tracking him. She couldn't catch his scent, there was no obvious burning buildings to indicate where he might have gone to rampage, nothing. All she saw where people going about there business and giving her weird looks. Understandably so, she was limping and leaning against the walls of buildings for support, her body screaming in protest at every move. She looked like shit and she knew it, but she couldn't let Apocalypse win, not this time.

"Mavis..." Nashi hissed, stopping and leaning against the wall, catching her breath. "He really did a number on me, huh?" Nashi looked up and observed the area, still not finding anything that could lead her to the Rapture mage. "I can't let him win...I need to find him..."

But how? Nashi was in a bad enough state as it was, but she had no way of finding him. He may not even be in this city for all she knew, she had no idea where they were or why. Hell, maybe they were just on a pit stop.

_BOOM!_

The explosion she heard threw that idea out the window as heavenly light exploded somewhere in the distance, clearly Simon in the middle of a fight. Nashi considered that he was fighting Apocalypse but after some more explosions, white in color, she decided he was not. Apocalypse may have been powerful, but Rapture would not have caused such explosions.

"I need a way to track him..." Nashi hissed. "He must have been around here somewhere, anything that his scent would linger on..." Nashi's eyes widened at her own words, slowly looking down. When she'd gone after Apocalypse, he'd grabbed her by the collar of her vest and her scarf. It was a long shot, but Mavis above she needed it.

Grabbing the neck of her vest and her scarf, Nashi brought it up to her nose and inhaled deeply.

"Got it."

Nashi let go of her own clothes and looked around, the scent still fresh in her mind. Looking around and sniffing, her nose pinpointed her in a direction. Looking up the pathway Apocalypse had taken, Nashi narrowed in on what she was sure his target had been.

_The government building..._

**Oh, Nashi's on his trail! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	130. The Puppetmaster

**I'm back! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update, I'll explain myself at the bottom of the chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

The constant attempts to jump scare himself and Winter were pissing Drake off. More then once Quintus had made a random sound in an attempt to scare them, and in Winter's case it usually worked.

"This is insane." he heard her mutter. "How're we supposed to be beat this guy?"

"Don't ask me." he whispered back. "I'm just as lost as you." Drake had his hands out in front of him in order to make sure he didn't slam into a wall, making sure there was nothing obstructing their path. After feeling a wall in front of them, Drake turned left and continued on the same way.

"Are you sure your hearing magic can't help?" Winter whimpered.

"Quite sure." Drake said. "I can bounce it off walls to sense where we're going, but Quintus can change our pathways with shadow walls. My hearing can't pick up shadows so if he makes the effort to misdirect us, we may be in trouble."

"Great..." Drake chuckled as another sound echoed around the chamber, making Winter jump.

"You really that scared of the dark?" he asked. Winter scoffed.

"No." She denied. "I am _not _afraid of the dark. I'm seventeen, not seven." Drake rolled his eyes.

"I won't make fun of you." he warned. "I understand if you are, I'm not exactly relaxed myself either."

"..."After another jump scare that even spooked Drake, Winter muttered something incoherent.

"Huh?" he asked. "What was that?"

"...I guess I am...A little afraid of the dark..." She said weakly. Drake smirked.

"See, was that so hard?" He asked.

"If you tell a soul I'm afraid of the dark, I'll kill you." Drake gulped at the complete seriousness in her tone and nodded, laughing awkwardly.

"It's not that weird if you think about it." Drake said. "There isn't a non-shadow mage on this earth who isn't tense in the dark, some more than others. You're one of them."

"I'm serious." She said again. "I will make absolutely certain you are the last poison dragon, if you catch my drift." Drake knew what she meant, as her threat was accompanied by a jab of pain below his belt. Shifting uncomfortably, Drake felt his hand touch another wall.

"Give me a second." he told Winter, sending out sound waves to detect a path. He sensed a slid that would take them downward, and beyond that not much. "Looks like we have to go deeper, or on a straight path. Pick your poison."

"Of all people to use that saying, it would be you." Winter said, making Drake chuckle. "I guess we could keep going straight, if you want."

"At this rate, I don't feel like it makes much of a difference." Drake replied. "One way or another, we'll just get more lost." They walked towards the open tunnel and Drake was about to head down it before his face made contact with a shadow wall. Cursing, he stumbled back and bumped into Winter, who jumped back.

"Shadow wall?" She asked weakly.

"Yep." Drake said, rubbing his head. "Looks like we're going to have to slide down that slide."

"Ugh, great." Drake guided her towards the other tunnel and felt around, his hand landing in the sewer water.

"Alright, you go first." Drake said, guiding her towards the tunnel. "I'll meet you at the bottom." Drake heard her sit down in the water, and she cursed. "What? What happened?"

"This is by far the most disgusting thing I've ever done." She hissed. "Ugh, I'll never feel clean again." Drake rolled his eyes.

"Get on with it, Winter." he said, patting her on the back. After he heard her slide down the tunnel, Drake climbed into it and sat down in the water, understanding why Winter felt gross, so did he. After positioning himself in it, Drake pushed off of the wall and tucked his arms in and slid down, rancid air and shit water hitting him in the face as he twisted and turned in the tunnel. He did his best to ignore his breakfast attempting to leave his stomach from the smell, but he forced it down, not interested in throwing up and making himself feel even worse. After, maybe, forty seconds of flying down a disgusting sewer tunnel and and doing his best to not sallow any sewer water, Drake landed head first in the water below. Sputtering as he got his face out of the water, Drake coughed and crawled out of the ankle high water and onto the pathway next to it.

"Well, that sucked." He hissed. "How was it for you, Winter?" When Drake got to response, he frowned and looked around in the total darkness. "Winter?" After still not getting a response, Drake bounced sound waves off the wall and his eyes widened.

Winter wasn't down here.

Getting up and looking around, Drake bounced more sound waves to look more her, but she wasn't anywhere down in the tunnel with him. Drake sighed and cracked his back.

"Great, first we got stuck in the sewer, and now we're separated." He laughed. "Could things get any worse?"

* * *

Winter was currently sitting against the wall, doing her best to prevent a freak out. She hadn't exactly been truthful with Drake when she'd said she was afraid of the dark, it was more than that. It wasn't that she was afraid of the dark, it was because she was a Sky God Slayer. It was in Winter's nature to want to be in open spaces and feel the wind on her skin, and down here in the pitch black, she couldn't be that. She felt constricted, as if the walls were closing in on her.

Claustrophobia, that was her problem.

She'd had it since she was little, enclosed spaces always got to her. That was why she always kept the window in her room open, so that she didn't freak out. And now that she was lost in the sewers without Drake, she was on the verge of losing it.

"Calm down, calm down..." She muttered to herself. "It's nothing, it's nothing..." Finally standing up and leaning against the wall, Winter could tell she was all alone. She hadn't known what had happened, but if she had to guess she'd say Quintus had used shadow walls to split them up in the tunnel to different area's in the sewers. Looking around, the pipes above her creaked, and she flinched.

"I-I can't do this..." She hissed, sliding down to sit down. "I'm going to lose it in here..."

_You're seriously going to lose your mind right now? You have to keep a level head right now, or that cannon is going to fire. Get the hell up, you can handle sewers._

Winter sighed as her inner voice argued with her, and found the courage to stand. With or without Drake, she couldn't collapse and give up. She walked slowly in the direction of the creaking pipes, not really having a location in mind. Now that she'd been split up from Drake, she also had to be careful to not slip and fall into the water next to her. After almost making that same mistake more than once, Winter made a snail's progress down the sewer

All she knew was that she had to find Quintus, and then Apocalypse.

* * *

Damien was having a difficult time following the man from Phantom Dove with Terra complaining about her headache.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked for at least the millionth time, and she nodded with a grimace.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine." She replied, pointing forward. "Keep your eyes on that guy, we can't lose him."

"Suit yourself." Damien said, keeping his eyes on the man as he walked around the park. So far as he and Terra had tracked him they hadn't seen him do anything suspicious, at least not anything Damien thought he should be suspicious about. All he'd down is walk around and excuse himself through the bigger crowds. He didn't know if this was just a distraction or if this guy was genuinely looking for the cannon, but he was beginning to lose his patience. All he wanted was to kick his ass and find Apocalypse because, from what Damien knew, that wasn't him. Terra groaned.

"Shit..." She hissed. "I've never had such a bad headache..."

"Quiet." Damien hissed. "We're following him, quiet down."

"I know..." Terra rubbed her temples. "Do you have one?"

"No, so shut up." Damien hissed.

"Don't be so rude, Damien." Damien sighed as Xisplate walked up to him. "She's in pain."

"She said she was fine." Damien hissed, doing his best to speak to the demon without Terra getting suspicious of him. "Why do you think you're doing?"

"Well, I had my suspicions about this job, so I wanted to come and..."

"Well, I think it's about time I ended this little charade." Damien jumped and looked forward, seeing the man with brown hair stopping and turning to face him and Terra. "I'm tired of you both following me."

"So you knew." Damien said, not moving to defend himself from any possible oncoming attack. "Any reason you decided to let us follow you?"

"Because I know that no matter what, you'd keep on my trail." He said, and then he laughed. "By the way, my name is Shuichi ." After a moment of silence, the man sighed. "It's customary to introduce yourself, you know."

"Damien." Damien finally replied. Silence before Shuichi sighed.

"And your lady friend?" he asked.

"T-Terra." Terra said, still massaging her head. Damien got an uneasy feeling from Shuichi, and he didn't know what it was from. The man didn't seem like anything special, in fact he looked pretty weak. However, if it was a feeling that made Damien uneasy, he should be extremely wary.

"So, what exactly are you doing wandering around a park?" Damien demanded. "I don't think an Etherion cannon is in the middle of a park."

"Oh, I'm not after the cannon." Shuichi replied. "I'm only out here to make sure the Fairies don't make it to the cannon, and why you may ask? Because Apocalypse doesn't need any intrusions."

"So, are you going to fight us?" Damien asked. Shuichi laughed.

"No no, nothing so barbaric." Shuichi replied. "But, if you are interested..." Shuichi raised his hand over his head, and Xisplate gasped.

"Damien, he's a...!"

"Takeover: Demon Akirelys!" Damien felt his eyes widen as a black magic circle appeared on Shuichi's hand.

"This is bad." Xisplate hissed. "This is really really bad."

"Why?"

"It's because..."Xisplate was cut off as the takeover completed itself, and Shuichi was replaced by a demon with iron colored horns, and in his hands were rods made of the same iron his horns were.

"So, what's this?" Damien asked, trying to sound unimpressed.

"The Demon Lord from the 6th Circle of Judgment, Akirelys." Shuichi replied.

"He doesn't seem that impressive." Damien pointed out. "In fact it seems kind of lame." Shuichi laughed.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about that." Shuichi said. "You won't have to deal with me." Shuichi raised the iron rods and moved them in a weird motion, and Damien tensed, waiting for an attack.

He hadn't been expecting Terra to drive a fist into his face, sending him into tree next to them. He groaned as he looked up, Terra staring at him with wide eyes. Before he had a chance to ask, A pillar of earth rose up underneath him and sent him flying into the air. More of these flew after him, slamming into him and sending him into the earth, making a crater. Before he could say anything, earth hands sprung from the earth and wrapped around him, restricting his movement and breathing.

"Terra..." he hissed. Terra looked panicked.

"It's not me!" She shouted. "My arms and body is moving without me telling it too!" As Terra panicked, Damien tied to breath, and Shuichi laughed manically.

"W-What the hell...?" Damien managed. He heard Xisplate sigh next to him.

"Akirelys from the 6th Circle of Judgment." Xisplate said. "Also known as the Puppetmaster."

**Like I said above, I'm really sorry it took so long to update. Since I published this story way back in November of last year, not a week has passed where I didn't update one story or another. And, because of that, over six months later, I've finally reached my limit. **

**I'm burned out.**

**Not completely mind you, but it's finally reached the point I'm physically against sitting down for a bit and pumping out a chapter. I don't plan on going on any hiatus', but I thought I'd warn you guys that updates won't come as often during the summer, if for no other reason then to let myself relax a bit.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	131. The Mayor's Office

**Surprise, I have returned! I know I said I was burned out but I was so god damn bored today I couldn't help it.**

**Enjoy!**

"Heavenly Blast!"

"Impact Palm!" Simon watched as his blasts struck Lennix's open palm and exploded, causing the other mage no damage. Lennix then proceeded to back away a bit from Simon, who was still in his Soaring Armor. The man had still not chosen to rush at Simon, and Simon was nearing the end of his rope. He'd tried everything, and nothing but erratic speed attacks seemed to have a chance at getting through. Simon took a moment to observe Lennix, but nothing was standing out to him. The man seemed incredibly calm, as oppose to Simon who was a tense as ever.

"Something the matter, Simon?" Lennix asked, crossing his arms.

"Just thinking." Simon replied. "Thinking about why you're so calm in this situation." Lennix shrugged.

"No real reason to be worried." He said. "Even if I fall, There's still Apocalypse to get through. And if you know anything about us, about him, he will not fal to some mere Fairy." Simon rolled his eyes and massaged his throbbing shoulder.

"Even if we factor in people like Damien?" Simon asked. "A Demon Lord takeover wizard?" Lennix rolled his own eyes at this.

"Stop acting like that's so special. There's twelve."

"Eleven."

"Huh?" Simon looked up indifferently.

"There's only eleven." Simon repeated slower, making sure Lennix heard him. "One's dead."

"Fallen to your friend Damien, I assume?" Lennix replied. "From what the Olympians have said, Taisho was felled in a rather impressive manner. Quick snap of he neck and absorption of the soul."

"How could they possibly..." Simon was beside himself. Lennix had talked about Taisho's death like he'd been there to experience it firsthand. "How could they have told you that?" Lennix smirked.

"Why are you so confused?" he quipped. "The Olympians have eyes everywhere. They saw the fight against Phantom Dove the first time, Devil Advocate, your S-Class trials..." He then laughed, one that sent a shiver down Simon's spine. "Even now, they have eyes in this situation. Watching, waiting. Will the Fairies prevail, or will Apocalypse pull through? They will not intervene and change the course of fate, mind you, that wouldn't be in accordance to their plan."

"And what is this 'plan'?" Simon demanded.

"Even if I did have a clue, do you honestly think I'd tell you?" Lennix then frowned. "I've put a lot of thought into it myself, and I still have no more clue about what the're after then I did when they took us in as soldiers. But, at the end of the day, that doesn't matter." Lennix looked up and Simon sensed him tense. "What matter is that they, and in turn I, want the world to understand the threat they are facing. And if Apocalypse succeeds in activating the cannon, They will finally understand."

"The more you talk, the less I understand what you want." Simon informed him, tensing for a rush. "So, I'm through talking."

"Then come Simon, let us finish this." Simon complied with Lennix's wishes and rushed forward, swinging in a downward motion. The swing made a slash across the arm Lennix threw up in an attempt to block it, and the Impact mage threw up his open palm, which made contact with Simon's arm. Doing his best to torque in mid air from the small blast, Simon attempted another swing, but Lennix as ready for it, as Simon had not gone fast enough. Meeting Simon's rapier with his open palm, Simon watched in shock as his tempered steel rapier shattered into a million pieces and flew everywhere, rapier shrapnel slicing a cut across his cheek as he landed and stared at the broken hilt in his hand, still shocked.

"Uh..."

"Don't act so surprised." Lennix said. "Impact magic is very powerful, enough to break more than just tempered steel." Now that Simon had lost his rapier, he felt a little less confident. The sword was designed to be speedy, and it went with his soaring armor. Now that his fastest weapon was gone, he felt considerably less confident in his ability to land an attack. Quickly requipping into another sword, Simon charged again, swinging his blade left and right but, just as he expected, Lennix dodged them all and drove his Impact charged foot into Simon's stomach. Flying backwards and regaining his footing, Simon blasted more heavenly light at his opponent, who dodged it and allowed the blasts to make contact with the cafe behind him. Growling, Simon used Meteor and the Soaring Armor's boosts combined, flying and punching so fast Lennix barely had time to react. Driving his fist as hard as he could into Lennix's stomach. The Impact mage got back on his feet just in time to catch Simon's fist before he launched into another barrage of punches, using Impact Palm on his upper arm and blasting him backwards.

"There has to be something that can stop this..." Simon hissed, rubbing his arm where the magic had hit him. "If he keeps hitting me, I won't be able to keep this up." Realizing what he needed to do, Simon requipped into the one thing he could trust: His Adamantine armor.

"Flashy." Lennix said. "What does this armor do?"

"You'll find out." Simon replied, once again charging Meteor. "Now, let's finish his."

* * *

Ultear stopped running momentarily to observe her surroundings, frowning.

"Running won't do you any good!" She called. After she had revealed her control over the elements of Ramin's mist, he'd fled into the very same mist. She'd obviously given chase, but she'd lost him. "Just come out so we can...!" Ultear's sentence was cut off as her left side was slashed by a whip of mist, one she hadn't been expecting. Quickly turning to land on her feet from the attack, Ultear froze the whip as it attempted to come around for another hit. I you want a fight, do it like a man!" Ultear called, earning a laugh that resounded all around her.

"Do you really think I'd do that?" Ramin asked. "All I have to do is keep you distracted, and I intend to keep it that way. As long as I stay as this mist and away from you, I'm winning."

"You are really pathetic, you know that?" This earned a growl from somewhere in the mist, and Ultear grinned. "I mean, a big strong man like yourself, running from a girl? A little sad, no?" Ultear's taunting caused the mist to flicker, and she grinned. Despite all the shit Ramin talked, he still had his manly pride. And she had gone right for it by saying he was pathetic for not being able to take her.

"Don't test my patience, girl." he said. "Just because you can get to my by becoming water doesn't mean I can't hurt you."

"Well I'm still fine, so clearly your threats are as empty." The mist flickered again, and Ultear made he body water just to be sure. "What, am I supposed to believe you're that sad and weak?" Just as Ultear predicted, the mist now formed into a whip and came after her, but she stayed stationary, waiting for it to pass through her harmlessly.

It didn't.

Actually, Ultear was thrown back as the front of her shirt was ripped.

Gasping for air after the surprise hit, Ultear sat up, and looked at the fading red mark across her front in surprise.

"You must have forgotten." Ramin sad with a laugh. "Mist was water in it. Just because you made your body into water does't mean I can't still hit you."

"So what are you saying?"

"Quite simple." Ramin then laughed. "If you're water, the water in the mist can still hit you."

"Shit..." Ultear stood, and her shirt fell off as she did from the cut Ramin was put in it. Sighing and ripping the rest of the fabric off of her, she tossed it aside and looked around, the mist slowing freezing as she did. As the frost clung to the air, she heard Ramin grunt if frustration.

"Damn it, gotta go..." Ultear saw a bunch of mist float into another street and away from her, and she gave chase as fast a she could, still freezing mist as she she turned the corner and froze more mist, she heard Ramin choke, and then she heard panicking.

"What? What happened?" She asked, looking around confused.

"My arm!"

"...What?"

"What the hell do you think I mean you bitch?! You froze my arm and it came right off!"

* * *

Nashi could smell the smoke the moment she reached the bottom of the hill that led to the offices. Frowning to herself as she looked up at he building, she could see the smoke trails coming up from the roof, and that only helped her confirm she was going in the right direction. She struggled up the path towards it, her weakened form screaming for her to stop, but she payed it no mind. Once she reached the office, she placed a hand on the door and pushed, revealing the front foyer. Inside, people were strewn out receiving medical attention, while the lesser injured tried their best to help them.

Apocalypse had clearly been there.

Ignoring the looks she got from people as she limped inside, Nashi walked up to someone behind a desk and they looked up at her, arm bandaged.

What happened here?" She asked. The women shook her head, massaging her wounded arm.

"It happened so quick." She replied weakly. "One minute he walked in and the next he was attacking everyone, asking random questions in a whirlwind of green magic circles."

"What did he look like?" Nashi asked.

"I only got a quick glance before he attacked me too." She replied. "Black hair, green eyes. Seemed nice, but boy was I wrong."

"What was he asking about? What did he want?" The receptionist shrugged.

"He said something about a cannon." She replied. "Demanding to know where it was and how to get there from here. God, I-I don't know." Nashi nodded and leaned over the desk to look at the receptionist closely.

"I need to stop him. Where did he go after he came in?"

"The-The mayor's office, that way." She replied, pointing down the hall. Nashi nodded gratefully and began limping down the hall, ignoring the looks she received once again. She soon reached a pair of double doors, kicking them open revealed the mayor slumped over his desk. As Nashi walked up to it, the man sighed.

"Are you here for that information too?" he asked.

"I need it to stop that man who came here before me, yes." Nashi replied. "What was he after?"

"It's...Top secret, I cannot say."

"I hate to break it to you man," Nashi said, slamming her hands down on the desk. "But this is beyond top secret being a reason to hold me up. Where did he go?" Nashi waited as the man stared at her, but she didn't waver. She needed to find Apocalypse before he got to whatever he was after, or it could be bad. After another few moments, the mayor sighed.

"In the back, there's an elevator." He told her. "It's hidden behind a bookcase. Once inside, you'll be presented by a keypad. Enter the code 28604769. Here, I'll write it down." They mayor took out a piece of paper and a pencil, writing the code down. "Once you do that, it'll take you down."

"Down to where?" Nashi demanded. The mayor didn't reply, just watched her.

"You'll see soon enough." He said. "Good luck kid, you'll need it." With that, the mayor said no more. Nashi took that as her cue to leave, so she did. "One more thing, kid."

"Yeah?" Nashi looked back at the mayor to find him watching her carefully.

"Silverridge was founded by the council for a reason. Remember that."

**And that's the chapter! Like I said, really had nothing better to do today, so I decided to write. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	132. Olympic Intentions

**Heh, hey guys. Been a while, huh? I'm sorry that it's been so long, but summer break is a thing, so I'm trying to enjoy myself. But, I'm here now, and I'll try to keep updating as often as possible, no matter how often that may be.**

**Enjoy!**

"You'll be fine, you'll be fine, you'll be fine..." Winter whispered to herself as she walked alongside the wall, hugging herself to prevent a freak out. "These sewers ain't shit...You got this..." She hadn't made much progress since she'd been separated from Drake, mostly because his presence was the only thing keeping her from the freak out that she currently suppressing.

Almost falling into the water, Winter regained her balance and leaned against the wall, trying to breath deeply. Only problem with that was that the air was so stale she wanted to puke, and the air being so putrid only made her realize once again she was out of her element.

"Maybe I need to find Drake..." She murmured. "If I had any clue where he was. What would he do in the event we were split up?"

_He'd look for you._

"Ugh, duh." Winter hissed. "He's the kind of guy who'd look for me without a second thought. Typical gentleman act."

_You know it's not an act._

"Shut up, conscious." She muttered. "I don't need your two sense." Winter needed a plan, she needed something, anything to get her out of here. Just as she thought about it, a gust of wind brushed past her. A normal person wouldn't have been able to feel it, but Winter was well attuned to the wind.

_Wind...?_

Of course! If she used her magic to funnel the air in the sewers, she could not only prevent a freak out, but if Drake had any sense at all, he'd follow the gusts of air if he felt them. She couldn't exactly use the wind to map out the area, but it was better than nothing. Concentrating, the wind picked up around her, circulating around her. Although the air was still disgusting and she couldn't stand it, the breeze allowed her to calm down considerably, and she sighed.

"Oh wow, that's so much better." She said with a smile. "Now, what do I do now?"

* * *

_drip drip drip drip drip drip..._

Drake did his best to ignore the dripping of the leaking pipes above his head, walking with his hand on the wall. Quite honestly, it was a pretty irritating sound.

"I wonder where Winter is..." He muttered under his breath, stopping and looking around in the pitch black. He didn't do why he kept looking around, he couldn't see shit anyway. Bouncing sound waves off the walls, Drake mapped out the sewers in his head, even thought the shadow walls would make then near useless.

It occurred to him that he needed to prioritize finding Winter, but he couldn't do that efficiently in this damn darkness.

"I hope she's okay, what with these enclosed spaces." He said to himself, taking a left. "She's not good with them." Of course Drake knew Winter had lied to him when she said she was afraid of the dark, he wasn't stupid. Completely taking away from the fact they had dated, all it took was simple deduction to figure out her problem. Winter was a Sky God slayer. The sky was open, the sewers were not. She was clearly claustrophobic, simple as that. It must've been that she was embarrassed about such a simple fear. Understandably so, he wouldn't want to admit it.

"Well, whatever." he muttered. "She's a strong girl, she'll be fine."

_Hopefully..._

Drake's hand came into contact with a shadow wall, and he immediately turned to the left to continue. He really had no destination in mind, he didn't know how to get out. Maybe find a way to get Quintus to show himself and stop being such an asshole, but that didn't seem to be in the cards for him. How was he supposed to make this guy show himself? Seemed damn near impossible given his environment.

"Leave it to me to get stuck in this situation." he hissed. Just as he was about to continue on his merry way, a splash sounded from down the tunnel. Drake perked up and looked in the direction of the sound, instantly going a bit defensive. After a moment or two, a sharp walk could be heard against the stone ground. Bouncing his sound magic off of the walls, Drake tried to narrow down the location of the sound.

He couldn't sense anyone, and that made him growl.

He'd learned already that any living thing was hidden by the shadows if they hid in them. If that sound had come from Winter, he'd have been able to tell that. That only left one option, being Quintus. Keeping track of the footsteps, Drake trailed after them, hell bent on finding him.

* * *

Damien was having trouble breathing as the earthen hands squeezed the life from him, cast on him by who he assumed was on his side.

"Fuck!" Terra shouted. It didn't look like she was trying, but her face was scrunched up angrily. "I can't stop myself!"

"I would stop wasting your energy, dear." Shuichi advised. "There's no point in trying."

"What...the fuck..." Damien hissed, using his limited air to breath.

"He's Akirelys the Puppetmaster." Xisplate said. "His abilities aren't all that impressive, unless you talk about his possession."

"Possession...?" Damien mumbled weakly.

"His signature is making his enemies his 'puppet's, so to speak." Xisplate frowned. "The possession can be stopped if the headache is recognized, bu other than that, the only way to stop the possession is defeating the puppet or Akirelys."

"Not...very helpful..." Damien said. Shuichi hummed.

"I have to say Damien, from what I heard, what I'm seeing right now is a disappointment." Akirelys waved the iron rods, and the earthen hands squeezing Damien disappeared and he fell to his knees, coughing. "Let's have a little more fun with this, shall we?"

"Fucking hell." Damien said angrily, standing up. "Anything useful you can tell me, Xisplate?"

"Other than Akirelys himself is physically weak? No." Xisplate regarded the other Demon Lord quietly. "His whole style depends on which puppets he manages to get."

"Alright well," Damien said, taking over into his Demon Soul. "Let's see what we can do."

"Are you serious with that?" Xisplate demanded. "I thought we've been over this, a Lord cannot be bested by..."

"A normal demon, I know." Damien replied. "As much as it pains me, I know using you is inevitable. However, Terra is my friend, and I'll be damned if I accidentally hurt her while using you." Without waiting for Xisplate to reply, Damien unfurled his wings and flew towards Terra, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt and slamming her into the ground, which turned out to be a mistake. As soon as he did, she got up quickly by raising the earth below her, slamming the brick of earth into him. Blocking it gave Terra the chance to rush Damien, fighting in such an unorthodox way Damien had no way of preventing it. It was nothing like Terra's style before, much more forward.

"Damien," Damien looked up as they fell back and Terra was watching him apologetically. "I'm sorry, I can't...It's not me."

"I know." Damien said, smiling. "I understand. Don't worry, I'll deal with you, then him." Shuichi rolled his eyes at the small conversation.

"You really are honorable, aren't you?" Shuichi demanded. "Doesn't matter. Terra, how about we do a little of this?" At the wave of the rods, Terra rode a rock wave towards Damien and jumped of as it reached him, sweeping him off of his feet. Terra grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the ground, repeatedly slamming him into it. Damien managed to free himself and throw up a sand wall with a blow of his wings, but Terra rose above it on a pillar and threw it at Damien, hitting him in the side. Her arms coated with earth and she advanced at an unforeseen speed, landing a few painful blows before Damien grabbed her fists and caused a small explosion, sending her back.

"Damien, leave the ground." Xisplate advised. "It's where her magic stems from, separate her from it." Damien did as the demon advised and flew into the sky, high up enough to where he assumed he couldn't be followed. It was only when he looked down to see a fast approaching column with Terra riding it did he realize it had been a mistake bringing her up this high. Shuichi had no care for Terra's well being, so of course he'd send her high up without a care in the world. Damien didn't have the heart to attack her this high, up, so he dodged the earth columns attempting to hit him, flying back down to a reasonable height and watched Terra lower down to his height before he tacked the column, sending her flying downwards. Once she landed, Damien flew towards her quickly and tackled her, flying all the way until they connected with a building, smashing right into it.

"Terra, are you sure you can't fight it?" he asked as he pinned her down, ignoring the people fleeing in fright.

"No, I'm trying!" She cried. "it's no use, he's got me completely."

"Ugh, perfect." Earth rose behind Terra, giving her a boost in strength large enough to force Damien down. Terra bore down on him with no hesitance, and Damien felt the weight of the ground on top of him. Deciding to risk getting crushed, Damien let go of Terra and flew away, just barely avoiding Terra as she slammed down where he had been a moment before. A wall of earth slammed into him, sending him back through the hole they'd created and towards Shuichi, who had barely moved. As they got there, Damien spat up blood.

"I don't get it." He said as Terra sauntered to stand in between Damien and Shuichi. "Even as a puppet, you know how to use Terra's magic way to well." Shuichi chuckled.

"Well, obviously there's a reason for that." He replied. "I've dealt with it before." Damien and Terra's eyes widened.

"What the hell does that mean?" He demanded, and Shuichi burst out into laughter.

"What do you think?!" he asked. "Who do you think controlled her father back at Phantom Dove?!"

* * *

Apocalypse walked down the stone tunnel silently, reflecting on his tasks. He knew what he was doing was to end Fairy Tail, but that wasn't what he was thinking about. He had nothing but disdain for that guild, and he'd happily aim a cannon at them. However, it was what he heard before he left, that truly shook the man to his core.

"What the hell were they talking about..?" Apocalypse muttered. "I think it was..."

...

_Apocalypse was on his way to see Zeus, he had a question to ask about the cannon before he set off. As he got there, however, the door was slightly ajar, so he paused and looked at it. Zeus never left his door open. As Apocalypse put a hand on the knob, he heard a voice from inside._

_"So that's the plan?" the unknown voice said. "Zeus, you amazing bastard, it's genius."_

_"Silence, Poseidon." Zeus said. "the plan can still get set back, we need to focus."_

_"Still, using that cannon to get her to awaken. Truly genius." Poseidon chuckled. "Although, one question still remains."_

_"Yes?"_

_"Why use her?" Apocalypse waited with baited breath, hoping for a name. "Surely her father would be much more powerful."_

_"Oh Poseidon, don't say such nonsense." Zeus replied. "The answer is simple: END is dormant."_

_"Huh? Please elaborate."_

_"The elder is dormant." Zeus repeated. "Although he can still summon insurmountable strength, he is of no use to us. She, however, is not yet awakened, nor sealed. She is vulnerable. Once we have her, she can be the instrument of our intentions"_

_"Ah, I see." Poseidon said as he reached the same end Zeus had. "She has yet to be sealed away, correct?"_

_"Exactly." Zeus chuckled darkly. "However, I have faith that she will survive the blast, and she will awaken as a result." A clinging of glasses could be heard. _

_"Amazing."_

_"Yes. Once Apocalypse has completed his task, Etherious Nashi Dragneel will awaken."_

...

"Right, now I remember." Apocalypse muttered. "Etherious...something..." That was why he had done what he'd done. Despite what anyone would tell you, Apocalypse still had a sense of right and wrong. He knew when enough was enough, and what crossing a line was.

_"One of them was raped."_

He flinched as Angel's words echoed in his head. That had not been right, he knew that much. But now, now that he knew what the Olympians were after with that girl, and what they wanted, he had acted.

He drew up the fake job.

He lured them away from the guild.

Did his best to incapacitate them.

And returned to his job.

Why? He'd strike the guild hall, that was certain. But after what he'd heard, what he knew Zeus wanted, he couldn't allow it.

"I don't care what happens to me." Apocalypse hissed, staring down at his hand. "I'll kill her if I have to, but they won't have her..."

"For the survival of the human race, Nashi Dragneel must die."

**Plot intensifies. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	133. Piece of Cake

**Well guys, here we go! If we get eleven reviews, we will break 1000. quadruple digits. Let's go!**

**Enjoy!**

_"For the survival of the human race, Nashi Dragneel must die."_

"I told you." Zeus ignored Athena's scolding tone as they watched Apocalypse carry on. The foolish former torturer had seemed to be under the impression he was not being watched, and he was a fool for thinking that. "What did I say? He would not succeed."

"Fairy Tail's destruction was a secondary goal." Zeus replied without his eyes leaving the transmission screen. "Apocalypse can still succeed."

"How? His target isn't at the guild."

"He could strike the Etherion on Silverridge." Silence filled his office after these words, and when Zeus looked over at Athena, shock was plastered on her face. "Something the matter?"

"I...I just thought that you'd want that guild gone..."

"Do you honestly think I care about a guild we could crush in a millisecond, Athena?" Zeus asked. "We have power to rival that of Gods, a puny guild should not be threatening to you."

"They still have END." Zeus tried not to flinch at these words.

"And? He's dormant, that's why we're going after his daughter."

"Still, if you predicted she would live the blast, why would he not? How could he not be a problem if he found out? Say Apocalypse does fire the cannon on Magnolia, and END survives. Then what? Your plan is riddled with holes and you're trying desperately to play them off."

"I do not pretend to know the tune fate dances to." Zeus replied. "Variables like Apocalypse luring away our true target so that she would not be affected by the blast was certainly one I did not consider. However, as with most things thus far, there is always another way."

"What are you saying Zeus?" Zeus pressed a button, and the camera switched to one sitting in an elevator, the pinkette sitting inside it as it descended.

"She's going after Apocalypse." He replied. "She intends to defeat him."

"And? Even I, the master strategist, cannot see what you're aiming for."

"Exactly, and that's the beauty of it." Zeus smiled darkly at Athena, who grimaced. "As a wise man once said, the game is no fun without any twists and turns."

"Kronos does not count as a wise man..."

"Have faith, Athena. No matter what happens this day, no matter if Apocalypse uses the cannon or not, we will succeed. Etherious Nashi Dragneel will be ours."

* * *

Having the Adamantine armor on made Simon considerably slower but, at this rate, it may have helped. Lennix was too used to him being faster, so slowing down a bit might help. So far the Phantom Dove member had done nothing more than retreat since he'd put it on. Chasing him through the streets, Simon did his best to keep his eye on Lennix, which was difficult, seeing as the man was dodging through alley's and buildings. He couldn't spare a moment to see if he was hurting anyone on his way, because then he'd lose sight of him. Rounding another corner, he heard Lennix chuckle.

"You're a fool, Simon." Before he could ask what that meant, he felt an impact strike him in the chest, which made him lose his balance and fall sideways. "What sort of combatant blindly chases their opponent through the streets?"

"I didn't have much to worry about with this armor." Simon replied with a grin. "Damn near impenetrable."

"Oh? Is that why there's a crack in the chest piece?" Simon froze at these words and slowly looked down. Sure enough, dead center of his chest piece, was a small crack. It was barely noticeable, but it was definitely there.

"How the hell...?"

"Must be pretty shitty Adamantine if I was able to crack it." Simon growled and launched himself at Lennix, who easily blocked his advance and struck him with another blast of Impact magic. "And now you're attacking blindly. Atta boy, Simon."

Simon was getting far to stressed out about this he needed to focus. You know, because the only thing on the line was the Olympians gaining control of an Etherion cannon that could fire basically anywhere and cause a huge problem.

Nope, never mind. He was perfectly stressed out about this.

_I need to hurry up and finish this, or Apocalypse is going to fire that cannon and it'll be too late...But how the hell do I get around this guy?! He's far to calculating for me to rush in blindly, but even then a concentrated attack wouldn't do much either, seeing as he's had all the time in the world to figure out my attack pattern and what I intend to do. All he does is sit and wait on the defensive, because he knows I'll come to him as, if I don't, Apocalypse gets to the cannon. He won't come to me because he doesn't have too. But if he doesn't, I can't win. It's simply out of the question with his calculating. Even with meteor and the Soaring Armor, I'm sure he'd adjust to that as well..._

"Something the matter, Simon?" Lennix asked hauntingly, Simon ignoring him. "Thinking over the strategy I've figured out completely?" Simon didn't waste his energy replying, it would've been stupid for him to do so. _Why is he wasting our time by not finishing me off? He's had all the time to._

"Do you really not know what the plan is?" Simon asked after another moment. "I mean really, are you shitting me?"

"I don't know the plan, no." Lennix replied. "What I do know however, is their target." Simon felt his stomach drop at these words. Lennix knew what it was the Olympians were aiming for.

"What is it?" Simon demanded. "Era? Crocus? The castle? Answer me!"

"Why the hell should I?" Lennix barked. "It won't make a difference in the end, because no matter what I say, Apocalypse will get control of the cannon. Game over." Simon growled and charged, boosting forward with meteor and got locked into a stall fight with Lennix, both of them pushing as hard as they could to gain the upper hand.

"Tell me!" Simon shouted angrily.

"No." Lennix replied. "You have your hands full already." Simon was about to ask what he meant before he heard a crack. Lennix had started applying incredible amounts of Impact to his hands, causing the armor to crack even more.

_I really need to buff this armor up a bit..._

* * *

It took a few moments for it to register in Ultear's head. When it finally did, she tried her best not to laugh.

"Your...arm...?" She asked, trying not to giggle. Ramin then returned to his human form and, just like he'd said, he was missing an arm. There was no blood or anything, it just wasn't there. He also happened to be holding some ice, which Ultear assumed was the arm she'd frozen.

"Unfreeze it!"

"Bwahahahahahahahahaha!"

"Come on!"

"A-Alright...H-Hold still..." Ultear turned the ice in Ramin's hands back to water, which allowed it to turn back into mist and, in turn, Ramin's arm reattached.

"Thanks a lot..."

"N-No problem...Now," Ultear concentrated, ice forming around Ramin's body, keeping him frozen in place. Ultear kicked him over and stood over him, glaring at him. "tell me what your plan is."

"And what if I do?" Ultear made a face.

"Wait, do you really know?" Ramin chuckled and grinned darkly.

"I'm not supposed to, technically, but being able to turn into mist really helps in some situations." Ramin wiggled his eyebrows. "Would you like to now, sweetie?"

"Call me sweetie again and I'll start snapping off limbs."

"Okay damn! I'll tell you." Ultear waited as Ramin sighed, looking around. "Like you know, Apocalypse is after the Etherion cannon the council built underneath Silverridge."

"Yes, that's been established. Continue."

"Well, once Apocalypse gains control of the cannon, he's to aim it at, well, think about it."

"Tell me."

"Well, something that's been a thorn in the Olympians side, that would help in the long run in taking over the world...Come on Fullbuster, you aren't that dumb."

"Crocus? The castle? Era? Tell or the arm goes off again."

"Wow, maybe you are that dumb." "Ramin grinned and put his head back, maniacal grin still plastered on his face. "He's going to blast it to pieces."

"What is it?!"

"Apocalypse is going to fire the Etherion cannon on Magnolia. Specifically, your guild hall."

Ultear froze at these words, staring down at Ramin as she tried to gauge how serious he was. The grin never left his face.

"...What?" She asked weakly. Ramin laughed again.

"It's aiming for Magnolia!" He shouted, "Your precious family and home is going to get torn apart by pure magic!"

"Don't lie to me!" Ultear shouted. "Where's it aiming?!"

"I just told you for fucks sake! Do you really think I'm going to lie while you're threatening to rip off my limbs?!" Ultear tried to gauge if he really was lying or not, but there was no deceiving look on Ramin's face. Ultear's focus slackened as she tried to not stress out, enough for Ramin to slip free of her icy trap. Before she could re-trap, him, he dissipated into mist and started to float away.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Ultear demanded. "Get back here and fight me!"

"As if. Consider this your win, Fullbuster. I've got more important things to do." Ramin laughed darkly. "Like watching you run around like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to stop Apocalypse! Bye!"

"You bastard!" Ultear shouted, blasting ice up into the sky, but to no effect. "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad..." Ultear looked around her position, trying to pinpoint where exactly she had to go to get back to the airship. "I have to tell Mami and the others, they have to know, everyone has to know..." Ultear took off to the north, carrying vital news. No matter what, she had to tell the others.

* * *

Once the elevator stopped, Nashi looked around the dark tunnel cautiously. No signs of life anywhere right in front of here, which was good. Her entire body was still barely operating, and she was now seriously doubting her strength to do anything. Why had she taken off again? Bravado? Pride? Something else? She'd forgotten, she'd just done it.

_Well, too late now..._

Stepping out of the elevator and down the tunnel, Nashi kept a look out for anything that could let her know that Apocalypse was waiting for her. Well, he probably assumed she was lying unconscious somewhere, so he probably had no idea. No use not being suspicious though.

"I wonder what he's after down there, I mean, what the hell could be down here?" Nashi asked no one. "Oh well, guess I'll fund out eventually."

_"Nashi!" _Nashi jumped and looked around, far faster than her injured form let her without pain.

"K-Ken?" Nashi asked, looking around the empty tunnel. "Was that you?"

_"Thank God I got through to you! Where the hell are you?! Akio went to check on you and Elise and you were gone!"_

"Y-Yeah, well... I am, uh..."

_"Yeah, I'm sure it's really important for you to sneak out and leave. Where are you?"_

"Underground."

_"Undergrou...? Why?"_

"I'm going after Apocalypse." Nashi heard Ken choke over the archive connection, and she waited for him to reply, walking down the tunnel once more.

_"What?! You're going after Apocalypse alone?! In your condition?! Are you completely insane?!"_

"Not that I know of, no. Why is it that big of a deal?" Nashi knew it was a stupid question, but she'd gone ahead and asked it anyway.

_"Oh well, maybe because you're really injured, Apocalypse is a madman, and you stand no chance? Nashi, seriously, wait for someone else to catch up!"_

"I'm already close. What's the big deal?"

_"Nashi, you were out, so you don't understand the gravity of this situation. So, uh, how can I put this lightly?"_

"Just tell me, no point in telling my lightly."

_"Alright, well, everyone else is currently fighting members of Phantom Dove, Apocalypse is after an Etherion cannon, and we don't know what he wants with it. As of now, you are the only, even if slightly, semi-able person to chase Apocalypse."_

"..."

_"...Nashi?"_ Nashi didn't know what to say. Etherion cannon? Everyone else fighting? What was he talking about?

"Seriously?" She asked weakly. "An Etherion cannon?"

_"Jura told us when we tracked them to Era. Silverridge was only built for the council to make weapons secretly and, well, there's an Etherion cannon. That's what Apocalypse is after."_

"Mavis..."

_"Yeah. Listen, I'm not for you taking on Apocalypse yourself, but if you can get me some information on the launch so I can run simulations, it could help a lot."_

"Yeah?"

_"Yeah. I don't know if you'll be able to, but it'd help a lot. Also, try and stop the launch if you can. Just be careful, would you? With the strongest of us in combat, no one useful can come to help you if Apocalypse finds you."_

"R-Right...All I have to do is find the launch info, sneak past Apocalypse, try and stop the launch, and slip out again. Piece of Cake."

**Not really, Nashi. Let's get eleven reviews, guys! It'd be my second story to get over 1000 reviews! So, I hope you enjoyed!**


	134. Drop in Temperature

**You guys see that new episode of FT? I've never been one to feel bad for villains, but poor Rustyrose man. I hope he does join Crime Sociere. For any wondering, it's basically canon, as the author said he had to leave some stuff out of the manga because of time restrictions.**

**Of course if Rusty does join, I' have to make up some BS reason as to why he wasn't in the Devil Advocate arc...**

**Enjoy!**

Drake had been following the slight sound of footsteps, making sure he kept his distance so that Quintus wold not become wise to Drake. trailing him. It was a pain trying to follow footsteps all the while avoiding shadow walls and falling in the water and alerting Quintus, but Drake could only do so much at one time. One another matter, Drake found it a bit suspicious that Quintus was not aware he was being followed. Had he not kept his eye on Drake after we went down that pipe? Didn't matter, he was still following him. Quintus footsteps were very close now, Drake had closed the distance considerably in the past few minutes. Any moment now, he could strike the man and that was that.

Quintus stopped for a moment, and Drake held his breath. Had he been discovered? Was this going to start a brawl? No, he was fine. Quintus had only paused for a moment before he continued. Drake let out a shaky breath before he continued his tracking, keeping his hands on the walls to make sure he kept his balance and didn't fall in the water or anything. While he did so, Drake had some time to think about the situation at hand. He and Winter were separated, Apocalypse was on his way to the cannon and, as far as Drake knew, nobody was on their way to stop him. That was easily the biggest problem out of them all thus far. If the man got his hands on that cannon, there was no telling what would happen or who would pay the price.

_Of course, maybe he's not even going to fire it an anyone._

It was always a possibility the cannon was being used to power up the Olympians, or whatever it is they wanted. After all, they could just pull a Tower of Heaven, right? Whatever the aim was didn't matter. it needed to be stopped. Drake had gained a little bit of speed since he'd been absorbed into his thoughts, and was much closer to Quintus now.

_Time to strike._

getting closer behind Quintus, Drake decided to attack. Launching forward and twisting the arm he'd grabbed, Drake grappled with Quintus until he had him against the wall.

"Caught you, you bastard." Drake hissed.

"...Drake?" Drake's eyes widened.

"...Winter?" After a little bit of light struck the area, Drake could see the girls face mere inches from his, looking rather startled. "What the... I was tracking you?"

"You were tracking me?" Winter asked weakly. Drake released her and stepped back, sighing.

"I heard footsteps. I assumed we'd been split up to far away for it to be you, but..." Drake growled. "Looks like I was tricked."

"Yeah." Winter agreed quietly.

"I should've seen that coming, why would Quintus be walking around freely? That'd make no sense." Drake wallowed in his stupidity before he looked over at Winter. "Anything interesting happen on your end?"

"No, not at all." Winter replied earnestly. "Before you got back here." Drake growled and crossed his arms. They were right back at square one, with no more leads than they'd had before.

"Well, let's just go in this direction." he said, pointing the way Winter had been going regardless. "We don't have much of a choice."

"Alright, after you." Now that Drake had been reunited with Winter, they had nothing more on Quintus or Apocalypse than before. Just how the hell were they supposed to get this guy? The shadows were everywhere, which meant Quintus was too. He could've tormented both of them while they were alone, but he hadn't. What was his goal.

_To distract us, right._

Quintus obviously had no intention of killing Drake or Winter. He just needed to keep them busy, just like he'd said. This only infuriated Drake more, as the man was doing nothing more than toying with the two of them.

"We don't have time for this crap." Drake hissed as the two continued on. "What if no one on they're way to stop them?"

"Then we done messed up." Winter replied. "We aren't in the position to stop and wonder."

"Yeah you're right, but this is getting...!" Drake's sentence was cut off as his next step entered empty space, and he fell forward.

It wasn't into the water, it was into empty space.

Drake reacted as fast as he could, torquing his falling body in an attempt to grab the ledge he'd fallen off of. He felt his fingers grasp something, but due to the immense darkness he saw absolute nothing.

"What happened?!" Winter asked above him.

"There's a ledge!" Drake replied. Using sound magic, he gauged the difference between himself and Winter. At least twenty feet was between them, too long for Winter to try and help. His magic bounced downwards as well, revealing a very long drop into a cesspool below. "Don't move, you'll fall too!"

"Uh, alright." Winter replied unsteadily. "Are you sure you're alright? Are you right below me?"

"Give or take twenty feet." Drake said, looking around in the pitch black. "There's water below me, but I'm sure you're aware what it's like striking water from to high..."

"Yeah, like hitting pavement. Maybe if I try and control the air currents, I could..."

"Don't." Drake said, cutting her off. " You need to be able to see for that. Without your eyesight you might do more harm than good." Silence fell over the pair, neither sure what to do. Drake had a pretty firm grip on the ledge, but even he couldn't hold on forever. _If only there was a way to slow my fall...Wait._

"Winter." Drake said, voice steady and confident. "I have an idea."

"I'm all ears."

"The only way I can think to get out of this is to have you fall down with me."

"Eh?!"

"I'll grab you, it's fine. I can sense your presence with my sound magic! Fall off the ledge, and I'll grab you. Once I do that I'm going to let go of the ledge, and you need to slow our fall as much as possible. Sound good?"

"..."

"Winter I know it sounds insane, but you need to trust me, okay? I'd never do anything that got you hurt." Winter sighed, Drake could sense her exasperation.

"And you wonder why women like you so much, I mean really."

"What?"

"If you want girls you meet to not fall in love with you, stop putting them ahead of your own safety." Drake could feel Winter's intense gaze bearing down on him. "Seriously, girls like that shit." He chuckled as he recalled a very similiar situation with a girl with dark purple hair.

"I see what you mean. Now, do you trust me or not?" Once Drake cast out another wave of sound magic, he had to at quickly as Winter fell nearly right on top of him, and he felt his hands clasp her upper arm. "Idiot! Tell me when you do that!"

"I thought you knew." Winter replied. "Now, let go and let's pray we don't die." Drake nodded, even thought Winter couldn't see that simple motion, and slowing unclasped his fingers from the ledge. Both of them tumbled through the open air, and Drake heard Winter curse.

"What's the matter?" he asked as the speed of their fall increased.

"There's barely a current in here!" She shouted back. "I can barely soften this at all!" Drake gulped. One more sound wave told him they'd hit the water very shortly.

He didn't have time for this. He found Winter's body by following her arm, and he latched onto her and positioned himself towards the water below.

"What the hell...?! I JUST SAID THIS IS WHY GIRLS LIKE YOU!"

Drake was about to reply when he felt his back hit the water, and everything went black.

* * *

"Iron Rock Pillar!" Damien caught the pillar and swung it towards the others, breaking them. This gave him enough time to jump out of Terra's way, as she had propelled her self towards him. Shuichi laughed as Damien landed.

"This is quite the show Damien." he said with a smile. "I suppose Terra is more than enough of a challenge for you."

"..." Replying wouldn't do him any good, Damien had to focus. Blasting rays of darkness magic at Terra, all were blocked by walls that came up out of the ground, and Terra was darting between them to make as much use of them as possible. A fist was slammed into his face once she reached him, and he used this momentum to blast upwards with his wings, and then right back down into Terra, creating a small crater.

"One thing still bothers me though, Damien." Damien cast an eye over at Shuichi as he tried to gain the upper hand against Terra.

"What?"

"Don't play stupid." Shuichi scolded. "I can sense it, I know you have what I have." Damien rolled his eyes at this. This was going to become the same problem he'd had with Taisho. Arguing about releasing Xisplate, and Damien would be forced to do it. Perhaps if he could free Terra from the mans control, they could do it together instead of Xisplate being released.

"I'm not playing stupid." Damien replied, throwing Terra towards Shuichi, ho waved the items in his hands which caused the earth to rise up and catch the girl. "If I was I'd have already released him and this battle would be over. I'm trying to solve this without death."

"Huh. I suppose I should have seen that coming." Shuichi said, taking a moment to consider something. "But you defeated Devil Advocate's Lord in that manner, why not now?"

"I didn't want to do it then." Damien shivered at the memories. They were hazy, barely even decipherable, but he very clearly remembered being engulfed by rage and killing Taisho, and then absorbing his soul. "I did because if I didn't, my friends would have died. The situation is not that drastic yet." Shuichi laughed, a dark sound that made Damien tense up.

"This is not a dire situation? Surely you remember that Apocalypse is after an Etherion Cannon?! In fact, the long term consequences of this fight far overshadow the one with Taisho." Damien knew that, but he also knew he did not have complete control over the Lord of Death. He;d lose himself in the anger again and, more likely than not, hurt innocent people.

"Surely you remember, Damien." Damien flinched as the smooth voice reached his ears. "A Lord cannot be bested by a mere demon."

"Terra is no Lord." Damien whispered back to Xisplate. "I don't want to hurt her."

"Fair enough, but just because Akirelys is physically weak does not mean he'll go down easily. He is a Lord, like Vantros and I."

"I know, but..." Damien weighed his options carefully as he kept his eyes on Shuichi's hands to make sure he didn't command Terra to do anything while he thought. On one hand, releasing Xisplate wouldn't be good. He knew full well after the DA battle he did not have complete control, the anger of the souls in the 12th Circle would once again overwhelm him. If he didn't, Shuichi would not be bested. Neither situation was all to pleasurable.

"What if I just don't defeat him?" Damien asked. "If I free Terra and flee, I could..."

"No." Xisplate interrupted. "He'll hunt you down, he'll find you. I understand Apocalypse needs to be stopped, but we are talking about another Demon Lord here. Fleeing is no an option."

"Then what do I do?!" Damien hissed. "I can't release you again, there's way to many innocent people around here!"

"There's always another way, Dreyar." Damien's eyes widened. He hadn't heard that voice in a long time, not since Taisho. "Not matter what, you find a way to defeat the enemy." At these words, a shiver went down Damien's spine.

Not from the words, from the drop in temperature around him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Xisplate demanded. The other voice laughed as Damien slowly turned to face it.

"Whatever do you mean, Xissy?" Vantros from the 10th Circle of Judgment asked. "Am I not allowed to spectate?"

**Where did Vantros come from? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	135. High Stakes

**I really like taking my sweet ass time nowadays, huh? And I'll totally ignore the fact we only got three reveiws on last chapter...**

**Enjoy!**

_BOOM!_

Simon flew through what appeared to be a store from the blast and rolled into a fresh street, startling the crowd and making them scatter in a panic. Quickly rolling out of the way, Simon barely made it out of said way before Lennix came crashing down right where he'd been, his Impact magic creating a huge crater. Quickly standing to his feet, Simon requipped into his Soaring Armor. At this point, the speed approach was his best bet. Flying forward, Simon went in for a jab with his rapier.

Lennix grabbed his arm.

"I already told you." Lennix hissed. "This battle has gone on to long, I know what you plan to do." Simon growled as he tried to free himself, but to no avail. The grip Lennix has on him was like iron. Lennix let go temporarily, but that was only so he could wrap his hand around Simon's rapier.

The blade shattered, a piece flying up and cutting Simon's face.

After that, Lennix reached forward and touched the chest plate of the armor, destroying it as well. Simon backed up in surprise as the remnants of the armor dropped around him.

"How...?" he mumbled. Most of the armor was no adamantine, but at the very least it should've survived that blast. Requipping into his Lightning Emperor armor and putting the broken armor away, Simon planted his staff in the ground and a blast of lightning came out of the top, which forced Lennix to dodge it. Once again, the man got up close and got a hand on Simon's equipment, destroying the staff as if it was nothing.

"In case your wondering," Lennix said as Simon backed up again, staff disappearing. "I'm using Impact to spread out the damage across the whole of your equipment, effectively causing a small explosion that destroys it."

_If that's the case, not even my Adamantine armor will hold up._

Simon's disadvantage was glaring, and he didn't know what to do. Lennix was a bad match up for him. A man so calculating he could determine Simon's attack pattern as he did it. It was a lot like Drake's sound magic, but as the S-Class trials had shown him, Simon was susceptible to that was well. There wasn't anything Simon could do, while Apocalypse was on his way to secure the cannon.

"I'm a little surprised he hasn't fired yet." Lennix spoke, startling Simon. "I wonder how difficult it is."

"What?" Simon asked.

"The Olympians projected time frame was forty-five minutes, and we've passed that." Simon's stomach did a somersault at these words. So, they were done? That was the gist of what Lennix was saying. The cannon would fire at any moment, and they'd lose.

Standing among the shattered remains of his armor and weapons, Simon realized they had lost.

"That's it..." Simon requipped into his Purgatory armor, an armor so terrifying most people fled at the sight. Lennix barely blinked. "I'm done playing with you. This ends now!" Flying forward, Simon brought up the giant spiked club and brought it down on Lennix.

_Crack!_

Simon flew back at his club snapped in two. Lennix grabbed him during this, almost tearing Simon's arm off, and the Purgatory armor met the same fate. Lying amidst the rubble of his armor, Simon couldn't find the drive to move, his body wouldn't respond.

"Stand up." Lennix kicked Simon in the stomach, and he flew backwards from the impact. "I'm not done with you yet." Simon slowly stood to his feet, waiting for Lennix to come after him. At this point, Sion had to rely on his Heavenly Body magic, but he doubted he could muster up enough strength for anything, let alone Grand Chariot.

_It's over, I can't beat him alone..._

"What the hell is that?" Simon looked up at Lennix's words, and noticed what the man was referring to. The pieces of Simon's Purgatory armor had begun to glow with white light. It wasn't blinding, but Simon was wholly confused. "What is that, Simon?"

"I don't..." Both men watched as the armor floated into the air, and towards Simon. Looking down, Simon watched in awe as his Purgatory armor reformed around his injured body, and the club reformed next to him, standing up on it's own. The light faded, and Simon's Purgatory armor looked fresh from the blacksmith.

"How...?"

"we don't have time to play around, Simon." Both Lennix and Simon looked in the direction of the voice Standing in an alley, looking a little beaten both otherwise okay, Ultear stood with her hands on her hips.

"Ul?" Simon asked.

"I see," Lennix said. "Ramin was defeated, then?"

"Nope." Ultear replied as she stepped out from the alley. "I got some information out o him and he ran away." Ultear looked over at Simon, blue eyes regarding him carefully. "Need some help?"

"More than you know." Simon replied.

"Well then, looks like I get too take two of you down then." Lennix said with a grin. "Let's see how you stack up, girl!" Ultear nodded and looked back at Simon.

"Sit tight, I got this."

"Are you sure?" Simon asked cautiously, and Ultear nodded, "Alright, he's all yours." Simon took a step back, and watched as Lennix and Ultear faced off.

"Ice Make: Spear!" The spear formed in Ultear's right hand, and she reared back as she threw it. It soared towards Lennix, but the man held out his hand and with a white glow, the spear cracked and blew up.

"Nice try girl." he said. "But a forward attack won't...!" Lennix was interrupted from something hitting him in the back, causing him to fly forward.

Ultear's spear flew back to her after it hit Lennix and she grinned.

"What was that?" She asked innocently.

"You..." Lennix hissed.

"How did you do that Ul?" Simon asked.

"Like I said, I got this." Ultear replied, not looking at Simon. Lennix slowly stood and watched Ultear with new found caution. The spear turned into water which snaked up Ultear's arm and into her open palm. It grew it size before she launched it at Lennix, who dodged to the side.

The spout of water appeared in the direction he'd dodged to and he flew into the wall, destroying it from the impact.

"Your attacks don't make any sense!" Lennix shouted as he recovered. "What is that combination?!"

"It's quite simple, really" Ultear said, an icicle forming in her hands. "All I'm doing is altering the time of my attacks." Simon's eyes widened at these words.

"Wha...?" Simon asked.

"For example, when you destroyed my spear, I simply altered it's timeline to one where I attacked from behind. I altered the water spouts to the side you dodged to." Ultear threw the icicle up into the air. Simon watched as Ultear spread out her hands, white and black magic circles appearing in her palms.

"What are you...?" Lennix began.

"Parallel Worlds!" At these words, the icicle started to float.

The surprising part was how many there was.

Simon watched as icicles appeared out of nowhere, one after the other, and stayed floating above their heads. There was at least a couple hundred in total, all of them aimed at Lennix.

"Ultear, what the hell is that?" Simon asked in a low voice. It was a moment before Ultear looked over her shoulder, a mischievous look in her eye.

"Arc of Time."

* * *

"I can't believe this!" Taro watched weakly as Mami shouted in rage. "Why the hell would Nashi go after Apocalypse alone?! Is she insane?!"

"Calm down Mami..." Akio said weakly.

"No! She's going to get herself killed! Ugh, I don't get it." Mami stopped screeching and started rubbing her head. "This has just been the worst day."

"No doubt she wanted to help." Taro said, leaning against the rail on the deck. "I mean, maybe she didn't think it through very well, but at least she's trying."

"No, that isn't okay." Mami replied. "There's no way she's going to be able to get past Apocalypse. There's just not..."

"What the hell is going on?" Everyone jumped and looked over at the new voice. Elise was leaning against the wall leading from the infirmary, watching the three of them weakly.

"Elise?" Ken asked. "What are you doing?"

"Answer me." The Iron Dragon hissed. "What the hell is happening?" Silence fell upon the bridge as the four Blue Pegasus mages exchanged glances, unsure as to who should be the one to say something. After what seemed like forever, Mami sighed.

"If you want it straight, I'll give it to you." Elise nodded, and Mami swallowed nervously. "We're currently in Silverridge, an experimental town founded by the council to house dangerous weapons. We've tracked Phantom Dove here, because Apocalypse is..." Mami stopped suddenly, and Elise glowered at her.

"Continue." She said. Mami nodded.

"There's an Etherion Cannon below the city." Mami spoke, silence falling over the bridge at these words. "Everyone else is out there trying to stop them." Elise seemed to be reeling from the news, as she stood there in silence. After a moment, she nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later then." She said. Taro choked as the injured Dragon Slayer head towards the door, and everyone scrambled to stop her.

"Woah woah woah." Mami said, getting in Elise's way. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To help." Elise replied. "There's no way in hell I'm letting them get away with this." Mami exchanged a look with Taro and Akio, both whom nodded.

"No you can't." Mami said. Elise tensed, and Taro sensed the irritation from the girl. This would turn into a brawl if someone said the wrong thing.

"And why the hell wold that be?" Elise demanded. Mami scratched the side of her face for a moment until she sighed.

"You're far more hurt than you seem." Mami replied. "There's a reason you were in the infirmary."

"I'm fine."

"I don't care." Mami replied. "I promised I'd keep you here, and unless you want to expend your already limited energy trying to defeat me to get me to move, you'll be staying here." Taro knew that promise was total BS, it was just something she said to gain some ground on Elise. The Iron Dragon didn't move for a bit before her shoulders hunched, and she sighed.

"Alright, fine." She said, rubbing her head. "I'll stay here. I do feel sort of dizzy anyway."

"Thank you." Mami said, breathing a sigh of relief. Just as that situation was defused, Ken reacted at the console where is Archive was.

"Ken?" Taro asked. "What is it?" Ken didn't react for a moment, but he slowly turned to look at them, fear in his eyes.

"Nashi found the launch lacrima."

* * *

Nashi crept along the passageway slowly, making sure she made less sound than a mouse. Peeking around the next corner, she slowly approached the light at the end of the tunnel. Normally she tried to not go towards the light, but it was okay in this case. Once she got to the end of the tunnel, she slowly peeked around that corner and looked around.

The area that greeted her was far more advanced than the tunnel. The floor was metal, there was weird lacrima machines left right and center, and one was currently on in the center of the room.

It also appeared to be vacant.

Approaching slowly, Nashi came up to the lacrima and stared down at the screen. It was showing her diagnostics of some kind, but none of it made any sense to her. She reached up and placed two fingers on her temple.

"Ken, I think I found the launch info."She said, hearing her friend react in her head.

_"Really?! What does it say?!"_

"I have no idea, it's all gibberish." Nashi waited for a moment, hearing Ken mutter to himself.

_"Okay, uh, you should see an I in the corner of the screen. Press it." _Nashi did as she was told, a bunch of numbers and symbols coming up in front of her.

"Now what?" She asked.

_"You should see a set of numbers."_

"Be more specific, Ken."

_"Uh, it should be the coordinates for the launch. I'm doing my best Nashi." _Nashi ran her eyes across the system, and she eventually found a set of numbers that Ken must've been referring to.

"Alright, I think I found them." Nashi replied.

_"Tell me what they are." _Nashi rambled off the numbers to Ken, who repeated them to himself a few times. _"Alright, I got them. Now, do you see anything that'll let you halt the launch?"_

"Um..." Nashi dug around the systems lacrima for a few seconds. "Not that I can tell...Wait! I found it!"

_"You're amazing, Nashi!" _Ken said, sounding amazed. _"If you can halt it, this is all over!" N_ashi smiled as she reached forward to stop the cannon's readying sequence, when she noticed something.

A green magic circle was on her arm.

She screamed out in pain as the circle activated, sending pain coursing through her system.

_Nashi? Nashi! What happened?!"_

Nashi couldn't find the strength to reply, she was doing all she could to stay conscious. She faded in and out a few times, hearing footsteps approach.

"As if you thought that was it." The voice said. "Do you honestly think I'd leave that unattended?"

_"Nashi! What's going on?! Did you stop the launch sequence?!"_

"I'm surprised you're able to move, honestly." The voice said as Nashi regained stability. "Shows how much you've grown since then." Nashi struggled to her hands and knees, but she looked as she did.

"Apocalypse." She hissed. The man smiled.

"Nashi." he replied.

"What the hell are you planning?" She asked weakly. "Why are you doing this?"

"I was told by a higher power." he replied honestly. "And you?"

"To stop you." Nashi struggled to her feet, a feat she didn't think possible. "Which I intent to do." Apocalypse smiled wryly.

"Alright then." He said. "How about we make this interesting then?"

"What does that mean?" Apocalypse snapped his fingers, and a green magic circle appeared over the systems lacrima's screen. Nashi's felt a chill go down her back. "What are you..."

"You have five minutes." Apocalypse replied. "Before I destroy the system lacrima, making the launch unstoppable."

**And the stakes have been raised! Can we at least try for five reviews today guys? I feel stupid asking for en when we didn't even get half that last chapter. So, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review!**


	136. Out of Time

**We almost got five reviews, so I'll update. No point in complaining, anyway.**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi's eyes widened as Apocalypse finished his sentence, watching the man look completely indifferent. Casting her glance over to the lacrima confirmed what he said, there was now a timer going down in the center of Apocalypse's magic circle.

"Are you serious?" She asked quietly. Apocalypse chuckled.

"Are you worried?" He asked. "Surely if you came all the way here you intended to defeat me." Nashi remained silent at this. That had been her objective originally, but now faced with the prospect of doing it in five minutes, she doubted everything.

Nashi didn't know what to do.

She had five minutes.

Five minutes until whatever Apocalypse had aimed for received a blast of Etherion. She didn't know how far along the sequence was but, if she didn't get it done within five minutes, it wouldn't matter. Nashi growled, fire flickering around her body.

"You're such an asshole." Nashi hissed, her body igniting. "You want me to do this in five minutes? Fine, no problem." Apocalypse grinned and crossed his arms.

"You sure are full of yourself." He commented. "If you really want to give it a go, be my guest."

_"Nashi?!" _Ken's voice yelled in Nashi's head. _"What's happening?! Answer me!"_

"Just find out what he's aiming for, Ken." Nashi replied, severing the connection from her end. She really didn't need Ken in her ear about this. Apocalypse smiled.

"You have four minutes Dragneel. Let's see what you got."

* * *

"Nashi! Nashi!" Ken shouted, standing up and yelling for the Dragon Slayer. Mami watched as Ken slowly sat back down. "She severed the connection." he murmured.

"Can you reconnect?" Taro asked.

"She's blocking me out." Ken replied. "I don't even know how she's doing it."

"Not much you can do about it." Mami replied. "Find out where he's aiming through, Nashi did give you the coordinates."

"Where is she?" Elise asked from her seat, rubbing her forehead.

"She went after Apocalypse." Akio told her. "Seems she found him."

"And you guys won't even let me leave." Elise hissed, rubbing her head. "Just because I'm a bit dizzy." Mami frowned at the dragon slayer after this.

"You wouldn't last in a fight, it's bad." Mami lied. The only reason Elise wouldn't last was because the mere presence of anyone from Phantom Dove could sent her back unconscious. That was far to great a risk to let her leave. "You may not feel it, but Apocalypse brutalized you."

"Yeah, whatever." She mumbled. "What about the others?"

"All of them are still out there." Taro answered. "I assume in the middle of a fight from the explosions we've been hearing." Elise nodded a this and remained silent. There wasn't much to talk about, seeing as the normal topic came from Ken's information which he was currently trying to find. Mami sighed and ran a hand through her ginger colored hair as another explosion sounded in the distance. She didn't know which side it originated from, but it didn't do anything to quell her anxiety.

"Wait..." Ken said slowly. "No, no surely that's a miscalculation."

"What's the matter?" Akio asked.

"No no no no...recalculate it..."

"Ken?" Mami asked warily, watching the Archive screen triangulate the coordinates. Once it did Ken gulped.

"Shit..." he murmured.

"Come on pretty boy, where the hell are they aiming?" Elise asked angrily.

"They're..." Ken slowly looked over at them. "They're..."

* * *

"Fucking...Idiot..." Winter hissed, keeping her arm tight around Drake's upper chest. "This... Is why... Girls like you..." Once she got to the edge of the water, she grabbed it and pulled herself up, turning around and pulling the unconscious Dragon Slayer up as well. She laid him down and stared down at him, panting from the exertion it took to pull herself and him across the small pool and over onto the dry edge.

"I guess its better both of us didn't go unconscious..." She said weakly. "That way I could save your dumb ass." Winter shook her head in disapproval of her ex's actions, the same actions a gallivanting harem shounen MC might take.

Winter leaned down and pressed her ear near Drake's mouth, listening for a breath. After far to long, nothing came out of his mouth.

"Great." She growled. "You swallowed some of that shit water too? I feel bad for you man." It took Winter a moment to realize she better get on saving him, or he'd die. "I know cpr, but..." Winter felt uncomfortable at the thought of lip contact, especially since Drake had sewer water in his mouth.

She wasn't some girl in a manga, she had no problem with the lip contact in itself. Just, you know, the fact he had sewer water in his mouth.

"What am I saying, I need to save your life..." Crossing her hands over Drake's chest, Winter started with the chest compression. After that, she looked over at his mouth. After another few pushes, nothing happened.

"You would make me kiss you." Winter snapped. "That's just like you, you son of a bitch." Moving over to his head, Winter frowned and gathered her courage. Pinching his nose, she leaned down and pressed her mouth over his, forcing air down his throat. She pushed on his chest a little more, and his body started to convulse. She backed up as water spewed from his mouth and he sat bolt right up, looking around.

"Where am I?" he asked wearily.

"Still in the sewers." She replied. "After you played hero and saved me."

"...Right." he looked over at her, purple eyes bright with concern. "Are you okay?" Winter glared at him, exasperated.

"Are you kidding me?" She asked. "You're the one that almost drowned for God sake, why the hell are you asking if I'm okay?!" She then smacked the back of his head, which caused more water to fly out of his mouth.

"Ow!" He shouted. "I was just asking!"

"Show some concern for your own well being sometimes!" Both of them glared at each other, neither ready to back down. Drake sighed and coughed, more water coming out.

"Thanks for the save." He said. "You resuscitated me pretty quick."

"Yeah well I really had no choice in that matter, now did I?"

"Well," Drake laughed as he shifted. "Your Sky magic would let you work that fast.

"...E-Eh?" Winter asked, backing up a bit. Drake made a face.

"Sky magic." he replied. "You made air go down my windpipe didn't you?" Winter blushed wildly and spat into the pool.

_Shit! I could've done that too! Why the hell did I subject myself to that?!_

"Y-Yeah, of course..."She said quietly. "That's exactly what I did."

"Well, kudos." Drake said, sniffling. "Now, what the hell do we do?"

"Beats me." Winter observed their surroundings. The chamber was dark as per usual, but at least not as much as before so she could still see a few feet in front of her. "I suppose we could...Hey, are all our exits cut off?" Winter couldn't see any exit that wasn't covered by darkness, and she watched Drake come to the same conclusion.

"You're right, we'r stuck in here." He said. "I'm sure you're listening then, huh Quintus? Having fun?" No response came, and Winter sighed.

"Well now we're screwed for sure." She said. "We can't get out."

"There's still one more option." Winter looked over at Drake, who played with his hands.

"What is it?" She asked.

"We're in an enclosed space. Cover your ears." When Drake met Winter's gaze, she realized what he was planning to do. She clasped her ears as tightly as she could over her ears,and nodded at Drake once she was sure she was using all the strength she had to cover her hearing.

A high pitched screaming came Drake, a sound that his Sound magic created. The sound tore at Winter's ear drums, causing her to tighten her grip around her ears and doubling over, her head spinning from the sound.

"...Wi...Winter...Winter!" Winter looked up, Drake was shaking her. The sound had been so terribly loud she couldn't see straight, but the blurry man was definitely Drake. As the ringing in her ears stopped, Winter sat back up.

"What happened?" She asked, making Drake grin.

"We flushed him out." he replied, pointing into the pool of water. Floating in the middle of it was a man with black hair. Winter waved her hand. and a gust of wind carried the man towards them. Drake caught him and slammed the man up against the wall, his head lolling uselessly.

"He's out cold." Winter reported, wiping her wet hair from her eyes. Drake proceeded to slap the man a few times. After a few slap sessions, the man came too.

"About time asshole." Drake hissed. "Now, where the hell is Apocalypse?"

"...W-What?" Quintus asked.

"Apocalypse, where is he?"

"Speak up kid, I can't..." Quintus eyes widened and he sat up, staring at Drake. "I...I can't..."

"What?" Winter demanded, and Drake chuckled, sitting back.

"He can't hear us." Drake reported darkly.

"W-Wait a minute, does that mean...?"

"Yeah. I deafened him."

* * *

Damien watched the to tuxedo-clad demons square off with glares, eyes not leaving each other.

"I asked what you were doing here." Xisplate said. Vantros chuckled. Xisplate growled.

"Surely you aren't that stupid Xissy."

"Are you saying..."

"Exactly."

"What the hell is going on?" Damien demanded, cutting into their conversation. "Why are you here?" Vantros smiled.

"You are the one that defeated Taisho, yes?"

"...Yes..."

"You stole his soul and converted to magic power to keep yourself alive."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"The spell Demons Judgment steals the soul of the victim. However, when used on a Demon Lord takeover wizard, it has another effect."

"Which is?" Vantros smiled as he did an over extravagant bow, making Xisplate roll his eyes in annoyance.

"I am here to serve, Damien." He said, sending a cold chill down Damien's back. What did that mean? That he was Damien's takeover now? How did that work? Why? How long had it been?

"W-What the hell does that..."

"Surely you remember that Demon Lords have very little weaknesses." Vantros said. "Other Lords, Holy magic, some other lost cabal magics, but you need all the help you can get if you want to defeat Akirelys but are against using Xisplate. So, here I am."

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that I'll be able to control you?"

"Are you seriously going to stand here and tell me you know for a fact you can't?" Vantros quipped. "Weigh your options Dreyar, because you don't have many." It was around then an earthen pillar flew past Damien, which caused him to turn his attention to Terra. He was forced to dodge another pillar and then grab Terra's wrists to prevent her from crushing his skull. "Clock's ticking, Dreyar."

"I know!" Damien shouted. Terra gave him a weird look.

"Who are you talking to?" She asked weakly as she applied more force to her wrists.

"I'll explain later." He muttered. "Do you think you can break free of his control?"

"I've _been _trying this whole fight, he's got an iron grip on me." Damien nodded weakly as he twisted her arms and kicked her in the midsection which caused her to fly back. Shuichi waved his arms, and Terra brought her arms up, and Damien was entrapped in the earth that sprung up beneath him. He struggled, but it was a vain attempt, it was far to thick and he couldn't move his arms to free himself.

"Well, it's been fun Damien." Shuichi said. "But I think it's about time Terra finished this." Terra's eyes widened as he hands clasped together, the earth beginning to shake.

"Damien, hurry up and get out of there!" She shouted. "He's trying to cast Rumbling Mt. Fugi!" Damien's eyes widened at these words and he struggled even harder, but it was no use. He needed only a little more use of his hands to do anything.

"Well?" Vantros asked beside him. Damien grew solemn as the demon spoke.

"I suppose I don't have many options, huh?"

* * *

Terra watched fearfully as the ground began to open up, but Damien still hadn't freed himself.

"Damien you're out of...!" Terra was cut off as the explosive attack came from beneath Damien, engulfing him in bright blue light. "Damien!" She screamed, but no one answered her. Shuichi was laughing.

"I wonder how many times he'll take one of those." Shuichi commented offhandedly. "I guess we'll have to see, huh?" Terra stared at the ground as the attack rumbled around them, it still wasn't done.

Until it started to freeze over.

Terra could see ice forming around the attack. The very magic itself was freezing over, stopping it where it was.

"What the hell is that?" Shuichi demanded. "Why is the magic..."

_Crack!_

A crack had appeared in the ice. The crack grew in size, spreading up and down the column. Other cracks spread out around the frozen attack, and Terra watched it fearfully.

_Boom!_

Terra was forced to stand still as shards of ice flew past her, some of it cutting her body. All she could do was watch, Shuichi didn't give her the command to protect her body. Once the ice had stopped flying, Terra slowly looked up.

Damien was still standing where he had been, but his demon form had changed considerably. The red armor had changed into a blue cloak. His hair had changed to have blue streaks. He wasn't looking at them, but she could sense the cold. Shuichi choked.

"V-Vantros?!"

* * *

Nashi flew back and into one of the machines, breaking it and hearing the metal around her groan. Sh tried to move out of it, but her body didn't respond fast enough before another green magic circle appeared behind her and sent her flying back out, rolling and coming to a stop in front of Apocalypse.

"This is kind of disappointing, Nashi." He told her as she struggled to all fours. "I mean, you don't have time to be joking around." Nashi struggled to all fours and breathed heavily, trying to stand but failing. A Rapture circle appeared on her right arm, and more pain circulated through her upper body. "Are you sure you can do this?"

"You're damn right I..."

_Beep beep beep!_

Nashi's stomach turned at this sound, which caused Apocalypse to turn around at the sound and chuckle.

"Looks like you're out of time, Dragneel." He said, the magic circle on the system lacrima growing bright. "It's been five minutes." Nashi watched the magic circle growing even brighter, the screen bugging out.

"No...Wait..." She murmured, trying to move. She managed to get up on her feet just as the circle stopped glowing.

And the lacrima broke into a thousand pieces and flew all over the place.

It was over.

The launch couldn't be stopped.

"Looks like you weren't fast enough, Dragneel." Apocalypse said, clicking his tongue. "That's a shame, I suppose the launch will go to the mixing sequence now." Nashi kept her gaze on the lacrima shard near her feet, her stomach swirling angrily, mostly directed at herself.

_"Nashi." _Nashi looked up a little bit as Ken's voice came back into her head. _"I triangulated the launch."_

"And?" Nashi asked hollowly. "Where is it going?"

_"..."_

"Ken?"

_"...Magnolia, Nashi. He's aiming for Magnolia."_

**Nashi's failed once she learned Apocalypse's target! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	137. Make up your Mind

**You guys really don't know what number of reviews I should settle on, huh?**

**Enjoy!**

It had to be some cruel joke. A miscalculation, Nashi spouting the wrong numbers for the coordinates.

He was aiming for Magnolia.

Nashi felt like she'd been doused with ice water, her fire extinguished along with any hope of winning this fight. Apocalypse was aiming for Magnolia, her home, where her guild and family was, along with countless civilians and she'd failed to stop the launch.

She'd failed.

It was over.

She'd lost.

Nashi felt like she was falling into a abyss, a cold dark endless hole in which she was tormented by the thought of the cannon firing. Apocalypse yawned.

"Something the matter?" Apocalypse asked.

"You..." Nashi murmured, voice barely audible. "You're aiming for..."

"Ah, so you've finally figured it out." Apocalypse grinned, a look much akin to a predator closing in on it's wounded prey. "Yes, the cannon has locked onto Magnolia. The Olympians ordered me to destroy Fairy Tail, so I intend to."

"W-Why..."

"Hell if I know, I'm just carrying the orders out."

"Are you insane?!" Nashi roared, tears falling from her eyes out of frustration. "Do you have any idea how many innocent lives you're condemning?! The amount of people that have no affiliation to the guild or anything to do with this?! How can you be so shrouded in darkness you can't...!"

"Do you honestly think I care about any of that?" Nashi's froze at these words, watching Apocalypse glower at her, an aura of trouble radiating from him. "I care nothing for your guild, your family, or any of those people. I got an order, I carry it out. That's what I do." Nashi felt hollow at these words, any shred of humanity she felt Apocalypse might have had disappearing quickly like a whisper in the wind.

"You're a monster." Nashi hissed, clenching her fists as more tears fell. "You have no respect for something as basic as human life. How can you, as a human being, kill so many people and not be fazed by it?!" Apocalypse snickered and broke out into laughter, his arms still crossed.

"Monster?!" Apocalypse roared. "Me?! Oh that is a good one Dragneel! That was a good one! Out of the two people occupying this room right now, _I'm _the monster?! Too funny!"

"W-What...?"

"Doesn't matter." Apocalypse replied, ceasing his laughing so quickly Nashi spared a thought to wonder how much of it had been genuine. "None of this matters. It's not like you'll be alive to see the cannon fire anyway." Nashi felt a rock settle in her stomach as Apocalypse said this.

"Come again?" Nashi whispered. Apocalypse smiled, but it was devoid of any warmth a smile should've held.

"You can't honestly have thought you'd leave here with your life, did you?" To prove his point, a magic circle formed on Nashi's stomach and exploded immediately, sending her toward the wall and right through it. She landed in another tunnel, this one leading both left and right. Apocalypse laughed as she struggled to stand. "It isn't polite to keep your killer waiting, Nashi!"

Nashi could no longer hear him, for she no longer cared. There was only one thing Nashi cared about in that moment, one thing running through her mind. He was a predator, she was his prey. In this kind of situation, there was only one thing the prey had in mind, one thing to keep itself alive just that much longer.

_Run._

* * *

Mami watched Ken typing on his Archive so fast his hands were a blur, but no one else was doing anything.

"What're you doing?" Elise finally asked.

"..."

"Ken?" Elise asked again, getting no response.

"It's no use, sadly." Taro told her. "If Ken gets like that, not even Mami taking her shirt off could draw him out of it." Mami disliked the analogy, but it was the truth. Ken was so focused not even she could rip him out of it. Elise groaned and swung her head back, staring at the roof.

"What do we do?" She asked weakly, no one had a response though. "If Nashi doesn't stop it, we're done for."

"We'll have to have faith, it's all we can do." Akio replied quietly. "Although she's injured, none of us would be any help. Not to mention we have no idea how she got to where she is." The facts were against them there. Mami sighed and watched Ken typing away, watching as various different simulations of explosions ran across the screen. He seemed to be simulating the blast.

"if I just cross reference that with..." ken jumped and stared at his screen in shock. "Eh...Nashi? What is it?"

* * *

Simon watched in shock as the hundreds on icicles launched at Lennix, so many in so many different places Lennix had no where to dodge to. All of the icicles collided in the same place and through up a small explosion. Lennix gave an angered roar from Ultear's confusing attacks and charged through it, hands glowing white. He attempted to strike Ultear with it, and to Simon's shock, she let him. She sailed backwards from the blow but landed gracefully.

"Ul?" Simon asked warily. Ultear grinned.

"Yes?" She asked sweetly.

"Where did you learn to do that?" He didn't get a reply, instead she snapped her fingers. The exact area Lennix had hit her started to glow. However, it was the corresponding area on Lennix's body, not hers. The man was blown back by his own explosion, stolen by Ultear's new magic. The same explosion happened a few more times, and all Simon could do as try and figure out how she was doing it.

"That's my little secret." She replied with a smile, and Simon jut watched her. "Hey, pass me a sword." Simon took a minute to register the request, but quickly summoned a sword from his inventory and handed it to her. She threw it into the air and it multiplied, at last thirty of those swords now hovered over the area Lennix had landed. Said man recovered just in time to see them pointing at him from all directions, and he gulped.

"What is this magic?" Simon heard him hiss. "Illusions? Telekinesis? What...?"

"Listen up!" Ultear shouted to him, standing just outside the perimeter the swords had made. "Unless you want everyone sword pointing at you to run you though, answer my questions. Okay?" Lennix pressed his mouth into a thin line as he and Ultear watched each other. Finally, Lennix sighed and sat back down in his crater.

"What do you want to know?" Ultear smiled.

"Good boy. Now, where exactly is Apocalypse?"

"Don't know. Same goes for the cannon." The swords inched a bit closer, and Lennix flinched. "I don't know, seriously." Ultear frowned.

"Then I guess you don't know anything useful, either." She said, and Lennix nodded in agreement to her statement. "What use are you, then?"

"None, you might as well kill me." Lennix replied with a grin. "That's the beauty of this plan, see. The less I know, the less detrimental I am to the plan should I be defeated. I honestly couldn't tell you if I wanted too." Simon walked up next to Ultear, who seemed frustrated.

"Everything okay?"

"Magnolia."

"E-Eh?" Ultear turned to stare at him, her eyes full of conflict.

"Apocalypse is aiming for Magnolia." She repeated more clearly, and Simon's eyes widened.

"How do you know?" he demanded, and Ultear sighed.

"Ramin told me and then escaped." She filled him in. "I don't know if he was joking or not, but we can't afford to take that risk right now. Even if he was kidding, Apocalypse is still on his way to that cannon."

"I know. Maybe we should...!" An explosion cut him off and he turned back to find the building Lennix had been near collapsing, knocking a few swords out of place. Lennix took his chance, escaping through the opening and through the wreckage. Simon soared to the other side of the street to try and catch him, but all he saw were civilians scattering and no sign of Lennix.

He'd gotten away.

"Damn it!" Simon shouted, slamming his fist into the wall next to him. "How'd he get away so fast?"

"We don't have time to worry." Ultear told him. "Lennix is a small problem compared to what we're going to have to deal with soon. Where's the airship, do you know?" Simon considered her question and looked around.

"That way, I think." he replied, pointing behind them. "Why?"

"We need to get news back home." She replied. "I don't know if it'll be enough, but if we can send a warning back home, the city might get evacuated before the strike." Simon nodded in agreement and soared up into the sky, spotting the airship in the direction he'd pointed. He returned to the earth and nodded and Ultear, both of them taking off towards it. Simon used this time to consider their situation more thoroughly.

If Apocalypse really was aiming for Magnolia, they had a problem. He didn't know if anyone was on the mans tail, but that wasn't his concern right now. They needed to get this information back home so they could evacuate the city.

All that mattered right now was saving their home.

* * *

All Nashi heard in the hallowed halls she was running in was her own labored breathing. She just kept taking turn after turn, having no more clue which one went than the last. All she cared about was distancing herself from the man trying to kill her. Her body was in such a horrible shape she could barely run properly, but she didn't have the peace of mind to care about that.

_What do I do? What do I do?!_

These were the only words Nashi was able to think about, which only amplified her fear and anxiety. For the first time in her life, not knowing what to do terrified her. If she didn't figure this out, everyone in Magnolia would die.

_WHAT DO I DO?!_

Nashi tripped over her own feet and slammed down hard on the floor. She didn't move, her injured body refusing to move for her. She had hurt, she was exhausted, and she was scared.

And alone.

"Nashi~" She heard calling from down the empty hallway behind her. "Where'd you go? Come back!" Nashi squeaked in fear and scrambled from her position on the ground, managing to crawl around the nearest corner and sit against the wall. She covered her mouth with her hands as she heard Apocalypse approaching, his footsteps gradually growing louder and louder.

_...W-What do I..._

"Ah, stop being so hard on me Nashi." Apocalypse said. "All I want to do is kill you. Is that so much to ask for?" Nashi eyes stung fro the tears, so she closed them and waited for the inevitable. Slowly but surely, Apocalypse walked towards her, and she waited.

Until the steps started to fade away.

Nashi opened her eyes and looked around, the footsteps still fading away. He'd walked in a different direction then where she had hiding, presumably just guessing her location. Nashi slowly brought her hands away from her mouth and stared at them, watching them shake uncontrollably.

"What...Do I..." Nashi clenched her teeth in frustration as images of her family and the city as a whole passed through her mind. More tears threatened to fall as she grabbed her head in anger. "What do I do?! Everyone's going to die because I failed!" She hissed. "I...I can't do anything...I'm useless..."

Her entire body shock in fear. She felt like her brain was overloading from anxiety. Nashi couldn't stop crying and silently freaking out before finally, she stopped and slowly leaned back against the wall, eyes still streaming. Her body twitching randomly. She slowly raised two fingers to her forehead, and took a shaky breath.

"Ken?" She whispered.

_"Eh?...Nashi? What is it?"_

"..."

_"Nashi?"_

"...I-I'm scared Ken." Nashi whispered, hearing Ken make a surprised sound. "I-I-I feel like I'm dying...I-I'm scared."

_"Are you hurt? What's happening?!"_

"..."

_"Nashi?! Nashi answer me!"_

"W-What do I do..."

_"I-I don't know..."_

"P-P-Please Ken, I'm freaking out..." Silence followed her statement, and Nashi felt tears welling up for another round of dry heaving. "I-If I don't do s-something, e-everyone's going too..."

_"It's okay to be afraid Nashi." _Nashi was silenced by this comment, and waited for Ken to continue as he sighed. _"You're allowed to look death in the face and admit you're not completely fine with it. Everyone gets scared, even the most courageous of warriors."_

"I-I'm perfectly fine being afraid of death."

_"Then stop using it as an excuse to give up." _Nashi felt her eyes widen, the air leaving her lungs. _"Stop telling yourself this is the end, that you can't do anything. You're the girl who learned what most people do in their lifetime in a couple months. You've defeated men as evil as hell itself and stared death in the face before, that much I know. Why is now any different? Why is it now you chose to give in to that fear?"_

...Ken was right. Nashi had been faced with certain death before. Caged like an animal by Phantom Dove, fighting the Dorma Anim in Edolas, taking on Katsuchi and Tetsu, two God Slayers who abilities rivaled her own, talked down Damien when he was out of control, faced the Master of Devil Advocate running on only fumes, and a three way last mage standing match.

Why was now making her so scared?

"...The others." Nashi finally breathed, voice steadier than before.

_"What?"_

"No other fight has been on such a high caliber before." Nashi breathed. "Never before have I fought a threat so looming, so imminent. Even the Edolas invasion King Simon had planned would've been stopped by others if we fell." Nashi took a deep breath.

"My decisions have never been so critical." She whispered. "I've never had to fight with so many other lives on the line without them even knowing. I've never felt the weight of an entire city of my shoulders, every life there on the line."

_"...Nashi..."_

"That's why I can't do this." Nashi breathed, tears threatening to return as the full gravity of her words set in. "I can't make any decisions with so many lives counting on it...I can't make the choice that could be the difference between life and death for those I love."

_"Than make your decisions based on what they would want." _Nashi remained quiet. _"What would those people want you to do Nashi? Fight for them, or roll over and accept defeat?"_

"Ken, I c-can't..."

_"What will you do Nashi?!" _Ken shouted, startling Nashi. _"Are you going to slump and give up on thousands of lives, or are you going to roll the die and take the fucking chance to save them all?! This isn't a difficult fucking question!" _Nashi stared at the wall opposite her, wide eyed.

She thought of her mother, a woman so kind it was criminal.

She thought of her father, a strong man who despite what she liked to believe, was incredibly soft on the inside.

She thought of Magnolia, her home, and everyone who lived there who was in danger.

She thought of the rest of the guild. Master Laxus, Mira, Gray, Juvia, Erza, Kinana, Rocky, Sammy, Gajeel, Levy...

...She thought of her unborn baby sibling.

Nashi's fists clenched and her eyes narrowed.

"...Thanks Ken." She said, confidence oozing into her voice. "I needed that."

_"No problem. Now, take a deep breath and tell me. What. Are. You. Going. To. Do?" _Nashi pressed her mouth into a thin line and thought it over, weighing her options. What exactly could she do?

_Apocalypse is after an Etherion Cannon._

Ken's voice echoed in Nashi's memory, sparking an idea. Where exactly was the cannon? In this underground facility somewhere? If that was the case...

"Hey, Ken. I need you to run a simulation for me."

_"Anything, what is it?" _Nashi took a deep breath and smiled weakly to herself.

"Give me a size comparison between Silverridge and Magnolia."

**This chapter doe. I really liked writing it, so I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get, hmm, eight?**


	138. Nashi's Plan

**I honestly think the last chapter was one of my best. I don't know, what do you guys think?**

**Enjoy!**

"...What? A size comparison?"

_"Yeah, can you do it?"_

"O-Of course I can, but..."

_"Then there's no time to waste is there?" _Ken frowned at these words. He didn't know why Nashi wanted to know the size difference between Magnolia and Silverridge, but he had no choice but to trust her.

"..Right." he said, sitting down. "I'll get back to you in maybe, ten minutes."

_"Alright...Ken?"_

"Yeah?"

_"...Thanks." _Ken smiled at her thanks.

"Everyone needs to hear it at some point." he replied. "Now get going, we have a city to save." He heard Nashi grumble affirmatively, and he severed their connection, moving on to calculate the sizes of the two cities.

"...What just happened?" Ken heard Mami ask behind him.

"...I think Ken just saved us." Elise whispered. "It sounded like Nashi was about to give up."

"She was." Ken confirmed, shocking everyone that he wasn't too focused on his work to reply. "She couldn't calm down when she thought she'd failed to save everyone in Magnolia."

"That bastard." Taro hissed. "Of all things to aim for, it would be the Fairy Tail guild hall."

"It's a shot from left field seeing as there are a lot less destructive ways to go about getting revenge on someone." Akio replied, wiping his hair from his eyes. "We were thinking way bigger, so it never crossed our minds."

"So now what?" Elise demanded. "What's Nashi trying now?"

"I couldn't tell you." Ken replied quietly, tapping away on his Archive. "But we have no choice but to trust her decisions." There was silence across the bridge of the Christina before the door slammed open, causing everyone inside to jump. Turning in his seat, Ken saw Ultear and Simon storming aboard.

"Guys!" Ultear shouted. "Apocalypse is aiming for...!"

"Magnolia, we know." Mami replied, making both of them freeze in place.

"H-How..." Simon started.

"Ken triangulated the coordinates of the launch." Elise replied, her guildmates now noticing she was awake. "That's how we found out."

"O-Oh..." Ultear said, allowing her flailing arms to fall down to her sides. "So...Now what?"

"We wait." Mami replied, and Simon raised an eyebrow.

"Wait for what?" He demanded, his arms crossed. "Apocalypse is still out there, we have no idea where, and the launch could start at any..."

"Nashi went after him." Mami interrupted, causing both Ultear and Simon to gape in surprise. "That's how Ken got the coordinates." Ultear and Simon stood still for a moment, stunned.

"She..." Simon started, eyes wide.

"Nashi's..." Ultear started. Before she could finish her sentence, Ultear dashed across the room, connected with Mami and pinned her against the wall, all in a manner of a few seconds. "Why in the name of God would you let her go after him _alone?!_ She's hurt!" Pure rage flowed from Ultear's eyes, making Mami squeak.

"N-No we didn't!" She shouted, holding her arms up in an attempt to calm Ultear down. "S-She escaped without us knowing!"

"Where is she?" Simon demanded. He seemed calm, but rage was flowing from him as well. Ken knew this was about to go south if someone didn't do something.

"We don't know." Taro responded, sweat dripping from his forehead. "She slipped away too fast."

"Can you track her then?" Simon replied. "Like you did for Apocalypse?"

"We'd need her magical signature for that." Akio supplied. "Which we don't have unless any of you were attacked by her in the last twenty-four hours." Simon clicked his tongue in irritation and looked out the window of the bridge, Ultear still holding Mami against the wall with her forearm.

"W-We have no choice but to trust her." Mami sad in a small voice, seemingly directed at the angry girl holding her. "The launch sequence has begun, and she's the only one close enough too..."

"I need some air." Ultear hissed, releasing Mami and striding towards the open door in one swift movement. Once she got outside, she slammed her fist against the wall. "Fuck!" She roared. She disappeared towards the back of the Christina, and silence once again fell upon the bridge.

"Well then." Elise said, sitting back. "That was intense." No one else spoke, all wrapped up in their own turmoil. Ken sighed and turned around, continuing the work Nashi had asked him to do.

"Where are the others, then?" Simon finally asked.

"Still out there." Akio said. "Judging from the explosions recently, in a fight." Simon sighed.

"And you, Elise?" He asked, making Elise grumble incoherently.

"I guess I'm alright." She said. "I wanted to go out and help, but Mami said I was more hurt than I thought, and I wouldn't last."

"...Did she now..."

"Yeah. But other than that I'm just peachy. Was my beating that bad, Simon?"

"Huh? Oh, that. I don't know why, but Apocalypse really gave it to you after you lost consciousness. I'm surprised you look so good." Ken smiled to himself at this exchange. He felt terrible that they were exploiting Elise's memory programming to keep her contained, but they didn't have a choice. Any member of Phantom Dove could've caused her to fall unconscious again at random, the risk had been to great.

"Well, whatever." Elise said. Judging from her tone, she'd been hoping Simon didn't catch on to Mami's trickery and she could slip away. Thankfully Simon wasn't that stupid. "I'd probably be done by now anyway."

"Or your opponent would've run away." Simon replied. "They seem to like that."

"Probably because actually getting defeated serves no purpose." Mami said. "All they needed to go was keep you guys away from Apocalypse, and they technically already failed." Simon didn't reply, and Ken sighed, pausing his work.

"If you want," he said, entering the conversation, "I could try and make contact with the others." Turning, Ken saw Simon nod.

"Please do, this is pretty important."

* * *

Drake leaned against the wall of the sewer next to Winter, watching As Quintus rolled around in front of them, freaking out.

"Is he sane?" Winter asked, leaning closer to him to whisper her question like Quintus could still hear them. Drake was also tempted to tell her she smelled like shit, but he held it in.

"I'm not sure." he replied. "Going deaf suddenly would probably suck." Winter nodded in agreement as Quintus wailed.

"I can't hear!" The man shrieked. "I..I...!"

"What do we do?" Winter asked, louder this time. "We can't ask him anything if he can't hear us." Drake frowned and nodded, knowing she was right. Drake had noting around him that would help him to get Quintus to talk. Thinking hard, Drake got an idea.

"Retrieve him." He said, nodding at Quintus, "I got an idea." Winter stood and walked over to the freaked out man as Drake cleared a spot on the floor. Winter struggled with him for a bit before she dragged him over and slammed him onto his knees in front of Drake. Drake noticed tears coming from Quintus' face. Drake leaned forward and slapped Quintus a few times, making the man look up.

"What?!" he wailed. "I can't hear you!" Drake brought forth poison onto his hand and gestured to the ground. Quintus followed his hand, and Drake used his poison to write, 'Can you answer out questions?'. The poison lingered in the shape of the letters for a bit before fading, making Quintus look back up. "I-I don't know anything, I told you."

"He did say that." Winter agreed. Drake pressed his mouth into a thin line and wrote, "Than what use are you?' on the floor. Quintus laughed.

"I'm not any use." he replied. "You might as well kill me." Drake rolled his eyes and wrote, 'What is Apocalypse trying to accomplish?' Quintus gave no rely, just stared right into Drake's eyes. Drake glared right back, not even considering giving up. After a moment, Quintus sighed. "Kill me." he whispered. "I don't want to live like this. I don't want to be deaf for the rest of my life."

"He really mustn't know." Winter reasoned with a sigh. "Great." Drake shrugged and stood, cracking his back.

"Let him go." He said to Winter, who released her rough grasp on Quintus. "if he really doesn't know, he's no use."

"Do we, uh...?" Winter asked. Drake smirked as he looked down at the suffering Quintus.

"Nah." he said, "Let him suffer." Winter only nodded curtly, and Drake knelt back down in front of Quintus, who looked up. Drake poisoned his hand and put it to the ground.

'I'm sure you'll love learning sign language.'

Quintus glared at the writing as it disappeared. He started to shake violently as Drake stood and pointed towards one of the now opened pathways away from the chamber.

"Let's get the hell out of here and find Apocalypse." he told Winter. "We're wasting our time."

"...WAIT!" Quintus shouted, causing both Drake and Winter to stop on their way down the tunnel. "Please...have mercy...Just kill me!" Drake smirked and just kept walking, Winter not to far behind him. Drake didn't want to admit to using his sound magic to listen to Quintus wail uselessly, but he did. That man had been involved with the original Phantom Dove incident, so Drake felt no compassion for him at all.

"What do we do now?" Winter asked as they proceeded through the now lighter, though still dimly light, sewers. "We need to find Apocalypse." Drake sighed as he ran his hand through his wet hair, trying to come up with an answer.

"I don't know." he answered truthfully. "I suppose we could..."

_"Drake? Winter?" _Drake raised an eyebrow and looked around, Winter doing the same.

"Ken?" Winter asked. "Was that you?"

_"Yeah, it's me. Where are you guys? The signal had a hard time reaching you."_

"Uh..." Drake said. "In the sewers."

_"Wha...Why?"_

"We tracked a Phantom Dove guy here. He knew nothing, but he's no longer a problem." As if to punctuate Drake's remark, he heard Quintus wail again. "So, what's up? Find anything?"

_"...More than you know. Get back to the Christina you two, this situation is a lot more dire than you thought."_

"Why?" Winter asked. "Did you find out what Apocalypse is aiming for?" Ken remained silent, and Drake frowned.

"Ken?" He asked warily. "What's wrong?" After more silence, Ken sighed.

_"Just get back here, fast."_

* * *

As Damien broke free of the frozen attack, he noticed something.

He knew what he was doing.

He wasn't viewing Shuichi and Terra through someone else's eyes, they were his own. As he raised an arm to stare at it, he knew he was the one who'd raised it and he was the one who'd moved his eyes to scan the appendage.

He was in control.

that did not deter him however. He'd been 'in control' against Taisho as well, but he'd lost it after a while. Terra looked terrified, and Shuichi did as well.

"What's the matter?" Damien hissed, his voice a mixture of his and Vantros' as usual.

"W-Where the hell did you...!?" Shuichi tried, words not forming. "Your takeover is Xisplate, isn't it?!" Damien laughed, an icy sound that sent chills down his opponents spines.

"Does it seem so?" he asked, smirking. "I don't know how well you know your Lords, but this isn't Xisplate." Shuichi growled, and Damien turned his attention on Terra. "Don't worry Terra, I got this."

"You say that, b-but..." Terra whimpered, still forced to stand still by Shuichi. Damien heard a sigh, and he turned to find Xisplate still standing next to him.

"Yes?" He asked, and the demon looked over at him.

"Get this over with." Xisplate advised.

"No no, hold up." Damien said. "Will I be able to control this form, or not?" Xisplate regarded Damien as coldly as if he was the ice demon before sighing.

"Theoretically, you may be okay." Xisplate replied. "I am the strongest of the twelve Lords. The others have their strengths and weaknesses no matter how you cut it, but I am always on top. It may be my sheer power that prevents you from complete control. But this form." Xisplate closed his eyes. "You'll probably be fine." Damien smirked and turned his attention back to the battlefield.

"That was all I need to hear." Launching himself forward, Damien blocked Terra's fist and blew her back with an icy attack, which also slowed her movements considerably. Damien did his best to prevent doing a lot of damage to her, which was pretty hard to do all things considered.

_Kill her!_

_Destroy her!_

Damien almost laughed. Of course the voices of the damned would speak to him, that much he recalled from battling Taisho. However, as oppose to before, the voices felt less powerful or angry, making it much easier to pay attention. Easily dodging Shuichi's attempt at making Terra punch him, he grabbed his friends fist and tossed her over his head. He aimed at her and blasted her with ice.

Terra froze solid and dropped to the ground.

The dull thud of her frozen body made Shuichi flinch. Damien grinned.

"Now what?" he asked. "Your puppet's frozen." Shuichi looked up fearfully, but didn't have the courage to reply. Damien took a step forward, and Shuichi a step back.

"N-Now Damien, let's be civil here." Shuichi tried.

"No thanks." Damien replied, dark ice forming in his palms. "I think I'll just end you now."

"O-Oh come on, surely you need something."

"You told me you aren't after the cannon, I doubt you have anything good to share with me." Shuichi flinched at this, and Damien grinned. "Now, how could this pathetic display be a Demon Lord?"

"Not every Lord is a killing machine, Damien" Shuichi replied. "Some just need to be exploited the right way. had you been with more than one person, things would be going quite differently right now."

"Would they now?" Damien asked, raising his hands. "Now, what was Taisho's end game spell called again?" He'd been asking himself, but he saw Shuichi paling. "I think it was Blizzard something..." As he charged the spell he knew perfectly well, he saw Shuichi pull out a small device. The other demon smiled, and put the device away.

"Well, go on then." Shuichi said quietly. "Finish this up."

"Gladly." Damien hissed. "Blizzard Crusher!"

* * *

When Terra defrosted, Damien was smiling at her.

"Sorry." He said, offering her a hand. "Are you cold?"

"Y-Yeah." Terra agreed, leaning into Damien for warmth. "Like death." Damien chuckled and allowed her to warm herself against him, before she started looking around. "Where's that Shuichi guy?"

"Over there." Looking over, Terra saw a smoldering mess of rags and human flesh. She assumed that was Shuichi.

"Is he dead?" She asked weakly.

"No." Damien replied. "He's just in a near dead state. He'll be alright soon enough." Terra rubbed her arms to regain feeling in them as Damien walked over to Shuichi, shifting around.

"What are you looking for?" She asked through her shivers. Damien shrugged.

"Right before I blew him away, he pulled this little thing out." Damien turned and showed her the lacrima device. "I wanted to know what it said that made him give up so easily."

"Huh?"

"I was expecting more a struggle, honestly." Damien answered. "the second you froze up he just stopped trying." Terra nodded in understanding and made his way to him as he booted the small thing up. Before she got there, Damien's eye's widened and he sat back, staring at it in shock.

"What?" She asked. "What's the matter?"

"Oh God..." Damien whispered. "That's his angle."

"What? What's going on?"

"..."We have to hurry back." Damien spoke quickly, grabbing Terra's still frigid body and pulling her along. "This is bad. Really bad."

"Why? What's the matter?"

"..."

"...?"

* * *

Nashi slowly peeked around the corner, making sure that Apocalypse wasn't there. Once she was certain she was safe, at least for the moment, she proceeded down the hallway quietly. She had no idea where the halls went, but she knew what she was looking for. It was only a matter of time before she found it.

_"Nashi, I've finished the comparison." _Nashi jumped a bit as Ken spoke to her, but she smiled.

"And? What did you find?"

_"Well, give or take a mile, it's basically the same." _Nashi nodded with a smile. That was exactly what she wanted to hear.

"Thanks. That's all I needed. Are the others back?"

_"Simon and Ultear are. They're worried about you." _Nashi chuckled softly.

"Tell them I'm okay. And not to worry, I'll end this soon enough."

_Yeah alright...Nashi?"_

"Yeah?" Nashi waited as Ken took a deep breath.

_"Just what the hell are you planning?" Why do you need to know the differences?" _Nashi only continued to smile as he asked her this. To her, it seemed obvious.

"Just think about it, Ken." She replied quietly as she checked another corner. "Why would I want to know that?"

_"I don't know."_

"Well, think." Nashi replied stopping to relax for a moment. "Why would I want to know the size difference between Apocalypse's target and this city?" Ken remained silent for a minute, before he gasped.

_"Are...Are you going to make the cannon self-destruct?!"_

**Oh! Aha! Sorry about just wrapping up Damien's fight like that, but as you may have guessed, no one is at the center of this arc more than Nashi and Apocalypse.**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get eight!**


	139. Evacuation

**I'm back! After a whole summer of putting it off, my writing mojo is slowly returning. Anyway, I felt so into it today I'm going to ignore our unhit review mark! I don't care!**

**Enjoy!**

_"Are...Are you going to make the cannon self-destruct?!" _Nashi smiled as Ken reached the same conclusion she had.

"There you go." She praised. "You got it."

_"Are you insane?!"_ ken shouted, making Nashi wince. He was going to give her a headache at this rate. _"You're going to get yourself killed doing that! How are you even going to accomplish that?!" _Nashi took a deep breath, preparing to explain her plan.

"The cannon is already in it's preparation sequence." Nashi said, making Ken mumble affirmatively. "With the system lacrima destroyed by Apocalypse, there is no longer any completely safe way to stop it. However, it's still preparing, so if I can find where it's preparing the Etherion and cause enough damage to it..."

_"And make it explode?! You'll kill yourself!" _Nashi sighed, her heart heavy from the same revelation.

"I know. I never said this was a way to end this without risk to myself." Nashi inhaled sharply as her side flared in pain. "Besides...If I don't, those people in Magnolia will die."

_"And what about you?"_

"If one life can save the lives of thousands, is that not amazing?" Nashi asked quietly.

_"And what about the people who live here in Silverridge?" _Ken demanded. _"Are you going to substitute them for Magnolia?"_

"That's where you and the others come in." Nashi replied, "I need you all to start an evacuation of the city. Given the fighting going on, I doubt it'll take that much convincing. Get as many people out as you can, that way the city will be the only casualty."

_"Except for you."_ Ken said. _"One casualty."_

"Who says I won't be able to get out?" Nashi tried.

_"Who says you will?" _ken shot back, silencing Nashi's attempt at convincing him._"Besides, no matter what I say, the others won't listen to this. It's suicidal."_

"They'll listen." Nashi said with the utmost of certainty. "They may be reluctant given my situation, but even they have to realize the risks." Silence came over the Archive connection, before Ken sighed.

_"I'll see what I can do." _He said, clearly unwillingly to take this route. Nashi chuckled.

"Thanks Ken." Nashi said. "I'll make it out, I promise."

_"Listen up Nashi." _Nashi jumped at the authoritative tone Ken took with her. _"There is no middle ground here. You make absolutely sure you can make it back, or come up with a better plan. I'm serious Nashi, I will not deliver that news to your friends." _Nashi remained silent before she nodded curtly.

"Of course, I promise I'll make it out.." Ken severed the connection, and Nashi stood still, thinking.

She had no intention of making sure she kept her promise.

She didn't want to die, but if her life was the necessary cost to save the others, she was willing to pay it. if she could avoid it, she'd do everything in her power too, but she was by no means going to try something else was she not sure she could do it.

Sighing, Nashi looked back at the sign on the wall next to her, with an arrow pointing right of her.

_Etherion Experiment Sector_

* * *

Ken slowly leaned away from the console and looked at the roof. What was he going to do? There was no way the others would be even remotely okay with this.

"We're back!" Ken looked over at the door as Drake and Winter entered. They both looked damp, and given where they were Ken decided to stay far away from them. "What's going on?"

"Well, it's a little delicate..." Simon replied. Before Simon could continue, the door was once again thrown from it's hinges, Damien and Terra running in. Damien looked brazen, and Terra looked like she was freezing.

"Guys!" Damien shouted. "Apocalypse is shooting the cannon at Magnolia!"

"What?!" Drake and Winter shouted at the same time.

"Well..." Mami said, rubbing the back of her head. "yeah, that's pretty much it."

"What do we do?!" Drake shouted in a panic. "We didn't even think of that. he could fire at any minute. Ken slowly returned his gaze to the console, a rock settling in his stomach.

"We got to get out there and find him!" Winter shouted as Ultear joined them. "We have to stop him."

"There's no point, we have no way to find him." Elise shot.

"Gah!" Drake and Damien jumped back as they finally took notice of the short girl. "When did you wake up?" Drake asked.

"A little bit ago." She replied.

"How's Nashi?" Damien asked. The tension amplified in the room, and Ken slowly grabbed the fabric of his pants as Mami coughed.

"She ah...well." Ken heard Drake gulp.

"Say it." he told Mami. Mami remained silent, as did everyone else.

"She's not here." Ultear finally answered. Drake made a confused sound, and Ultear sighed. "_Apparently s_he snuck out and went after Apocalypse on her own. Not only that, but she found him."

Silence fell over the group. Ken didn't have the heart to turn around and look. The next thing he heard was someone running across the room, and someone else stepping in their way.

"get out of my way Damien!" Drake shouted angrily. "I have to go find her!"

"How will you do that, exactly?" Damien asked, clearly angry himself. "If she's found Apocalypse and the cannon, your sound magic won't reach her through the magic proof walls. I'm willing to bet your sense of smell won't find her either."

"That doesn't mean I can just sit here!" Drake roared, getting desperate. "Move!"

"As shitty as this is." Simon said. "We have no choice but to place our faith in her. She's the only one close enough to stop him." Drake growled and once again tried to get past Damien, but was stopped by the sounds of it.

"get out of my fucking way!" Drake shouted, voice cracking. "She's way to hurt to deal with this herself! What's she going to do?!"

"We don't know, but..."

"I do." Ken spoke up without thinking, cursing himself." No one responded to him, so he took a deep breath. "Nashi's come up with a plan."

"...What is it?" Elise asked. Ken's stomach churned violently, but he turned in his seat and faced the awaiting group. What was he to say?

"Nashi's..." ken faltered at their facial expressions, all waiting for Nashi's 'fail safe' plan. It as far from that. "Apocalypse destroyed the only system lacrima for the cannon, so she failed to stop it. However..." Ken gulped.

"She's going to make the cannon self-destruct."

The words hung in the air as they left Ken's mouth, creating such a tension Ken could feel it weighing down on his shoulders.

"And how is she doing that?" Damien asked.

Ken had the audacity to shrug.

He could tell from Drake's prior reaction that if he said 'Attacking the Etherion in it's container until it starts to detonate' that it would only escalate the problem.

He had to lie.

"I don't know." He replied quietly, looking at the ground. "I honestly don't know. Maybe a button or something?" His words did not soothe anyone, not even Ken. After a while, Simon sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"So what do we do?" he asked.

"...Evacuate the city, I guess." Ultear said. "If the blast was meant for Magnolia, who knows how much of Silverridge will get destroyed."

"That's what Nashi said to do." Ken agreed quickly. "She had me run a comparison on the sizes on the city, it's pretty much the same."

"Then that's what we do." Terra said, speaking up from just shivering in the corner. Ken started to wonder why she was so cold. "Get the innocents out."

"Well let's get going!" Winter said, running to the door and looking back. "Ken! Send out an announcement with the loudspeaker!" Ken nodded weakly and everyone, minus Mami, left the Christina.

"M-Mami?" He asked.

"...You know what she's going to do, don't you?" Ken looked away from Mami's piercing gaze.

"...She's going to attack the Etherion during it's preparation faze, She doesn't know if she'll be able to get out." He replied. "But if I said that..."

"They'd have gone after her." Mami finished. "...I'm not going to lie Ken, it's a good thing you lied for them, but..." Mami shook her head. "Her blood will be on your hands this way." Leaving him with this words, Mami left the Christina.

Leaving Ken alone.

"Don't you think I know that?" ken hissed to himself, prepping the loudspeaker. "If I'm the only one aware of her true plan, it's my fault if she's gone..." ken stopped for a moment, a single tear leaving his eye.

"But I didn't want six people's blood on my hands..." Shaking his head, Ken took the microphone in his hands and spoke clearly.

_"Attention people of Silverridge! An Etherion strike on the city is imminent! Please evacuate to a safe distance outside the city!"_

* * *

After Ken's announcement, no one evacuated calmly. People where screaming in fear, holding various amounts of there belongings, and running for the exit.

"Please calm down everyone!" Simon shouted from above, using meteor to fly. "Just get to a safe distance marked by the flare! Hey, you! No pushing!" Ultear looked over at the marked area, which Taro had marked with a red smoke.

"Please remain calm!" Ultear tried, down on the street. "You will all be okay if you just get out of the city!" Getting shoved by a few people, Ultear cursed and moved out of their way.

"This is insane." Elise muttered from next to her.

"They're running for their lives." Ultear reminded her. "I doubt any of them are even thinking straight."

"Fair enough. But still..."

"And don't try to tell me you aren't scared right now." Ultear knew her words applied to her. She was doing her best to not freak out like everyone running. Elise shifted around on her feet uncomfortably.

"Of course I'm scared." Elise murmured, looking up at the sky. Ultear did so as well, but thankfully nothing was there. Then again, if the cannon was going to self-destruct, then the blast would come from below them. "I'm just...Trying to remain calm."

"How do you think Nashi feels, then?" Ultear asked. "She has to blow it up." Ultear wouldn't lie, every fiber of her being told her to run and find Nashi, but she had a job to do. These people were innocent, they came first. Nashi may have been hurt, but she could handle herself just fine. They needed to get the innocents out of harms way before they did anything else.

"I just hope she's alright." Elise whispered. "I'm worried she's not going to..." Ultear didn't need Elise to finish her sentence, the sentiment was shared regardless.

They both knew there was a chance Nashi would not return home with them. There was no guarantee she could blow up the cannon and get out all in time, but Ultear had to believe. She had no choice anyway. As the stampede of people continued, Ultear couldn't help but shake the sudden sense of danger.

She knew it was coming, just not when.

* * *

Nashi had reached a hard steel door labeled 'Etherion Experiment Sector.' Placing her hand on the door and pushing, she found it to be locked.

"Ah, damn it." She hissed. Heating up her hand, Nashi pressed it to the door and hoped she had enough strength to break it open.

Her hand barely glowed, and as such did not melt the door.

She was so much weaker than she had imagined. Cursing and try once again to push the door open, she also found that her physical energy was lower than her magical energy.

She had next to nothing left. Running on fumes.

"No..." Nashi breathed, sliding down to her knees. "Come on...I'm so close..." She slammed her fist against the door uselessly, but it was to no avail. She had no energy left. Nashi stared down at her hands, slowly clenching them against the floor. "I'm not done." She whispered, voice cracking from emotion. "I need to get in there, but I don't have any energy..."

_Tap tap tap tap tap tap_

Nashi seized up at the sound of footsteps, slowly turning her head and looking down the one way hallway she'd come from. Slowly, surely, he appeared from the darkness. Apocalypse laughed.

"Found you." he sang, coming to a stop. "How did you get all the way over here, Nashi?" Nashi felt tears welling up in her eyes as she stared at Apocalypse from her position on the ground, a few falling down her cheeks. Apocalypse looked past her at the door, and his smile grew. "And why are you going to the Experimental Sector?"

"...Please..." Nashi said in a whimper. "Don't...Don't let the cannon fire..."

"Oi, are you crying?"

"Please...If there's anything human about you...Don't let it fire..." Apocalypse remained silent as Nashi lowered her gaze. "If you have to kill me, do it. Just...if you have any humanity, if there's anything good left in you...Stop the launch." Nashi prayed, hoping Apocalypse would listen.

She was shattered as a cold laugh came from her opponent.

"Nah, I think I'll let it launch." He said. "As I recall, not even my old torture techniques broke you like this. I want to see you squirm Nashi, and watch as your home is obliterated." Another cold laugh escaped him, and Nashi slumped.

She had nothing left.

She couldn't defeat him.

She couldn't stop the cannon.

She could even open a door.

She saw a green magic circle appear on her stomach, but she did not react.

"Now," Apocalypse said. "Let's see just how much of a beating you can take!" The circle activated, and Nashi screamed in pain as the very Ether-nano in her body was once again set to explode. She flew backwards at the small explosion and, at the sound of crumbling metal, flew right through her obstacle. Nashi regained her sense of sight quickly and realized that Apocalypse had thrown her through the door.

She had gotten through.

Scrambling to her feet despite the raging pain in her abdomen, Nashi sprinted down the hall away from her attacker. She ignored the pain circulating through her system, running as if she was in perfect health. Her condition no longer mattered. All that mattered was she succeed in destroying the cannon.

"The longer you run, the more it'll hurt!" Apocalypse shouted from behind ignored him and took the first turn.

She had a mission to complete.

**Oh, it's heating up! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	140. Last Ounce of Strength

**I'm really back into writing right now! We're nearing the end of this arc (finally), so I hope you guys are ready for this!**

**Enjoy!**

Drake was using his sound magic to find if there was anyone in the homes around the city. This gave him an excuse to stop thinking about running off and trying to save Nashi, which was still the only thing he could think about. After getting a family which was freaking out away from their home and into the rest of the stampede of people trying to escape, he sighed. He wasn't so well of mentally at the moment, between the Etherion explosion, Nashi's life in danger and him not able to do anything, and the lives of all the innocent people trying to escape.

"This is insane." He growled. "I just want to find her, but I don't know where or how..."

"Drake!" Drake turned to find Terra running up to him. As she did, he spared a thought to wonder why she was so cold. "Did you check all of these houses?"

"Yeah." Drake replied, gesturing to the ones he'd just done. "They're all empty." Terra nodded and rubbed her arms.

"I think the cities basically empty." She said. "Ken ran a thermal check and couldn't find anything on the western half." Drake nodded and crossed is arms, leaning against the wall.

"This is crazy." He whispered. "Nashi's doing all the hard work solo and we just have to evacuate people?" Terra nodded.

"It's insane, yeah." She agreed. "But it's Silverridge or Magnolia at this point, so..."

"I know." Drake said, looking over at her. "That's why I'm mad. Why is it either or? Why is there no third option?"

"Sometimes there isn't." Terra said. "There won't always be an easy out where everyone is satisfied." Drake shook his head angrily and looked down the now vacant street. "...You really care about her, don't you?"

"Huh?" Drake asked, looking back to the earth mage.

"Nashi, I mean." Terra said. "She's all you can think about, isn't it?"

"Of course she is." Drake hissed. "Her life is in danger. I can't stand that I'm so useless to help her while she could die at any moment." Drake got off the wall and began to walk by Terra towards the Christina near the front of the city. "She's family, I hate everything about this."

"I can guess." She replied. "I suppose we better check near the back this way." Drake nodded and walked in the direction Terra was referring to. As the odd person passed by the two of them, a dull hum came from underneath them. Drake froze and focused his hearing, the hum getting louder. "What is that?" Terra asked.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good." Drake replied warily.

* * *

The humming only spurred Nashi to run even faster. It was clearly a sign of the cannon coming closer to firing, which meant she needed to hurry. Taking a left in an attempt to lose Apocalypse, Nashi found herself in a lab like area. Frowning and looking around, Nashi walked over to the shelf near her and observed the ball like objects sitting on it.

The small objects glowed various different colors, in various sizes.

"What is this?" Nashi asked in a low tone, reaching forward to pick it up. Once she touched it, her eyes widened.

It was a bomb, that much was clear from the magical pressure the small device gave off.

"Wait a minute..." Nashi murmured. "If I'm in the Etherion Experiment Sector..."

It was an Etherion grenade.

Nashi finally realized just how dangerous this object was, and felt like she needed to slowly place it back down before it detonated in her hands. Before she could, however, she paused. Nashi had no strength left, which meant her plan to cause damage to the cannon could fail.

The Etherion grenade gave her the damage she needed to destroy the cannon. As she pocketed it, someone laughed. Whipping around, Nashi found Apocalypse standing in the doorway.

"Are you stupid?" He asked. "Why wold you run here?"

"I'm trying to stop the launch." Nashi replied angrily.

"I know that," Apocalypse said. "I asked you why you ran into _here._"

"...?" Nashi had no idea what Apocalypse meant by that, but she really didn't like the smirk on his face.

"My magic causes ether-nano to explode." Apocalypse said, his smirk making Nashi's blood run cold. "And you just ran into a lab full of ether-nano grenades." Nashi stiffened at these words. Looking around, every single grenade on the shelves around her now had a small green magic circle on it.

"This is bad..." Nashi murmured.

"Hey. Nashi." Nashi turned back to Apocalypse, who tilted his head to the side.

"Every been in the center of an Etherion explosion?"

The magic circles against the grenades lit up.

* * *

"Come on, people!" Damien shouted, flying above the ate out of Silverridge. "You can all see the flare, go to it! We don't have a lot of time here!"

"How's it going, Damien?" Damien looked down to find Simon, Ultear and Elise standing below him.

"I think we've gotten most of the people out by now." he replied, landing and looking behind him to judge just how many people had evacuated. Judging from the amount of people already at the flare and the trail of people running there, it must've been a lot of people. "Save for people Terra and Drake find, I think we're goo...!"

_BOOM!_

The earth beneath their feet shook violently, and the four mages struggled to keep their footing as it shook.

"What the hell is that? The cannon?!" Elise asked.

"No, it's too small!" Ultear replied. "Earthquake?!" Slowly but surely, the ground stopped shaking. A few buildings started to collapse around them, and Damien flinched.

"We need to get out of here soon too." he said. "That just proves it."

"What about Nashi?" Simon's question silenced the four. They had no idea where to look for the girl to save her, and they couldn't detect the location of the cannon themselves due to it being protected from magic.

"We...We aren't seriously going to hope she can get out on her own, are we?" Elise demanded. "Because... The odds of her doing that..."

"Are minuscule." Damien finished. "You don't need to say it, it's obvious." He clenched his fists, thinking about the pink haired girl. "If that idiot gets herself killed..."

"...We have to believe in her." everyone looked up at Ultear, who seemed deeply troubled, but set in her ways.

"We have no choice."

* * *

Nashi slowly lifted her head and looked around the destroyed hallway. She'd managed to get out of the lab by surprising Apocalypse by sprinting past him, but the size of the blast had caught her and thrown her into a wall.

"Holy shit..." She whispered as she attempted to move, body screaming in protest. "That hurt..." As she attempted to use her arms to support herself, they gave out on her. Trying again and managed to get on her knees, she looked around the destroyed area. So many different holes were open to her to try and escape, but she doubted her bodies ability to run much longer.

"Well, that was huge." Nashi was once again greeted by his satanic voice. Turning to look behind her, Nashi could see Apocalypse there, juggling a few ether-nano grenades in his hand. "I suppose I should watch it, or I could bring the whole underground down on top of us."

"H-How did you..." Nashi started, stuttering in disbelief that he'd survived the blast from where he'd been.

"Survive?" he finished for her. "I have my ways. Besides that, I think these could be used for some fun, eh Nashi?" one of the grenades left his hand and flew towards her, and Nashi was forced to get to her feet and sprint away from it. The controlled explosion sent her flying once more, and her back connected with the wall. Slowly struggling to her feet again, She saw Apocalypse frown.

"What?" She asked.

"Just surprised is all." He replied. "The Nashi I knew from back then would've died three times by now. I guess that shows just how much of a monster you really are."

"I-I'm not monster." Nashi managed to croak out. "I'm just a person." Apocalypse shook his head and sighed.

"It actually saddens me how uninformed you are." he replied, only confusing Nashi further. "Well, no matter. It won't matter soon enough." Another grenade left his hand, and this time Nashi forced herself to run through a hole in the wall next to her and avoided most of the blast. Taking a few twist and turns to try and distance herself from her enemy, Nashi soon found herself lost in the partially collapsed Sector. Looking around for any sort of guidance, this momentary stop made Nashi realize just how hurt she really was.

Her lungs hurt, her throat dry and voice raspy, and her entire body aching with a pain that was overriding her ability to move.

"I don't have a lot of time left." She whispered. "I need to hurry up before my body reaches it's limit..." Deciding on a direction to run it, Nashi looked around frantically for something, anything that would point her in the right direction. Finally reaching a locked door, she stopped and read the sign on it.

"Level 5 clearance needed?" She asked. "How high is that? Ah who cares, how the hell do I get in here..." Nashi tried pushing on the door, but even after the near destruction of the entire tunnel system it refused to give. "Where the hell am I suppose to get Level 5 clearance?"

_Tap tap tap_

Nashi's eyes widened and she looked down slowly. Sitting near her foot and glowing brightly was an ether-nano grenade.

_BOOM!_

* * *

Once Drake and Terra had returned to the front gates of the city, everyone else was waiting for them.

"Looks like the gangs all here." Elise said once the pair reached them.

"Minus one." Drake pointed out, referring to Nashi. This made everyone tense up. "Anyone seen her?"

"...No." Simon said quietly. "She must not have found a way to blow it up yet."

"Do we wait?" Winter asked. "I mean, what if she sets it off and we're just standing here?"

"That's a good point." Mami pointed out. "Should I have Taro pull the Christina around so we can wait close to the city and wait for Nashi?"

"That seems like the best course of action." Ultear agreed. "Go ahead and do that." Drake watched Mami busy herself with telling Taro to pick them up, before he turned and looked out over the vacant city.

_Where the hell are you Nashi?_

* * *

All Nashi knew was that she was lying face down. her body was irresponsive, as was almost every other part of her. Slowly lifting her head, Nashi looked around.

She'd found it. The Etherion the cannon was going to fire was right in front of her. The door she'd clearly been thrown through had led to an area jut above the Etherion, with a steel bridge as a walkway across the vat.

_It's right here...I just need to..._

Nashi tried to move the arms she saw right in front of her face, but they wouldn't move. Neither would her legs. Nothing was working anymore.

She'd reached her limit.

"Wow, your body is still intact." Nashi knew the voice but had no energy to properly acknowledge him, and he stood directly behind her. "Are you dead? No, I can see your back rising and falling still." He brought his foot down on her leg, and she winced in pain. She was actually surprised she felt it at all.

_Please...I'm so close..._

"I think it's about time we end this, eh Nashi?" Apocalypse asked, lifting his foot and this time slamming it down on her back. "After all, I've finally broken you."

_Please..._

"What should I do with you? Just blow you up? Or maybe fly your corpse like a flag of victory to your friends? So many options." As Nashi tried to move, she felt something bulge in her pocket.

The ether-nano grenade she'd taken. Somehow it had managed to survive the onslaught Apocalypse put her through.

_I just need...To throw it at the vat..._

Nashi's hand twitched, and slowly it moved forward. It took everything she had to crawl just that millimeter forward. Apocalypse made a weird sound.

"Would you look at that." He said. "Looks like that fire of yours still burns, huh?" His foot connected with her stomach, and she coughed up something wet. Blood. "I like it when my prey fights until it's last breath."

_I'm so close..._

Another foot to her stomach, this time sending her further forward. She was at the start of the bridge across the gap now. She just need to throw her grenade and...

"Oh? What's that?" Nashi ignored Apocalypse and slowly reached for her pocket, but her eyes widened.

Her pocket was empty.

Apocalypse walked closer and bent down, picking up the grenade that had rolled out of her pocket.

"Amazing." Apocalypse said. "Through all of that you managed to smuggle one of these puppies out and planned to use it to destroy the cannon. You really are something, aren't you?"

_No..._

"It was valiant, Nashi." Apocalypse said. "But alas, you've lost. And I've won." Tears began to flow from Nashi's eyes. She really had lost. After all the running and all the hiding she'd lost. She didn't even bother to crawl forward anymore, it was all in vain. Slowly, Nashi let her head rest on the floor as her tears escaped her eyes.

_I failed everybody..._

Nashi looked down over the edge and saw the Etherion swirling violently below her. It was a strangely pretty sight, watching pure magic.

_Don't ever eat Etherion, Nashi. Tastes like shit._

Nashi felt her eyes widen as her fathers voice echoed in her head. She slowly looked back down and focused on the Etherion again.

_Don't ever...Eat Etherion..._

If Nashi could just get down there...

But no, she had no energy left. It wasn't possible. Especially not with Apocalypse right behind her.

"Maybe I should wait until the cannon fires to kill you." Apocalypse wondered aloud behind her. "Then I can watch you died inside as your family dies."

Her family.

Her mother.

Her father.

Her little sibling.

Nashi growled. it was a pathetic sound that came from her throat, but it contained all the resistance she had left.

"On the contrary, Apocalypse." She hissed weakly, fingers gripping the edges of the container.

"Eh? What did you say?"

"If anyone's dying here...It's going to be YOU!"

Using every single ounce of strength left in her body, Nashi flung herself off the edge and plummeted towards the Etherion below.

**You guys are going to hate me for this cliffhanger, I can tell. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get six!**


	141. The Awakening

**Ah, so nice to see you guys enjoyed the last chapter! I'm sure you'll love this one too!**

**Enjoy!**

It was warm.

That was the first thing that came to Nashi's mind as she plunged head first into the Etherion. She settled near the center as her body attempted to float her back to the surface.

_It's like water..._

She could see the magic flowing around her in a weak current. Looking left and right only allowed her to see flashing colors.

_I don't have time for this...I need to eat it._

Nashi opened her mouth and inhaled, the Etherion quickly filling her mouth. She swallowed, and opened her mouth again. It tasted like nothing, almost like she was breathing pure air. As soon as the second gulp of Etherion entered her system, Nashi could feel her body twitching from the magic.

_Holy shit, this is...!_

Nashi's eyes widened.

"GGGAAAAAAHHHH!" Nashi grabbed her head and writhed in pain as her body rejected the Etherion. "AH...AAAHHHHH!

_I can't...This can't be the end._

Nashi slowly opened her mouth and swallowed again. She did it again, and again, and again. Slowly, a light red glow surrounded her limited vision, and the pain intensified.

_Please...I don't care what happens to me...Just let me protect those I love!_

Nashi's vision faded as the Etherion started to shake violently around her.

* * *

Drake paced back and forth as everyone else spoke quietly aboard the Christina. He wasn't focusing on any of that though, he kept his gaze glued on the city in front of them. So far it had been quiet, which he both liked and hated. He needed a sign, something, anything, that could tell him if Nashi was okay. he stopped for a moment and stared at the door. He seriously contemplated sprinting through that door and going to find her, but he knew he wouldn't make it far.

"At least for now, we should..." Simon's sentence was cut off as the Christina began to shake. Drake's eyes darted back to the city, but it was shaking as well. Everyone else was losing their balance, and Mami whipped around to look at Ken.

"What the hell was that Ken?!" She demanded. Ken was already typing rapidly at his Archive before Mami's sentence was finished.

"Major magic spikes..." ken murmured. "Tremors...What the hell?"

"What?" Damien asked.

"It's coming from one concentrated area." Ken whispered as the visuals of his Archive zoned in.

"Is the cannon exploding?" Damien demanded, body tense with anticipation.

"No...No, it's too small of an area or it to be the cannon." Ken replied.

"How can you tell with the magic proof walls?" Ultear asked.

"The tremors from before must've destroyed some of it's effectiveness." ken said weakly, continuing to tap. "It's...Oh my God."

"...What?" Drake whispered. Ken slowly turned and stared at them, wide eyed.

"The magic is coming from a human shaped figure."

* * *

Apocalypse stared down at the swirling vat of Etherion with a frown.

"Well I guess that's it." He said to himself. "There's literally no way she's going to survive that." Sighing, he turned on his heel and walked away from the vat. "And I was so ready to wave her lifeless body around like a flag...Oh well. I suppose this prevents her from being used as the Olympians puppet. I guess I should..." Apocalypse stopped as the chamber began to shake. Before long, it started shaking much more violently.

"What the hell?" He demanded, tripping as he turned around and looked at the Etherion. His eyes widened as they landed on the source of the problem.

In the center of the Etherion, a strong red glow was emanating from something.

From _someone._

"No fucking way." Apocalypse hissed. "There's no way she...!"

_BOOM!_

Apocalypse was thrown back by an explosive wave of magic. His back hit the wall and he landed on his face.

"Fuck!" he shouted, getting to his feet and rubbing his back. "What in the name of God was that?" Apocalypse looked back at the Etherion, to find the surface swirling violently. The red glow had faded from the vat, and slowly the Etherion stopped it's violent spinning as well. Apocalypse smiled.

"Oh, I get it." He said with a laugh. "That was little Nashi Dragneel exploding from the Etherion. I get it. Although, I suppose I should be surprised that the Etherion didn't explode right here right no...!"

A hand appeared on the edge of the vat and grabbed it tightly.

Apocalypse stared down at the hand as another one appeared next to it, also latching onto the edge.

"No way in fucking hell..." he whispered. The muscles in the hand contracted as they pulled up the dead weight beneath them. First came the arms, where more muscles moved to pull the body up.

The pink haired girl's head appeared as she threw herself over the edge of the vat, panting heavily.

"...So you survived." Apocalypse finally found his words. "I guess I should've expected that from someone with power like yours. So what the hell was that you just did?" He got no response, and he frowned. "What? Got a problem, Nashi?"

"..." Again no response came, only labored panting. Apocalypse frowned as the cannon prepared to fire.

"I suppose you've given up now that you've failed, huh?" He asked. "Well no matter, I suppose..."

She was standing up.

Apocalypse stared at her figure as she stood up, still panting.

_There's literally no fucking way she had the energy to pull herself up, let alone stand!_

But Nashi Dragneel defied the basic understanding of how much damage the human body could withstand and stood. Apocalypse smiled.

"I did say I loved it when my prey fights back." he said with a laugh. "Let's see just how much strength you have left!" Snapping his fingers, a rapture circle appeared on Nashi's stomach and started to glow.

Nashi didn't even move.

Apocalypse watched as the girl remained completely still until the circle died away. And then, before he could find words to voice his shock, Nashi slowly looked up.

Her eyes glowed bright blue.

Apocalypse watched as the magic in the very air began to drift towards the girl.

Her lower arms grew bright red and her hands grew charcoal black.

Her head glowed as well, and two horns made of pure fire protruded from her head.

She slowly tilted her head to the side, bright blue gaze not leaving Apocalypse. She slowly took a step forward.

And Apocalypse a step back.

He didn't know what the hell this was, but every fiber of his being told him to run away. However, he had the heart to laugh weakly.

"I don't know what you are," He hissed, pulling out the remaining ether-nano grenade. "But I'm not going to run from you!" he threw the grenade, and it landed square in front of the girls figure, and detonated. Apocalypse smiled as the small explosion sent shrapnel everywhere.

When the dust faded, Nashi still stood. Apocalypse gaped as the girl slowly raised her hand and looked at it. On the back of her hand was a cut, probably from the rocks thrown up by the explosion. Apocalypse watched as the cut glowed a multitude of different colors, and closed.

She was fine.

"Wha...What the hell are you?!" Apocalypse shouted. Nashi stepped forward again, and this time Apocalypse was frozen by fear. As she reached him, she stood in front of him quietly before reaching forward and placing a hand on his chest.

_BOOM!_

With an explosive force rivaled only by the fury of the Gods, Apocalypse flew at lightning speed backwards and through several walls. Landing on a piece of rubble and feeling his spine bend at an angle it was never supposed to, Apocalypse realized something.

Whatever was happening, he didn't stand a chance.

* * *

It didn't take an idiot to know something was seriously wrong, Drake could see everyone had tensed up at Ken's words.

"What's the shape of the body?" Elise demanded,asking what everyone wanted to know. Ken shook his head.

" I can't tell, but it's certainly human." He replied.

"Do you think...?" Taro started, the most obvious of questions on his lips.

"We don't know." Simon answered. "I'm not exactly sure I should hope it is, either." Drake slowly looked down at the ground as the others theorized. What could the human shaped object giving of all of that magic power be? Was it Apocalypse? Nashi?

A third entity?

he didn't know, but the longer he sat around on his ass the less he liked it. He wanted to find Nashi and get away, but he didn't know how.

_Ken did say the magic proof barriers had been weakened...No, I'm putting myself in danger going back to the city...But if I can't save her, what sort of best friend am I?_

* * *

Zeus had not taken his eyes off of the screen since the battle had begun. He was also very impressed with Nashi Dragneel's capability to survive, it was far beyond what he had assumed up to that point. She had survived a minor Etherion blast, another few rounds of punishment, and had almost succeeded in taking out the cannon while in a near dead state. Impressive as all hell.

But none of that mattered anymore. And as Nashi Dragneel lifted herself from the Etherion vat, grew a pair of horns and magic gathered in her arms, he smiled to himself.

"It appears as if your attempt at betrayal as failed, Apocalypse." He said with a smile as Nashi blew the torturer away. "Or rather, it does not matter that you even tried. It would seem that Nashi Dragneel has..."

* * *

It had been a long day for Lucy. On top of her idiot husband starting a brawl with Gray in the middle of the guild and causing a huge mess, she was going through a lot of stress because of the baby and everything else. Not to mention her daughter was out their somewhere, probably risking her life as per usual. At the moment though, she and Natsu were just walking through Magnolia.

"It was Gray's fault." Natsu grumbled, rubbing the slap mark on his face. Lucy turned to glower at him.

"I don't care who started it, I want you to grow up!" Lucy shouted, making him flinch. "Seriously Natsu, do you see Nashi and Ultear fighting all the time?!"

"Well...No."

"Don't you find it a bit sad your seventeen year old daughter doesn't do that? That you're still the one doing this shit?" Natsu made a contemplative face at these words, and shrugged.

"Not really something I find myself concerned about." He replied. "I'll do what I want, and Nashi does what she wants. What's the problem?" Lucy sighed and although she knew arguing with Natsu wasn't going to get her anywhere, she sometimes held hope he wasn't _that _big of an idiot.

She was always proven wrong, it seemed.

"That's exactly the problem, Natsu." She scolded as she rubbed her forehead. "The fact that you can't see the problem with..."

_Thump._

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the odd sound. Looking around for the source, she found nothing.

"Did you hear that, Natsu?" She asked, getting no response. "Natsu?...Natsu?!"

Natsu was convulsing on the ground, his body twitching. Lucy dropped to her knees next to him and shook him.

"Natsu?! What's wrong?!" he didn't reply, just made strange sounds as he shook violently. "Natsu!" Slowly but surely, Natsu raised his head, looking over at Lucy weakly.

"It's Nashi." he croaked. Lucy raised an eyebrow at this.

"What do you mean? What's wrong with Nashi?!"

"...She's awake."

**A shorter chapter today, but I think you guys will appreciate that in turn for all the development today. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get eight for the awakening!**


	142. Awakened Nashi Dragneel vs Apocalypse

**Seeing as things are getting hype, I see no need to make you guys wait. And these last two chapters have clearly been very popular, so...**

**Enjoy!**

_BOOM!_

Apocalypse flew through another wall and fell down on his face. When he looked up, he found he'd actually flown through at least six walls all fifteen feet thick. Looking through the holes, he saw it.

That demon.

Nashi was standing where he'd been only a millisecond before, watching him through the holes. The bright blue that was her eyes watched him mercilessly. She stepped forward, and the thick steel wall melted in her wake. the horns made of fire were pointed back, and her arms looked as if volcanic craters had formed up and down them, her hands as black as brimstone. She took another step forward, and the heat wave slammed into Apocalypse, almost knocking him out. he scrambled to his feet and took off through a door to his left, just trying to get away at this point. he sprinted as fast as his body allowed him, taking any turns that put distance between him and whatever the hell Nashi had turned into to. Hearing a strange sound, Apocalypse looked over his shoulder at what it was.

Just in time to get a blast to the face.

_How did she...?!_

Apocalypse once again sailed through the air and through a wall. The beam of energy faded away, and Apocalypse looked up as he cradled himself on his knees.

She was at least two hundred feet away, staring at him from the area she'd been in before, but her aim had been dead on. She slowly lowered her black hand and started to walk towards him once more, but Apocalypse didn't know what to do. He stayed where he was, rigid with fear, as the raging, demonic inferno that was the silent Nashi Dragneel reached him. He felt as though he was melting as he looked up at her. the blue light shining from her eye sockets showed no emotion.

"What are you?!" He shouted, enraged. She did not reply. "WHAT ARE YOU?!" Again, she did not reply. He slowly stood and glowered at her. Again, she showed no reaction. "You...You have no idea what's in store for you..." Snapping his fingers, the same number of rapture circles that had incapacitated her appeared all over her body. "You won't be able to take this, not in your body's state!" The circles glowed, and Apocalypse smiled.

She didn't even flinch.

Apocalypse stared as the girl slowly looked down at her exposed stomach, where one of his rapture circles was. She placed her open palm over it, and Apocalypse watched as the circle grew bright red and exploded into dark red fire.

She'd blown up his rapture circle.

"That doesn't even make sense..." he whispered. What had happened to her? Just what the hell did Etherion exposure do to a human?

...Or was this what Zeus had been after?

It hit Apocalypse like a ton of bricks. Zeus had wanted to strike the Etherion cannon on the Fairy Tail guild hall specifically to cause this girl to be exposed to Etherion. Apocalypse had just watched her throw herself into a swirling mass of it and eat it.

Nashi had done it a different way, but the same result had happened.

"Nashi Dragneel..." Apocalypse whispered as the girl once again took aim with her open palm.

"Is awake."

* * *

There's random magic bursts," Ken reported. "On the scale of a small Etherion strike. I don't know what the hell is happening down there, but whatever it is..." His words cast silence among the group. They all knew what that meant. Whether or not they liked it, that was Nashi.

"Let's just hope she knows what she's doing." Simon muttered.

"She doesn't." Drake hissed. "And the fact that we're sitting here and doing nothing while she's about to get herself killed is PISSING ME OFF!" Drake's outburst startled Ken, who hadn't been looking.

"You want to go out there and try to find here?" Ultear demanded. "And get yourself killed in the process?"

"I'd rather die trying to find her than live with the knowledge I could've saved her and didn't!" he shot back. Drake moved for the door, but Damien got in his way. "Damien..." Drake growled.

"Don't be a retard." Damien told him matter of factly. "You're not thinking straight."

"How?!"

"What about us?" Damien fired. "Do you think we like sitting here on our asses while she risks her life?! DO YOU?!" Drake remained silent, and Damien composed himself. "We all feel the same way. All of us, even those not in our guild. Stop being a selfish prick, you're not the only one who worries about her."

"You think I give a fuck if any of you feel the same?!" Drake shouted, pushing Damien back. "I couldn't care less how you feel about this! _I _want to save her, so if I'm the only one who'll act on it, then...!

Damien punched Drake in the face.

The Poison Dragon flew back and hit his back on the wall of the Christina, falling and landing on his side. Damien strode up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his coat, and hoisted him into the air.

"You're so full of shit." Damien hissed. "Stop acting so high and mighty! if I was as stupid as you, I'd already be out there! If we all went by your fucked up logic, we'd all be looking for her! We aren't being illogical, we're trying to MINIMIZE THE LIVES TAKEN!" Drake's nose was bleeding, but he reared a free hand back and coated it in poison, swinging it at Damien. Ken watched as the blow temporarily freed the younger mage, who dodged Damien's attempt to grab him again and delivered a kick to his stomach.

"You want to go a few rounds, Dreyar?" Drake hissed. "Let's see how stack up."

"Fuck you, you cyanide eating prick." Damien took over into a demon form, and Drake threw his coat off to the side, his arms turning red and scaly. They both charged at each other fists raised, ready to deliver a blow.

A blast of Heavenly light flew past Ken's head, causing both to stop mere inches from each other and turn in the attack's direction, as did Ken.

Simon radiated raw rage.

"Stop it." he commanded. Damien started to object, but Simon sent him a rage fueled stare which silenced him. "We all feel the same way. We're pissed off that we can't help her, but we're not going to do anything but put more lives at risk. So stop fighting, or I'll fucking drop the both of you." Silence enveloped the bridge before Damien sighed, returned to his human form, and walked away from the fight. Drake remained stationary, glaring at the ground.

"...Sorry." he finally said.

"It's fine." Damien replied. "Happens to the best of us." After this short exchange, Winter blew her bangs from her face.

"Fuck." She stated. Mami sighed.

"Pretty much." She agreed. ken sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. He'd been sweating far more than he thought.

"At this rate, we're going to kill each oth..."

An alarm cut Ken off, and is stomach dropped. he slowly turned back to his Archive and read the alert. He gulped.

"...What?" Terra asked.

"...The ether-nano levels in Silverridge are off the charts." he replied. "That...That has a handful of meanings, so to say."

* * *

Apocalypse was spread eagle on his back, staring up at the roof of the chamber. Judging from how his body reacted, he wanted to say he was back in the Etherion chamber. With the sound of melting metal, Nashi also made her presence known. Slowly looking up, he found himself sitting on the metal bridge that crossed the gap over the Etherion. Nashi was standing on the opposite side then when she'd thrown herself in, but she did not advance. Merely watched. Looking down, Apocalypse wondered what would happen to him should he throw himself in the Etherion as well.

_No, she's a slayer and a monster...She was built to absorb elements..._

He laughed and threw his head back as Nashi slowly approached.

"It's been a while since I've been thrown around like this." he said, sitting up. "And of course it'd be too you." No response, just the slow advance of a monster. Apocalypse slowly stood and snapped his fingers, causing several rapture circles to appear all over her body. Just like usual, the activation did nothing. he snorted as she got closer.

"You'd think with all that Etherion in your system it'd do more to you." He said flatly. Too some it may have seemed like Apocalypse was strangely calm at the moment. There were several reasons for this. For one, it no longer mattered what happened to him. This was thanks to his second point.

The cannon had finished charging, and was currently honing in on Magnolia. He only needed to last a little longer to succeed in taking out her family. He'd die, but he was alright with that. He'd been expendable for so long it no longer mattered. he smiled at Nashi, who took no notice of the small notion.

"Just wait Nashi." he said. "It'll all be over soon!" Apocalypse snapped his fingers to form another rapture circle on her, but she was one step ahead of him. She bolted right to him in the span of time it took him to raise his arm to snap his fingers, and reached forward.

In one swift movement, Nashi Dragneel ripped his right arm from it's socket.

Apocalypse could do noting but watch as Nashi took his arm and raised it above her head. One explosion of hell fire later, Nashi deposed of the useless appendage into the vat below them.

"Wha..." Apocalypse tried as he watched his arm sail into the Etherion he felt queasy from all the blood coming out of the hole in this body.. "You...Bitch!" Raising his left fist, Apocalypse gathered rapture magic around it, which would cause to explode the second it touched anything magical. Nashi was faster. She dodged the blow with ease and was now below Apocalypse, who looked down.

He was greeted by a hell fire supernova, which was forming on the knuckles of the brimstone colored fist which belonged to the demon.

* * *

"What does that mean?!" Ultear asked. "is the cannon firing or exploding?!" ken typed faster than he ever had before, trying to find her an answer.

"I don't know!" he shouted in a panic. "It's just a lot of magic eneg...!"

_BOOM!_

The entire Christina shook from an explosion, which knocked everyone to the ground. Once they recovered somewhat, everyone looked towards the city.

They saw one dot sailing high into the air.

Another dark red one flew upwards to meet it.

"Is that..." Simon started.

"Nashi?!" Elise shouted.

_SLAM!_

Everyone jumped and turned to find the door of the Christina had been kicked open.

Drake was missing.

Looking back towards the city, Drake was sprinting full speed towards it.

"That idiot!" ken took with everyone else and bolted from the Christina after Drake, trying to stop him. "He's going to get himself killed!" Simon roared.

"Come on, we can stop him!" Elise shouted.

* * *

"DRAKE!" Drake ignored Ultear screaming his name and ran top speed for the city, not taking his eyes off of the two dots in the sky.

_Come on, come on..._

His lungs begged him to stop, as did his legs. his brain tried to make him regulate his air intake, but he didn't. He couldn't focus, not in a situation like this.

What did he plan to do when he got there?

How was he going to help her?

Was he seriously thinking he could do a damn thing?

That wasn't what mattered.

He had to do _something._

No matter what, even if it was nothing but dying from stupidity, he had to do it. He ignored his friends screaming his name, and brought his eyes back up to look at the black and red dots. The red dot had caught up with the black one.

And did a one eighty and started to descend. Drake's eyes widened as the joined dots picked up speed.

He wasn't going to make it.

Not in time.

The dots were going to fast. As they disappeared behind the skyline of the city, Drake stopped running.

"NASHI!" he screamed, as everything faded to white.

* * *

The heat was unbearable.

He'd lost to much blood.

As Apocalypse sailed through the open air, he had time to think.

What had he done?

Just what had he unleashed upon the world?

As Nashi reached him seven hundred feet in the air and she grabbed him, he realized it.

This was why the Olympians wanted her.

She was every bit as powerful as them, maybe even stronger. As he felt her volcanic hands grab him by the neck and start to speed downwards, Apocalypse had no time to wonder just what they had planned.

All that he knew was that whatever they had planned, it better have been worth it.

_Nashi Dragneel..._

Apocalypse felt his body submerge in Etherion, and he slammed into the bottom of the vat. Looking up, she had slowed her own descent slightly to time her own. She descended at the speed of light, another supernova ready to go. She sped through the open ground and the roof of the underground chamber, rearing back to slam the fist into him.

_What the hell are you?_

And with a slow fade to white, Apocalypse the former torturer of Phantom Dove, the man who awakened Etherious Nashi Dragneel, died not knowing the answer to his question.

* * *

Nothing.

That was all Drake could feel. He was surrounded by nothing. His entire body ached from the wrath of the explosion. Slowly, he brought his head up from protecting it with his arms and looked ahead of him.

Silverridge was gone.

Completely obliterated. Drake slowly stood and observed the smoldering wreckage, all of it still alight.

"Holy shit..." Drake heard Elise murmur from behind him.

"Nashi..." Ultear whimpered.

Nashi.

Drake's emotions spiraled out of control. he heard Ultear tearing up, and Simon comforting her. The others tried to hold in their tears, but they were failing. He clenched his fists angrily as images if the girl passed through his mind. Anger driving him, he started to walk towards the remains of the city.

"Drake..." Damien started. "There's no point, there's no way she could've..." Drake ignored Damien and passed through the destroyed archway into the city. Activating his sound magic, he tried to wipe the tears from his face so he could focus on listening. he passed building after building, fire after fire, but he saw nothing.

"Please..." Drake croaked. "She has to be here...Even if it's a body..."

He heard nothing.

He saw nothing.

...She was gone.

Drake collapsed to his knees as tears began to fall.

"Please!" he shouted. "She has to be...She can't be..." Drake looked up, and he noticed it. up ahead of him in the center of the city, was a huge crater. Hollow inside, Drake managed to climb to his feet and walk towards it slowly. Tripping over a piece of rubble, Drake made it to the edge of the crater and collapsed on the edge, his arms hanging uselessly over the side of it.

"Nashi..." He whispered. Tears streamed from his eyes, and he cursed himself. He'd failed her.

Drake heard a hissing sound. Looking up, Drake looked down into the center of the gigantic crater about one hundred feet deep, and gasped.

There, standing in the center of the abyss, was a pink haired, shirtless, Dragon Slayer.

"Nashi!" Drake jumped to his feet and slid down the side of the crater without a second thought, slipping halfway through and tumbling the rest of the way down. He finally made it and jumped to his feet, staring at her. "Nashi!" he shouted.

Slowly but surely, she turned to look at him, and Drake's blood ran cold. Bright blue energy radiated from her eyes, she had horns, and her arms were covered in volcanic craters, while her hands were black. She watched him lifelessly, and Drake feared for his life.

"Drake..." her voice escaped her lips after thirty seconds, sounding raspy and weak. After another moment, a smile graced her wrecked face. Slowly, blue magic began to flow out of her being, and dissipating into the air around them.

"Nashi... Drake started, walking towards her. Nashi slowly blinked once, and coughed weakly.

"I got him." She said. With this, her eyes closed and her body fell forward. Drake rushed and caught her, cradling the limp and injured body of his friend.

"Nashi?" He asked weakly, shaking her. "...N-Nashi? Hey, come on..." Shaking her did nothing, so Drake focused on his hearing to listen to her, looking for a heartbeat. Drake's eyes widened.

Not only was Nashi's heart beating, but it was going at three times the rate it should have been her brain was convulsing, causing her lungs to breath in and out in short bursts, far to short to get any air into her.

_She survived an Etherion blast...Just how strong are you, Nashi?_

**And the End of the World comes to completion! Just like I promised, this arc has some serious development behind it. I'm really sorry this arc has taken so long to complete compared to the rest of the story. He started this arc before summer and e're only now finishing it.**

**Worth the wait, I say.**

**Also, the next chapter will be some cool down, buildup to GMG, and we'll go from there.**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get fifteen for the of of EotW!**


	143. Up and Moving

**Really getting back into writing! Also, I just realized how hype GMG is going to be...**

**Enjoy!**

_"...Nashi!...Mavis, get her on the ship!"_

_"She's burning up!"_

_"Get down!"_

_..._

_"What do we do?! How did she even..."_

_"Is she even alive?"_

_"Comatose, looks like..."_

_..._

_"Get her to the infirmary."_

_"But Natsu..."_

_"DO IT!"_

_..._

_"What do we do?"_

_"..."_

_"Natsu?"_

_"...I don't know Luce. I don't know."_

_"Is she really...?"_

_"Yeah. She's awake."_

_..._

Nashi jolted and her eyes snapped open. She was staring at the roof.

"What the...?" A raspy sound that she supposed was her voice escaped her lips, and she slowly moved her head to look around. Judging from what she could tell, she was back at home, in the infirmary. She had some sort of IV hooked up to her arm, but it was empty, as was the bag next to her on a hook. She slowly sat up, still confused. "How did I...?"

Silverridge. The cannon. Apocalypse. What had happened? Was everyone okay? Had she succeeded?

"All I remember is eating the Etherion..." She murmured, rubbing her temples. "And then everything went white." Nashi sighed and lowered her hand, pushing the blanket off of herself. Seeing that she had nothing on but a hospital gown, she got up and walked towards the window of the infirmary, looking outside. Judging from what she could see, it was summer.

But that made no sense, it had been spring during the incident. Nashi cracked her back with a satisfied moan.

"I guess I should see if anyone else is around..." She muttered. She was about to turn, but the sound of the infirmary door opening beat her to it. Turning, Nashi greeted her visitor with a confused face. Wendy dropped the tray she had and stared at Nashi, eyes wide.

"Wendy?" Nashi asked, voice still raspy. "What happened to me?"

"..."

"...Wendy?" The Sky Dragon looked strange, almost like she was tense. She was frightened. Nashi couldn't fathom why, she felt fine.

"N-Nashi-san?" Wendy finally asked. "H-How do you feel?"

"Alright, I guess." Nashi looked back out the window, watching people mill by the guild. "What happened?"

"...I-I think it'd be best if I got your parents up here..." Wendy picked up the tray she'd dropped, which appeared to have more IV bags on it, and turned to leave. This left Nashi by herself once more. She'd ever felt so confused in her life. Why was Wendy so scared? What exactly had happened? Nashi looked down at her hands, which looked looked rather normal.

For a moment, they flashed brimstone black.

Nashi blinked and it disappeared, but it startled her considerably. What had _that _been? Something to with Wendy's fright?

"WHAT?!" Nashi jumped at the screech she heard, accompanied by footsteps coming up the stairs. The door was flung open, turning Nashi's attention to it once more. The first figure was her mother, who's baby bump was far bigger than Nashi recalled, and her father, who looked dead serious.

All three stared at each other for what felt like forever, before a smile broke over her mother's face.

"Thank Mavis you're okay." She whispered. "We were so worried."

"What even happened?" Nashi asked. Neither responded to her, and Nashi sighed. "I've been awake for only a few minutes and I'm already tired of not getting an answer."

"You survived a point blank Etherion explosion."

"...Hah?" Nashi asked her father, who still looked dead serious. "Stop fucking with me dad, there's no..."

His face did not flicker in any way to show he was joking. Nashi's stomach turned and she felt dizzy.

"...S-Seriously?" She asked weakly, her mother nodding to confirm the story. "But, how? That shouldn't even be..."

"Possible. It's not." Her father answered. He took a deep breath and finally offered her a pathetic smile. "Yet here we are." Nashi didn't know what to say. How could she survive an Etherion strike? It wasn't possible, not even with odds like one in a trillion.

"What about Silverridge?" She asked.

"Obliterated." Her mother replied. Nashi's felt faint at this.

"How many people...?" She trailed off purposefully, waiting for the damning answer. She did not get one for a moment, until her father chuckled.

"Every citizen of Silverridge was evacuated almost half an hour prior to the explosion." he told her. Nashi breathed a sigh of relief. Ken had come through. "So no one important died."

"...No one important?" Nashi asked. "So...Someone did?"

"Yeah." Her father's expression turned a little poisonous. "The others said you'd been fighting that Apocalypse guy. He'd be the only causality."

Apocalypse was dead.

Surprisingly enough, this did nothing to prevent Nashi from being haunted by what happened at Phantom Dove. She was revealed the man no longer walked the earth, sure, but it did not help her get over what had happened.

"I guess everything turned out alright, then." Nashi said with a sigh, looking behind her out the window. A thought occurred. "Hey, uh, Mom? Dad?"

"Yes, sweetheart?" her mother asked.

"...How long have I been in here?" Her question brought forth more uncomfortable silence, and Nashi turned back to find her parents struggling for words. "Because you're a lot father along in your pregnancy than I remember, Mom. And the trees are in full bloom, so..."

"Two months." her father answered. "You've been comatose for two months." Nashi attempted to swallow this as best she could, but it still surprised her. It had only been the start of May during the incident, so that would make it July. Nashi had missed two months of her life.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie." her mother advised, tears in her eyes. "After all, you should be dead."

That much was true, Nashi couldn't act as if being in a coma for two months was somehow worst case scenario. By all logical accounts, she should have died. She sat on the edge of her hospital bed and sighed.

"I guess." She replied. "Where are the others? Are they okay?"

"More or less." Her father replied, tone unsteady. Nashi couldn't figure out if he was lying or not. "A little banged up at first, but they're okay. I think..."

"NASHI!"

"Gah!" Nashi didn't have time to defend herself before Ultear somehow found her way into the infirmary, and tackled Nashi into a bone crushing hug. "Ul?!"

"I'm so happy you're okay!" The girl shouted, tearing up into Nashi's gown. "We were all so worried about you! When Drake carried you back we didn't know what to do..." Ultear's words turned into nonsensical blabbering, and Nashi just rubbed the girls back in an attempt to calm her down. After a while, a sigh was heard.

"What, are you going to hog her all to yourself?" Nashi looked over to the door to find the rest of her friends standing there watching. Ultear made a noise that sounded like an apology and got off of Nashi, which allowed her to stand up again.

"hey guys." Nashi greeted. "Nice to see you."

"Nice to see you awake." Simon replied as they all walked inside. Before anymore words could be spoken, Nashi was wrapped into another crushing hug, this time by Elise.

"E-Elise?" Nashi asked. It was unlike the Iron Dragon to do this.

"If you _ever _do some stupid shit like that again, you won't have to worry about dying in that situation, I'll kill you myself." The shorter girl threatened, making Nashi laugh if off worriedly, and the girls grip on her tightened. "We were worried, though..." Nashi once again rubbed her friends back to calm them down a bit, and once Elise regained control of herself, she was greeted by Simon and Damien.

"Surviving an Etherion explosion and only comatose for two months?" Damien asked with a chuckle, placing a hand on Nashi's head and ruffling her hair. "You never stop impressing, do you kiddo?"

"I guess not." Nashi replied, wincing as Damien pushed a bit to hard. Simon shook his head with a smile.

"Just be more careful next time." he warned her with a warm smile. "And if not that, don't go in always have your back, remember that."

"I will." Nashi looked around and noticed something. "Hey, where's Drake?"

"Over here." A voice came. Nashi turned her attention to the doorway, where her best friend was leaning against the door frame, a small smile on his face. "How are you?" he asked.

"Alright." She replied. She smiled and held her arms out. "Do I get a hug, or not?" Drake rolled his eyes and entered the room, and walked into her embrace. After a moment, they parted, making Nashi smile. "You're still really bad at..."

Everything changed.

She was no longer in the infirmary, she was in the middle of a crater. The ruins around her were still blazing, and the sky had turned a dark red hue. Nashi couldn't move or talk, just witnessed. Slowly, her head turned, and she saw Drake standing a ways away from her, watching her. His eyes were filled with terror and confusion.

Directed at her.

As soon as it happened, it was over. Nashi was back in the infirmary, staring at Drake. She blinked a few times in confusion, but shrugged it off. whatever it was, she couldn't figure it out with only brief snaps of it like that.

"You okay?" Drake asked, looking concerned. "You spaced out for a second there."

"I-I'm okay." Nashi replied, not able to shake the feeling the vision of Drake was giving her. "Just a little dizzy."

"Maybe you should sit down." Simon advised. "You may still be weak." Nashi nodded and looked back as she sat on the bed's edge. Sighing, she looked over at all her friends, who were smiling at her. It didn't take long before she too smiled.

"It feels good to be back."

* * *

Silence.

That was the only word to accurately describe the aura in the room. The six people in the room were dead silent, as it should have been as well.

After all speaking out against Zeus wasn't something someone wanted to do.

The master of the Olympians stared out the window of his office, waiting to see if any one of the returned soldiers would speak up. After they did not, he sighed.

"So the canon was destroyed without firing." he said, causing the atmosphere to become dangerously tense. "And Apocalypse is dead."

"Y-Yes." Lennix replied shakily. Zeus made a humming sound of agreement, and turned to walk closer to them.

"W-We're sorry." Ramin said. "They...They got us."

"I know, I was watching it all." This made them even more nervous, and rightfully so. "However, this does not put a single damper on our plans whatsoever."

"What?" Shuichi asked. "But you wanted that cannon under our control, right?"

"Wrong." Zeus replied. "What I wanted from that cannon for has already come to fruition without it firing."

"How?" Ramin asked. "You wanted to destroy Fairy Tail, and yet they stand!"

"You're a fool if you honestly thought we had no other motives." Zeus shot back. The three fell silent, and Zeus walked back up towards his desk. "So with that in mind, I mus thank you three. After all, you were very useful distractions."

"T-Thank you, Master." Lennix murmured. Zeus nodded.

"And even with Quintus coming up short by drowning himself, you've all done what was asked of you." This seemed to alleviate some of the worry in the room. "However, there is one problem."

"Uh oh." Shuichi said. Zeus turned back, lightning crackling around his lightning bolt shaped staff.

"The three of you still _**lost**_." Zeus raised his staff, and fired.

Lennix and Ramin didn't even have time to scream in pain, disintegrating into piles of ash immediately. Shuichi jumped to his feet in shock.

"What the fuck Zeus!" he roared. "They didn't do anything!"

"Exactly." Zeus replied. "Whether or not the plan worked means nothing for you. Apocalypse succeeded, you did not. I do not tolerate failure." Shuichi growled.

"Well, good luck killing a Demon Lord!" Shuichi took over into his Lord Akirelys, and Zeus turned fully to face him.

"As yes, you're trump card." Zeus said. "A power that makes you nigh impervious to everything not holy or another Demon."

"Exactly! Good luck trying to...!"

"You're a bigger idiot than I could have imagined if you think my lightning doesn't work on you." Shuichi only had time to gasp before he, too, turned into a pile of ash. Zeus sighed.

"Ten of the takeover wizards now still stand." he said to neither of his associates in particular. "Poseidon, if you would." The black hair bearded man nodded, and waved his hand. The ashes were washed away in a white tide of water, never to be seen again. Zeus walked back to his window beside his comrades, looking out onto the ocean.

"What is the next phase, Master Zeus?" Poseidon asked. Zeus nodded to address him. Yes, the next phase of their master plan.

"The Grand Magic Games are approaching." He reported. "That means the next step is going to be completed." Turning to his other companion, Zeus narrowed his eyes. "Is Kronos ready?"

The young man with raven black hair and eyes just as black smirked.

"As ready as he'll ever be." The man reported. "That final blast from the Fairies sure did a number on him though."

"How is he?" Poseidon asked. The young man snickered.

"I wouldn't worry about it." he replied. "Hephaestus made him this rig. Supposedly helps his body run halfway decent. Half the poor fucks face got melted off along with most of his innards getting wrecked, but he can do it." Zeus nodded at this, Hephaestus had it covered.

"Then we are almost ready." he then turned to Poseidon. "Contact our sleeper agent. Tell him what to do."

"And what is that?" Poseidon asked.

"Before Kronos initiates his spell, he is to test END's powers. If she is up to our expectations, Kronos can move in." Poseidon nodded, and left the room to contact the sleeper. Zeus then turned to his other companion. "You make sure everything for Kronos is in place. If even one thing messes this up, I'll kill the both of you." The other man laughed.

"I said don't worry about it." he replied. "Jeez, you're such a buzzkill." The young man turned on his heel to leave, and Zeus watched him.

"Hades." Zeus warned. The young man known as Hades looked over his shoulder. "Take this a bit more seriously, could you?"

The King of the Underworld laughed.

"I got it, I got it."

* * *

"I totally forgot!" Ultear shouted happily, bouncing up and down while her five comrades watched weakly.

"What the hell is wrong with Ul?" Damien asked, eyebrow raised.

"The Grand Magic Games!" Ultear brandished a copy of Sorcerer Weekly at them, which was announcing the event in three months time. "With everything that happened to Nashi, it slipped my mind!"

"Oh, right. That." Drake said. "I wonder how it's going down this year."

"Probably as lame as last year." Elise reported. "No one strong entered last year. Lame as hell."

"But look at this!" Ultear shouted, brandishing the open magazine at them. "Sabertooth reported they were entering a team this year!"

Sabertooth. Nashi knew the name. It was Fairy Tail's supposed rival guild, with powerful mages that matched Fairy Tail.

"Then maybe it'll be worth a watch." Simon offered.

"And Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus, and Mermaid Heel...This is going to rock!" Ultear squealed.

"Sounds like it." Nashi as they were about to turn around, Ultear gasped.

"What now?" Damien asked. Ultear turned with stars in her eyes.

"It's teams of six." She said. it didn't take long for it too click with everyone else. They grinned.

"She's got a point." Drake said.

"Well hey, if Lamia and Pegasus are entering, we have too!" Nashi agreed.

"And Sabertooth!" Elise cackled. "We could slam of rivals in the GMG! Let's do this!"

"What's all this talk about the GMG?" The six turned to find Laxus standing behind them.

"We should totally enter!" Ultear said. Laxus shrugged.

"We haven't in a long time." he said. "Plus, with the new generation, I'm sure fans would eat it up...Sure, why the hell not?" The six cheered. "It's in three months though, so if you guys are serious about this, some serious training is in order."

"Training?" Nashi asked. "Is that really necessary?"

"Unless you want to get completely stomped by Saber's new team, I'd say so." Laxus countered. Ultear slammed her hands down on the table, looking completely determined.

"I need o find my parents!" She shouted. Drake looked over at Simon.

"Does your mom know how to contact Jellal?" he asked. Simon nodded.

"Let's get on that." the two ran off together. Damien grinned.

"Want to do some training, Pops?" he asked. Laxus shrugged.

"If you think you can handle it." he shot back. Elise sighed and stood.

"Dad!" She shouted. "Dad! We got stuff to do!" Nashi took her turn to stand. Even though she didn't feel all that weak from being out for two months, it couldn't hurt.

"I think my parents are at home," She muttered to herself, taking off out of the guild in search of her parents.

And, with that, the new generation of Fairy Tail decided to go to the Grand Magic Games while, at the same time, their most powerful enemy moves in on it as well. Not to mention their rival guild, Sabertooth, was taking part as well.

Fairy Tail, Sabertooth, Kronos, A sleep agent, And the Olympians, all fighting in one giant arena.

No matter what happened, one thing was for certain. The Grand Magic Games was going to be quite the festival.

**And the setup has started! I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	144. The Devil Experiments

**Another daily update?! I am pumping this shit out! Anyway I'm sure you guys were expecting some training chapters, but not today! Today, we have a little something different.**

**It may involve everyone's three favorite side characters ;)**

**Also, I need to ask you guys something important. Please, please please pay attention to this chapter. if there is one side story that effects the canon of this story whatsoever, it is this one. It's very important for more than one reason, so please, just remember this stuff.**

**Enjoy!**

It was moments like this Azzie wondered what she was doing with her life. As she watched Katsuchi and Tetsu argue over something trivial and now trying to hurt each other, she really couldn't find herself an answer.

"I told you not to touch my shit!" Tetsu roared, getting in Katsuchi's face. The Fire God Slayer did not back down.

"Then maybe you shouldn't leave your shit laying around so I get into it on accident!" he shot back. The two were ready to take each others heads off, and Azzie realized if she valued her home she should probably step in and defuse the situation.

"Come on guys, come off it." She said, pushing herself in between them. "This really isn't something to fight about, is it?"

"You hear me tell him, Az!" Tetsu shouted. "He never listens!"

"Maybe if you didn't leave important things lying around I wouldn't mistake it for trash and burn it!" Katsuchi yelled.

"Stop it!" Azzie said, now raising her own voice as well. "This is stupid! All he did was burn some of your leftovers! get the hell over it!"

"Yeah but...!"

"No buts Tetsu-sama! Get over it!"

"Thank you Azzie!" Katsuchi said, looking relieved. Azzie whirled on him.

"And who the hell do you think you are just burning up whatever the hell you want?!" She demanded, making him falter.

"Wha...!"

"I mean really Katsuchi-sama, have a bit more class than that!"

"Why the hell are you so mad about it?!" Katsuchi fired.

"I'm not!" Azzie shouted even louder. "I'm mad that I had to jump in and take both sides to such a STUPID FUCKING ARGUMENT!" Her words silenced both men, who just stared at her or the ground. Azzie huffed and pushed a loose strand of her purple hair behind her ear. "I need some air. If I come back and you two aren't made up, I'm not going to make dinner for a month." Leaving them with this threat, Azzie left.

Once she was outside in the fresh air and in the bask of the setting sun, she felt herself calming down considerably. She hated when she had to defuse a fight between them, because she could never take one side. Whenever she did as a child, it only escalated the problem. Azzie had learned right quick the only way to prevent the two God Slayers from going at it was yelling at them both.

She loved them, though.

Sighing as she reached a magazine stand, she stopped to look at the Sorcerer Weekly cover.

_Reports Leaked! What really happened at Silverridge!_

_Grand Magic Games! Who's competing?!_

Azzie hummed in interest and pulled out some jewel, giving it to the vendor in exchange for the magazine. Once she had it, she opened it to the first page and read the table of contents, finding what she was looking for. She flipped to the tenth page, which was the report on Silverridge.

_Two months ago, the city of Silverridge inexplicably exploded. Every citizen was evacuated beforehand by members of the Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale, and Blue Pegasus guilds, who received prior notion of the threat and got the townsfolk to safety. However, just what happened at Silverridge? Why was it completely decimated?_

_Once again, it all apparently boils down to the Magic Council. Reports and rumors have said for years that the Magic Council had taken measures to ensure Fiore remained safe in a time of war, but the general public was unsure as to what exactly that meant._

_Apparently, that means an entire city built on the premise of having an underground lab were Etherion based weapons, including an Etherion cannon with a systems lacrima to control the blast, were constructed._

_According to the reports, the cannon was turned on and set to fire at an unknown location. It sustained damages during the launch sequence, which made the Etherion unstable and dangerous. It then exploded..._

"Damn..." Azzie murmured, reading the article. "Makes you wonder what the hell they were thinking..." Shrugging as she thought about it, Azzie rolled up the magazine to carry it more effectively and turned to leave. She froze.

There, trough the crowd, stood a girl no older than thirteen, with white hair up in a bun.

Maya, from Devil Advocate.

Azzie turned quickly and avoided the girls gaze. She couldn't tell if Maya had realized she'd been found out, but she assumed not. What was Maya doing here? Azzie did not recall exactly, but she seemed to recall Ultear being the one who dealt with Maya. What exactly had happened to the younger girl that caused her to go missing?

Azzie smirked. She wasn't afraid of Maya, not in the slightest. Quickly putting up a dispelling barrier to protect herself from any attacks from the girl, Azzie continued on her way through town. Upon focusing, she could tell Maya was following her.

_I need to confront her somewhere where she won't be able to harm the townsfolk... _Azzie looked around her for an out, and decided on walking to a lesser traveled part of town. Taking a few turns here and there, Azzie soon found herself on an empty street. She acted innocent however, as if she did not hear Maya following her.

"You're such a foolish child, Maya-sama." Azzie spoke, stopping in the center of the street. "I mean really, did you honestly think I didn't see you?" Azzie did a one eighty and faced her stalker, who looked rather calm given her position.

"I'm not foolish, Azzie." Maya replied. "I knew you saw me." Azzie smiled.

"It's been a while," She said sweetly. "How are you?"

"Don't act like we're friends." Azzie frowned.

"I figured we were." She replied earnestly. Maya growled.

"Why the hell would I be friends with traitors?" Azzie rolled her eyes. Exactly what she expected to hear. Maya did in fact look pretty pissed.

"Are you really going to get hung up on that?" Azzie asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Devil Advocate is gone, Maya-sama. I betrayed no one."

"You betrayed me!" Maya shouted, tears in her eyes. "Icas! Taisho! Kronos! How...How could you? We were family!"

"If you honestly looked at those three as family, I pity you." Azzie stated. "Maybe you're too young to understand..."

"I understand well enough!" Maya screamed, voice changing pitches do to crying. "Kronos was basically your father! He saved your life! Gave you a home! And then you turned around and helped those Fairies defeat him! Why?!"

"Kronos-sama was as much of my father as Katsuchi-sama is interested in you." Azzie replied calmly. "He beat and punished us for practically nothing. He killed the one before you for basically nothing. He's a monster, Maya-sama. Do not beautify him." Maya's fists were clenched and she was shaking angrily.

"He still gave you a home, you bitch..." she whispered. "How...Why...?" Azzie sighed and looked towards the setting sun, trying to find words. If she could, she'd rather settle this without a fight. That was the last thing she wanted. After all, Maya was young and confused. She just didn't get it.

"Maya-sama..." Azzie started. "You don't have to act like he can hurt you anymore. He's gone."

"..."

"And besides, you're a free girl now. Why would you come here and start something when you could've done anything you wanted?"

"..." Azzie frowned as Maya insisted on staying silent. What was this girl playing at?

"Maya-sama, if you don't want to talk, just leave." Azzie turned to do so herself. "Go live your life. Don't try and live up to what Kronos-sama want..."

"I know what you are, bitch." Azzie stopped dead in her tracks. She couldn't be referring to..._that, _could she? "I saw...I saw the reports. The files on the experiments. I know what you are."

By God, she was talking about that.

Azzie chuckled weakly as she started to feel faint.

"W-What are you...?" She tried.

"Devil Advocate wasn't supposed to be a Balam Alliance guild." Maya interrupted. "It was originally a code name for an experimental group under the Olympians..."

"Maya-sama..."

"The group was supposedly checking the effects of Demon Lord Magic on humans, and what happened to them upon the injection of said magic into their bloodstream."

...

Silence filled the empty street. Azzie didn't know what to say, how could she reply to that? As the sun set beyond the skyline of the town, Azzie laughed darkly.

"How the hell did you find out about that?" She asked, turning to look at Azzie over her shoulder. Maya stiffened.

"They were in Kronos' secret vault." She replied. "I saw them when I went to go look for any spare jewel I could use to get around." Azzie looked back in the direction she had been trying to go in before Maya stopped her, before she sighed and whirled around.

"Well, you aren't wrong." She replied. "That much is true. Devil Advocate was an experimental group, with Kronos-sama at it's head." Azzie looked down at the ground as the absence of the sun darkened the area round them. "And they were testing if a non-Demon Lord takeover wizard could be changed by the effects of the magic. Surely you remember Kronos-sama talking about obtaining more when we attacked Fairy Tail, right?"

"The plan..." Maya murmured. "When we went out to attack them after the crash...He said...!"

"If you see the demon, lure him here." Azzie finished. "That is no accident. He planned on using Damien-sama to power you up."

"What about Taisho?" Maya asked. "Just use him!"

"Not possible." Azzie replied. "Taisho's Lord locked off access to his demon magic when Taisho was is his human form, so it wasn't possible without insane risks." Azzie huffed from the long winded explanation, "Anyway, we were talking about the effects the demon magic had, yes?"

"...And it did, didn't it?" Maya demanded, making Azzie wince. "Have an effect, I mean. They found successful results, didn't they?! What are you, Azzie?!"

"I'm a normal young woman." Azzie replied.

"Bullshi...!"

"_However, _Every normal young woman has a dark secret" This silenced Maya, and Azzie continued. "So yes, Devil Advocate experimented on Demon Lord magic, and it's effects on humans." Azzie lowered her gaze slightly, glowering at Maya. "What they intended to do was see if they could create an army of mages as strong as a Demon Lord."

"..." Azzie took this silence as an excuse to continue speaking.

"Using Taisho-sama as a source, they extracted the demon magic from him and gave it to us. Icas-sama, Katsuchi-sama, Tetsu-sama, and myself."

"Why would they do that?" Azzie frowned at this question.

"It seemed to be backup plan, from what I remember." She said, trying to remember what she'd heard. "In case END didn't work as they planned...In any case, they took the four of us, just kids, and force fed us pure demon magic to see if it had any effects on us whatsoever."

"...Did it?"

"Of course it did. It nearly killed us." Azzie flinched as she remembered writhing on the ground after being injected with it. "It hurt like hell, but they kept going and going...Then, after about a month of constant tests, they tried us to see if we had improved any. We hadn't."

"...How is that possible?" Maya asked. "If you were injected with demon magic, then it should've helped you even if only a little, right?"

"What they wanted were soldiers as strong as one of the Twelve Demon Lords, so no, the little changes were not enough." Azzie rebuked. "The program was shut down, but we remained as a member of the Alliance under the code name due to our already existing strength."

"...Then what?"

"...Kronos-sama found out what really happened with us." Azzie replied. "The demon magic did have an effect on us. Just not the way anyone had anticipated."

"Which was?"

"First of all, Maya-sama, allow me to front this by saying something. No matter what, a living human can never use Demon Lord magic unless blessed with takeover, like Taisho-sama or Damien-sama." Maya nodded in understanding. "So theoretically, we could never be what they wanted from us. We became something different."

"...What is that something?" Maya asked. "What are you, Azzie?"

"Exactly as the guild name implies." Azzie replied, closing her eyes as a cold wind whipped around them. "I'm a Devil."

* * *

As the darkness set in, Maya did not say another word. Azzie remained stationary as well. She really didn't know what to expect from Maya, but it certainly wasn't the laugh she received.

"Don't kid with me." She said. "There's no way."

"You read the reports, did you not? You also said you know what I am." Azzie held her arms out, displaying herself for Maya. "I'm a Devil."

"What...How...But you said the experiments didn't work!"

"They didn't." Azzie replied. "They wanted mages as strong as a Lord, and that isn't what they got."

"...What did they get?" Azzie closed her eyes.

"Mages who's abilities get enhanced under extreme emotional distress."

Saying this, Azzie recalled her fight with Drake. When he'd cornered her on that ledge and started saying all that shit abut helping her, she'd snapped. The magic from the very earth beneath her had started to disappear.

That had been her Devil form. She hadn't completed it because she fell, but that fight would've gone way different had she managed it.

"That's one of the reasons we weren't what they wanted." Azzie said. "We could only access the abilities the magic granted us under extreme emotional duress."

"Than why didn't you guys do that against the Fairies?!" Maya shouted, the tears once again returning. "We could've won! Our family might not have...!"

"Because I'm the only one that knows anything about this." Azzie cut in. "The others, they don't know. Or rather, they don't remember."

"Why not?"

"Would you let a 'traitorous' person such as myself run around with that knowledge?" Azzie asked. "No? Exactly. Kronos had the memories of the experiments wiped so we didn't recall having the powers. The only reason I know is because Katsuchi-sama lit my head on fire once. Grabbed my head to dispel it and poof! it all came back."

"...God damn..."

"So, what now, Maya-sama? What happens now?" She got no response from her former comrade, so she turned to leave. "Do with that information what you will, I want to go home."

Leaving Maya alone with all of this information, Azzie went home.

* * *

Maya was alone in the darkness. Azzie had left her a few hours ago, but she couldn't comprehend her words.

_"I'm a Devil."_

Maya sighed and raised two of her fingers to her temple.

"Kronos?...Yes. It would seem that the power may still still reside within them even after Taisho's death. Stage two can commence."

* * *

Azzie woke up to a strange sound.

Screaming.

She bolted outright in her bed and looked around, but her room was empty.

"Please no! No!" Azzie jumped from her bed and didn't even both to get dressed, dashing from her room and into Katsuchi's room.

"Katsuchi-sa...!" Katsuchi was gone, his bed thrown everywhere. Azzie darted across the hall to Tetsu's room, finding the same result.

"Not my baby! Please!" Hearing the women once again screaming for mercy, she threw the front door open to find a group of men wrestling with a young woman, a small crying child in their arms. The mother was trying to get him back.

"Shut the hell up!" One man shouted, his hand glowing. An ice sword appeared there, and he raised his arm over his head to swing.

The ice sword had disintegrated before he had a chance to swing it.

"What the...!" Azzie's Dispelling Fist connected with his jaw, a satisfying crack punctuating the man going through the house wall next to them. The other men jumped at her arrival. Azzie turned to them and delivered another punch to a man's stomach, who doubled over in pain. Throwing his man into his approaching comrade, Azzie whirled to face the final of the four, who had what appeared to be a rifle.

"Hold it." he hissed. Azzie clicked her tongue.

"Standard issue military grade lacrima assault rifle?" She asked, the man jumping. "Seriously, who thought of using lacrima to power guns?" Snapping her fingers, the gun broke into a million pieces. He had time to stare at it in shock before Azzie drover her foot right into his nuts, causing him to squeal in pain and fall over. The young boy ran back to his mother, who cried and hugged him tightly.

"God bless you, Azzie-san!" The women yelled tearfully. "If...If you hadn't been there..."

"There's no time to thank me." Azzie said swiftly. "What's going on?"

"Th-These soldiers are gathering up everyone and bringing them to the center of town. I don't know why, but I saw Katsuchi-san and Tetsu-san going there already..." Azzie gritted her teeth with a nod.

"Alright, you get on home. Don't come out for a bit, I need to clear this up."

"O-Okay. Again...Thank you..."

"It's okay, really." When Azzie looked down at the small boy staring at her in awe (even though she was still in her pajamas), it reminded her of herself when she'd lost her family in a similiar situation. "You stay close to your mother, kiddo. Don't want to get yourself hurt." The young boy nodded quickly in agreement, and Azzie turned to run to the center of town. As she ran, she could the evidence of a struggle everywhere. carts of food overturned, buildings smashed, all of it. Once he got to the center of town, she saw it.

They were gathering all the townsfolk in the center of the park, all of them scared and confused. Men with magic and weapons alike kept them in line, more than one person getting a boot to somewhere.

And Maya was right in the center of it.

"Maya!" Azzie shouted angrily. "What's going on here?!" Maya looked over her shoulder, eyes cold with indifference.

"Nothing much," She replied. "Just going to kill everyone. No biggie."

"No biggie?! Your insane!"

"Oh?" Maya snapped her fingers, and one of her soldiers drove a sword through a man's skull. Azzie watched in disbelief. Had he actually...?"

The screaming of the man's family told Azzie it was no joke. The man was dead. She clenched her fists as she watched Maya kick his corpse.

"That was surprisingly unfunny." She said. "Maybe if we torch them..."

"You're insane!" Azzie screamed angrily. "What the hell is the matter with you, anyway?!" Maya sturned to stare at Azzie angrily as well.

"You helped kill my family, I'l kill yours." Snapping her her fingers, Two men walked forth with struggling figures with hoods on their heads. The hoods were ripped off, and Azzie's stomach turned.

Katsuchi and Tetsu glared at Maya, both struggling against the magic negating handcuffs around them.

"Let us go Maya, you prepubescent bitch!" Tetsu shouted.

"Now now Tetsu, the shows about to start!" Maya replied cheerfully, guns going to the back on their heads. Maya turned back to Azzie. "One step Az, and I blow their heads off."

"Don't worry Azzie!" Katsuchi shouted. "We can handle this!" Before Azzie could reply, a man was stabbed to Maya's right. Another was shot to the left. Azzie knew these people, they were people she'd spoken too, bought food from...And now...

"Stop!" Azzie screamed, dispelling a fireball aimed at a family of three. "This is crazy!"

"My my, Azzie." Azzie looked back at Maya, who was grinning smugly. "You moved." Azzie's eyes widened as the rifles behind Katsuchi and Tetsu reared back, bullets loading into the chambers.

"Azzie, look away!" Katsuchi shouted. She couldn't bring herself too.

"Azzie!" Tetsu yelled. "Don't look!" The barrels were pressed into the back of their skulls, the men waiting for Maya's command.

"Kill them!" Maya shouted.

"NO!" Azzie shouted.

* * *

The bullets never appeared out of the chamber, which meant Katsuchi and Tetsu did not die. Maya looked over in confusion, only to find the rifles melting in her men's hands.

"What the...?!

"Hah...hah...hah..." Maya whipped around to stare at Azzie, who was panting.

A white light exploded from around the girl. Maya watched as cracks began to appear in Azzie's face, which leaked more of the blinding light. The ground beneath her feet cracked and disappeared, and the girls pants had become angered screams. Maya giggled.

"It's just as Kronos said!" She shouted happily. "She really is a monster!" Azzie stopped screaming, and turned her pure white gaze on Maya. Before Maya could say or do anything, Azzie bolted towards her, white fist raised.

_So wait...if this Devil form amplifies her Dispelling magic..._

Azzie brought her fist down towards Maya's face.

_And magic is a mage's life source..._

Maya's thoughts could not be completed, as the strike from the Devil of Dispelling wiped all trace of magic from her body, killing her immediately.

* * *

Azzie shouted in surprised as she sat bolt right up.

How had she gotten back in her bed?

"Welcome back." Azzie turned to her left to find Katsuchi sitting on a chair stationed at her bedside, smiling at her. "You've been asleep for a few hours now."

"...Have I?" Azzie asked, he nodded. "What happened?"

"You killed Maya." Katsuchi replied, making Azzie tilt her head in confusion. "You don't remember?"

"N-No..."

"Well, it was certainly a sight to see." he said, leaning back in his chair with a smile. "Right Tetsu?" The Iron God Slayer bounded into the room, smiling.

"Damn right!" He shouted. "You got all angry and boom! You killed that little shit Maya, and then some of her men, and then you collapsed! It was pretty cool honestly."

_"You got all angry..."_

Azzie winced and looked down at her bed sheets. She'd lost control of her emotions. She'd released her Devil form. She'd never actually done it, and she didn't like the tainted feeling it gave her. Was this how Taisho and Damien always felt?

"Well...Alright." She finally managed.

"Hey Azzie, are you sure you're okay?" Azzie looked over at Katsuchi as he asked this question, his eyes laced with concern. "You're acting weird."

"...Just trying to remember is all." She replied offhandedly. She stared down at her open hands, trying to discern just what she'd done with them merely hours before. "Hey, guys?"

"What's up?"

"...Do you remember any experiments being done in the old days?" She asked weakly. Tetsu hummed in annoyance.

"Icas kept bringing something up, yeah." he agreed. "Apparently Kronos let him in on something he was doing with Taisho."

"I...see." So Icas had known. That didn't surprise Azzie whatsoever. Icas had been effected by the demon magic very badly. It turned him from the somewhat nice guy he was into a monster. "Well, whatever. It doesn't matter anymore."

"Right." Katsuchi agreed. "I think we should go get breakfast."

"You gonna eat mine again, Kat?"

"Fuck off Tetsu."

"Guys!" Azzie whined. "Stop fighting!"

"He started it!"

* * *

Hades grinned as he twirled around in his seat, reading the report from the returning soldiers.

"I see!" he shouted with a laugh. "So the death or transfer of the demon does not hinder the magic granted...Excellent, wouldn't you agree, Kronos my boy?" All he got as a response was the hissing of the rig that kept Kronos alive, so he continued reading. "This is good, very very good."

"What's next, Hades?" Kronos' altered voice came. It sounded much more mechanic. That was because his voice box had been wrecked by the Fairies, so Hephaestus made him a new one.

"Now?" Hades asked. "We wait. Not all the playing pieces are in place."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means I must wait now." Hades replied with a smug grin. "Now that I know the death or transfer of a Demon Lord does not cause those afflicted too lose their abilities, I can proceed without worry."

"I wish you'd stop being so god damn cryptic with me..."

"And I wish that steam powered body of yours didn't hiss all the time but shit, we don't always get what we want, now do we?" No response came from the half machine, and Hades laughed. "In any case, the plan is all good. You're excused." Hades watched the half-automaton leave the room with a smile. Knowing that his plan would go unhindered was nice, after all.

"Now all I need is that girl." he mused to himself, continuing to twirl in his chair. "Good old Etherious Nashi Dragneel."

**Before you guys get on my case, this is somewhat of an extension of the EotW arc. It's good plot relevance, so it's good. ****And if you guys think I pulled this out of my ass, I didn't. Go back to chapter 84, and Icas mentions demon magic. he doesn't elaborate, but it's there.**

**And please don't bombard e with question about the Devil form, It'll all be answered eventually. With that being said, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! let's try and get ten!**


	145. Nashi's Training

**And today we start the training chapters! There will obviously be one for each member of the group, so lengths may vary. I can assure you though, they will not be as long as last chapter. And obviously we have to start with everyone's favorite half-demon.**

**Enjoy!**

_BOOM!_

Natsu watched as the rock was blown to complete smithereens. They had come to the mountains to train her for the Grand Magic Games, and she was currently running a speed course. Nashi jumped back with a grin.

"Wow, it's like I was never in a coma!" She said with a laugh, bouncing up and down. Natsu knew perfectly well why that was.

She was awake.

Natsu frowned as the three word sentence floated around in his sub-conscious. Watching his daughter dart around the obstacle course they'd set up, it gave him the perfect excuse to keep an eye on her for anything abnormal. So far the only thing that stuck out to Natsu was how powerful she'd gotten. Natsu was no fool, he knew that Nashi was so powerful even after two months in a coma was because she'd awoken.

She, however, didn't seem to realize that.

It occurred the Natsu that the thought of being anything other than totally human would never cross Nashi's mind. So, naturally, she'd never truly understand why she was still so, if not powerful than before.

Natsu wasn't sure how he was supposed to address the incident at Silverridge. She wasn't ready, not even close, to understanding the power within her. From Natsu's own experience with it, he knew what she was capable of. So far however, there were very little noticeable differences in her attitude.

"Dad?" Natsu was taken out of his train of thought when he finally heard Nashi calling him. He focused in on her, as she was watching him from the course. "I'm done." Natsu then looked around, finding that she was right. She'd destroyed all of her targets. Natsu looked down at the watch he held in his hands.

He hadn't even stopped the timer and she still had a minute until her last record was passed.

"Good job." He praised with a smile. "You did it a minute faster than last time." Nashi smiled widely.

"Awesome!" She shouted. "I still got it!"

"Heh, yeah..." Natsu looked over at their campsite as a sweet smell came wafting over. "I think your mothers about done with lunch, shall we go back?"

"I guess." Nashi replied. Natsu was about to start walking back when Nashi zoomed past him. "Race you there!" Rolling his eyes at the childish request, Natsu broke into a sprint and easily caught up with his daughter. Once he did however, he was shocked to see her keeping pace with him. Normally he'd be way past her already, Soon enough he put a sizable difference between them, and she groaned as they reached the campsite.

"How are you so fast?" She complained.

"I've got a lot of years on you, kid." Natsu replied. "Just a lot more of it." Nashi was clearly out of breath, but he hadn't even broke a sweat. They both walked over to Lucy, who was sitting near a pot over a fire. She'd come along for one reason or another, even though both Natsu and Nashi tried to convince her otherwise.

"You guys are right on time." She complimented. "I just finished the soup." Handing a bowl to Nashi, both watched as the girl raised it to her mouth and downed the whole thing in a few gulps. Both stared at her as she exhaled happily. wiping her face.

"Oh, that's good." Nashi said, then noticing the stares she was getting. "What?"

"Hungry?" Natsu teased, and her cheeks turned pink.

"Yes." She mumbled. "I am." She brandished the empty bowl back at Lucy, who smiled and filled it without a word. Natsu pushed his daughter out of the way to get some before she ate it all. Sitting down next to Lucy, they both watched as Nashi paced around the camp.

"Sit down and relax Nashi." Lucy advised.

"Can't." Nashi replied. "Full of energy." Natsu tensed at this. He knew why. She still wasn't used to the abundance of magic she now had. "What're we doing after this Dad?"

"I don't know." Natsu replied. "I'll probably throw you around for a bit." Nashi winced and rubbed her arms.

"Seriously?" She asked.

"Yes. It's called training, Nashi. Can't just have you run the same course again and again, got to build up your strength." Nashi sighed and rubbed her head.

"Yes I guess. I just don't look forward to getting my ass beaten."

"You seem pretty eager if it's not me." Natsu quipped.

"Because when it isn't you I stand a chance." Nashi fired back. "If I'm training with you I just wait until I can't move anymore." Natsu laughed at this, and Nashi shook her head. Natsu then turned to Lucy. "You want to come watch?" Lucy raised an eyebrow at him.

"I think I'll pass." She replied, making Natsu frown.

Ah, why?" He asked. Lucy made a face that Natsu translated to, 'really?'

"Oh, I wonder." Lucy said sarcastically. "Maybe because I don't want to end up in the line of fire or anything?"

"Well, I mean..."

"Not to mention I'm still pregnant too?" Natsu rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Fine, don't come." Lucy laughed and smacked his arm.

"It's not like I need to go to know what's going to happen.

"Oh thanks for the vote of confidence Mom." Nashi said.

"Not like a vote of confidence would do much for you anyway..."

"Mom!"

"Well what do you want me to say?" Natsu watched as the two bickered pointlessly. In a way, it was kind of nice. he had expected to be tense twenty-four seven and watching Nashi or any sign of danger, but in the three weeks they'd been at it, nothing had happened. All that he saw that tipped him off she'd even changed was the drastic change in her power.

"What do you think Dad?" Natsu blinked a few times as he stared at his daughter. Nashi began to snap her fingers, and he finally focused on her. "I asked you a question."

"Hah?" Natsu asked. Nashi made a face.

"That's the second time today." She said. "You okay?"

"Just fine." he replied. "What did you ask?"

"Do I stand a chance against you?" Natsu stared at Nashi for a moment, and then at Lucy, who was watching him as well.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"Sure." Natsu made a face and picked up a stick, picking at the fire.

"Not really." he replied. "If it came down to it, it wouldn't really matter." Nashi nodded. She seemed a bit miffed at the response, but didn't contest it. Natsu sighed and stood. "Come on, we're wasting precious sunlight. Meet me back on the course."

"Alright." Nashi stood and walked off towards the area they'd used to train, but Natsu stayed behind, watching her go.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked. "Are you okay?"

"...Just so you know," Natsu said, looking down at his wife. "If it really did come right down to it between me and her...I can't say with one hundred percent honesty I'd be able to take her." Lucy's face tensed at this, and Natsu turned to leave after Nashi. There was only one reason Natsu said what he did. After all, she now possessed the only thing that gave him an edge.

* * *

"Too slow, again."

"Damn it!" Nashi flew back from his punch and flipped in the air, landing on all fours. Natsu turned to keep his eyes on her.

"For someone who destroyed thirty-two targets in thirty seconds, you're sure slow." he commented. They'd been at this for at least three hours and Nashi was covered from head to toe in bruises. In usually ended up like this, then they'd lay off the physical training for a bit, and return to it once she had healed up. Nashi stood and massaged a particularly large bruise on her leg.

"You're not the same as thirty-two targets." Nashi replied with a wince. "You hit a lot harder, for one."

"Still, I was expecting a bit more out of you this time around." Nashi stood up straight, and Natsu waited until she came at him again. Instead of training her strength, this really all wound up as durability instead. After all, she could barely scratch him. "Alright, hold up." Nashi made a face but nodded. "There's some stuff we need to practice on."

"Like what?"

"For one, you need to practice your God magic." Nashi tilted her head to the side.

"How?" She asked. "I can't hold it for long enough to make a difference."

"And therein lies the problem." Natsu pointed out. "The longer you're able to hold that form, the more damage you're going to be able to do."

"At the cost of hurting myself too."

"Be that as it may, learning to hold out longer with it can't hurt. Now, go ahead and activate it." Nashi didn't look very enthusiastic but nodded, closing her eyes. After a moment, black flames licked around her, before her body was outlined in black fire. It didn't take long for sweat to satrt dripping down her forehead.

"This hurts more than I remember." She said weakly.

"How long has it been since you used it?"

"Damn it must've been...When I fought you during the S-Class trials." Natsu nodded.

"It's been a while since your body's had to withhold it. Don't worry, you're doing great." The flames around her intensified, and and Natsu saw her body start to shudder.

"Dad, I..." She managed, before she coughed. "I don't know about this..."

"You're fine." His words silenced her, but after another few seconds, tears started to escape her eyes.

"Dad..." She whined. Her words swayed him greatly, but she needed to withstand the pain for longer than a few minutes. After it became painfully obvious she was about to pass out, Natsu sighed.

"Alright, that's enough." The flames disappeared immediately, and Nashi collapsed to her knees.

"Wow." She breathed. "That burns, which is a weird sensation for me." Natsu just watched her.

_Looks like awakening didn't help in that department, although why would it? She's still a lower tier slayer._

"You alright?" he asked. Nashi looked up with a smile.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." Nashi remained on the ground for a little longer before she struggled to her feet and laughed. "Alright, are we going to keep going?"

"You can still move, I don't see why not."

"Oh God..."

* * *

Nashi sighed as she sank into the water. The hot water from the hot springs really did soothe the pain from the brutal training she and her father had done earlier that day. It was dark now, and Nashi had retreated to the hot springs near the campsite to relax a bit.

"Ugh, everything hurts." She moaned. "Why the hell did I agree to that? Not to mention my insides ache from that God magic." Leaning back, Nashi closed her eyes. She found it hard to believe that after everything she'd been through she still didn't stack up to her father. Sure she'd heard all the stories at least a million times, but it still made her wonder how much farther she had to go to match up to him. She shrugged, which hurt, and re-positioned a little.

"You could at least fold your clothes, Nashi." Nashi looked over to find her mother staring down at the pile of Nashi's clothes, which she'd left where she shed them.

"Sorry." Nashi replied. "I was sort of in a hurry to relax."

"It's fine." Nashi felt a little bad to see her pregnant mother doing it for her.

"You don't have to do that." Nashi spoke up. "It's not a big deal."

"Someone has to," She replied. "You won't. Ever." Nashi laughed quietly. Once Her mother had finished folding her clothes, she walked over to the rocks near Nashi and sat down. "How do you feel?"

"Sore." Nashi replied. "Like every other time."

"Did your dad give it to you this time?"

"Implying he doesn't do that every other time?" This got a laugh from her mother, which made Nashi smile.

"You know," Her mother said, looking up at the stars. "He only destroys you so thoroughly because he cares."

"Yeah, alright." Nashi replied with a derisive snort. "That's it."

"It is." She said. "If he didn't, he wouldn't be so utterly unforgiving. He does it so when you get into situations with those who won't hold back you can take it." Nashi hummed at this as she shifted under the water.

"I guess." She replied. Neither spoke for a moment, before her mother sighed.

"Do you really want to enter the Games?" She asked. "Or did you only agree because the others wanted you to go?"

"No, I wanted to." Nashi replied. "It sounds like fun."

"Then you should be more grateful he's pummeling you." She replied. "It'll help against those you're going to end up against."

"Like who?" Nashi asked. Her mother shrugged.

"I don't know." She replied. "It could be anyone, especially on that final day..." She then looked over at Nashi, a teasing look on her face. "I'd tell you to be careful, but history shows that rarely has an effect on what you end up doing."

"That much is true." Nashi said with a laugh. "I always end up in crazy situations." Nashi was reminded of her survival of the Etherion blast, and she frowned. "Mom?" She asked.

"Yes?"

"Just...Just how unlikely is it to survive an Etherion strike?" her mother pressed her lips into a thin line, eyes looking conflicted.

"I couldn't tell you." She replied. "One in a million? A billion? Something insane." Nashi nodded and looked down at the water, her reflection staring back at her. Her mother seemed to notice the distraught look on her face, and placed a hand on her head. "But you did it. Defying the odds runs in the family."

"Yeah?"

"Believe me, not many other people can say they did something as impressive as surviving an Etherion explosion point blank." Nashi nodded, and the hand on her head disappeared. "So don't worry about it."

"Alright." Nashi replied. "I wonder if that has anything to do with the stuff I see sometimes."

"What was that?" Her mother asked. Nashi turned to look at her mother.

"I saw weird stuff for a few days after I woke up." She replied. "My hands were black, Drake staring at me from a distance...Really weird stuff." There was no reaction to this that Nashi could see, which soothed her worries a bit.

"Maybe." her mother said. "There aren't exactly other cases of surviving such a blast to relate too." Nashi chuckled.

"I guess not." She replied. Silence came over them, before her mother stood.

"I should probably go back." She said. "With our luck your dad burned dinner." Nashi chuckled.

"Would not surprise me." She said, "I'll come back soon, okay?"

"Don't take too long, you'll fall asleep." Nashi nodded, and watched her mother disappear back towards their camp. Sighing and running her hands through her hair, Nashi wondered how her friends were doing. They'd all disappeared to go and train with their families, so they were probably fine.

"I just can't wait for the Games." Nashi said with a smile. "It'll be nice to have a non-life threatening adventure for once."

**Yeah, nice job jinxing it Nashi. Anyway I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	146. One Hit

**I'm not really sure how the training chapters are going to turn out except for really two from here on out.**

**That being said, time for the fan favorite character to take the stage!**

**Enjoy!**

"Holy hell, how have you managed to get by like this?" Drake winced as his fathers sharp remark reached him. He looked up from his position on the ground to see his father shaking his head. "I mean honestly, I know we stopped training together when you were little, but this is sad."

"Sorry." Drake spat. "Not all of us can be one of the Six Demon Generals." His father glared at him with his one good eye, but Drake didn't back down as he sat up. "I've had to teach myself for years, cut me some slack."

"And why should I?" His father shot back. "You think I was cut any slack as a 'Demon General'?" Drake sighed as his own jab was thrown back at him, and his father smirked. "Exactly. Now get up, we aren't done." Drake got to his feet, flinching as he did. Once he managed to stand, his father faced him fully. "Now, try to land a blow."

"What exactly am I gaining from this?" Drake demanded.

"If you're going to rely on your sound magic, you need to know what to do when someone else can do it too." he grinned. "Now, we'll go back and get something to eat if you can land a hit."

"Just one?"

"Just one." Drake frowned. He knew this was some kind of trap. His father was far faster than him in all regards, including hearing what he needed. Focusing his magic, Drake listened in on his father. He didn't hear anything useful, except a string of insults he was positive was to mess with him.

Coating his fists in poison, Drake decided to go for a simple advance, running forward and swinging his left fist.

"God, try a little harder." Drake felt a leg connect with his midsection, and he flew away from his target. His arm was grabbed, and he was flipped over on his back.

"Ow..." Drake hissed.

"How the hell have you managed, honestly?" His father asked. "Genuinely curious."

"Not everyone out there is a God tier Dragon Slayer, Pops." Drake replied. "I've managed because I am powerful, just not in contrast to you."

"Well, this is going to be way harder than I thought to train you. get up and try again." Drake groaned.

"Drake! Erik!" Drake looked over to the side to see his mother standing at the edge of the trees, her arms crossed and a smile on her face. "Are you not going to come eat?"

"We aren't done." His father replied. "He hasn't earned it yet."

"That's bullshit!" Drake said, raising his hand. "I've been trying for hours!"

"Trying doesn't count!"

"Go easier on me then!"

"Since when does training involve taking it easy?! Do you want to enter the Games or just fuck around?!" At this point the two Dragon Slayers were in each others faces. It took Drake's mother stepping between them to defuse the oncoming argument.

"Maybe it'd be best for Drake to eat, After all, he has been at it for a while now."

"Thank you." Drake said, stepping back. His father sighed.

"Fine. I'm not hungry though, so go without me." Praising his mother as he followed her back to camp, Drake rubbed the sore parts of his body. He`d been training with his father for a whole month now, and he'd yet to land a single blow. It was sort of demoralizing, honestly.

"You okay?" Drake looked up into his mothers kind gaze at this question. He honestly didn't know how well he'd be faring if she hadn't decided to come along, nine times out of ten the only reason he was still able to move was because she'd stepped in.

"Just fine." He replied, stopping with a flinch as he touched a bruise on his arm. "Just...Trying my best here."

"I know." She replied. "So does your father. He just..." She laughed awkwardly. "Doesn't think your best is good enough."

"Clearly." He spat. "Not all of us spend a lifetime mastering our craft, you know?"

"I know." She replied, still walking ahead of him. "Your father isn't like most men, Drake." Drake had no way to respond to this, so he didn't. "He probably has no way to gauge if your trying as hard as you can or not, so he's just going to keep pushing."

"I _am _trying as hard as I can." Drake fought. "He's just faster, stronger, and better. It's not fair." His mother sighed and turned to look at him over her shoulder as she walked.

"But really Drake, you haven't hit him once?" Drake groaned.

"No." he replied, hanging his head. "Not even once." She laughed and rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him.

"Don't worry about it, not many people hit him anyway." She made a face. "As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure how many times Natsu has hit him directly."

"Huh?" Drake asked, looking over.

"You know, the Nirvana story." She replied. Drake's mother had been a snake at that point, so she really only had the stories as proof as well. "Natsu beat him by deafening him, not by hitting him."

"I'm not Natsu." Drake reported. "So I don't think it'll work the same way. Plus I remember him getting a few hits in." She chuckled.

"I guess." They finally made it back to their camp, which consisted of two tents. One for Drake, and the other for his parents. Their was a fire pit in the middle with a pot over it, with various wild animals cooking on a rod as well. Drake inhaled and sighed happily at the smell of the meat. Squirrel tasted surprisingly good.

"What's on the menu today?" he asked.

"Well, there's still some deer from the other day. Soup, squirrel, whatever. Take your pick." Drake did so happily, picking off the hot meat and eating it happily, despite the burning of his fingers as he did so. Once he'd had his fill, he cracked his back.

"I really don't want to go back." he moaned. "It'll just end the same way."

"Well, how else are you going to train?" She asked. "Don't even look at me, you're already way better than me." Drake shrugged.

"It'll just be another few hours of insults, beatings, and the like. But I guess I don't really have a choice do I?" She shook her head, and Drake turned to trudge back to the clearing he and his father were using to train. As he walked up the hill, Drake thought about his friends. How were they doing? He knew that Sim,on and Damien were probably getting the worst of it, maybe even worse than him. Erza and Jellal alone were scary, but together? Laxus and Mira? Drake shuddered. He knew that compared to them he had it easy, but he still didn't like it. Elise was probably okay, same with Ultear, as Juvia was probably not going to take it all that seriously, while Gray probably would.

Then there was Nashi.

Drake stopped where he was and allowed the breeze to pass by him as he thought of her. He...he honestly didn't know what to think of her anymore. On one hand he knew her well, his closest friend that he cared about over his own life more often then not. It was to no fault of his own he felt protective of her, it was always being the one that stepped in between her and Rocky as a child that made him that way.

But when he remembered the look of the monster that had turned his way in the center of the Silverridge crater, He faltered. Just what had that been? Because whatever it had been, Drake had the itching feeling it wasn't in any way, shape or form the girl he knew. The cold, blue stare, the volcanic craters lining her form, the brimstone colored hands, and the horns made of pure fire...

_"I got him."_

And then, as if nothing at all had happened, she said these words accompanied by his name, and collapsed. Had that been her? Or...Something else? He' had been tormented by this for the next two months, waiting for her to wake up from her Etherion coma. And when she had, it was a if she had not changed whatsoever, as if the Silverridge incident had not occurred.

As if everything was as they left it.

But Drake was no fool, he'd felt it himself. Whatever had happened in the city that day had reshaped the battlefield, and no matter what way he tried to look at it he always saw it the same way.

But that wasn't what he needed to think about at that moment. He wondered how she was faring in her training with her father, who was just as if not a bigger monster than Erza, Jellal and Master Laxus combined. Especially if he took something seriously.

Poor girl.

"Alright, I'm back." Drake announced he reached the clearing. He looked up to find his father sitting in the center of the clearing, looking deep in thought. "Dad?" The elder dragon looked up at his approach, acknowledging him with a nod but said nothing. Drake reached him as he continued to think. "What, uh, what are you doing?"

"Thinking." he replied. Drake went to ask another question, but was silenced with a hand. So he just stood there with his hands in the pockets of his coat, waiting for his father to say more. He was about to say screw it and return to camp when his father clapped his hands and stood. "Got it." he said.

"Huh?" Drake asked in confusion. His father turned to address him.

"Your new training plan." he answered simply. "I've got it." Drake tried to not look pissed, but he was. He somehow doubted this new training plan was a plan and more of a regime doctrine. "We're going to work on this until you can hit me."

"Is that it?" Drake asked in confusion.

"Yes, until you can hit me." he replied. "That's all."

"Uh, okay?" Drake was unsure what exactly that meant, but he really had no reason to object to it, so he walked to the opposite side of the clearing and stood facing his father, who shrugged of the blue Crime Sociere cloak around his shoulders.

"Whenever your ready." He said. Drake nodded, and waited for a little as he observed his surroundings. His father didn't seem the least bit concerned, for good reason, as Drake had been nothing but a pushover lately. Sighing, Drake decided to go in for a frontal push, using his hearing to read his fathers thoughts, which was nothing important. He raised his fist and tried to bring it down on his fathers head. Unsurprisingly, the attack was blocked.

And his fathers full offensive fury struck him in the stomach.

Drake gasped in surprise as he flew backwards through a tree, landing hard on his back. He writhed on the ground from the blow as he tried to soothe the pain from the attack, but to no avail.

"Holy hell, what was that?!" He shouted angrily at his father.

"I had an epiphany while you were gone." Was the answer he got. "I figured if I tried as hard as I could and you managed to land a hit, you were more than ready to enter the Games."

"What the hell!" Drake shouted as he tried to stand. "How am I supposed to land a hit on you if I couldn't before?!"

"As I said, you'd be ready." He replied, changing his stance to be more defensive. "Now, come at me with everything you have." Drake growled as he stood on his feet, watching his father wait for him. There was no need for him to rush Drake, he needed no training. Drake charged back at him and listened actively as he did so, watching his fathers movements. He heard his father preparing to dodge his left fist, so Drake turned his attack to match the way his father dodged.

Of course, two sound mages bounced off of each other horribly.

Drake's strike was dodged and his father's leg came for his upper body. Drake was ready this time though, as he too moved his body out of the way of the attack and went in for a strike from the right, which was dodged as well.

"There you go!" His father shouted. "Come at me like I'm the enemy, not like your a bitch!"

"Shut the hell up!" Drake roared, swinging his whole right arm at his father. It was caught in an open palm.

"Now now, don't get angry!" He retaliated as he tried to swing Drake over his head. Drake allowed him to, only to get the upper hand and attempt to get him. It was to no avail. "The angrier you get in combat, the more of an edge the enemy gets!"

"I sad shut up!"

* * *

Kinana watched with a small smile from the tree line as her husband and son duked it out, both yelling a variation of insults and comebacks.

What she noticed amid all of this however, was the smiles they both had on their faces.

"They'd never admit it to each other, probably not even themselves." She said under her breath. "But this is when they get along and have fun the most. When they're at each others throats." She shook her head with a sigh and leaned up against the tree next to her, watching as Drake received a rather painful looking blow to the midsection. "Somehow I imagined my family life would be a little less dysfunctional..."

* * *

"Too slow!"

"That's what you thought!" Drake spun around the fist going for his midsection and tried to sweep his father off of his legs, but it was to no avail. The elder Slayer was already prepared, and knocked Drake flat on his ass with one big push. Drake cursed as he sat up, cracking his back.

"It's been a month." His father informed him. "You still have yet to land a blow." Drake nodded. He knew that full well. A full month had passed since the ne training had begun, and Drake had still to complete it. Of course, that had to do with the full extent of his fathers power being used regularly. "Plan on giving up?"

"Not yet, no." Drake got to his feet and smiled. "I've still got a month until we go back, right?"

"So a month to keep getting your ass beat?" His father retorted calmly. "Sounds like a plan." Drake rolled his eyes and repositioned for another run at it, which would probably end at futilely as the rest. Listening in on his father so he could try and reposition a strike when he tried to dodge. Running forward and jumping in order to attack from above, Drake tried t bring his fist down right on his fathers face, but he was kicked in the midsection and flew back into the top of a tree. Jumping away to avoid the incoming scale shaped projectiles, Drake jumped around the branches and flew right for his father, who reared away and allowed Drake to soar right past him. Drake felt a fang of poison wrap around his arm and constrict, which was about to ricochet him back towards his father. The air left his lungs abruptly as it happened, catapulting him back towards his father. Drake looked back jus in time to see a rather painful looking punch on the verge of connecting with his face.

* * *

Kinana jumped at the sound of the earth breaking apart. She sweat dropped and looked over in the direction of the clearing Erik and Drake usually went to train in, which was obviously the source of the explosive force.

"For the love of..." She muttered under her breath, standing and beginning the walk towards it. "I kept telling them the full force training was a bad idea..." She shook her head as she reached the end of the path towards the clearing, greeted with exactly what she expected.

Drake face down in a crater, while his father looked down at him.

"What did you do?" Kinana demanded. Erik looked up like a small child getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Uh," he replied. "I'm not sure how to reply to that." Kinana rubbed the bridge of her nose with a heavy sigh.

"I've told you at least a million times to not hit him so hard!" She scolded, making him chuckle weakly. "I mean really Erik, he can't learn if you..."

Drake started laughing. Kinana and Erik both looked down at him in confusion as he slowly sat up, still laughing.

"What's so funny?" Erik demanded. Drake looked over at his father with a smirk.

"You tell me." he replied. Kinana watched the two stare at each other for a minute before Erik choked, a hand shooting up to his cheek. Kinana walked up to him, surveying the problem for herself.

here was a scratch on his cheek.

Normally that would've meant absolutely nothing, but in these circumstances, it meant a lot more. Drake fell backwards and smiled widely.

"You were so focused on punching me you didn't pay attention to me." he explained for them. "It wasn't much of a hit, but it counts right?" Kinana looked over at Erik as Drake asked this question, waiting for his response. Finally, after what seemed like a millennium, the older Poison Dragon laughed.

"Well, not much of a hit, but the deal was one hit. It technically counts." he announced. Drake laughed victoriously, and Kinana smiled. "Bu if you intend to enter the Games with that little strength behind your swing..."

"Oh don't even act like that doesn't sting!"

"It doesn't, cause you hit like a bitch."

"What?!"

"You heard me. That moron from Blue Pegasus can hit harder than you."

"Oh it's so on!" Kinana jumped as Drake tackled his father, and the two once again started to fight. She smiled weakly as a broken tree flew past her.

"I suppose the dysfunction is sort of fun..." She murmured.

**And Drake's chapter is completed! I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get eight!**


	147. Never Again

**Sorry Elise. I say this because you have really only one thing going for you right now.**

**Enjoy!**

Elise's wake up call was a bucket of ice water. She sputtered and flailed wildly in surprise, unsure just what had happened. Once she'd managed to sit up and spit out the water attempting to trickle into her lungs and kill her, she moved her bangs out of her eyes and looked up.

Her father stood there with an empty bucket and a smirk.

"Again?" She asked weakly. "Can't you just shake me awake?"

"Just adjust to the shock, part of your training." He replied, as if everyone poured buckets of ice water on their daughter to wake them.

"Ugh..." Elise fell backwards and landed in her cot. Judging from the lack of sunlight outside her tent, it was before dawn. She honestly should have expected the ice water, it was one of her fathers ways to make her get up early. She never did so normally, so obviously getting up with a shock would be best right?

Elise figured anyone who answered with yes would be clinically insane.

"Get up," He said gruffly, kicking her side. "We should stat soon."

"With what?" She asked with a yawn.

"I don't know, probably your endurance." Just thinking about that made Elise want to die.

"Mmmm, sounds good." She slowly pulled her blankets back over her head and nestled into her pillow. "But I think we should start with, like, five more hours of sleep..." Elise did not hear a reply, so she smiled to herself and slowly started to drift off to sleep.

Until her body left the ground and she was slung over her fathers shoulder.

"Gah!" She shouted in surprise, startled by the change in her equilibrium. "Put me down, Dad!"

"Not a chance." he replied sternly. "You want to enter the Games? You have to work for it."

"Yeah but..." Elise, despite her position, felt herself drifting off again. "I'm so sleepy..."

"And?"

"Daddddyyyy..." Elise moaned weakly, but he didn't even skip a beat. "Ugh, whatever..." And with this, Elise went back to sleep.

* * *

Elise had her head propped up on her arm, which was leaning on her fathers back, as he carried her up a hill.

"Are we there yet?" She asked.

"Almost." he replied. "Just let me..." he slammed an iron club into a rick face next to them, sending it over their pathway back. At this point the sun was coming up, which had forced Elise from her nap rather unhappy. "Alright, we should be just about done." he then carried her to the crest of the hill, put her down, and turned to observe the are they'd come from.

"Now what?" Elise asked, clearing the sleep from her eyes.

"Now you go back." He replied. Elise made a face.

"Huh? But you spent all that time getting me up here. How long was I out for anyway?"

"Maybe two hours." he said. "But that's the point."

"How is that the point?" He turned to her with a grin.

"If you can get down back to base camp in, say, around fifteen minutes, you passed. If not, you come back up and try again." Elise stared at her father like he'd lost one of the iron bolts in his face that presumably kept in on straight.

"How am I supposed to do that?" She demanded. "I don't even know how you got me up here!"

"Figure it out." he said, stretching. Elise grumbled insults under her breath at this and looked out towards the smoke that was base camp. it didn't seem far in contrast to her sprint across Tenrou, but it was still a lot. She stretched her legs and upper body with her father.

"Wait, what are you doing?" She asked as he cracked his back. He grinned.

"What do you think is going to try and stop you?" he asked. The threatening tone compared with wolfish grin made Elise's blood run cold.

"U-Uh...what do you...?"

"Better start running, kid." Elise slowly turned and looked down the path in which she'd come from, pretending to observe it.

She then bolted.

With the sounds of maniacal laughter coming from behind her spurring her to run, Elise tore down the rick path back into the forested area. Once she reached the rock wall her father had collapsed, now obviously set as an obstacle, She vaulted it in one go and continued sprinting. Elise, despite her rather small stature compared too the others, was rather fast. And she was proud of that.

Cause, you know, she was short. It was impressive.

Regardless, Elise had gotten to the edge of the forest only to have an iron spear pierce the tree next to her. She stared at it in surprise before another one struck the ground near her foot, and she gulped. Another one landed right where she'd been standing as she finally moved, hiding under the foliage of the tree's.

"You can run, kid, but you can't hide!" She heard. Rolling her eyes despite the adrenaline going through her system, Elise darted in and out of the trees. She soon came across her next obstacle, which was a wall of cut down trees. using the momentum from her running, she jumped and slammed a club into the center, knocking them loose of their precarious placement and sent them everywhere. Elise laughed triumphantly as she went to land.

Right on a log, slipping and landing on her ass.

"Fuck..." She hissed, rubbing the back of her head, which she'd slammed on the ground. "Ugh, that hurts..." She felt rather dizzy from the accident, but she tried to get up, which only made her stumble. "How am I supposed to run when I'm so dizzy?" She asked no one in particular. "I guess I should go..." Elise turned towards the smell of food, and was about to run when a tree flew past her and blocked her way. She turned just in time to dodge another wooden projectile by ducking, which also landed in her path. Her father appeared from where the tress had come from, Aiming his arm at her. It turned into a club and flew at Elise, who ducked under it and turned, leaping over the trees and continuing on her way. She did so until the club slammed into her back, sending her flying forward and almost onto her face. She stumbled wildly, did a strange little twirl, but managed to stay on her feet.

She then tripped on a tree root and then landed on her face.

"Damn!" She shouted, feeling blood gush from her nose. She squeezed her nose with her hand, which made much of the blood fall on her hands and pants as she knelt there, but it didn't hurt as bad as it looked. "I need to cover this up..." The sun over her head disappeared. Looking up, her father was bearing down on her full speed, hands gripped together in an attempt to slam them down on her. "Shit!" Elise moved just in time to only get clipped by the debris that flew up, but she kept on going regardless.

"Why don't you fight back, kid?!" her father shouted. "I;m sure you can!"

"You said endurance this morning, dumbass." Elise hissed through her maintained breathing. "If I didn't have only fifteen minutes, I'd turn and do just that..." Elise made a turn towards the stronger aroma coming from there camp, and felt her ankle hit something.

That something snapped.

Elise looked down just in time to see a stretched vine flying away from her, and snaked up the tree near her. She gulped and looked up, following it.

A boulder at least four times the size of Elise was about to slam down on top of her.

"When the hell did you set this shit up?!" Elise roared angrily as she dodged the boulder, and felt another vine snap around her ankle, this time tightening around the same ankle and hoisting her upside down, making her yelp in surprise. "Are you kidding me right now?" She asked, swinging back and forth as she asked. She turned her right arm into a sharp iron blade and attempted to cut the vine holding her, but she couldn't reach it. The swinging of the vine made it hard for her to reach, along with the blood rushing to her head which only made her nosebleed from tripping at least three hundred times worse.

And then a hail of iron spears came at her from the darkness where she'd come from. Luckily one managed to clip the vine holding her, which made it unable to sustain her weight and sent her right back down into the dirt. Doing her best to dodge the onslaught of iron blades and get the dirt out of her eyes, Elise managed to stumble away and through a clearing in the tree's, still following the scent from camp. Once she had the dirt out of her eyes she once again broke into a sprint. She reached the bank of a stream, which she crossed with no hesitation, as it was only knee deep. She reached the other side, and clambered up the muddy ground trying to increase the distance between her and her father, whom she occasionally heard throwing out taunts.

_Doesn't her ever..._"Kyyaaah!" Elise shouted in surprise as her footing gave out, trapping her in a fifteen foot deep hole, obviously dug as trap. "For the love of God!" Using Iron to extent her hand up to the ledge and grab it, Elise catapulted back up, only to get grabbed by her father. "Let me go!" She shouted.

"Not a chance, times almost up!" he replied. Elise _really _didn't want to run all that way again, over and over, but she didn't have time to sit here and think out a strategy. She didn't need to though.

Elise decided to implement the Tetsu strategy.

Now what was the Tetsu strategy? it was quite simple really. All Elise had to do was do to her father what she had done to injure the Iron God Slayer Tetsu in their fight a while back.

Put simply, Elise drove her heel in between her fathers legs. She smiled upon hearing the high pitched sound that escaped his lips. She laughed triumphantly as he released her and she bolted. It didn't take her long from there to make it back to base camp, where her mother and Lily were talking.

"Yes!" Elise shouted, blood both dried and wet on her face. Dirt, mud, and water dripping off of her, and an all too happy smile on her face. "I got back!"

"Holy hell Elise." Lilly commented. "You went through hell."

"Your damn right, cat!" Elise replied with a cocky grin. "I had to get back here in only fifteen minutes from over there!" Elise pointed over to the crest of the hill she'd started from. "Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Sure is." her mother praised with a smile. "Where's your father?" Elise paled as she thought back to the kick she'd given him, one surely strong enough to prevent her ever having any siblings.

"W-Well..." She trailed off, unsure of how to answer that before she heard rocks crunching underneath someone's step. She whirled to find her father on his way back, clutching his stomach with one arm. His step was incredibly tedious and painful looking, which made Elise feel bad. Once he made it back to them, he fell to the ground in a heap with a moan, hands between his legs.

"You alright Gajeel?" Lily asked.

"..." Crippled moans was his response, and Elise tried to laugh it off as she wiped the blood from her nose.

"I must've hit him way to hard." She said sheepishly. Her mother rolled her eyes with a sigh as she stood and walked over to wounded Dragon Slayer, leaning down and rubbing his back to try and soothe him.

"I mean really Elise." She said, giving the girl a scolding glance. "Do you not realize how low it is to attack a man there?" Elise chuckled and looked away.

"O-Of course I do, it's just he gave me no other option..."

"It doesn't matter anyway..." She heard her father say through his whimpers. Elise looked down in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Elise asked curiously. Even through all the pain he was in, Elise's father had enough balls (surprisingly) to look up and snicker.

"Cause you're late, kid." Elise's eyes widened.

"What?!" She shrieked. "By how much?!"

"Roughly a minute...fuck, my nuts..." Elise crumbled to the ground in defeat.

"it's too early for this!" She complained. "It's like just eight in the morning!"

"I was going to give you a break too." Her father replied quietly, finally getting back to his feet. "But after that nut shot, you are not getting a break until you fall from exhaustion roughly sixteen hours from now, kid."

"Oh come on! Surely it doesn't hurt that bad!"

"A girl who's never given birth could never understand." he hissed. "Now, go back up to the start. I'll..." he flinched and doubled over. "Stay here and try not to throw up."

"Damn it!"

* * *

Gajeel watched as Elise collapsed halfway inside her tent, out like a rock. He smiled as he sat down next to Levy, watching the fire crackle.

"You sure worked her hard today." Levy noted with a grin. Gajeel nodded.

"She's better than I remember her being." he noted. "Last I recall she wasn't that good at fighting."

"Life or death situations tend to do that to a person." Gajeel nodded as these words. Ever since Gajeel had stopped training Elise seriously, she'd improved far beyond whatever his training could ave provided. It was the sort of experience you could tell someone obtained in the heat of an actual battle, something he nor anyone else could truly provide.

"She'll be just fine in the Games." He told Levy. "If she's works as hard as she has for the last few weeks for the remaining time, she;ll sweep the competition."

"You sure about that?" Gajeel scrunched up his face and looked over at Levy, who was already watching him.

"I am." he replied. "And so should you." Levy shook her head and looked over at Elise.

"I have the utmost of faith in her, don;t get me wrong." She said. When Levy looked back at the fire, Gajeel could see the turmoil there, dancing along with the flames. "If she gets put up against someone out of her league..."

"Who'd you have in mind? She'd stomp any..."

"Terra?" Levy demanded, stopping Gajeel cold. "Do you really think she could hold her own against her?" Gajeel really didn't know all that much about that girl, but he guessed she was a big deal. He watched as Levy laughed weakly. "Or anyone else in her league, for that matter. "I'm just worri..."

"This isn't Phantom Dove." Levy stopped at Gajeel's interruption. "This is not life or death. She'll be just fine, no matter if she goes up against Terra, or the Mikazuchi girl, or even Rogue's kid." Gajeel's glare hardened. "She'll be fine. Nothings going to happen." Levy watched him for a minute before she laughed, much more upbeat this time.

"I guess you're right."

"I know I am." The two conversed for a little more, before Levy decided she was tired. Gajeel watched her retreat, before he looked over at Elise. He sighed at her position half inside her tent, so he got up and walked over to her. He picked her up gently and placed her in her cot, pulling the one blanket over her.

_This isn't Phantom Dove._

Gajeel closed his eyes as his previous statement echoed around his head. He was right, but maybe he should've used a less...violent comparison. As he watched his daughter's flip over and lie on her stomach, her back rising and falling rhythmically, he glowered.

"This won't be Phantom Dove." he repeated. "And nothing..._Nothing _will ever be like that." he got up and walked to the edge of the tent, stopping as Elise mumbled something incoherent in her sleep. Turning, Gajeel pondered the pained expression on her face as she mumbled quietly. "Did saying Phantom Dove...?"

"Hm...Like hell I'm giving you my extra bacon Drake, fuck off..." Elise murmured, turning over. "It's mine..."

Gajeel face palmed. of course that was it. He slowly looked back at her now serene face, imaginary Drake obviously having given up on the bacon.

"Yeah...Never again." he hissed.

"Over my dead body."

**Hm, not so sure you should say stuff like that Gajeel. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	148. Falling Behind

**Seeing as we've sort of dealt with characters is order of reveal to you guys, I guess the order now is Ul, Simon, and Damien. So that makes it Ul's turn! Also, I'm going to expand on Arc of Time a bit for Ultear. The Arc of Time we know doesn't have much to it, so it doesn't really matter, right?**

**Enjoy!**

If anyone had climbed up Mt. Hakobe, they would've seen a girl in nothing but her underwear meditating. Now, to the average person that probably would've seem incredibly weird and almost insane, but if that person knew that girl in any way shape or form, they would know it wasn't all that strange.

After all, enduring the cold was sort of tradition in Ultear's family, and she was doing exactly that. For one reason or another, Ultear's father had decided to take her to Mt. Hakobe to train for the Games, which she eagerly accepted. She, probably more than all her friends combined, was excited to enter the Games. She loved to watch them as a kid, and now with the possibility of entering that arena presenting itself, she got really excited.

Maybe a bit too much, as she was sure being out in the cold for twelve hours straight wasn't good for anyone.

"I think that's good for today, Ul." She heard her father say from behind her. "We've been out here all day."

"I know." Ultear replied, eyes still closed as the vicious winds whipped around her. "Give me a few more minutes." Hearing a sigh, Ultear chuckled. She knew her hyperactivity and willingness to train all day wore down on her fathers attitude and patience, which was probably why Ultear ended up by herself into the night. Even her mother, the peppier and more active of the two, usually ended up getting too tired into the night. After another moment of silence, Ultear felt cloth hit her in the face, causing her to lose concentration, become rather cold, and fall over in the snow.

"Put your clothes on." her father said. "Any longer out here and you'd fall asleep."

"I can for a little longer, let me endure the cold!" Ultear replied. He shook his head.

"No," He replied. "You trained with your mother from dawn until noon, and me from then until now. You've been doing this for the last few weeks. Just put your damn clothes on and we'll go back down." Ultear sighed, but knowing her father wasn't going to relent. She didn't want to stop ofr a perfectly good reason, but not one she was ready to voice. Either she put her clothes on and went back down to the camp with him or she got carried back forcefully. She really had no choice in the matter, at all. Sighing, Ultear stood and threw on her shirt, jacket, pants and shoes. She moved her hair out of her face as the wind whipped even harder around them, trying to get it out of her face and mouth.

"It's really windy." Ultear commented, looking around the gloomy atmosphere. Her father nodded.

"Yeah, looks like it's going to be a vicious storm tonight." He said. "We should probably head down now." Ultear nodded and walked after him down the path towards their camp. They were camped out on a far more sensible part of the mountain, where the wind and snow was much less violent. As Ultear descended after her father, she could feel the magical and physical fatigue quite heavily. Her father was right of course, her constant training was an incredible wear on her body. She didn't mind though, a good night's rest usually did her wonders. The wind picked up suddenly making Ultear temporarily lose her balance, almost off of the side.

"Woah..." She hissed, regaling her composure, "That was close."

"Careful." her father said. "Falling of the edge would be rather unfortunate."

"A nice way to put it, Daddy." Ultear replied teasingly. "I'd just turn myself into water on the way down." he snorted.

"Yeah okay, so the wind and temperature can freeze you solid and shatter you into a million pieces upon impact?" Ultear remained silent with the logical hole in her plan exposed, which got a laugh from the elder ice wizard. "That's what I thought."

"Whatever." Soon enough the pair reached their camp, which was really just two tents with a cooking set in between them. It had been a few hours since Ultear had actually eaten, but there was no way she could get a fire going in this weather. Looking over at the tents, a light was on in one of them, the shadowy outline of a figure reading. Her father turned to her.

"Try to get some sleep, would you?" He asked. "I don't like seeing you push yourself so hard for something not that serious." Ultear shrugged.

"I'm just excited." The younger Fullbuster said with a grin. "Can't blame me for that." That wasn't it at all and Ultear knew it.

"Yeah. until your body can't keep up." Ultear nodded as her father retreated into the tent her shared with her mother, and Ultear went into her own. The inside was rather barren, save for where she slept, her bag full of things she'd brought along, and snow blowing from outside. Quickly shutting the tent flap to prevent her bend becoming a snowy mess, she sat down and sprawled out across the fabric, staring up at the rippling fabric as the storm intensified outside. Looking over to her left, Ultear could still see the light going in the other tent, so she really couldn't do anything at the moment. Sighing, Ultear turned to her bag and unzipped it, digging through it for her salvation.

All she found was a single candy bar.

Ultear brought it up close to her eyes and inspected it angrily, partially directed at herself for being such a glutton and eating the other food she'd snuck along, and partially directed at the candy that dared test her diet for training.

Clearly she lived a difficult life.

Shrugging indifferently and ripping the wrapper off of her chocolate treat, She bit into the rock-hard bar and narrowed her eyes at the end of it. It was obviously hardened up by the temperature, so she needed to apply more pressure. Ultear but harder than she ever had before, even harder tan to break the various other types of candy she'd eaten.

"Come on you..." Ultear hissed through her teeth. It was Ultear's jaw or the god damn candy, she wasn't having this.

_Crack!_

"Ha!" Ultear shouted through a full mouth as the bar caved. "Take that you little...!"

"Ultear you need to rest!" Her father shouted, making her jump.

"S-Sorry!" Ultear replied weakly, pretending to lie down and go to sleep.

As if that's what she was doing.

* * *

After what seemed like a millennium, the light from her parents tent finally faded. Sighing in relief quietly as she lifted her head from her pillow, she looked to her left towards the other tent.

"Seriously, you tell me to rest but you stay up all night.." She muttered. Shaking her head, she slowing brought her bag closer to her and looked inside. She dug right to the bottom and found her true prize.

The book her namesake had written about Arc of Time.

She smiled as she, for one reason or another, traced her finger around the words on first page. She felt very connected with the book. The woman she'd been named after had written it and given it to her, the last remaining piece of Ultear Milkovich on Earth. Slowly opening the notebook, Ultear flipped through the first few pages, ones she'd already studied in great detail in order to master the magic.

One thing Ultear had realized during studying the book that it was extremely hard to get the technique down. She assumed this really went for any Lost Magic, which made sense. After all, it was lost for a reason, right? She also got the feeling that despite the difficulty she had learning what she was doing, that her namesake had done her best to simplify it greatly. Finally reaching the portion of the book she'd stopped at last night, Ultear stopped flipping and skimmed the beginning of the page, looking for what exactly she left off on. Finally, she found it.

_Freeze_

_This one word can have many effects. The first and foremost is the freezing or slowing of time in your immediate area. In an Area of Effect spell such as this, one must take care to only target what you want to slow or freeze. If too large of an area is targeted, the caster may run out of magic. If the effect is not powerful enough, it may kill you if you're relying on it._

_The basic requirement to cast this spell if to see your intended target area to it's fullest, or at least to be able to imagine it. Then, stop it, all at once. Do not try it with any movements, you need to imagine your whole target area stopped. Completely. Unless you can make that image a reality, you will not be able to cast this spell._

_A drawback with this spell is that it requires a great deal of magic to keep active for longer periods of time. it is best used to quickly freeze an object or person and counterattack with something else once you've succeeded._

Ultear reread the section on the Freeze effect, making bad jokes to herself in her head about how she was an ice mage in the middle of a blizzard learning a spell called Freeze.

It just seemed funny.

What she really needed was practice. While she'd been using her sleep hours, at least one, to read the book, she'd yet to practice anything she'd read about since the very basics. Making a face, Ultear looked over at her parents tent. Could she go out and try anything without waking them? She probably could, it wasn't like they'd be able to hear her over the snow and wind. Finally making up her mind, Ultear zipped up her jacket and made for her tent flap, unzipping it and stepping into the blizzard. Shielding her face as she stepped out, Ultear stopped near the cooking pot and looked around at the snow.

"I guess I should give it a go..." She muttered to herself. Taking a deep breath, Ultear closed her eyes and concentrated, allowing the magic to flow outwardly. After a moment and not feeling any different, she tried harder. The sweat on her forehead began to freeze, just not the way she wanted it too sadly. "Come on, how hard can it be...?"

Ultear imagined it. The snow floating in place, the wind slowing down to dramatically blow her hair around. She could see it, she could almost feel it. It was so close, she just had to.

She felt it. A pulse like wave of white magic rolled off of her, and she collapsed to her knees in surprise. She'd been trying just a little to hard apparently, as she'd collapsed from the sudden lack of magic in her system.

"I'll need to work on that," She said quietly, shaking her head to clear the dizzy feeling. Once she managed to regain her composure, she looked up.

The snow was frozen in place.

Ultear slowly stood and looked around, drinking in the amazing feeling of a blizzard frozen in time. She could see the snow still assaulting everything beyond the small bubble of stopped time she'd created, which added even more to the feeling. She slowly reached up and touched one of the snowflakes near her. The small object was frozen in time so completely it didn't even melt when she touched it, just sat there in her hand as she marveled at what she'd done. She'd done it, sh'd momentarily stopped the time flow of the area.

Until she started to feel light-headed, and realized just how much energy that small amount of stoppage had taken from her. She quickly panicked and tried to stop the effect on the area, but it wasn't working. She had to calm down, but the more energy it took the more she panicked. When she finally got it to turn off and the snow around her continued to fall rapidly just like the rest of the world, She was almst out cold. She slowly turned and looked back at her tent, which seemed like a mile long sprint. She took a step, and then another, and another, and when she reached the entrance to her tent, she fell into it.

"Ow..." She murmured as she landed face first in her cot. She tried to summon the energy to turn and close her tent but she couldn't. "Ah screw it, let it snow in here..." And with that, she passed out.

* * *

"Come on Ul, pick it up! This isn't like you!"

Ultear knew that, but she was ready to pass out. She was currently working on her evasive abilities with her mother sending tendrils of freezing water at her, but she'd been hit by every single one of them and couldn't work up the strength to do anything.

"I'm...sorry..." Ultear wheezed. "I'm...exhausted."

"Gray told you about training so hard." her mother scolded. "And now your feeling it, aren't you?"

"I...I guess..." She felt like she wanted to throw up and fall asleep. Apparently trying to use some Arc of Time the night before had not allowed her the proper time to replenish her energy. She was running on maybe a fourth of what she usually had, which was basically fumes now with the few hours she'd spent training with her mother.

"If you want to take a break, you can." Her mother offered. "I won't hold it against you." Ultear silently gave a thumbs up and collapsed to her knees, still breathing heavily. She slowly raised her hand and stared at it. It was shaking, and violently. She tried to summon up a spurt of water to try and reassure herself she was fine, but nothing happened. Not even a faint mist. Cursing, Ultear tried to stand, but her legs didn't feel like it. Finally, she managed it, but only just.

"I...Can we keep going...?"

"Ultear..." Her mother said slowly. "You're clearly not well..."

"I don't care!" Ultear shouted, which was the most energetic thing she'd done all day. "I...I need to get better..."

"Why?" Her mother asked. "Your plenty powerful." Ultear looked out over the edge of the mountain, scrunching up her face as she thought.

"I just don't want to be the weakest link..." She whispered.

"Wha...What?" Ultear turned back at this, looking determined.

"I don't want to be the weakest link." She replied, louder this time. That was why she was pushing herself so hard. That was why she wanted to practice her Arc of Time.

She didn't want to be the reason they lost.

"I'm the weakest." Ultear said. "I was third-strongest for a while, but lately... Lately I've been falling behind. I probably did the least against Devil Advocate, I lost to Asuka during her S-Class Advancement, and I got sent after the weakest member of Phantom Dove during the Silverridge incident and just barely got ahold of him to win I just..." She purposefully trailed off, glaring down at the ground. Nashi, Drake, and Elise had surged past her, all of them proving just as, if not more capable then herself, the first two especially. "I just...don't want to be the reason we lose something."

"Juvia is sure everyone feels the same way."

"Everyone else is unique!" Ultear replied. "Three are Dragon Slayers, one's a Demon Lord, the other's a Heavenly Mage..." Ultear gestured to herself uselessly. "Then there's me. That's why I've been training so hard all day, why I'm not easy to convince to take a break. Why I'm trying to learn Arc..." Ultear stopped herself. She didn't want her parents to know that, not yet.

"Well, look at it this way." her mother said with a wink. "You have the least expected of you."

"...What?"

"Think about it. All the others have a legacy to uphold. Maybe not Drake as much as the other four, but he's still got the Dragon Slayer name to uphold. Maybe you have the least unique magic, but if they fail, they're going to feel ten times worse then you." Ultear thought about this for a moment. Her mother did have a point.

"I suppose." Her mother smiled.

"Take today off." She said. Ultear started to object, but her mother turned around to leave. "You need to recharge. So go and take a day, really." Ultear frowned but did not object, deciding to just silently following her mother back down. Once Ultear stopped feeling so sorry for herself, she did realize how tired she was.

Taking a day sounded good.

* * *

"Goodnight Ul." She heard her mother say.

"Goodnight." Ultear replied, not bothering to look up. She'd been in bed since early that morning when she'd been told to take a day off. She did feel completely recharged, but neither parent allowed her to leave the campsite, as she clearly might have run off to try and train. She knew they cared, but it still sort of irked her. She stared at the side of her tent as her parents went to sleep. Pretty soon, the noises from the left of her disappeared.

She smiled and lifted the book from underneath her pillow.

She opened the Arc of Time notebook to the page she finished off at the night before, and continued reading.

Ultear didn't care if she had the least to worry about if she lost an event or a fight. She didn't care if her friends disagreed with her views on herself, or her parents, or the guild, or anyone.

If she learned Arc of Time and surprise revealed it at the Games, she'd be able to keep up with her friends. And in the end, that was all she wanted.

To just not fall behind.

**Wow Ul, how the hell did I get three thousand words out of your chapter? I was expecting only two thousand if I pushed it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get eight!**


	149. That Girl

**We're almost done with the training chapters! We just have Simon and Damien left! Also going to make them a tad shorter, no need to make them all three thousand words.**

**Enjoy!**

Simon hit the dirt and rolled quickly to avoid the oncoming blast. Growling as he continued to stumble backwards, he heard a sword unsheathe from behind him.

"Shit!" He shouted, jumping just in time to avoid the sword his mother attacked him with. He blasted the sword out of her hand with heavenly light, and when he landed he requipped his own into his hand and threw it towards her. She narrowly avoided it, and then came his father roaring past her using Meteor. Simon took to the sky away from him, trying to distance himself from at least one of them.

Simon had gotten the 'amazing', as his mother affectionately put it, opportunity to train with both parents. His father had explained that Crime Sociere had just gotten done dismantling a dark guild ring in Bosco, so they had some free time. This freed up Erik to train Drake, and obviously Simon's father for him. However, according to both parents, he'd get the most out of training with them both at the same time.

It was extremely strenuous. Simon more often than not ended the day unable to move and only barely recuperating for the next day. he turned in mid-air and blasted light at his father, who dodged it all with ease and reached him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and threw him downwards. Simon slowed his descent and let his father fly past him before going after him. Requipping into his Lightning Emperor armor and aiming the spear at his father's figure, an arc of lightning flew and his the target dead on. Simon landed a little away from his father, who was smoking from the impact of the lightning, but had a grin on his face nonetheless.

"You've improved a great deal already Simon." he heard his father say. "Just another month and almost no one will be able to stand in your way." Simon chuckled a little.

"Yeah, I guess." he replied. he heard a sword unsheathe to his left, and his mother stood there in her Heavenly Wheel armor, swords floating around her.

"I wouldn't say that." She said. "There are a few people I can think of that may be a challenge for him."

"Jura's kid, I suppose." His father said.

"Terra." Simon supplied. A strange look crossed his mother's face.

"I wasn't referring to her, anyway." She looked over at Simon's father, who made a face and tilted his head to the side. Before long, his eyes widened and he snapped his fingers.

"Right!" He replied. "Totally forgot about her." Simon looked around in confusion.

"Who are you guys talking about?" He asked, but his question was shrugged off.

"I'll tell you about it later tonight." His mother said, ending the conversation effectively. "Now, you have training to do."

"Right..." Simon said, waiting. Before long, the battleground returned to silence. Simon was waiting for someone to make a move, and soon it came in his father bursting towards him with Meteor active. Before he could start to react, he heard his mother come at him as well. He torqued his body to avoid the oncoming swords and met his father head on, attempting to push him down into the dirt. This did not stop the older mage, who reacted quickly and pushed upwards, pushing Simon off the ground and into free fall roughly twenty feet up. Simon could hear the steel rushing through the air towards him, so he boosted upwards instead of allowing the blades to hit.

The blades easily changed direction and continued to fly after him. Before long, a golden glow overtook them and slammed into Simon, sending him into a downward spiral and into the ground. Simon coughed and aimed his open palm through the dirt, trying to through the blades off course and prevent a serious injury. He knocked most of the blades of course, save one, who he kicked away as he jumped to his feet. Requipping into his Flight Armor, he sped towards his mother. Just as she prepared another volley of swords, Simon used his rapier and double speed effect from the armor and Meteor to knock them all of course, causing them to fly everywhere. He pressed his hand against her back and caused a small explosion of light, which caused her to stumble.

Right in the path of Simon's father, who hadn't been expecting the sudden obstacle and slammed right into her. Simon watched with a small smile on his face as they both landed in a heap on top on one another, groaning from the impact of a human at the speed of light and another human.

You guys okay?" He asked.

"...Yeah." He heard his father reply. "I think...I think we're done for the day." Simon frowned. They hadn't been training for very long hat day, but he could tell the impact had not only startled them, but disorientated them greatly as well. He probably could've finished the 'fight' off with a few attacks each.

"Agreed." His mother said before he could attempt an objection. "Besides, we need to think up a more sophisticated line of attack Jellal; he's getting to good against us just doing whatever we feel like."

"Yeah," Simon's father got up and offered his mother a hand, who took it and stood. "get ready for tomorrow Simon, it won't be as easy." Simon flinched at the thought of getting pummeled, but he knew it was inevitable now. "For now, let's just head back to camp."

* * *

Simon and his father were getting really sick and tired of strawberry cake, but neither had the guts to speak up.

"You say it!" His father hissed to Simon as they were both offered a slice.

"No fucking way." Simon whispered. "I learned my lesson years ago." All Simon did was smile like a bitch and take the cake as offered, elbowing his father to do the same. After they'd both taken they're slice of cake and played with it a little bit, Simon's mother smiled widely.

"Nothing like strawberry cake, huh?" She asked. Simon's father just nodded politely.

"Yep..." he agreed. Simon shrugged and ate some of the cake. He had nothing against strawberry cake in and of itself, actually he was rather fond of it, but sometimes he found his mother's fondness of it a little...odd. So much so he didn't even want to eat it more often than not.

"In other matters, you're actually becoming rather powerful, Simon." Simon looked up at the mention of his name. His mother was smiling softly at him, so he returned the look.

"Thanks." he replied. "Due in no small part to the training I've received."

"Not entirely true." Simon looked over at his father as he said this. "The way you fight...How to describe it?"

"It's the tact of someone who's had to fight for their life." His mother filled in. "It's easy to tell from how you move and combat the challenges in front of you that you've had your life on the line before."

"I thought that was obvious." Simon joked. When his joke got no smiles, he looked away from his parents. "With everything that's happened, I mean."

"Still..." His mother said, then sighed. "I somehow had the feeling my child would grow up and not gain that trait."

"Kind of foolish, given the people around him." His father spoke up. His mother nodded.

"I know, but after everything that happened...I just figured that there would be a bit more peace. I guess not."

"There's always someone." Simon agreed. Silence fell upon the trio. Simon wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to say. He knew his parents, like any other, were uncomfortable with the thought of him in a life or death situation, but it wasn't exactly something he could avoid all the time.

Especially given the things that had happened.

Simon took the time to think over the situation. There were so many unanswered questions he had, and the only people that could answer them were the Olympians. Everything that had happened, in one way or another, had something to do with them. Phantom Dove, Devil Advocate, Silverridge, hell, maybe even Edolas had been played out by the mysterious group.

"Hey, Dad," Simon said, earning a grunt from his father. "You know anyway about the Olympians?" His father gave him a confused look.

"Why?"

"They're...connected to a lot of stuff that's happened, as I'm sure you can guess." Simon's father scanned him for a moment, before he looked away and shrugged.

"I'm unhappy to say it's nothing more than anyone else." He replied. "They're a very mysterious group. Anyone who works for them never coughs up information, and even if they try, they die." Simon nodded, a little irritated with the answer. He'd hoped his father had a bit more info than that.

"Well, whatever." Simon said, letting it drop. "It doesn't matter." As he forced himself to forget the topic, another one came to mind. "Hey, Mom?"

"Yes?"

"You said you'd tell me about some girl who could be as good as me" He watched as this request processed, and she nodded.

"Right, I did say that." She thought for a moment, before she sighed. "Her name escapes me. Jellal?" His father shrugged.

"Why would I know?" He asked.

"I don't know...Well, her name doesn't matter. The point is, is she's Kagura's Mikazuchi's daughter." Simon knew that the woman in question was the Master of Mermaid Hell, the girls only guild.

"I see." Simon replied. " I take it that means she's bad news, then."

"Of course. She's a few years older than you, and she's quite the threat from what I've heard about her lately." Simon nodded as he thought about this. From what he recalled he had very little interaction with Mermaid Heel, even with it's past with his own guild. He wondered just how big of a threat that made this girl. "It's really bothering me that I can't remember her name." His mother said, rubbing her forehead. "It's on the tip of my tongue, too..."

"I'm sure you'll remember it." Simon's father told her. Simon became lost in his thoughts, and excused himself to go and sleep. After all, he'd need it for the beating he was sure to get the following day.

* * *

Simon finished his stretches and looked over towards his parents, who were talking in low tones.

"Are you guys ready?" He asked, unsure if he really wanted an answer or not. His father nodded.

"Yep, ready to go." He replied. Simon nodded and took a prepared stance, waiting for his parents to move on him. They did very soon.

Together.

Simon eel back in surprise as his parents attacked him in tandem, keeping him on such a heavy defense he could barely see what was happening around him. Gritting his teeth, Simon tried to duck underneath them but his mother had been ready for him to attempt it, and she brought her knee into his jaw to keep him up. Simon felt a fist connect with his chest, which gave him the distance he wanted to fly away with Meteor and observe what was happening. Their new tactic was apparently attacking him together, as oppose to before were they came at him without the idea to support each other as they did it. Simon's train of thought was interrupted by his father soaring towards him, who he gave the proper greeting of attack. His father avoided every attack on him and slammed into him directly, sending him backwards.

Right into the path of an arc of lightning created by his mother below, who had her Lightning Empress armor on below. As he turned to try and deal with that, a blast of light connected with his face, sending him downwards towards his mother's waiting figure.

The best he could do was protect his face as the hammer came towards him.

Simon hit the ground hard, groaning as he did so.

"Told you it would be harder." His mother said next to him. "Now get up."

"What..." Simon asked dizzily. "Who...Who do you think I am?" His mother rolled her eyes.

"Your..." Her eyes widened. "That's it!" Both Simon and his father looked at her in confusion.

"Hah?" They both asked.

"Kagura's daughter! Her name's...!"

* * *

Kagura read over the paperwork quietly, wondering just how the hell her daughter managed to cause so much destruction. At this rate she'd have to send her over to Fairy Tail, she'd fit in more.

"Seriously..." She hissed as she read the costs. "How did she even..." Rubbing her eyes, Kagura looked up at the door as someone knocked on it. "Yes?" She asked. Soon enough, a face appeared in the small crack between the door and the wall.

"Kagura-san, she's here." Good. The girl need a scolding after this.

"Send her in." She replied. The girl nodded and turned around, presumably to tell Kagura's daughter she could go in. Soon enough, the black haired girl entered, her head hanging low.

"M-Mom." She said weakly. Kagura did not reply as her daughter looked up, her red eyes shining weakly as she smiled just as pathetically. "W-What's ah, up?"

"Sit down."

"R-Right" The girl sat across from her mother, who stared at her. The girl looked anywhere but her mother's glare.

"So, care the defend yourself at all?" She asked. The girl nodded.

"Yes! Okay so, basically what happened was that monster thing attacked the town! I tried to hold back, but it kept fending off the majority of my attacks, so I..."

"So you released a large scale gravity increase and leveled everything?" Kagura demanded, making her daughter flinch. "Seriously?"

"Okay first of all, had the monster leveled everything it wouldn't have been my fault, but if I level it by protecting people I'm at fault?!"

"Yes. Your almost twenty for God sake, not to mention the strongest member of our guild. Control yourself." The girl pouted. Here it came.

"Ah whatever." She said. "I'll pay the bill for it and we'll be done with it." Kagura sighed as her daughter smiled jokingly. "Besides, you should've seen how badly I fucked that thing up! Barely recognizable after I was done with it!" Laughter punctuated the sentence, and Kagura waited for her daughter to finish. "Oh come on, at least crack a smile Mom." Kagura rubbed her eyes.

"...Just go." She replied. The girl sighed and sprung to her feet.

"But hey, still get to go to the GMG, right?" She asked. Kagura looked up and saw what was weirdly the cutest and creepiest puppy dog eyes she'd ever seen. "Surely a little dent in my bank doesn't make it that bad, right?"

"Yes yes, you can still compete."

"Yes! Thank God, I was worried for a sec there..."

"Just...Just go."

"Is my presence that annoying. _Mommy?_"

"Nami I swear to God if you don't go you're going to learn the meaning of "leveled my gravity." Nami stuck her tongue out and winked.

"Love you too!" Nami took her chance to escape before her mother lost her patience, and Kagura took that moment to calm down.

"Please let the Games give her the option to let off some steam..."

**Character reveal! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	150. The Three Laws

**And we reach the final training chapter! Just to let you guys know, this is less of a training chapter and more of a 'drive the plot forward' type chapter. Very little actual training takes place.**

**Enjoy!**

"Good, now come back and keep level!" Damien back flipped in mid-air and soared back towards his mother, who was waiting for him near a rock. As he got close to her, he smelled ozone.

Shit!" He yelled as he veered to the right away from the lightning strike. He flipped and landed upright, watching as his father stood in his way.

"Almost got to her that time." He replied. Damien's training sounded simple in and of itself. All he had to do was make it past his father and to his mother, who tried her best to give him pointers mid fight.

Now of course enter the fact that his father was the Master of the guild and easily one of the strongest men in all of Fiore, and the task seemed much more daunting. Damien had yet to complete this very simple task, but that did not bother him. First;y, he did not expect to be able to complete it anyway. Secondly, he had vastly improved in the time he'd been trying. His reflexes were incredible, along with his speed and strength.

Of course this all only applied to his human and basic demon forms. Damien didn't dare attempt a Demon Lord takeover. Either of them, for that matter.

Damien was still not accustomed to the fact he had two Lord takeovers. Vantros had explained it well enough, Damien's way of defeating Taisho had gifted it to him, but it was still a little surreal. Especially since he could control it well enough.

But he didn't intent to share that with his parents. Both of them were, obviously, dead set against him ever using the one they knew he possessed, let alone one he stole from a dead man. As Damien watched his father wait for him to make a move, he thought about the reason he was here: The Grand Magic Games. Ultear and the others had wanted to enter and truthfully, he did as well. It sounded like it might be a fun beak from the constant life or death situations they constantly found themselves in. Of course he did not feel like he needed to try all that hard, he was plenty strong, but it couldn't hurt.

"Still thinking it over, princess?" His father taunted, snapping Damien out of his stupor. He grinned.

"Nah, just waiting."

"For what?"

"An opening."

"Good luck with that."

"I believe in you, Damien!" His mother shouted from her rock seat. Damien rolled his eyes with a half hearted thanks. She was trying to help, just not very effectively. Deciding it was time to take action, Damien rocketed towards his father, but was fended off with a single arm coated in lightning. Switching his tactic, Damien rose into the air and started to blast at his father with beams of darkness, but they didn't do anything. All were either deflected or missed.

Damage was not his point.

Using the smokescreen thrown up as a distraction, Damien flew towards his mother, his way wide open. He got close enough to grab her hair when he felt a hand grab his wing. He turned in surprise to find his father next to him.

"Too slow." he reported, using all the upper body strength he possessed to thrown Damien downwards. Nothing he could do would slow the descent, so Damien let himself form a crater.

"Almost Damien!" His mother shouted. "Try a little harder!"

"Not helping, mother dearest." Damien hissed. Standing and dodging the lightning strike that drove him farther away, Damien stopped and once again searched for an opening. There wasn't any though, which was the problem. In the almost three months he'd been looking for one, Damien had learned that hard truth. No matter how hard he looked or how hard he tried, there was never an opening. Bolting forward and getting stuck in a grapple fight with his father, Damien tried to aim an open palm at him and blast away with darkness. This however came to an end when Damien saw lightning crackle from his fathers hands, which were holding him by the wrists.

_Boom!_

The electrocution followed by the small explosion send Damien flat on his ass. He groaned as his body asked for him to stop.

"Alright..." Damien whispered, his demon form fading. "I...I surrender...Consider the white flag waving."

"Already?" he heard his father ask as he rolled over in an attempt to sit up. "I thought you would've been lasting longer lately."

"Not if I keep getting ten thousand volts in the face regularly." He retorted. As he stood, his mother smiled.

"You still did really good Damien!" She praised. It was nice to hear it from someone, at least. Even if that someone had been doing it for almost three months straight with no basis behind it.

Damien knew his mother liked to be supportive, but her words had really lost their weight.

As he stood and walked behind them slightly back to their camp, Damien pondered when they would return to go to Crocus for the Games. They had predetermined to just meet up there with the others and the rest of the guild, so it was just a matter of when. How were the others? Although he'd done it for a long time, Damien had grown accustomed to having five people with him at all times. Five people in particular as well. He'd see them soon enough though, so no need to dwell on it. As they reached base camp again, his mother turned to smile at him.

"Alright, now it's time for dinner!" she announced.

* * *

"Alright well, I'm beat. Make sure you go to bed soon, Damien." Damien nodded at his fathers words as he poked at the fire with a stick. Watching his father retreat into his tent left Damien by himself. A few minutes past, which was filled by the sound of the fire crackling as Damien played with it. Twenty minutes past, and then thirty. After forty-five minutes had past, Damien was playing with embers.

That was his cue to go.

He got up and slowly made his way away from the campsite, doing his best to avoid stepping on anything that would alert his parents to his leaving. If it did happen, he'd just saying he went for a piss. No big deal.

As he reached a rock face near the camp, Damien took over into his demon form and used his wings to climb to the top, coming up to the ledge. As he landed and returned to his human form, he sighed. This would probably be the last night he got to do this, given how long it might take to get to Crocus.

"I'm ready." he said. At first silence replied to him, but before long, he felt the second presence.

"Are you?" Xisplate asked. Damien nodded and turned to face the demon who stood right on the edge overlooking the rest of the forest. "Perhaps you should slow yourself down with this control training Damien, it can really take a toll."

"I need this." Damien replied. "If the day comes where it's inevitable, I need to be able to control you." Xisplate sighed.

"I know that, but why try so hard? Surely if it comes down to it, Vantros would be enough." Damien clenched his fists.

"What about when the GMG ends and the seven months is up?" He asked. Both knew what that meant. Xisplate had said, almost seven months prior at Steph's grave, that one of Damien's friends would die. Neither knew who, and neither knew why. But if it came to pass, Damien was prepared to go to hell and back to make sure it did not. Xisplate did not physically react to this question, but Damien knew he didn't like it.

"And what about it?" He finally asked. "It was foretold one of the seven was to die, I told you this."

"By who? Who foretold such bullshit?"

"That does not matter" Xisplate replied, shutting Damien down so quickly it was like a blur in the conversation. "It was foretold, Damien. You and I do not have a grasp on the reins of fate, at least not a tight enough one to make a difference."

"But _who?" _Damien pressed. Surely you must know that." At this, he saw it. Clearly. A ripple of irritation crossed Xisplate's face.

"Have you ever heard of the Three Laws, Damien?" The demon asked suddenly. Damien shook his head. "They are the three immutable Laws I as a Demon Lord must follow. One, A living being may never possess my full capability. The power you call upon is only a fraction of what I can truly be capable of. Two, I am never to trespass into the land of the dead within the 12th Circle and raise a soul back to the living. Can you guess the final law, Damien?" Damien shrugged.

"Amuse me." He replied. Xisplate's gaze narrowed.

"I must never, under any circumstances, reveal forbidden knowledge. Fate qualifies, my boy. I cannot tell you." Damien looked past the demon with a sigh.

"And if the laws are broken?" he asked.

"I dare not find out." That was obviously Xisplate's way of shutting the conversation down, so Damien sighed again.

"Alright, let's just get on with this." Xisplate nodded, and Damien took a cross legged seat, closing his eyes.

"Feel it, Damien." Xisplate said, walking near him. "Feel the cold grip of death." Damien focused and, soon enough, felt his body temperature lowering. This was a way to enter Xisplate's form quietly and exit it should he feel his control loosening. "Now, grasp the power in your fingertips, boy. Feel the power of death in your grasp."

Cold sweat was trickling down his neck, but Damien payed it no mind. He focused on holding control of the takeover, but coupled with the assaulting voices of the damned and how cold he was getting, it was rather difficult.

"You're doing just fine. Now, open your eyes." Damien slowly did so, seeing the world around him distorted weirdly. A growl escaped his lips, and Xisplate placed a hand on his shoulder. "Lose it, that's enough for tonight."

"Are you kidding? I can still..."

"Damien." He wasn't being given an option. Damien ceased the takeover and starting panting. Xisplate's takeover used a lot of his magic, and he was already exhausted from that day. "We won't be doing this anytime soon, so go get some rest." He then started to walk away.

"...No ones going to die." The demon ceased walking away at this. Damien looked up at him through cold sweats and labored breathing. "I going to make sure of it...No one is going to die." Xisplate looked back, and Damien jumped a bit.

He looked sorrowful.

"We shall see, Damien."

* * *

"Damien, wake up!" Damien jumped in his cot at this, seeing his mother smiling at him.

"Wah? What happened?" He asked, yawning.

"We're going."

"Huh?" Damien felt excitement wind up in him as his mother grinned even wider.

"We're going to Crocus."

* * *

Keita had only just gotten back to town when he spotted one of the others. Juno was standing with her mother and talking quietly. Keita followed his father quietly as he walked over to them. The two woman looked up at they approached.

"Rogue." Juno's mother Minerva said with a smile.

"Minerva." Keita's father answered. Juno Orlando smiled at Keita, who did his best to return it.

"Hey Keita!" She greeted happily. "How'd your training go?"

"Alright." he replied quietly. "I think I'm good for the Games." Juno nodded and twirled a stand of her jet black hair around her index finger, a habit she'd had for a long time. "Where's everyone else?"

"Coming, as far as I know." She replied. Keita took his pack off and sighed in contentment as the weight was lifted from his shoulders. He'd carried that thing way to long. "I think I see Rina on her way." Keita followed Juno's gaze, but could not pinpoint their friend.

"Where?"

"I can see her dads hair from here." Upon closer inspection, Keita could indeed see Orga's wild hairdo from where he was. and besides him, stood his daughter Rina Nanagear. While she had the same hair color as her dad, it was much more tame.

Not much, but some.

"Damn it Dad!" Rina shouted, her loud voice reaching Keita and Juno. "They beat us here!" Orga rolled his eyes and pushed his hand down on Rina's head.

"Third's not bad, kid."

"Shut up." Rina glowered at her father as the big man laughed before she made her way over to Keita and Juno. "Hey guys."

"Hey Rina." Juno greeted. Keita only nodded. His friends knew he was a quiet guy. "How'd your training go?"

"Awesome! I totally got a hang of this new spell I've been meaning to try out."

"Cool." Keita listened in on the ladies small talk, looking around desperately for either of his male companions. He didn't dislike the girls in the slightest, but he really needed the company of a man his age in this moment. Thankfully, he could see one coming in the distance.

"He could see Kyoko Lore on her way, Blake by her side. Blake had decided to go with Kyoko and her dad Rufus to train, but Keita had no idea why. Juno suspected the tan mage liked her, but Keita cared not for such matters.

"The gangs all here, then?" Kyoko asked as her dad went to chat with the other adults.

"Save one dummy." Blake replied with a smile. Keita nodded.

"Seems he's late, like always." He said. Rina shook her head.

"Seriously that guy is crazy." She said. Juno shrugged.

"His Dad is Master though, so the training was probably brutal on him." She suggested. Rina made a face.

"Doesn't mean he gets to pander around like he's more important." She said.

"I never said that, he's just a little late..."

"Oh hey guys!" Everyone turned to find none other than Master Sting approaching them, a big smile on his face. "We all ready to go?"

"Basically." Keita's father replied. "Where's...?"

"He's..." Sting turned to find no one next to him. "Oh God damn it. Hey! Hurry up!" A groan came from the crowd. Soon enough, Sting's wife Yukino appeared through the crowd, dragging someone behind her.

"He was busy getting a coffee, Sting-sama." She said with a small smile. Soon enough, Yukino dragged a man through the crowd. That man had grey pants on, a white jacket with a red undershirt, and spiky blonde hair. He also had a coffee cup in his hand and bag slung over his shoulder.

Micheal Eucliffe looked at his mother in dismay.

"That barista was kind of cute." he complained. "I wanted to talk to her." He was, of course, ignored. Micheal sighed and sipped from his cup as he made his way over to Keita and the others. "Hey guys." he greeted. Kyoko smiled.

"Micheal. How did your training go?" She asked. He shrugged.

"Alright." He replied. "Didn't really need it, but..."

"Are you serious?" Everyone stopped and turned to look over at Juno's mother, who had spoken. Sting nodded vigorously.

"Natsu-san told me himself!"

"Wow...Of course they would." Keita's father said. Sting nodded.

"Yep! Fairy Tail is entering the Grand Magic Games!"

Just like that, Keita Cheney, Juno Orlando, Rina Nanagear, Kyoko Lore, Blake Hunt, and Micheal Eucliffe learned just how interesting the Games would turn out to be.

**Sabertooth reveal! And Who is this Blake we've met? More to come! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get eight!**


	151. Registration

**And so, the GMG arc begins! I'm really excited to get this arc out there to you guys, so let's get right down to it!**

**Enjoy!**

When Nashi made it within the walls of Fiore's capital city, it finally dawned on her this was real. She could see the stadium in the distance against the skyline, which only excited her even more. She ran ahead and looked around at the insane amount of people. So many people had gathered for the event, it was sort of overwhelming.

"Slow down Nashi, it's not even time for the qualifier yet." Nashi looked over her shoulder to find her father and seven moth pregnant mother walking up behind her.

"I'm just excited!" She replied, gesturing around. "Look at all these people! All here for this festival!"

"We know, but don't run off somewhere," her mother replied. "You still have to go and actually sign up, not to mention find the others."

"I know, I know..." Nashi's Dragon Slayer senses were overwhelmed by the new smells. She'd been to Crocus before, but this was so much different.

"We're going to go search for the others," Nashi's heard her father say. "You go and look too. Meet us at the Domus Flau when you do."

"Roger that!" Nashi replied, laughing as she ran off through the crowd.

"Be careful Nashi, jeez!" Nashi ignored her mother's scolding tone and continued to dart in between people rapidly. She inhaled deeply, but couldn't come up with anyone's sent. Darting around a corner, Nashi thought she saw a white head of hair through the crowd quite clearly.

"Damien!" Nashi called. She saw the head react, but she lost it in the crowd. Nashi tried to make her way through, but she connected with someone else. "Shit..." Nashi stumbled and fell over, rubbing her head in pain. "Sorry."

"It's alright, I wasn't really paying any attention either." The man she'd connected with said. Nashi looked up to find a boy about her age with spiky blonde hair offering her a hand. She took it thankfully and brushed herself off. "You were going quite fast too. Looking for someone?"

"Yeah, a friend of mine." She said. She got a very friendly vibe from this guy, he seemed nice. "What about you?"

"Just looking around," he replied. "Festival is sort of throwing me for a loop."

"You too?"

"Yeah." The boy smiled over at her, which she returned. "Oh man, where are my manners?" he asked. Before Nashi could ask what he meant, he once again extended his hand. "Micheal." She smiled back and took it.

"Nashi." She shook his hand, and he laughed.

"Nashi huh? That's a pretty unique name." Nashi shrugged.

"I suppose, never really thought about it." Looking around, Nashi noticed that she had now lost who she assumed was Damien in the crowd. He'd probably just shrugged off her call. "It's nice to meet you Micheal, but I really should go and find my friends."

"Of course, I understand. Don't worry." Nashi looked back at him, and he once again flashed a brilliant smile. "Mind if I accompany you?" Nashi thought about this for a moment. he didn't seem like that bad of a guy.

"Sure." She replied. She turned and pointed in the direction Damien had gone in. "I think he went that way."

"After you." Nashi walked off in the direction Damien had gone, Micheal at her side. They made small talk, just about their surroundings and such. Nashi liked Micheal. He was easy to talk to, and seemed rather nice overall. Pretty soon they had come to the outside of the arena, where the majority of people seemed to be. They walked into the lobby of the arena, where the people had thinned out considerably.

"See them?" Micheal asked. Nashi arced her head and looked around, eventually spotting several familiar heads in the distance.

"Yep!" She replied, turning back to him. "I should probably go and see them, they're probably waiting for me."

"Right, of course." Micheal then looked over to his left, and nodded. Looking over, Nashi saw a girl with raven black hair looking at Micheal. "Friend of yours?"

"Yeah, they're probably waiting for me, too." He looked back over at Nashi with a smile. "Guess I'll see you later, huh?"

"Guess we'll see, huh?" Micheal once again flashed a brilliant smile before we walked off towards the girl, and Nashi darted towards her friends. She collided with Drake and Elise with a laugh. "I'm here, not to worry!" She announced.

"Gah!" Drake shouted as the sudden appearance of Nashi's weight threw him off balance. "Nice to see you, too." Nashi laughed at his irritated reaction.

"So, what're we doing?" She asked, Simon gestured over to the center of the lobby, where people were writing stuff down.

"We have to sign up for the qualifier." He told her. Damien shuffled fro foot to foot.

"There's a line, damn it." He said. Nashi looked back and noticed that Damien was right. There was a rather hefty line of people waiting to sign up.

"Should we go do something else in the meantime?" Ultear asked. "We've got until the end of the day, anyway."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Elise said, turning on her heel and leaving. The rest of the group followed suit after her, and they made their way towards the exit. On the way there, Nashi looked around and spotted Micheal talking with the girl who'd called out to him. He met her gaze, held for a moment, and winked. She smiled at this before she realized she was lagging behind and ran to catch up.

She'd just found her friends, losing them again would be kind of pointless.

* * *

"God damn it, where the hell did everyone go?" Drake asked as he looked around. He'd been out exploring the multitude of festival stands and such for the Grand Magic Games, but he'd lost his friends as he'd followed a rather amazing smell a little to loyally. He only realized he'd lost the others when he'd finished his slice of pie. "Ugh, this always happens..."

Walking towards the main street surrounding the stalls, he looked around for any sign of the others, not finding one. He wasn't about to give up though, and even if it came right down to it he could just meet back up with them at the Domus Flau, so he was good. he stopped in the middle of the street and sighed.

"I mean really, where did everyone go?" he asked. he was abot to turn around and keep going when a hand tapped his shoulder lightly.

"Drake-sama?" Drake turned at this voice, confused and curious.

Azzie stood there with her hand outstretched, a curious look on her face.

"Azzie?" Drake asked. Azzie's cheeks went pink.

"H-Hi." She said. Drake stared at her for a moment before he broke into a grin.

"It's so good to see you!" he said with a laugh. "How've you been?" Azzie looked down, clasping her hands together tightly.

"A-Alright." She said. "A-And you?" Drake made a face.

"I'm great!" he said. "Seriously though, it's really good to see you."

"Y-You as well." Drake frowned.

"Azzie, are you okay?" He asked. The girl looked up in confusion, but Drake saw it clearly. She was conflicted about something. "It seems like something's bothering you." Azzie paled, and shook it off quickly.

"J-Just the crowd." She replied quietly. "I'm not used to being around so many people." Oh. Now that Drake thought about it, that made sense. She had been in a rather secretive guild prior, she'd probably only be used to a few people at a time.

"Oh, if you say so. Say, where are Katsuchi and Tetsu?" Azzie pointed towards the Domus Flau.

"They went to go get our tickets for the Games." She replied. "They were really excited and wanted to go, so we came. What about you? Are you here to watch the Game?" Drake smiled.

"I'm competing." He answered. Azzie's eyes went wide.

"Really?!" She asked. Drake nodded.

"The others and I decided we would. We're signing up later." Azzie smiled.

"Would it be alright to cheer for you?" She asked tentatively. Drake smiled quizzically as he wrapped her in a one armed hug.

"I'll be completely honest with you Azzie, if you cheer for anyone else other than us, I will take it as a personal insult." She chuckled.

"I suppose I better get some Fairy Tail flags to wave around, then." She replied. Drake nodded.

"You damn well better. Come with me, let's go find the others."

"If you say so." Drake took charge with Azzie behind him, looking for the others. Drake pointed out many of the festival stalls to Azzie, and she talked with him briefly about anyone she seemed interested in. Drake was honest though, he really was happy to see her doing so well, even while being off put by the crowd.

"I think I see Nashi-sama over there." Drake looked over, following Azzie's index finger towards a head of pink hair standing near a stall selling Guild merchandise. Drake nodded and walked towards her, tapping her on the shoulder.

"What?" She asked, turning around to face him.

"Where's everyone else?" He asked. Nashi shrugged.

"I think Simon and Ul go over that way." She replied. "I lost Damien a while ago." Drake nodded, and Nashi took notice of Azzie standing a bit farther away. "Azzie?" Azzie smiled and waved quietly. "It's so good to see you!" Nashi laughed as she rushed to hug the purple haired girl, who seemed rather surprised at the notion. Soon enough though, she returned the hug Nashi was giving her, albeit in confusion.

"Y-You as well, Nashi-sama." She said quietly. Drake wasn't wholly convinced it was the crowd bothering Azzie, but he let it be. She didn't seem intent on sharing.

"I think maybe we should go and sign up now." Drake said, looking overhead at the sun as it prepared to set. "We might miss out on it soon enough."

"Yeah, the others should have enough sense to head back too." Nashi then looked over at Azzie. "You coming?" Azzie shrugged.

"As far as the arena, I guess." She said. "Until I find Katsuchi-sama and Tetsu-sama." Finally having agreed on their destination, the trio made their way back to the Domus Flau. Soon enough, they found Damien, Simon and Ultear, who all had a brief happy exchange with Azzie before they made their way to the arena. Once they got inside, they spotted the registration completely devoid of anyone signing up. Azzie excused herself to go find Katsuchi and Tetsu, and left them to their registration. As they walked up, the blonde attendant smiled.

"Welcome to the Grand Magic Games registration! How can I help you today?" Simon stepped up, leaning on the counter.

"We'd like to register to complete." he told her. She nodded and opened a small notebook in front of her.

"What is the name of your guild?" She asked.

"Fairy Tail." the blonde wrote this down.

"Fairy Tail is here...Alright, can I have all competitors step in front of the lacrima please?" One by one Drake and the others stepped in front of the lacrima floating nearby, which was accompanied by a flash of light. A picture. "Now I just need you all to sign how you are here...Alright! We're done!" The blonde reached below the counter, pulled out a key, and handed it to Simon. "That is the key to your lodging!"

"Lodging?" Ultear asked, and the attendant nodded.

"Every competing Guild has been issued a hotel to stay in during the duration of the Games." She told them. "This key will unlock your room. It's the Lunar Peaks, just to the south of here!"

"Thanks, then." Elise said as she finished writing down her name. The blonde attendant nodded happily.

"No problem! Please enjoy your stay and I wish you the best of luck in the qualifier!"

* * *

"Wow this place is nice." Nashi nodded in agreement to Damien's words as they entered the lobby of the Lunar Peaks hotel. The area was very grand and extravagant, but she couldn't fathom why they'd been given such a nice hotel.

"Oh, there you guys are." The six looked over to find Erza and Levy standing to their left, smiling. "It's a nice hotel, huh?"

"Yeah..." Ultear said, tracing her finger down a marble statue next to her. "Why id we get such a nice one?"

"Laxus told the committee we were competing before you guys went to train." Levy explained. "All they had to do was hear our guild name and they gave us one of the nicest hotels in the city."

"I guess that makes sense." Nashi said. "But why give us a specific room key?" Erza smiled.

"You'll find out soon enough." Nashi wasn't sure what that meant, but it sounded pretty exciting. Nashi was absolutely ready to have an adventure that didn't threaten her life.

She just wanted to have some fun.

She followed her friends up the stairs towards their room, which was marked with a tag saying 'Fairy Tail competitors.' Upon unlocking the door, the six found a gigantic room with six beds spread out within. The room was just as nice as the rest of the hotel, which was saying a whole lot indeed.

"Well I'm not sure about you guys, but I am ready to take a nap." Elise said, flinging herself into the bed nearest the door.

"The qualifiers starts tomorrow at midnight, right?" Ultear asked Simon, who had the info pamphlet.

"Sure does." he replied. "At the very second the clock hits midnight apparently."

"Oddly specific." Drake said, sitting down on the edge of a bed and his eyes widened. "Holy shit this bed if the comfiest damn thing I think has ever graced my ass." Although the analogy could've been a whole lot better, Nashi knew that must've meant it was extremely comfy. Throwing herself into one herself, Nashi had to agree. The bed was extremely comfy.

"Well, get some decent rest everyone." Damien said. "I'm pretty sure tomorrow is going to be quite the day."

Quite the day indeed.

**And the Games have begun! I'm so stoked for this! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! let's try and get ten for the Games!**


	152. Meeting the Rival

**Nice to see you guys are hyped for this arc! I won`t disappoint you!**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi was certain she'd never be able to top the sleep she got in that bed. In was like she was resting on a cloud. She wasn't exactly sure when she had first awoken, but she started to move after Simon told her they were being told something down in the lobby. Lazily throwing on her outfit, Nashi followed her friends down to the lobby of the Lunar Peaks hotel, where they're parents where waiting for them.

"Sleep well?" Nashi's father asked, to of which she yawned in response.

"What was so important that you had to drag me out of bed?" She asked.

"Tonight." He replied. When Nashi raised an eyebrow, he looked out to address everyone. "We're doing something tonight as a guild a few hours before the qualifier, so make sure you're back here for that, alright?"

"What is it?" Ultear asked. Erza smiled.

"Saying hi to some old friends." She said. Nashi wasn't sure who she was talking about, but she was sure to find out eventually. "Until, say, six o'clock, you're free to wander around the city. Enjoy yourselves because after today, you have to be a bit more serious."

"What old friends?" Simon asked. Before they got an answer, they were ushered out of the hotel to go about there business. "Well, then. What are we doing now?"

"Checking out the festival, obviously." Drake replied, stretching his arms over his head. "So lets's go and do that." Nashi fell in line with her friends as they walked out into the city to go and find something interesting. They passed many different stalls, offering things ranging from food Nashi was certain she'd never seen before to petty looking games.

"Hey, Simon." the group stopped as Damien waved a plastic gun back and forth. "How much do you want to bet I can hit more targets than you?" Simon grinned.

"Damien, are you really challenging me?" He demanded, and Damien smirked as he waved the gun around. Whirling and putting some jewel on the counter, Damien aimed the gun with his one hand at the bottles set up against the wall. Pulling the trigger, a small object came from the barrel and hit the bottle, smashing it. Handing the gun to Simon, who also hit a bottle, they traded the gun between them, gradually only allowing themselves a second or two to draw and aim as a challenge, until Damien missed. He'd been trying a flashy shot, and missed. Smirking, Simon took the gun from the sweating Damien and aiming it quickly, hitting the final bottle.

"How." Damien demanded. He didn't even say it questioningly, he just said the word. Simon smiled as he used his thumb to count the jewel he'd won from the bet.

"You do know my Mom is good friends with Bisca, right?" He asked. "Not to mention I still have one of those rifles from Edolas. I'm a lot better with a gun than you'd take me for."

"God damn it..." Nashi smiled as her friends argued, before she noticed they were missing one.

"Where'd Elise go?" she asked, breaking up the ensuing argument. The others looked around in confusion, but no one saw the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"That's weird," Drake mumbled, looking around. "I could've sworn she was with us."

"Did we forget her at the hotel or what?" Ultear asked. Nashi sighed. Seeing as Elise was a very heavy sleeper, they'd probably forgotten all about her at the hotel.

"I'll go back and check the hotel." She told the others. "Wait around here for us, okay?" Nashi turned and pushed her way through the crowded streets towards the Lunar Peaks, keeping her eyes out for the shorter girl.

"Hey!" Nashi recognized the voice, but given the tone it wasn't directed at her. Following the sound, Nashi found the girl alright. The problem being is that she seemed rather indignant, and this was directed at a boy standing across from her. The boy in question had hair as black as midnight, and from what Nashi could tell from what she could see, hazel colored eyes. He was wearing a black cloak with a white undershirt, as well as black pants.

He was also staring at Elise in what looked like surprise.

"You could at least apologize for hitting me." Elise growled, but the boy just stared at her. "And what are you staring at?"

"...Nothing." The boy regained his composure, his face returning to a look of indifference. "Just surprised."

"What?"

"Nothing." The boy's hazel eyes were rather intimidating, even from the side. "Doesn't matter."

"No no, tell me what you meant." Elise said angrily.

"Step off shorty."

"_Excuse me?" _Nashi gulped. Elise wasn't that much shorter than the boy confronting her, but she could tell that he was irritated by her attitude. A lot of people were.

"I said step off." he growled, not getting angry as well. "You tell me to apologize when you're the one stumbling through the street seventy percent asleep?"

"Hey!" Nashi could sense this was about to escalate, so she stepped in between them, grabbing Elise's wrist. "Calm down Elise, don't start something."

"He's starting shit!" Elise replied angrily. The boy rolled his eyes.

"I am not. This didn't have to happen if you weren't so sensitive to someone hitting you on the street."

"Of all people, Keita," Nashi also knew that voice, but it took her a moment to place. Turning, the boy from the day before, Micheal, stepped out from the crowd towards the boy. "I wasn't expecting you to start a fight in the middle of the street." Nashi and Elise watched as Keita crossed his arms irritably.

"Whatever." Micheal laughed at this.

"I suppose I have to do the dirty work for you, huh?" He turned to Nashi and Elise. "Sorry about him. He's..." Micheal then took notice of Nashi, and his face flickered with surprise.

"Hey." Nashi said with a smile. He grinned back.

"Nashi, hey." He said, looking over at Elise. "Friend of yours?"

"Yeah." Nashi then looked over at Elise. "Who I think needs to apologize." Elise grumbled incoherently, but coughed violently when Nashi elbowed her.

"Sorry for overreacting." Elise lied through her teeth. "Just in a bad mood." Keita did not respond immediately, and Micheal punched him in the shoulder.

"Sorry." Keita muttered.

"There we go." Micheal said. "All sorted out. He's Keita by the way."

"Hi." Keita greeted quietly. Nashi looked over at Elise, who caught on quick enough and cleared her throat.

"Elise." She said. Micheal nodded at her.

"Micheal." he looked over at Nashi, grin widening. "You already know that though, right Nashi?" Nashi nodded. "So what are you lovely ladies up to?" He asked, pocketing his hands.

"I was looking for her." Nashi said, jabbing Elise with her hand. "She wandered off in her sleepy stupor."

"Shut up."

"What about you guys?" Micheal shrugged, looking around.

"Just going around, enjoying the festival." he said. "Just before everyone gets really serious about the Games." Nashi knew the feeling, so she understood.

"You guys can come with us, if you want." Nashi offered, earning an exasperated look from Elise. She really didn't care what Elise wanted, it was her own fault she wasn't getting along with Keita. "Unless your with other people, of course." Micheal shrugged once more.

"Nope, we split up a while go. Lead the way." Micheal cast a cautious look back at Keita, who just shrugged him off. This earned a laugh from Micheal, who walked next to Nashi away from where the fight had almost started.

* * *

Elise hated to admit that in the few hours they spent with Micheal and Keita as they wandered around, she actually enjoyed herself. She warmed up to Micheal quickly due to his friendly nature, but it took her a while with Keita. She knew it was mainly her fault they'd almost fought, but god forbid she admit that.

"I can't believe I got out eaten by a girl!" Micheal shouted angrily. He'd just lost an eating contest with Nashi, who'd only just beaten him due to speed. Nashi giggled and patted his arm as he skulked.

"Don't worry about it, I was just faster."

"That's the problem..."

"You'd be surprised at how much Nashi can shove into that small stomach of hers." Elise joked as she slapped Nashi's abdomen. Nashi glared at her, which she promptly ignored.

"Obviously!" Micheal replied. "She destroyed me! Think you could win Keita?" The black haired boy looked up at his name being called, and he shook his head.

"I can't beat you, she'd demolish me." He replied. Elise noted the despite how friendly and welcoming Micheal was acting, Keita was just keeping away from them in general. He didn't seem angry or sad, he just kept his distance from their tomfoolery. The two were polar opposites, how had they managed to become friends?

"Micheal! Keita!" Both boys jumped as a female voice shouted at them. Following their gaze, Elise saw a girl with raven black hair approaching.

"J-Juno!" Micheal shouted in surprise. "W-What's up?"

"What's up?" Juno demanded. "You idiots know we have to get ready for tonight, right?"

"Uh..."

"Ugh, are you serious?! How did you forget, you moron?!" Juno slapped the back of Micheal's head, which made him apologize profusely. She then whirled on Keita, who held up his arms in self defense.

"I was about to remind him, I swear!" he shouted. Juno glared at him before she huffed and flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"Idiots, the both of you." She muttered. She grabbed Micheal by the ear, much to the blonde's chagrin, and dragged him away, all while Elise and Nashi just watched in confusion.

"Don't worry about her." Keita said to them. "She's not really mad, she's just..."

"Keita!" Keita jumped.

"C-Coming Juno!" He said, quickly moving after the girl.

This left Elise and Nashi to themselves.

"...What just happened?" Elise asked.

"I couldn't tell you." Nashi replied. "Hey, we need to be heading back soon, we spent way to much time hanging out with those two." Elise looked over at a clock on a pole near them and had to agree. It had been roughly eleven in the morning when they'd left, and it was now four.

"The others are probably really angry with us." Elise said with a crackle. "We were gone all day."

"It's fine." Nashi replied as they walked off towards their hotel. "We had fun anyway, right?"

"I guess."

"Oh don't be that way, you had fun."

"Micheal was alright, his friend was weird."

"Maybe he's just shy."

"Yeah, sure." The girls continued to talk about the pair of boys they;d hung out with all afternoon all the way until they make it back to the hotel. Once there, they saw all of their friends already waiting for them.

"Where the hell were you two?" Simon asked. "You went off to find Elise and never came back."

"Ah, we had our own fun." Nashi replied with a wink. "Are we leaving yet?"

"Soon, I think." Damien replied. "No one will tell us what for, though." Elise made a face.

"That's weird. What could it possible be for?"

* * *

After recovering from the vicious ear pulling session Juno had given him on the way back to the hotel, Micheal came to realize his guild was in a frenzy, running around to set stuff up.

"So, uh, what's going on again?" He asked.

"I told you a million times dumbass," Juno's sharp reply came from his left. "Apparently some old friends of our parents are coming around, so everyone's making sure the hotel doesn't look trashed from the party last night."

"Oh, right." Fairy Tail. Micheal had completely forgotten that his 'rival' guild was in the city as well. He'd never met anyone from the guild as far as he knew, but from what he saw they were also competing in the Grand Magic Games.

Did that mean he'd meet his rival?

Micheal had been told all about his father's old rivalry with Natsu Dragneel. And now, with both married with kids, Micheal wondered if another Dragon Slayer his age was with them. He was very curious about that.

"Are they coming soon?" He asked, plucking a white flower out of a vase someone was carrying past them and ate it.

"Sometime soon, yeah." Juno replied. "So be on your best behavior, or I'll transport you to a very _unfortunate place._" Micheal shuddered at the thought of Juno sending him to some random place, probably four hundred feet in the air.

"Who are you, my mom?"

"You wouldn't want sweet little Ally to know you acted poorly to guests, would you?"

"You wouldn't dare go there...!"

_BOOM!_

The entire hotel shuddered, which caused Juno to fall towards Micheal, who was forced to catch her.

And as per his usual luck with the girl, their foreheads touched.

"Let go of me!" She shouted, blushing and pushing him away. Micheal threw his arms up in exasperation.

"Had I let you fall it would've been my fault, but If I catch you it's still my fault?! This is bullshi...!"

_BOOM!_

Juno was smart enough to keep her balance this time, but not Micheal was wondering what had happened. The explosions were coming from the doorway, and others seemed to look a little frightened.

"What is tha...?"

_BOOM!_

This time, the door blew off it's hinges and past several guild members, who had to duck to avoid the projectile.

"What the hell?!" Juno asked. Before Micheal could say he didn't know, a wave of heat slammed into him.

"Holy shit, it's hot in here..." he hissed. Looking back towards the door, a red glow now emanated from it. Soon enough, a body formed there.

"...Where's your Master?" A voice asked. Soon enough, a tall man with pink hair entered, his face dead serious.

Micheal heard the stories enough times to recognize him as Natsu Dragneel.

No one replied, and Natsu's face flickered angrily.

"Where is he?!" he demanded. Before Micheal could ask any questions, he felt a powerful presence behind him.

His father stepped past him to face Natsu.

"Looking for me, Dragneel?" He asked. A smirk crossed Natsu's face.

"You're damn right I am." After these words were spoken, raw magic began to radiate from the pink haired man. Micheal's father followed suit soon enough. The very air was thick with tension s the two glared at each other, both looking livid as all hell. Micheal's body was screaming for him to take cover before something exploded.

Until a smile crossed Natsu Dragneel's face and he crossed his arms.

"Sting ya bastard, how have you been?" Before Micheal could register what had just happened, his father sighed.

"Really Natsu-san? Did you have to blow your way in here?"

"Ah I thought you appreciate the throwback!" Natsu laughed, and Micheal's father just face palmed in defeat. Before anything else could happen, other people, presumably members of Fairy Tail, all came in behind Natsu, all looking extremely sorry for Natsu's actions.

"I guess I'll have to get that fixed later..." Micheal's father said. "Dinners just about ready, so make yourself at home everyone." He then looked back at Micheal. "And you come with me, Micheal."

"..Eh?" Micheal asked, Juno shoving him forward. Micheal walked mechanically with his father over to Natsu Dragneel, who was waiting with a big smile on his face.

"Don;t tell me this isn't funny." he advised Micheal's father, who just shook his head.

"You tried." he said with a smirk. "Anyway Natsu-san, I heard you were entering the Games?"

"The guild, yep." Natsu replied, who then made Micheal jump by looking at him. "And I assume your spitting image is participating this year?"

"Sure is. Natsu, this is Micheal."

"H-Hey." Micheal said, making Natsu smile wider.

"I'm sure you and my daughter will have it out at some point, then." Micheal's father laughed.

"Speaking of which, where is she? I haven't seen her yet." Natsu grinned.

"She's right about here." Pretty soon, two new sets of footsteps came in through the broken door. "Over here." Natsu said, and a set of those feet came up behind him, she then came out and stood next to her father.

"Micheal, this is my daughter N..."

"...Nashi?"

"...Micheal?"

**Heheh, I really liked this chapter. I hope you guys did too, so leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	153. Sabertooth

**Not sure when the actual, you know, Games will start, but I know you guys are looking forward to it. **

**Enjoy!**

Nashi had to scan the young man standing in front of her a few times before she realized it was, as a matter of fact, Micheal from earlier. What was going on?

"Oh? You two have met before?" Her father asked. Nashi was too stunned to respond.

"E-Earlier." Micheal managed. "W-We, uh, talked."

"Y-Yeah." Nashi replied. Micheal's father Sting laughed.

"Well I suppose we don't have to have some sort of intro for you. Dinners about ready, so come along." Nashi's father walked past her, leaving her and Micheal alone. He cast a cautious glance at her, so she gestured after their fathers. He turned and walked after them, Nashi close behind him. After a moment of strange silence, Micheal chuckled.

"I feel like an idiot." he told her, running his hand through his hair. "You look a lot like your dad. Even have the guild mark on your hand." Nashi looked down at her hand at this, where her red guild mark was.

"Your should." She replied. "Although I guess I'm not perfect either, I didn't see it either." Micheal laughed.

"I guess." He replied. There conversation was cut off as they reached the dinner hall, where members of Sabertooth and Fairy Tail were talking to each other. Nashi wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, so she just followed Micheal and their fathers, where Nashi's mother and a women with white hair were talking and laughing. Once they got there, the women looked over smiling.

"Hey Natsu." Nashi's mother greeted. "Nashi." The women with white hair smiled.

"It's so good to see you again, Natsu-sama." She greeted. Nashi's father nodded.

"You too, Yukino." The women named Yukino then looked over to Nashi, smiling even wider.

"And this must be the daughter I've heard so much about." She said. Nashi smiled.

"I suppose I am." She replied. "Nashi."

"It's so good to finally meet you, Nashi-sama. I'm Yukino, Micheal's mother." Nashi could tell, Micheal had a very strong resemblance to his mother. The relation was undeniable. Yukino then turned to her son. "By the way Micheal, have you seen Ally?" Micheal shrugged.

"I saw her roaming around near the kitchens." He replied. "Might want to make sure she's not doing anything she's not supposed to be."

"Could you do that for me please?" Micheal groaned as his mother put on quite possibly the sweetest face Nashi had ever seen. "Come on, please?"

"...Fine." Micheal finally muttered, dragging his feet as he walked away from the group. he then stopped and turned. "Want to come, Nashi?"

"Huh? Why?" Micheal smiled.

"I'm sure Ally would love to meet you." Nashi wasn't sure what that meant, but she was sure she also didn't want to be the only person her age in the conversation, so she trailed after Micheal on his way to the kitchen. Once they made it there, Micheal stopped and looked around with a hand on his chin. "She should be around her somewhere, her scent is strongest right here."

"Who is Ally, anyway?" Nashi asked, also smelling a scent very akin to Micheal's in the area. "Is she...?"

"Caught you, Onii-chan!" Nashi jumped as a girl with shoulder length white hair tackled Micheal's legs. Micheal didn't seem all that surprised.

"Come on Ally, knock it off." He mumbled, shaking his leg. The girl did not release him.

"Nah, I don't want too." She replied. Micheal growled and grabbed the girl around the midsection, hoisting her up to eye level with him.

"Don't make me tickle you." he said in a deathly low tone. Nashi could've sworn he was threatening her life has she not heard the actual threat. The small girl's eyes widened in what appeared to be a mixture of fear and joy, so she nodded her head vigorously. Micheal put her down and sighed, turning to Nashi. "Sorry about that. This is Ally, my little sister." The girl smiled up at Nashi.

"Hiya!" She greeted. "I'm Ally!" Nashi smiled.

"I'm Nashi." She said. The girl was incredibly cute, that was undeniable. The girl looked up at her brother.

"Onii-chan, is she your girlfriend?" Nashi giggled as Micheal sputtered at the question.

"No!" he hissed. "Why do you always assume every new person you meet is my girlfriend?"

"Cause it bothers you." Micheal boiled in his irritation as Ally turned back to Nashi. "My brother has a lot of girlfriends, so don't get jealous." Nashi shook her head with a smile.

"I'll try." She said. Micheal seemed to be near the end of his rope, so he whirled his sister around and glared at her.

"Ally, Mom was looking for you. She's worried." Ally's eyes widened.

"Oh, I'll go find her! Bye Onii-chan! Bye Onii-chan's new girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Micheal shouted angrily as the free spirited girl ran away from them. Nashi turned to him with a smile.

"She's cute."

"She's the devil in a six year old's body."

* * *

Simon was unsure as to the reason he'd been dragged to Sabertooth's hotel for, just like everyone else. Of course by the time he was seated in between Drake and Damien to eat, it was too late to care. After all, he was pretty hungry. Everyone was eating and talking to others, although Sting's son, Micheal, was being bothered by a girl Simon assumed was his little sister. She was poking his cheek with a chicken leg, and he was doing his best to ignore her. Nashi was doing her absolute best to not laugh out loud.

"I can hear the giggling, Dragneel." Micheal hissed. "Shut it."

"S-Sorry..." Nashi managed through her giggles. "She's so cute though..."

"Says you..." Micheal muttered as his sister ceased her insistent poking. After that, both groups of six felt rather awkward. Only Nashi, Elise, Micheal, the Rogue's son Keita had been introduced, so no one else knew how to start talking.

"So," Looking up, it was Minerva's daughter Juno who had spoken up. She seemed to be directing her words at him. "You guys are going to compete in the Games?" Simon nodded.

"Yep." He replied. "Which probably means we're going to go up against you guys, right?" Juno nodded.

"Probably. You're Simon, right?" Simon nodded. "I've heard about you. Let's hope you live up to the stories."

"Entirely depends on what stories you've heard." Simon replied. Juno shrugged.

"I suppose." "I'm Juno, by the way." Simon already knew that, but nodded out of appreciation. Juno then pointed towards all of her friends. She first pointed to Micheal. "He's Micheal." Then Keita. "Keita." Then the girl with long, bright green hair. "That's Rina." and followed by the blonde girl with beautiful green eyes. "Kyoko." And then at the tan boy Simon did not know whatsoever. "And Blake."

"Blake huh?" it was Drake who had spoken. "You don't seem to have the famous bloodline of your friends."

"I could say the same to you, Dragon Slayer. At least my bloodline doesn't trace to a Dark Guild." Blake fired back. Drake smirked.

"Oohh, a little cocky are we? Always more fun to stomp your type."

"I was about to say the same."

"Drake." It was Ultear's scolding voice who silenced the Poison Dragon. Blake smirked.

"A little whipped there aren't you?" He asked.

"Blake." Juno said, making him sink into his seat.

"That was Drake." Simon said, gesturing to the boy playing with his food. "Ultear scolded him." Ultear smiled at the mention of her name, and Damien looked over at Simon.

"Sure don't introduce me, _Mister Leader_." Simon rolled his eyes.

"That's Damien." he said, making Damien laugh. Rina looked over at him.

"So you're the Dreyar, huh?" She asked. "I was looking forward to meeting you."

"A lot of girls say that, for some reason." Damien joked, earning a chuckle from most of the table. Rina shook her head with a smile.

"I just wanted to ask you something."

"As long as it's not signing part of your body, we're good." Simon snorted at this. "What's up?"

"If we end up crossing paths during the Games, don't hold back." Rina said. Damien made a face.

"I'm not sure you know how dangerous that request is." he said. "because I could very well kill you that way." Rina nodded.

"I know, that's why I asked."

"You want me to kill you?"

"No, I want the threat to be there." Rina shrugged. "Most people I fight don't pose that threat, so I want to see how it turns out." Damien did not reply to this, obviously because at least half of the people involved in the conversation were aware what Damien's full strength entailed. Simon wasn't sure Rina knew just how dangerous it was. She might have thought she did, but there was no way she had even an inkling of an idea.

"At least the Games might be entertaining this year." Ultear said, breaking the silence. "After all, the last few years have been rather bland from what I've heard." The blonde girl, Kyoko, nodded.

"They did, I remember it quite vividly."

"That's a surprise." Micheal joked. Kyoko sighed at this, making Micheal laugh.

"Anyway, they did suck. Hopefully we spice it up a little bit."

"We will." Rina said. "I'm not sure there's really anything to worry about there. This year will probably be one of the best in a while."

"Hopefully."

"You've been a little quiet over there, Keita." It was Elise who had spoken to the dark haired boy, who looked up at her.

"And?" He asked. Elise frowned.

"Just wondering why."

"I'm not exactly a talker." He replied. "Don't take it the wrong way."

"Because everyone already does." Micheal teased. A shadow whipped out from Keita's side to attack Micheal, but the boy slapped it away with a glowing palm. "Don't be like that, you know it's true."

"Ally, Micheal's being rude to me."

"Onii-chan!"

"You bastard...Gah!"

* * *

Natsu watched as Ally attacked her brother with a chicken leg, while the others watched and laughed.

"They seem to be getting along well." Minerva commented.

"Give it a few days." Rogue replied. "They'll be at each others throats soon enough."

"I have to agree with Rogue." Natsu said. "They'll act nice now, but just wait until there are points, not to mention pride, on the line."

"I hope they don't get to into it." Kinana said quietly. "The last thing we need is them really trying to hurt each other."

"Somehow, I feel that's an inevitable outcome." Sting said. Natsu frowned as Micheal grabbed the chicken leg from his sister and whacked her on the head with it. A normal child her age would've started crying, but Ally's eyes burned with anger as she tackled Micheal.

"Let's hope not."

* * *

"Holy hell I ate way to much today." Micheal groaned as they made there way out of the hotel and onto the street. After all, the qualifier started at midnight and it was ten.

"Pace yourself, you moron." Juno replied. Micheal made a face at her, and Juno sighed. She then started rubbing his back.

"Oh god I love you."

"Shut up fatty." Nashi smiled quizzically at the pair.

"The qualifier starts soon, so we should probably head back." She said. "After all, our parents are a bit, um..."

"Wasted, would be the word you're looking for." Drake said. Nashi nodded.

"Yeah, that. Anyway, we'll see you guys later. Maybe even in a few hours." Micheal nodded as Juno stopped rubbing his back.

"May the better guild win." He replied. Nashi turned and started walking away with the others, feeling rather excited about the qualifier.

"Nashi." Nashi stopped and looked over her shoulder at Micheal, who had called out to her. He had a big smile on his face, and he opened his mouth to speak.

"..."

* * *

Nashi and the other where back in there room, watching the clock tick down to midnight.

"What do you think the qualifier is?" Ultear asked.

"Not sure." Drake replied. "Although given the severe amount of guilds participating, it would have to be something that can eliminate hundreds at a time, right?"

"Hm," Nashi hummed as she thought. "Maybe it's the..."

_Tick_

The six friends looked back at the lock on the wall of their room. Both hands were over the twelve.

"It's midnight." Damien observed. Just as soon as he finished his sentence, the door to their room locked.

It only locked from the inside.

"I guess that means it's starting." Simon said, standing from his seat on the bed. Nashi nodded in agreement.

"Only question is, what now?"

It was soon answered.

The ground beneath their feet began to shake violently, and their window flew open. Rushing to it, the six looked out to find a gigantic face of a very handsome man in the sky. A hologram.

_"Hello people of Crocus and every guild competing in the Grand Magic Games!"_ he roared. _"Tonight, the over three hundred aspiring guilds will clash in the qualifier, known as the Labyrinth! This event has been resurrected due to many very familiar guilds competing this year! The basis is simple: In the ever changing maze created by buildings of the city, your competing team must be one of the first six guilds to cross the finish! If you are anything past sixth place, you are automatically eliminated!"_

"Holy hell, only six places?" Simon asked. "Isn't it usually eight?"

"I'm pretty sure they upped the team member count by one in favor of less teams." Ultear answered.

_"However, before the qualifier officially starts, I, Ross Kennedy, am honored to introduce the Queen of Fiore, Her Majesty Hisui E. Fiore!" _Nashi's expectations of an old crotchety women were shattered when an attractive women who looked no less than thirty appeared on the hologram. The woman smiled.

_"Hello everyone!" __She greeted. "Another year, another festival. However, I have hopes that this year will be one of the most exciting to date!"_

"Wait," Damien said. "Does she know we're...?"

_"And without further ado, let the Grand Magic Games begin!" _The Queen's face disappeared, and the rumbling began once more. Soon enough, a earthen path shot up from below their window, becoming them to cross it. It lead all the way up to the gigantic ball in the sky.

"There it is, that's the qualifier." Ultear said. "Are we ready?" Nashi grinned.

"Let's do this!" She shouted, jumping up on the walkway and sprinting towards the Labyrinth. Despite her friends calling her to wait up, she just sprinted up to it, excitement once again filling her veins. As she ran up to the Labyrinth, Micheal's words filled her ears.

_Promise me one thing, Nashi."_

_"What?" Micheal held his arm out with a wild smirk._

_"No matter what happens or who comes out on top, let's make this the best damn Grand Magic Games the people have seen in years."_

_There was really only one answer to this._

_Nashi firmly grasped his hand and met his fiery gaze._

_"That is a promise I am more than eager to keep."_

**And the Games officially begin! I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get ten!**


	154. The Labyrinth

**Today we jump into the qualifier! I may just do this whole thing in one chapter, I see no need to play it out. So yeah, this is probably going to be a shorter chapter, sorry :(**

**Enjoy!**

Once Nashi reached the entrance of the Labyrinth, her head started to hurt. It wasn't due to anything other than the sheer size of the area around her.

"Shit." Nashi whistled, looking around. "This thing is huge." As she marveled at the size of the qualifier, she heard her friends walk in behind her.

"Don't wait for us or anything." Elise grumbled.

"Sorry, I got too excited." Nashi replied with a smile.

"Yeah but..."

"Don't start an argument." Simon interrupted. "We don't have the time to waste. If only six of three hundred teams can make it, we have to go fast."

"Fair enough." Damien said, twirling around. "But, you know, where exactly do we have to go?"

"He has a point." Ultear agreed. "We have no idea where to go." Drake made a face.

"Hold on." he said. Nashi saw him concentrate, before his eyes widened. He stumbled a little, and Nashi caught him so he wouldn't fall.

"You okay?" She asked. Drake shook his head, looking incredibly disorientated.

"This thing is huge." he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "My sound magic can't map it out for us." Nashi stood him up and he looked around. "I guess our only option is too look all over the place."

"I suppose." She replied. "Where should we start?" Soon enough, Nashi could hear explosions somewhere else in the Labyrinth. Clearly, some of the other three hundred teams had encountered each other. Simon pointed up a flight of stairs.

"We just need to get going." he told everyone. "Maybe if we get up high enough we'll be able to see a path." The group walked up the stairway onto another platform, where they could see much more of the qualifier.

"This thing is huge." Elise said. "How're we supposed to be one of the first six teams out of this fucking thing?" Nashi watched two six man teams below them engage in combat, attacking each other viciously.

"Maybe we should start with wiping out the competition." She said, a wolfish grin settling on her face. She formed a big fireball on her fingertips and launched it downwards at the opposing teams, causing both debris and guild members to fly every which way. She jumped down onto the larger platform, immediately surrounded by a third team. She smirked. "I find it cute you guys think you can take me out." Dodging the initial assault from a few of the members, she easily dispatched them all in a few minutes.

"Maybe we shouldn't waste too much time on other people." Ultear said as the rest of her team joined her. "We'll end up not making it." Simon nodded in agreement.

"We don't get any bonuses for anything else we do in this maze, so we just need to get through to the end." Drake looked off in the direction the other guilds had appeared from.

"There's a huge opening over there." he said, pointing towards it. Walking towards it, Nashi gaped.

The 'opening' Drake has mentioned was less of an opening and more of the core of the maze. buildings hung from the roof and jutted out from the ground in a space easily a few miles wide and even longer than that. Innumerable people jumped from building to building and fought on the ground below as well as the air, all hoping to better their chances by just a little bit.

"How are we going to go about this?" Damien asked, observing the battlefield for himself. "There's no way we're getting out of this without fighting a lot of people."

"Damien's right." Elise pointed out. "Not only o we have no idea where to go from here, but at least half of the teams have converged here. Someone's going to try and take us out at some point." She then grinned. "So we have to choice but to go with plan B." Damien nodded, his body glowing with dark magic.

"Take them out?" he asked as his demon takeover activated. Nashi nodded, igniting her body.

"Take them out." She agreed.

* * *

"Simon, to your left!" Drake watched as Simon ducked from his warning just in time to narrowly avoid a blast of fire aiming to take his head off. He flung a sword in that direction hoping to hit his attacker, but he was unsure the attempt managed anything.

Seeing as he and the others had come to the conclusion they would have to get involved in the attempts at taking out other teams to get out in time, he should have expected all of the chaos. Simon ran back to him as other guilds started to attack each other.

"This is getting insane." he told Drake. "Where'd everyone else go?"

"Not sure, but I think we should try and get away from this." He replied, gesturing to the aforementioned chaos. "We're getting no where doing this." Simon nodded. Just as the two turned to flee, they felt a great pressure.

And then the buildings behind them collapsed.

They both whirled to see the building flying everywhere, white magic surrounding it. Other people darted out of the way as well, trying to avoid getting crushed.

"Holy hell, who was that?" Drake demanded, but he saw no one who wasn't shocked by the collapse.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it\s not wise to stick around and find out." Drake nodded at this, he sure as hell didn't want to know. Activating his sound magic to keep an eye out for any surprises, Drake followed behind Simon down a pathway away from the huge battlefield.

_"Run! She's going to get you!"_

_"Gah! She's everywhere!"_

_"How can a girl be so acrobatic?!"_

Drake paused as a girl from the battlefield behind him laughed.

_"Man, you guys are such a pushover nyah! No wonder Nami's doing so good!"_

_"Kumi-san!"_

_"Yes, nyah?"_

_"Have you found the exit yet?"_

_"Nope, but these guys really need to step up their game, nyah." _This was punctuated by the muffled groaning of pain from another contender. _Where's Nami?"_

_"No idea. I think she went that way."_

_"Well __it'd be best to stay with her, nyah. Let's go." _The girls then ran off from the battlefield, and Drake noticed Simon watching from a ways away.

"What is it?" He asked cautiously. Drake shrugged.

"Nothing." He replied earnestly. "Just some girl who must really like cats." Simon raised an eyebrow at this, but did not question any further. Jogging to catch up with him, the two eventually found their way to another decently sized battlefield, where a winged demon was flying around attacking others on the ground.

"Damien!" Simon shouted. Damien paused mid-charge of his darkness magic and turned to look at Simon. "Find anything yet?"

"No." Damien replied, causally sending his opponents flying. "How long have we been in here, anyway?"

"Ten minutes." Drake said. Damien groaned.

"Seriously? All the fighting makes it feel like it's been longer" This earned nods of agreement.

"Where are the girls?" Simon inquired. Damien shrugged.

"Not sure. Ultear's around here somewhere, but Nashi and Elise disappeared a while ago." As if on cue, a blast of ice send a guy flying from another pathway, and Ultear appeared from it.

"Damn, so it did just loop back here." She cursed, looking over at Drake and Simon. "Anything on your end?"

"Nope." Drake replied. He and Simon jumped down onto the ground level with Damien and Ultear, who both looked a little beaten up but nothing serious. "We need to..."

Then he smelled it.

It was Nashi and Elise's scent, that much he recognized, but their were others scents he only just barely did.

"Sabertooth." He whispered, making the others look over at him in surprise.

"What?" Ultear asked.

"Sabertooth, I can smell them." Drake replied, inhaling to get a better idea of where it was coming from. Soon enough, the trail formed down a path to their left. The others close behind, Drake took cautious steps as he followed the scent, really hoping he didn't walk into some sort of trap set by their rival guild. Seeing a corner up ahead, Drake peeked out from behind it. Behind a piece of rubble where Nashi and Elise, both peeking over at the group barely visible in the distance. Apparently sensing their presence, both girls turned to see them, and Nashi raised a single finger to her mouth. Nodding, Drake and the others came over to them, also hiding behind the rubble with them.

"Are you tailing them?" Drake whispered, and Nashi nodded.

"You bet."I heard them talking about figuring out where the exit is, so I figured following them is our best bet." That made sense to Drake, but one thing bothered him.

"Can Micheal or Keita smell you?" he asked. "If they are Dragon Slayers, they must recognize your scent, even if only a little." Nashi shrugged.

"Maybe they aren't looking for us." she replied.

"In any case, they're on the move." Elise reported, looking back at the barely visible team, he noted they were indeed moving farther away. Moving slowly so that the two Slayers on the other team wouldn't detect them, Drake noticed that they were indeed moving with a purpose. Everything turn was made without argument or thought, and due to this they almost lost them a few times.

"They can't know how to solve this for real." Ultear whispered. "This place is a god damn maze."

"They might be throwing us off." Simon warned. "If you guys could sense them, there's no way they can't sense us." Nashi nor Elise replied, as this had probably occurred to them as well. Drake wasn't aware of just how strong Micheal or Keita was, but their Dragon senses must have alerted them to the tailing group.

"Not like we have any idea anyway." Damien said, also making a fair point. "So on the off chance they both know where to go and don't realize we're on their tail, this can only go well." Deciding they had no better ideas, they continued following Sabertooth from a distance. Eventually however, the group stopped.

"Shit, did they hear us?" Simon asked.

"I don't think so." Nashi replied. Drake peeked around the corner they were hiding around to find Micheal turning around, looking at Juno.

"Do it." he told her. Juno nodded and, with the sound of spatial distortion all around them, the buildings around them all disappeared in an instant, stacking into a wall between them and Sabertooth.

"Damn it!" Elise shouted as they glared at their side of the wall. "How the hell are we supposed to follow them now?!"

"They totally knew!" Ultear growled. A loud laugh could be heard from over the wall.

"It was a nice try, guys." Micheal called. "But we'll be finishing the qualifier now. See ya at the top!" Six sets of feet ran away from the wall, leaving Drake and the others in the dust.

"Well," Damien said, much more calm then Drake felt. "That sucks."

"Now what?" Simon asked. "We still don't know where they're going."

"The top." Everyone looked over at Nashi as she said this, eyes wide. "Micheal said he'd meet us at the top."

"...Can we get over the wall?" Simon asked. Drake looked over at the barricade.

"Not without crushing ourselves or anyone else near us." he replied.

"Over here!" Everyone looked over at Ultear, who was near a stairwell going up. "It probably won't get us all the way around, but it's better than nothing!"

* * *

It took Nashi and the others a fair amount of time to make their way to the other side of the barricade made by Juno, but once they had they immediately followed the scent of their rival guild down a very precise path, all leading upwards.

"How did they even figure out the end was at the top?" Elise asked through her panting as they sprinted. At this rate they had been in the Labyrinth for half an hour, and God knew if they'd even make it in time to take one of the six spots.

"Who cares?" Nashi asked in response. "let's just hope he wasn't trying to throw us off!" Soon enough, the group of six saw a golden plated doorway up a gigantic flight of steps. The end was in sight, and no one else was around. The six sprinted up the stairs as fast ad they could, all trying to squeeze through the doorway at once.

"You can imagine that didn't end well.

"Nashi felt incredibly constricted as she and her friends all tried to push through the small doorway at once, finally making it through and landing in a heap. As soon as they all recovered, they noticed that they were being watched by the man who had announced the qualifier.

"Welcome contenders!" he greeted. "You have made it through the qualifier! Congratulations!"

"How many teams finished before us?" Simon immediately asked. The man smiled.

"Why, only one! You're the second team to make it to the end of the Labyrinth!"

**Yeah yeah, a pretty shitty chapter. I don't want to dwell on the qualifier, but I had to do something with it, you know? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	155. Let the Games Begin

**And today, ladies and gentleman, the Games shall officially begin! I hope you enjoy!**

The day was upon them, the Games were finally starting, and Azzie was being dragged through the crowds by Katsuchi and Tetsu to find somewhere to sit.

"Come on Azzie, we need to find somewhere good!" Tetsu said, dragging her by the arm.

"I get that but for the love of God, let me walk on my own!" Azzie complained, only earning a laugh from the Iron God Slayer. Sighing, Azzie looked over at the much calmer Katsuchi, who was also looking around at the other people around them. She wondered why the blonde was so much calmer then his counterpart as they finally got into a tunnel leading upwards towards the seats. Azzie shielded her eyes as the sun bore down on her. It was a beautiful day, and according to Tetsu, a perfect day to watch people beat the shit out of each other.

She didn't really get her roommate sometimes.

"Hey, there are some near the front!" Azzie looked over as Katsuchi spoke to find a few seats open From where they were positioned, they would give the trio a decent view of the whole battlefield and the lacrima vision whenever it was turned on. They swiftly made their way over to them before someone else got them, and sat down as others around them did the same. The hype buzz was insane. Azzie could feel her stomach turning in anticipation, and she hadn't been all that interested in coming in the first place.

"Did you guys hear the placings from the qualifier or not?" She asked, vaguely interested if their friends had made it in or not. Katsuchi crossed his arms and shook his head.

"They keep that kind of stuff to themselves." he told her. " Ruins the surprise if you find out who made it prior to them actually coming out."

"I suppose." Azzie replied, slumping in her seat. She was slightly unnerved by the amount of people around her all talking quietly. Despite no longer being a dark guild member, she still didn't like large crowds.

"For the love of God, start it already!" Tetsu complained. "I'm so excited to see this!"

"Calm down, they'll get around to it." Azzie told him. "You just have to wait."

"I don't want to Az! I've _been _waiting!"

"And you only have to wait a little longer."

"Ugh..." Azzie smiled as the black haired man slumped over, rubbing his eyes. "I just want to see it..."

_"Ladies and Gentlemen! __I am your host for the Grand Magic Games, Ross Kennedy!" _The crowd around Azzie, Tetsu included, erupted as the announcer started speaking. His excited face appeared on the lacrima vision. _"Welcome to the Domus Flau! It is the hope of the the host city, our capital, that you enjoy yourself this week! But, I'm sure you're all done waiting, aren't you?!"_

"Your god damn right!" Tetsu roared along with everyone else. "Let's get this started already!"

_"Well alright! Ladies and Gentleman, let me introduce to you the six teams that survived the hellish qualifier that is the Labyrinth! Coming in sixth place and earning themselves two extra points, QUATRO CERBERUS!" _Music blared as the guild's symbol appeared on the lacrima vision. From one of the six tunnels leading into the arena, a group of five men and one women appeared. They all seemed a little underwhelming, including the girl in front who looked completely hammered.

"She's wasted." Katsuchi pointed out flatly, Azzie nodding in agreement. Ross Kennedy didn't seem fazed by that.

_"And it would appear that the guild of men was a lovely lily in their ranks this year! I wonder what we will see from here?!"_

"Throwing up, maybe?" Azzie remarked as the girl stumbled.

_"And coming in fifth place earning themselves three extra points, the guild of lovely ladies, MERMAID HEEL!" _Azzie watched as six women walked into the arena, led by one wearing wearing a black jacket, pants and carrying a sheathed blade on her back. She had straight black hair and unnerving red eyes. Despite her incredibly intimidating looks, she had a bright smile on her face as she waved at the crowds. _"What a gorgeous group of ladies! And from what I understand, I should keep my compliments down or Master Kagura, the most gorgeous of the women and the master, will come after me! Isn't that funny? I'm going to stop now." _Azzie rolled her eyes as the man laughed awkwardly.

"He does have a point." Katsuchi said. "They are pretty hot."

"Damn right." Tetsu agreed.

_And in fourth place, the guild with all the beauties who've earned four extra points, BLUE PEGASUS!" _A group of three girls and three guys came from the third tunnel, and Azzie had to agree, they were pretty people. _"We're getting into very exciting territory with these groups, people!"_

"Come on, they made it right?" Tetsu asked, sounding worried. Katsuchi nodded.

"Of course they did." he refuted. "I mean, come on. It's Nashi and the others were talking about right?"

"...Right." Azzie replied offhandedly. "They totally made it."

_"And coming into third place is the guild who is led by one of the strongest wizard saints and earned six points, LAMIA SCALE!" _Azzie watched as the group of people came into the arena, and she made a face.

"Hey, isn't that...?"

"Winter and Terra?" Katsuchi asked. It was them, too. The two girls who Azzie and the others had met were standing among the six people who were representing their guild. "I totally forgot they were in Lamia Scale." It was at this point that Winter looked over in their direction, perhaps only by chance. She met Katsuchi's gaze from what Azzie could tell, blushed profusely, spluttered, and looked away. Katsuchi just made a weird face. "What's her problem?" Tetsu snickered as Winter snuck another look over at them.

"Ah, who knows?" The Iron God Slayer asked, elbowing Azzie knowingly, who chuckled.

After all, Azzie was the expert on that.

_"And now, ladies and gentleman, I am to introduce to you the guild who came in second. They are one of the best, the most well known, and undoubtedly one of the strongest out there. I am honored to introduce to you the guild who came in second place and earned eight points..."_

"..." The crowd was dead silent. The anticipation was killing them. And then, Ross Kennedy looked up with a huge grin on his face.

_"FAIRY TAIL!"_

* * *

_"FAIRY TAIL!"_

Nashi's stomach turned as their guild was announced. And as it was, the Arena erupted with cheers and applause so deafening Nashi's head was ringing even down in their tunnel.

"Are we ready?" Simon asked. He got nods and grins, and so he led them into the light. Once they were out in the light, the cheers only intensified. Nashi was absolutely blown away by the amount of people crammed into the Colosseum, all screaming and cheering for them.

"Holy hell." Ultear whispered, voice barely audible over all the screaming.

"Ohhh man, this is gonna rock." Elise said, clenching her fist.

"Agreed." Drake said as he admired the crowd as well. "I'm so excited."

_"And now, ladies and gentleman." _The crowd was silent as Ross spoke once again. _"While I know you're all excited, we have not introduced all the guilds in participation this year. There is another. One more guild, who was placed above all other guilds. And now, I am honored to to give them the entrance they deserve, another of the best known guilds in all of Fiore, SABERTOOTH!"_

Nashi couldn't hear. As if the screaming for them was loud, it was just that much louder for Sabertooth. From the final of the tunnels leading into the Colosseum, came the group of six who had beaten the qualifier first. Led by Michael, the group entered the arena and stopped just parallel from Nashi and her friends. Michael looked over at her with a grin, before he and the others made their way over to them. Nashi kept her composure as they stood exactly across from her and the others, watching them. Soon enough, Nashi walked forward, as did Micheal. They met in the center of the two groups, with the crowd roaring in anticipation.

_"Oh my God! It seems a standoff has occurred between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail! What is going to become of these two rival guilds facing off?!"_

Nashi ignored Ross as he screamed, Just keeping her eyes on Michael, who was still smiling.

"You made it." he told her as his teammates came up behind him. Nashi also felt five people come up behind her. "Good to see you."

"Right behind you." Nashi replied. "And it won't stay that way." Michael smirked.

"Guess we'll see about that." He replied. The crowd's screaming was now dying down, all waiting for what was going to happen between them. After a moment of silence, Michael held out his hand. "May the better team win." Nashi stared down at his hand, before she looked up at him.

She grinned and clasped his hand tightly.

"May the better team win." She agreed. The crowd exploded at this, which made Nashi laugh uncomfortably.

_Fairies and Tigers make a friendly gesture!" _Ross screamed._ "What a start to the Games, ladies and gentlemen!" _Nashi ignored this as Michael and Sabertooth walked back to the tunnel they came in from, going up to their stand where they would watch the competition.

"Let's go, Nashi." Simon said, turning to walk up to theirs as well. Nashi nodded and walked after him up to their stand, her agreement with Michael ringing in her ears.

"The better team will win." She murmured with a smile. "Trust me."

* * *

As Michael and the others walked back to their stand, Juno tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah?" he asked. Her face was contorted in curiosity and confusion.

"I never got to ask you why you told them where the exit was." She replied. "I still don't see a point to that." Michael chuckled and continued walking.

"I'm sure they could've made it on there own, but..." He smiled back at his team. "I just wanted to be sure we didn't win to easily."

* * *

Hisui watched from her throne as the teams returned to their stands. She, however, was a little busy with something else.

"Hm...Hm... And...Yes!" She finished her list with a smile. "This is it! I finished it!" A man wearing a guards uniform came over to here and she laughed.

"Are you finished scheduling the battles you want to see, m'lady?" Hisui nodded with a smile.

"Yes." She replied. "And I must say, I know I picked some very interesting battles. Be sure to get this delivered."

"Yes, m'lady." The man took the list from her and walked away to deliver it, which would plan out the battles to take place in the Domus Flau over the next week. Hisui smiled as she returned her eyes to the lacrima vision.

"I know everyone will love this." She said with a smile.

* * *

Natsu watched as all the teams finally made their way to their stands, and Ross cleared his throat.

_"And now ladies and gentlemen, The first event will commence!" _Natsu heard Lucy sigh.

"I hope they do well." she said. "They've all worked so hard."

"Agreed." Erza said. "Although I doubt they will, it'd be disappointing to see them get thrashed."

"There's no way they will." Levy said confidently. "I mean with all they've been through, there's no way." Natsu smiled.

"Hell, we're going to win." He said with a grin.

_And now, the first event of the Grand Magic Games, Hidden, will commence when all six teams have picked their contenders!"_

**I'm going to keep that until the next chapter, okay guys? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	156. Hidden

**Hello everyone, I'm back once more! Today I have some very exciting news to share with you all!**

**If you guys recall, chapter 81 was a list of all the arcs I had planned for this story all the way until the end, which I said was undefined.**

**That list had been updated just today with all new arcs on it and the last arc as well, so I would like you guys to go and give it a quick look if you haven't yet.**

**And if I were you guys, I'd start feeling bad for Quatro Cerberus -_-**

**Enjoy!**

"_And now, the first event of the Grand Magic Games, Hidden, will commence when all six teams have picked their contenders!"_

Once Nashi heard this announcement, it truly set in on her that this was happening.

"Pick our contenders, huh?" Elise said. "Who's going to go?"

"All comes down to what the event is." Simon told her. "I assume he's going to explain it." As if Simon could read minds, the lacrima vision showed a very simplistic design of what the event was. Ross cleared his throat.

_"The first event, Hidden, is an event in where all six contenders will be placed in a town created by magic. In this town, thousands of fakes of the contenders will be placed around the town to fool others. You gain a point if you attack and hit an actual person, but if you attack a fake or another competitor, you will lose points. Once the thirty minute time limit has passed, the contender with the most points will win, with the other positions following in descending order of most to least points."_

"Didn't our parents do this?" Ultear asked with an eyebrow raised. Damien nodded.

"They recycle a lot of events, don't they?" He asked. "I mean, there can only be so many unique events to make us compete in." Nashi nodded at this, but the question still remained.

"So who's going?" She asked. Silence fell among them. Finally, after a few seconds of silence, Drake sighed and stepped towards the edge of their stand.

"I'll do it." he said. Nashi looked over in surprise.

"Are you sure?" She asked. He nodded and looked over his shoulder at her.

"Think about it. This event revolves around finding the real contenders and attacking them, while at the same time not getting attacked yourself." Nashi watched him as the pieces of the puzzle formed in her head. Simon nodded.

"He's right." He said. "He's the best chance we have for this event. Go ahead if you want, Drake." Drake nodded and jumped over the small wall between their stand and down onto the battlefield. Once he landed, the crowd erupted in cheers as Ross' commentary started once more.

_"It appears Fairy Tail has chosen Drake as their competitor for Hidden! Will he make a name for himself here?!" _Drake made his way towards the center of the arena, keeping as calm as possible. Nashi looked around to find the other five competitors walking there as well. _"Rina Nanagear from Sabertooth is also competing, along with Taro from Blue Pegasus, Kumi from Mermaid Heel, Grace from Lamia Scale, and Tsuneo from Quatro Cerberus!"_

"Grace?" Ultear asked, referring to the girl with a pair of ears on her head. "I'm going to assume she's Toby's daughter, with those ears."

"I think that's a fair assumption." Elise agreed. Nashi watched as the six made a large circle in the middle of the arena, which started to glow bright blue. The six competitors disappeared, and a town appeared in the sky above the arena. The lacrima vision once again turned on, and Nashi watched as the street of the town started to fill with countless different fakes of Drake, Rina, and the other competitors.

_"Ladies and Gentlemen, the first event of the Grand Magic Games is underway! The competitors have all been teleported to an random area in the town, and will continue to do so when an attack hits them until the timer hits zero. LET'S GET THIS STARTED!" _The crowd roared in approval, and the lacrima vision started randomly skipping between different parts of town before coming upon the main street, where someone was walking down it, clearly a real competitor.

* * *

Azzie watched the lacrima vision intently as Drake appeared, walking down the street with his head down, and his eyes closed. The crowd watched on, and she heard Katsuchi growl in confusion.

"What's he doing?" He demanded. "He's asking for it right now."

"I know." Tetsu replied. "Why is he just walking wherever he wants?" Azzie smiled as the lacrima zoomed in on Drake's face.

"He's not just walking." She said, smiling brightly. "He's listening."

* * *

Drake wasn't afraid of anyone sneaking up on him, nor was he looking for trouble. He was waiting until he heard someone else around him i order to attack them.

So far, silence was his only companion, along with he very creepy fake renditions of himself and the other five all around him. He stopped for a moment and stared at his fake, who stared back at him.

"This is way to creepy." he murmured to himself as he waved a hand in front of the fake. "It's like a mirror but way creepier..."

_Black lightning strikes coming from the church top._

Drake darted to the left to avoid the black lightning, all of which sailed past where his head had been and thankfully for this attacker, didn't hit any of the clones.

_'He's fast.' _Drake heard. '_I need to predict where he's going when I attack him.'_

_She's aiming for where she thinks I'm going to go. _Drake dodged around the lightning that came for him after this, and heard his attacker sent a bolt towards where he was running. Bending his body away from where he intended to go, Drake landed back where he'd been a moment before, in front of his creepy clone.

"Who ever's up there." He called tauntingly. "Your aim is shit." He heard a growl of frustration before another volley of lightning came for him. This time he was forced to dart in between all of the fakes in order to get away from her. He noted, however, that despite him running through all the clones of other competitors, her aim was on point, never once striking a clone to cost her points. Drake kept on his toes the whole way as he dodged her attacks, finally hiding behind a building out of range of her attacks.

_I need to find a way to get her out of that church top...After I protect myself from Taro, who thinks he's so damn sneaky. _Drake easily jumped out of the way of the ball of air that was making it's way to him from above, and looked up to find Taro watching him from the rooftops. He grinned at his friend.

"Fancy seeing you here." He said. Taro returned his grin.

"Likewise, Drake." he said. "Although I'm going to have to hit you now." Drake laughed.

"Be my guest. I guess we'll see if you're anything better than a airship pilot."

* * *

Nashi watched as Drake moved gracefully away from every lightning bolt, the crowd watching in shock.

_Look at him go!" _Ross shouted. _"Drake is dodging everyone one of these consecutive attacks! How is he managing that?!"_

"Ross has a point." Ultear said, sounding impressed. "Drake's never been that fast before. It usually takes him longer to dodge something he hears coming, let alone lightning."

"He has been training, remember." Damien recalled. "He's improved a clear amount from before." Nashi smiled as Drake dodged Taro's attempt at a sneak attack from above and faced off against him.

"He's always been this strong...Just now you guys have to watch him."

* * *

Drake had an easy time with Taro, who really wasn't as skilled as Drake. As Drake dodged another strike of air, he heard another volley of lightning on it's way from above. Taro hid behind a wall out of side from the strikes and continued going after Drake, who now had to dodge more strikes, now from both of them.

Child's play for him.

he twisted his body out of the way of the lightning, purposefully losing strength in his legs to avoid the air from knocking him flat on his ass and giving Taro a point. Drake jumped up to his feet, poison gathering around his hands.

"Poison Dragon Scales!" The projectiles flew towards Taro, who was still cornered by the lightning. They hit their target nice and dead on, causing Taro to shout in pain. Just before he hit the ground, he disappeared in a flash, presumably teleported somewhere else.

_One point for Fairy Tail's Drake, taking out Taro!" _He heard Ross shout, which made him grin. He aimed the next launch of scales at the church top in the distance, which caused the girl shooting lightning at him to jump away as they exploded against the wall.

Silence greeted him once again. He narrowed his hearing down but there was no more people around him. Sighing and standing up straight, Drake decided to keep walking. He had nothing better to do. As he did so, he heard sounds of fighting coming from somewhere else, and then Ross shouted happily.

_And that is one point for Sabertooth's Rina, taking out Tsuneo from Quatro Cerberus!" _Drake decided that going towards those sounds of fighting were his best bet to maintain a lead. As he did, more sounds of fighting somewhere broke out, but Ross did not announce anymore points.

_Huge blast of black lightning coming right for me._

Drake backed up every so slightly and the blast hit the ground right in front of him, throwing up debris. Once it faded away, his attacker stood clear as day right in front of him. Rina smirked.

"You sure know how to dodge." She complimented. Drake pocketed his hands as she watched him.

"And you sure know how to make your attack pattern clear as day." he replied smoothly. Rina face clearly rippled with irritation, just as Drake wanted it to. "Now, care to try me again?" Sparks came from her forehead, which made Drake grin. "Come on now, don't lose your cool over a little bit on insulting."

"I'm going to wipe that smug look off of your face." She hissed, aiming her hands at him. Drake waited as black lightning was concentrated in the center of her hands. She launched the giant attack, and it surged towards Drake without mercy.

He took a small step to the right and the attack flew right past his head, blowing a hole in the building behind him.

"Nice try." he commented, rubbing the side of his face. "I almost felt it that time." Rina growled at this, but soon her face contorted in confusion. "What?" She raised a hand and pointed behind Drake, so he turned to look while keeping his ears pinpointed in case she tried something.

The hole she had formed in the wall now showed to girls glaring at each other. One was the Grace girl they'd talked about in the stand, and the other Drake didn't recognize. Soon enough, Grace charged with her claws open, and the other girl jumped backwards away from her, leading them towards Drake and Rina. Grace stopped and growled.

"Stop running, you stupid cat!" She shouted. The other girl laughed.

"No way, nyah!" She shouted, a voice Drake immediately recognized as the girl he'd heard in the Labyrinth. "It's a lot of fun messing with you!" Grace looked rather pissed, while this girl, Drake deduced from the names of the competitors it was Kumi, seemed to be enjoying herself. She turned to notice Drake and Rina, and her eyes widened. "Nyah! Even more people to mess around with! What fun!" Drake made a face.

"Are you a cat or something?" he asked, and Kumi glowered.

"Was it not obvious, nyah?" She demanded, and Drake shrugged.

"I guess." He replied. He smirked. "Although you'd do well to pay attention." Kumi made a face right before Grace dragged her claws across her back, earning herself a point. She laughed.

"Take that, you stupid...!" A sphere of air hit her dead on in the face and she disappeared in a burst as well. Taro landed to form a triangle with Drake and Rina.

"Stupid girl." he muttered. Drake had to agree. No one else seemed very keen on their surroundings. Just as the three of them started a standoff, Drake heard another person approaching. he turned and launched a blast of poison at the sound, but it was blocked by a plant. The final contestant, Tsuneo, appeared with a smirk.

"I want in on this!" he shouted, more plants making their way for him and the other two. All three dodged and ran away. Drake looked up to see Taro launching air spheres at Tsuneo, who tried to block them with his plants, succeeding only until Rina made it through and blasted him with lightning, making him disappear. Rina could not recover in time before Taro blasted her in Tsuneo's place, and she disappeared as well. Drake launched a blast of poison at Taro, who tried to move out of the way and failed, also disappearing.

_"Drake from Fairy Tail is in the lead!" _Ross shouted. _"And Time is ticking down! And look at this! Kumi manages to take out Grace, only to get taken out by Tsuneo right after!" _Drake was about to keep walking when he heard a presence behind him. He moved just in time to avoid a plant attacking him. Tsuneo had found him again.

"You again?" Drake asked bluntly, and Tsuneo smiled.

"Yep. Your next." Drake smiled as another plant launched towards him ,so he performed a simple action.

He grabbed a clone of Rina from behind him and held it in front of him, causing the attack to hit it instead of him and costing Tsuneo a point. Through the smokescreen Drake launched a blast of poison which hit the plants coming towards him. In the distance, Drake saw Kumi fly high into the air, a blast of air following her and she disappeared. Turning his attention back to Tsuneo as more plants came at him, he dodged all of them and threw more poison his way, which was all blocked. Tsuneo smiled.

"Stop running little dra...!" Tsuneo flew forward from at attack from behind, revealing Grace standing there, claws outstretched. Tsuneo disappeared, leaving Grace and Drake alone. Drake was about to attack when he sensed a third presence. Rina had reappeared between him and Grace. She grinned.

"Times almost up." She noted. ""And everything's still pretty close. Who's going to win?"

"I'd have figured that was obvious." Drake pointed out, making her growl at him.

That was when Grace made the mistake of attacking Rina. The girl charged at her with claws out and ready, but the other girl was faster. The charged blast completely masked Grace disappearing due to the rules of the event, and she turned to Drake.

"You're next." She stated. Drake just motioned for her to come and get him. She shot more lightning at him, all of which he dodged. As he landed, he felt another presence sneaking up on him. He turned and planted his fist square in the middle of Kumi's face

"Nyah!" She shouted in surprise, falling back and disappearing. He turned to find Rina rocketing towards him with her fist outstretched.

_I can't dodge that in time...!_

_Beep Beep!_

* * *

Nashi watched as the timer sounded, Rina's fist stopping mere inches from Drake's face as they were teleported out of the event.

_"And that is that, ladies and gentlemen!" _Ross shouted as the six contenders landed back in the arena. _"The first event comes to a close! Let's see how the scores tally up!" _Nashi watched as the scores were calculated, before they were finally displayed on the lacrima vision.

Drake: 3  
Rina: 2  
Taro:1  
Grace: -1  
Kumi: -2  
Tsuneo: -3

_"And there you have it!" _Ross shouted over the roar of appeal from the crowd._ "Drake from Fairy Tail earns his team 10 points, Rina 8, Taro 6, Grace 4, Kumi 3, Tsuneo 2!" _Nashi breathed a sigh of relief as these points were tallied into the total team points. They had almost lost first place, but the timer had run out on them.

"He did it!" Ultear shouted happily as the six contenders made their way back to their respective teams.

"Was there any doubt?" Damien asked with a smile on his face. "I knew he had it."

"I'm sure you did, Damien!" Nashi smiled as Drake made his way back silently.

"I knew he could." She said with a smile. "Never doubted him."

**And the first event comes to a close! Firstly, I need to ask a favor of you guys. If you guys ever see any scoring mistakes during events or fights, please tell me. I do my best to catch them before posting, but I may miss it. So if you see me not correctly tally the points for the teams, tell me.**

**I also plan to tally up all the points teams have at the end of every day during the Games, so you guys don't have to guess about it.**

**And remember to go see the updated arc list!**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	157. The Fights Begin

**Guess what guys?**

**Happy birthday!**

**Well it's two days late cause I didn't remember it, but meh, I still remembered at all.**

**Yep, 2nd Generation is a year old! It was published on November 26th, 2014! It's insane that I've been here so long to be honest. I've ever stuck with anything this long, let alone a fanfiction of this size. Thank you guys so much for sticking around for so long, really.**

**Enjoy!**

When Drake came back up into the stand, he was greeted by Nashi and the others smiling at him.

"Nice job." Simon told him as he stopped in the center.

"No big deal." He replied, wiping some dirt from his coat. "The others were fairly easy to work around, save that Sabertooth girl I guess."

"She almost had you." Elise commented. "The timer saved you." he nodded.

"I know. Thank God, I'd have gotten second instead." He then looked out at the arena. "What're we waiting for?"

"For them to announce the planned battles for today." Ultear told him. "They planned all of those out beforehand."

"So it may be a bad coincidence if you end up fighting and competing in one day." Damien reasoned, earning a nod. As they all turned back to the arena and waited, Nashi noticed something on Drake's cheek. He saw her staring at him, and turned to question her.

"What?" He asked. Nashi reached forward and scraped the dirt from his face.

"You face was dirty." She said with a smile. Drake made a face at her before he chuckled and wiped his own face instead of her doing it for him.

"Thanks Mom." He said sarcastically, pushing her playfully. She was about to retaliate when Ross cleared his throat.

_"Alright ladies and gentlemen, the second half of today's events will now commence! And wouldn't you know it, the Queen of Fiore herself has planned out these battles!" _Nashi perked up at this. The Queen herself had taken the time to map out who fought who. She must've really loved the Games. The question was though, who was going to fight who? _"And to start off the battles today, we have Kyoko Lore from Sabertooth facing off against Rachel Webb from Mermaid Heel!" _Nashi watched as the two girls announced to be fighting first descended onto the battlefield, standing opposite of each other.

"Guess we get to see some of our competition, huh?" Ultear asked, leaning on the wall.

"I don't want to be that guy," Damien said, "But I really think Lore has this." Nashi couldn't help but agree. Despite her obvious feminine figure, Kyoko radiated trouble. Her green eyes were narrowed at Rachel, a smile curling on her lips. Rachel seemed much more serious as they reached the center of the arena.

_"The time limit is thirty minutes!" _Ross shouted._ "The first mage to defeat their opponent earns their team ten points, and the losing team earns none! Everyone ready?!" _The crowd roared in agreement, and Ross laughed. _"Then it is my pleasure to tell you ladies the timer has started! FIGHT!"_

Rachel made the first move. She moved her hand upwards and aimed it at the wall behind Kyoko, who had yet to move. A white substance shot out of her hand, attaching to the wall. The substance visibly tightened, and Rachel shot forward towards Kyoko, foot outstretched to kick her.

Kyoko gracefully sidestepped away from her and Rachel now heading straight for the wall. Nashi watched in surprise as the girl re-angled herself and used the wall to her advantage, shooting back at Kyoko once more, who once again moved out of the way ever so slightly. Rachel landed upright and turned to look at her.

"You're fast." She commented as Kyoko looked up.

"You as well." She then raised two finger to her temple with her smile growing. "Let's test you now, hm?" A bright red magic seal appeared above Kyoko, who took a deep breath. "Memory Make: 120mm Black Lightning Cannon." Nashi gasped as Rina's black lightning surged from the seal, right towards Rachel who darted out of the way. The blast hit the ground and dispersed, but Kyoko was far from done. She re positioned and looked at Rachel once more, two circles appearing next to her. "Memory Make: White Dragon and Shadow Dragon Roar." Just like that, Dragon Slayer magic surged from those seals, forcing Rachel to once again dodge to the wide left to avoid it.

"What the hell is that?" Elise asked. "She's using other peoples magic."

"Memory Make." Simon replied. "If she memorizes others spells, she can use them as her own."

"That's barely even fair." Ultear said. "Seriously, she can call on anything she memorized."

"I guess." Simon replied. "She's clearly formidable." Nashi returned her focus to the battle, where Rachel was currently trying her hardest to avoid the multiple different magic types blasting at her constantly. She stopped and shot a thread from her hand towards Kyoko, who simply raised two fingers to her forehead again. No attacks came from the blonde, and soon she was ensnared by Rachel, who seemed rather indifferent about it

_"And Kyoko now finds herself in a trap! What will she do?!" _Nashi knew it was Ross' job to hype up the crowd, but it was obvious to all who knew even a single thing about combat between mages that Kyoko was not stuck. As a matter of fact, at least to Nashi, she could see it was exactly what the blonde wished for.

"Well," Kyoko said calmly, her eyes closed. "I've memorized that." The girl looked up and her body glowed black, causing the thread to fall off of her. Rachel went in for another attack, again using her thread magic to slingshot herself towards Kyoko. The girl did not, however, see Kyoko raising a hand. "Memory Make: Thread Snare." The very same magic that Rachel used to fight was shot out of Kyoko's arm, catching Rachel. Kyoko reared back and used an amount of upper body strength Nashi hadn't realized she possessed, which flung Rachel high into the air. Another magic seal appeared, aiming upwards. "Memory Make: Lightning God's Charged Particle Cannon." Another calm use of Rina's God Slayer magic followed, this time the blast was much wider and far more painful looking.

Rachel hit the ground, unconscious.

_"That's it!" _Ross shouted. "_Rachel is down! Kyoko has earned Sabertooth ten points!"_

"She's crazy." Ultear said as Kyoko walked up to her fallen opponent. "To be able to utilize anyone else's magic...Sort of like..." Nashi didn't know what Ultear was talking about seeing as she trailed off, but she felt a smile tug at her lips as Kyoko leaned down and helped Rachel up. The two girls exchanged words quietly, and Kyoko laughed at something Rachel told her. Once they did this and Rachel seemed to reassure Kyoko she could walk, they split up to leave the battlefield.

_"What an amazing display!" _Ross shouted, riling the crowd up once more. _"Despite her loss and Kyoko's win, both girls show an amazing amount of class! Give them both a round of applause!" _Everyone listened to Ross and started clapping loudly and shouting, Nashi and the others included. It had been a rather amazing display, even with the lack of chance Rachel had had from the beginning.

"I think we'll need to pay a little more attention to Sabertooth." Simon said, addressing everyone. "If Rina and Kyoko are any indication thus far, they may be a bigger problem than we anticipated."

"Agreed." Damien said. "Keep an eye on them." Nashi nodded as the crowd talked excitedly.

_"Alright! Now that the points have been tallied for Sabertooth, let the next battle commence! The next battle is definitely going to be an exciting one! For today ladies and gentlemen, we have Terra Neekis against Reyna Groh!" _Nashi winced as the crowd erupted at these names, and she too clapped for Terra.

"That others girls name." Drake said, speaking up. "Isn't she Bacchus' daughter?"

"I think so." Ultear replied. Damien laughed, making everyone look at him.

"What are you laughing at?" Nashi asked him. He wiped a tear from his eye and smirked at her.

"That poor girl is in Quatro Cerberus." He told her, once again bursting out in laughter. "A girl! In Quatro Cerberus! How are you guys not laughing?!"

"Uh..." Elise started, staring at the back of Damien's head. "I think I get the joke, but...It isn't that funny."

"It totally is."

"Anyway," Simon interrupted. "I think the battle is about to start." Nashi returned her attention to the battlefield as Damien continued to chuckle, only to notice something.

"She's the hammered one." She said.

"I assumed that was obvious." Ultear replied. "She was the only girl in Quatro Cerberus' team earlier..." Nashi watched as the girl stumbled onto the field, standing opposite of Terra. Terra didn't look at that impressed from what Nashi could tell, but Nashi was going to suspend her assumptions for the time being. After all, she had no idea just what Reyna was capable of. The crowd was talking about all sorts of things, all about Terra and Reyna and who would win.

_"Alright everyone! Let's get the second battle of the day underway! As usual, the time limit is half an hour! FIGHT!" _An first, neither girl moved, just watched each other. The crowd mumbled quietly about who was going to make the first move. After a moment, the earth shook.

Pillars rose all around Terra, and shot towards Reyna, who just watched with with a smile. There was no way Reyna wasn't going to get hit.

And of course, the drunk defied Nashi's expectations, twisting her body around every single pillar as she sprung into the air. She landed on one of the pillars lagging behind, and drove it into the ground as she landed gracefully.

"Nice try." She commented with a hiccup. "But that's not going to be enough just because I'm a bit tipsy, Terra honey." Terra smirked.

"Should've known you weren't that drunk, Reyna" She replied. "You haven't broken out the bottle yet." Reyna giggled and flipped her hair over her shoulders.

"Don't need to yet, hon." The girls once again watched each other, before Terra slammed her foot on the ground. the earth once again rose up, this time in the shape of a huge boulder. Terra flicked it lightly, and it roared towards Reyna without mercy. Reyna sighed and reached behind her. "I suppose I'd better start trying a bit..." She swiftly raised something above her head and flicked her wrist. Nashi made a face as the boulder still soared towards her without relenting.

Once it was within two feet of the girl, however, it jumped into the air right above her head and exploded. The debris rained down on Reyna, who just brushed it off her shoulders.

"I should take my turn now, huh?" She asked. She raised her hand in front of her and flicked her wrist again a motion to fast her Nashi to see what she was even doing. Terra however quickly defended herself by raising a pillar. Reyna's attack hit the pillar, allowing Nashi a closer look.

Two blue cards were sticking out of the pillar. Reyna giggled.

"Card Magic: Explosion." Nashi and the others gasped. Terra flinched as the cards illuminated, and then exploded.

"Wait a minute..." Elise said. "That girl just..."

"Yeah she did." Damien agreed. "We all saw that." Nashi only knew one person who could use card magic. And she hadn't seen her in years. But as Nashi thought about it, it started to make a whole load of sense in her head.

"Reyna," She said. "She's Cana's daughter."

"Was just about to say that." Drake replied. "They look alike as well. Plus we all knew Bacchus and Cana were a thing."

"Yeah but how come we've never met Reyna?" Ultear asked curiously, a hand on her chin. "You'd think she'd be mentioned once or twice at least..."

"Maybe we just didn't pay attention?" Damien asked. "We do miss things a lot." Nashi didn't have an answer for anyone, but the battle below was far more interesting than their inability to remember if they'd ever met or heard about Reyna. Reyna threw more cards at Terra, which exploded in ice and forced Terra backwards. She threw up a earth wall in defense, but more cards lodged inside it and exploded. Terra was forced backwards once again, but the girl didn't seem fazed whatsoever. In fact, she was smiling.

"I suppose it's good you're proving more of a challenge than I thought you would." She told Reyna. "It's more fun this way for when I beat you."

"I think you mean when _I _beat _you._" Reyna replied, tossing more cards at Terra, which caused a small maelstrom around her. Terra was still not moving. Reyna made a face. "I guess I should get in closer, you don't seem to be very fazed at long range." Nashi watched as Reyna reached behind her once again. She laughed as she waved a bottle over her head. "Let's see how you deal with me when I'm...!"

"I hate to break it to you Reyna, but you've missed something." Reyna stopped at this and raised an eyebrow in confusion, looking at Terra. Terra had her eyes closed, and her hands together.

"What's that?" Reyna demanded. Terra grinned. When her eyes opened, they were glowing bright blue.

"You're forgetting I'm an earth mage." She said. Reyna made a face before her eyes widened, and she looked below her. The earth beneath her was shaking.

"Oh shit, that's...!" Terra laughed.

"Rumbling Mt. Fuji!" The earth glowed, and Nashi could no longer see the battlefield clearly.

* * *

Once the glow from Terra's attack faded, Natsu saw Reyna was sitting clutching her wounds, staring at Terra weakly.

"Holy hell, Terra." She hissed. "Give a women a bit more warning next time." Terra smiled.

"It'd be no fun if I did that." She replied. Reyna chuckled as she fell backwards unto her back.

"Yeah yeah, I lost. I admit it." She said. "Go ahead and give Lamia Scale it's points." Natsu laughed as the girl conceded defeat.

"That was a bit overkill." He said. "I guess she just wanted to end that as quickly as possible."

"Agreed." Erza said. "Reyna wasn't weak, but Terra wasn't going to waste time playing with her."

"Not to sound rude or anything, it was kind of obvious who would win." Gray pointed out. "No disrespect to Reyna but..."

"Yeah, we know." Lucy replied with a small smile.

_"What an amazing display of Terra's power!" Ross roared. "Absolutely incredible, and it's only the first day everyone! But now, let us move on to our final battle of the day! And to finish out our day of events, we have Ultear Fullbuster from Fairy Tail against Mami Kotobuki from Blue Pegasus!"_

**Yeah yeah, you'll all be mad at me for leaving it there. Calm down, you'll see it eventually. As the first chapter after our oe year anniversary, let's get ten reviews! I hope you enjoyed!**


	158. Ultear vs Mami

**Well hello there guys! Quick little message before we get into it today.**

**I just wanted to say thank you.**

**I know I don't always seem the most appreciative of all you guys, but I am. I really am. I wouldn't have even made it past the Phantom Dove arc without the fans. I know I don't always respond to all reviews, (Which maybe I should) or that I say anything about the support at all, but I really am incredibly grateful for all of it. After a full year of story, people are still here. **

**Really, thank you.**

**Enough of that shit, though. Oh, and today's battle references waaay back, so hopefully you guys remembered this!**

**I'm not bullshitting, this stuff is canon. Go and check. **

**Enjoy!**

_"What an amazing display of Terra's power! Absolutely incredible, and it's only the first day everyone! But now, let us move on to our final battle of the day! And to finish out our day of events, we have Ultear Fullbuster from Fairy Tail against Mami Kotobuki from Blue Pegasus!"_

Ultear felt her stomach twist at her name was announced by Ross. Her friends turned to smile at her.

"You're up, Ul." Damien said. She nodded with a weak smile.

"I-I guess." She replied, the nerves evident in her tone. Now that she was faced with an actual event, she was nervous.

"Don't be nervous." Simon told her. "Just focus on the fight."

"Speaking of that, you're up against Mami." Elise told her. "Don't over do it." Ultear shrugged. She knew Mami wasn't that big of a pushover.

"Don't worry about it." Ultear said with a smile. "I'll handle it." Once she said this, she turned to walk down the tunnel that would lead her to the arena. As she walked, she had some time to herself to think. While she had the utmost of respect for Mami was a person, she really didn't know what to expect on the magic front. The obvious was the perfume magic her father had taught her, but she needed a way to counteract that.

Ultear stopped and stared down at her hand. The hallway was empty except for her, the crowd clearly waiting for her.

_Do I really need to break it out already?_

A white glow emanated from her open hand, and she made a face at it. She didn't think she'd mastered the Arc of Time in only three months, far from it, but she certainly knew she had a lot of it down.

"Not yet." She finally told herself. "There's no point in revealing my trump card now. Best to keep it in reserve." Allowing the blow to fade, Ultear walked out into the arena, where the crowd once again started to cheer loudly. Mami was already waiting for her, a hand on her hip.

"Hello Ultear, it's been a while." She greeted with a smile. Ultear nodded as she reached the center of the arena.

"Yep. How've you been?"

"Oh I've been good, and you?"

"Just fine." The two girls smiled at each other, with no hidden contempt or want to win. They were friends outside the arena after all. As they stepped closer to each other, Mami smirked.

"I have a request to make, Ultear."

"Hm?" Ultear tilted her head the the right as Mami's smile widened at her. "A request? What is it?"

"Well, it's quite simple really." Mami's eyes brightened. "You do remember who my heart belongs to, yes?" Ultear made a face as she thought these words over before a cold shiver went down her spine.

"Oh no..."

"Yes, you remember. I admit I was rather contained during the Silverridge incident, but now I feel like my heart my burst just knowing he's watching." Ultear continued to feel cold shivers and she started to back up from the passionate woman.

"Mami please don't make a scene, you know he hates that..."

"I'm not! I simply wish to ask you for your help in the matter. The bet on this match is if I win, Simon is going to go on a date with me!"

* * *

As these words echoed around the stadium, Nashi resisted her urge to look over at Simon. Drake and Damien were snickering loudly, and Elise had already pretended to not be listening.

"Heh heh, I forgot she really liked you..." Nashi murmured with a smile, looking over at Simon. His face was obscured by his bangs, but he didn't seem happy. "She was really quiet about it at Silverridge..." Simon had still not looked up. After a minute, he finally looked up.

A sword spawned in his hands, making Nashi's eyes widen.

"I'm going to kill her." Simon whispered.

It took all four of them to restrain him.

* * *

Ultear could hear her redheaded friend struggling and looking for bloodshed, but she didn't dare look back.

"Why me?" Ultear demanded. "Just pay him again..." Mami giggled and winked.

"Because I want to win him fair and square!" Ultear raised an eyebrow curiously.

"That's a pretty weak reason..." Ultear muttered, making Mami grumble.

"Point is, you're one of the few who could probably convince him to do it. So? Will you help me?" Ultear didn't want to subject poor Simon to that. She knew he had nothing against Mami, except her undying love for him.

She then got an idea.

"Alright, if you win?" Ultear asked, and Mami nodded. "Alright. If you win, I'll get Simon to go on a date with you." Mami's eyes sparkled happily.

"Yes! I knew you'd agree!"

"But if I win..." Mami stopped celebrating momentarily to look back over at Ultear, who looked back up with a smirk on her face. "You leave Simon alone unless he pursues you. Got it?" Her face flickered in confusion, and the crowd waited anxiously. After a while, Mami smiled.

"Seems fair." She finally said. "I agree."

_"What a development!" _Ross roared. _"It seems these two beautiful ladies are putting some terms of love on this fight!"_

"I don't like him!" Ultear shouted at the announcers booth.

_...A-Anyway, let's get this battle underway! The time limit is thirty minutes! FIGHT!"_

Ultear liquefied her body and shot towards Mami, who remained stationary. As soon as Ultear got closer, Mami grinned, and reached into her pocket.

"Perfume Wall!" Ultear came into contact with a wall of perfume, which had been released by Mami via the vial pulled from her pocket. Ultear backed off and watched the mist fade, and Mami still standing where she had been, a smirk on her face.

_I expected this, it's only a matter of what she manages to pull out._

"Fleet Foot Perfume!" Ultear raised her eyes to see Mami inhaling a blue mist, and her eyes narrowed in on her.

The ginger haired girl shot forward and tried to land a punch on Ultear, who's body was already water. The fist soared right through her, making Ultear smirk.

"It was a nice try, Mami." She said, hole in her body resealing. "But you're not going to hit me trying stuff like that. Ice Make: Lance!" The lances shot towards Mami, who once again raised a vial.

"Perfume Fire!" The vial opened, and flames spewed forth, turning Ultear's lances into steam. The fire writhed towards her, and Ultear was forced to dodge before she met the same fat as her lances. The fire followed her on the command of Mami's moving finger, which forced Ultear to extinguish it with a stream of water. This however, left her open. "Perfume Roots!" Pressing the vials opening to the ground of the arena caused tendrils of shrubbery to shoot towards Ultear, who aimed an open hand at it and froze it solid.

"Ice Make: Cannon!" The giant cannon rested on top of her shoulder and she opened fire, forcing Mami to dodge to the left away from the blast. Ultear followed her as best she could, but the cannon was extremely heavy. Ditching it, she melted it and shot the resulting water at Mami, who tried to duck under it. With a flick of her finger, it came down and wrapped around the other girl, trapping. Ultear squeezed her hand, and the water responded to her will. Mami's face was beginning to turn blue, so Ultear walked up to her. "Just have to wait until you lack out, Mami. Then I win." Mami made a defiant face, and Ultear heard a clanking noise. Looking down, she saw a vial sitting there, it's cork rolling away.

"Perfume..." Mami hissed, clearly out of breath. "Explosion..." Ultear's eyes widened as the mist began to ignite, about to cause a huge explosion. Releasing her grip on Mami and bolting backwards, she felt the force of the blast hit her in the back and throw her around. She recovered in time to avoid a foot to the stomach from the still speedy Mami, who once again stuck her hand in her pocket. "Power Perfume!" Once the purple mist had been inhaled by the girl, her arms started to bulge underneath her clothes. Soon enough, her sleeves could no longer contain the arms buffed up by magic. Ultear gulped.

_She's a lot stronger than I was giving her credit for._

"Ice Make: Hammer!" Swinging the hammer at Mami had no effect, as the buffed up love addict had simply caught it and slammed it down, breaking it immediately. The combination of speed and strength power ups running through Mami's system made Ultear go on a heavy defensive, keeping her body liquefied as her opponent came after her.

_Jeez, what the hell am I supposed to do right now?! If I turn solid again she'll kill me in one hit..._

"You're really making this a little harder then it needs to be Ul." Mami said. "I guess I will have to break this out..." Ultear didn't know what that meant, but she still had a lot of magic to spare on keeping her body water. She stopped and sot more lances at Mami, who just slapped them away and continued to advance without mercy. Ultear was forced to dodge once again, but this time she saw Mami holding a vial.

The girls fist flew into Ultear's chest, making it separate in it's watery state.

"Have you forgotten Mami?" She asked. "That isn't going to work." Mami grinned.

"I know." She replied. "I'm not just going for a punch." Ultear raised an eyebrow and looked down. The vial was in her chest, and Mami popped the cork off.

Electricity spouted forth, making Ultear's eyes widen.

"Thunder Perfume!"

* * *

Natsu winced as Ultear was electrocuted. Asuka had pulled the same move on her during the S-Class trials from what he'd heard, so the attack must've hurt a lot.

"Damn, that's gotta hurt..." Lucy whispered.

"I hope she's okay..." Juvia said quietly, worry apparent in her voice.

"She will be." Gray said confidently. "It may have hurt her a whole lot, but she's got it." Soon enough, it was apparent that Ultear was okay. At least to the extent that she was still standing. Mami went after her again, and again, and again. Each time the thunder struck reduced Ultear's movement and eventually she was left lying on her face, her skin and clothes smoldering.

"Why doesn't she stop making her body water?" Levy asked Gajeel huffed.

"Probably because if she does the fist will break a few bones. She gets electrocuted or knocked out. She has no easy option here."

* * *

Ultear's whole body twitched randomly as she tried to get up. All she managed to do was lift her head and watch Mami wait for her to stand. Her whole body ached from the repetitive electrocution.

_I can't...If this is her strategy I don't stand a chance. The electrocution and strength is too much..._

_"Is this all we're going to see from Ultear?!" _She heard Ross shout. _"Is she able to stand?!"_

_Even if I do..._

"Ultear!" A voice called to her. She recognized that voice, and it seemed rather indignant with her. Slowly, she managed to get on all fours and coughed a few times. "ULTEAR!" he called for her again. Ultear didn't know whether or not she wanted to turn and look to him, but she had too.

What she expected to see what him shouting support and yelling at her to get up and fight.

What she got was Simon being restrained by the four others as he attempted to storm the arena, murder in his eyes.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" He roared angrily. "ARE YOU HONESTLY GONNA MAKE SUCH A BULLSHIT AGREEMENT AND LOSE ON ME?! WHAT THE FUCK, STEP IT UP DAMN IT!"

She nearly fell back onto her face upon seeing this. She was tempted to sit up and angrily retort, but she could tell that wouldn't do anything to help anyone. The others could-well, might- be able to keep Simon under control.

But for some reason, she felt compelled to stand back up. Despite how angered Simon's words were, they struck a chord in her heart. She had to stand up, she couldn't lose.

She couldn't make poor Simon go on that date.

So she stood. Her body protested, but she ignored that. She once again liquefied her body and stared down the brute that was Mami.

_She's fast, she's string, and she's got thunder perfume...What the hell do I do to get through her?_

Ultear's eyes flickered towards her open palm, where the white glow faintly came.

_No...Even if I did, it wouldn't do anything except drain my magic even more._

Her eyes then drifted towards the floor of the arena. A light bulb turned on inside her head, and she grinned.

"What are you waiting for, Mami?" Ultear demanded, crossing her arms. "Come on, come and get me!" The ginger haired girl grinned, happy to oblige. The second the girl activated the effects of her speed perfume to dart right at her.

Ultear dove to the floor and and planted her hands open on the ground.

"Ice Make: Floor!" Her ice magic spread across the floor quickly, right under Mami's feet. The girl hadn't been ready for this, so she slipped on the icy surface and tripped, sliding right past Ultear and into the wall, making a crater. Ultear was about to start attacking the crater when Mami came from it, punching her square in the face. She flew near the center of the arena and struggled to stand. Once she did, she looked back up near her friends.

Despite the evident rage still flowing from the redhead, he was watching her carefully. Their eyes met, and he nodded curtly.

Ultear smiled.

"Hey," Ultear said, standing up straight to face Mami. "I got something you need to know, Mami."

"Yeah?" Mami asked, twirling an empty vial around her fingers.

Ultear gripped the collar of her shirt and smirked.

"Let's kick this up a notch."

* * *

_Riiippp_

Nashi broke into a wild grin as Ultear's ripped shirt flew into the air.

"Oh shit." Drake said. That basically summed up what was happening. Once the shirt came off, you knew a Fullbuster was serious. And of course, the men in the crowd lost their shit at this, but Ultear ignored that as frost flowed from her figure.

_"Damn!" _Ross shouted. _"The shirt has come off ladies and gentlemen!"_

He knew.

Ultear cracked her neck and watched as Mami circled her. After a while, Mami went after her, trying to punch her. Ultear ducked and drove her foot into Mami's stomach. as the girl was driven back only a little, Ultear pressed her hands against her and they glowed bright blue. Ice exploded from Mami's body as she flew through the air, and Ultear went after her with her swords she'd created after the miniature explosion.

"Holy hell she stepped it up." Elise said as Ultear threw Mami back to the ground. Simon nodded in approval. He had calmed down considerably, which was good for everyone.

"Of course she did." he said. "She finally realized just what the hell she put on the line." Nashi laughed and patted him on the back.

"Keep telling yourself that bud." She said to him. Turning her attention back to the arena, Nashi saw Ultear dodge a thunder perfume attack and drive the butt of her sword into Mami's stomach.

"But she's definitely trying a lot harder." She agreed.

* * *

Mami was just as exhausted as Ultear as far as she could tell. The girl may have been speedy and stronger and had multiple different elemental perfume attacks, but none of that made her any more durable.

"Well, I suppose I should've expected this." Mami said with a laugh. "But that doesn't matter. Have you noticed, Ultear?" Ultear was panting, but she still raised an eyebrow. Mami jerked her thumb over to the side, so Ultear followed her.

The timer was almost out. How had this much time passed?

"Times almost up, and no one's fallen yet." She said, pulling a vial out of her pocket. This one had a bright blue mist in it. "I'm just going to use this healing perfume really quick, okay?" Ultear's stomach turned. She may have been able to do a lot of damage, but if Mami healed herself it wouldn't take much after that for her to lose.

_What do I..._

Ultear's eyes glazed over to the vial, where the blue substance was waiting to be released.

_...Mist?_

It had came back to Ultear. Ramin, Silverridge, all of it. She grinned. No problem at all. Mami opened the vial, releasing the healing mist, and Ultear concentrated. before Mami even had a chance to inhale any of the healing mist, it froze and hung in the air. Mami looked around in confusion.

"What the...?"

"My my Mami, have you forgotten?" Ultear asked, walking forward slowly. "Mist was water in it." She heard Mami gulp. "And do you remember what I can do to water?" Ice began to gather around Ultear's fist, and Mami chuckled.

"Freeze it?"

"Yep." The timer was close to zero. Another step, and Ultear darted forward.

"Sorry Mami, I guess you'll have to leave Simon be! Ice Make: Gauntlet!" The thick glove of ice formed completely just in time to slam into Mami's chin, sending her high into the air.

_Beep Beep!_

* * *

Once the timer went off signaling the end of the match, Mami hit the dirt and didn't get up. The crowd erupted in cheers as she realized she'd won.

_"What an amazing display!" _Ross roared. _"Ultear brings the match back to her own side and wins the fight! She has won ten points for Fairy Tail!" _Nashi jumped on the edge of the stand and cheered with everyone else, until she heard a sigh of relief from behind her.

Simon was lying spread eagle on the ground, laughing.

"She did it...Thank God..." The others chuckled as he started laughing.

_And this concludes the first day of the Grand Magic Games ladies and gentlemen! The scores are as follows!" _Nashi looked up at the lacrima vision at this, noticing the scores.

1st Fairy Tail: 28 pts

1st Sabertooth: 28 pts

2nd Lamia Scale: 20 pts

3rd Blue Pegasus: 10 pts

4th Mermaid Heel: 6 pts

5th Quatro Cerberus: 4 pts

Once she saw the scores, she grinned.

_Let the Games begin_

**Long chapter for Ultear's fight, you guys love it. Again, thank you guys for all the support. Truly incredible to see.**

**Also, if you guys see any scoring errors, please tell me. This is important shit so if I miss it, I need to trust you guys can.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	159. Day 2

**I just realized we're nine chapters in to this arc with this chapter and the first day only just ended. We're gonna be here a while.**

**Enjoy!**

"Not to mention, let's have a toast for Ultear!" Nashi cheered and raised her mug as Laxus said this, which making Ultear blush and sink in her seat.

"It's not that big a deal" She murmured, tracing a finger around her mug quietly. Damien laughed and slapped her on the back.

"Sure it is!" He replied. "You did a great job!" She smiled weakly, and her eyes widened. Nashi watched as the girl ducked just in time to avoid a flying tackle from her mother, who had tried to hug her.

"Juvia is so proud of you!" The bluenette shouted happily, once again clamping onto Ultear,who just smiled and rolled her eyes. "Juvia knew you could do it!"

"Seriously, can we stop?" Ultear asked, pushing her mother away. "By the end of this my fight from earlier will be forgotten."

"Maybe." Elise said, putting her drink down. "But for now it was damn impressive, so let us celebrate, huh?"

"I too would like to celebrate." Simon said, making everyone chuckle. "Because thanks to you Ul, I don't have to go on a date with Mami." Ultear rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sure you had the utmost of faith in me." She said sarcastically. "Why do I recall you trying to storm the field in anger?" Simon faltered at this, making everyone laugh again. Nashi sipped her drink and turned to the redhead.

"You'd better be grateful." She told him with a smile. "You owe Ul a bunch, too." Simon nodded.

"Yeah I know. I'll buy her dinner or something."

"So you get out of a date with Mami just to go on one with Ultear?" Drake asked with a smirk. "Smooth moves, Scarlet." This made both involved parties rather embarrassed, but the topic was soon forgotten as they talked about the rest of the days events.

"Kyoko sure is something, huh?" Nashi asked, recalling the memory magic. "Just using anyone's spells she's memorized."

"Yeah." Drake agreed. "I wonder just how much she's memorized."

"Dragon and God Slayer magic, at least." Ultear replied. "That's a pretty volatile combination."

"Especially given she can combine them as much as she wants." Damien said with a nod.

"But hey, at least she fared better than Reyna." Simon pointed out.

"She had to fight Terra." Nashi reminded him. "I'm sure she's good, but let's be serious here." The others nodded in agreement. Before they could continue their conversation, a pair of hands wrapped around Damien's head.

"Talking about me, Dreyar?" Terra asked. Damien smirked.

"Yeah. Just how disappointed I was with your fight today." Terra made a face and released him, most of Lamia Scale's team showing up behind her.

"Just wait if I get my hands on you." Terra shot back. "Then you'll see what I can do. We never did get to finish our fight when we met."

"As I recall," Damien replied with a smug grin. "I won that fight." Terra growled.

"Bullshit, you did! You tricked me."

"And?" As Terra fumed about her 'loss', the others pulled up chairs to sit and talk.

"You guys sure were something today." Winter said, turning to Drake. "Especially you." He shrugged.

"It wasn't anything special." He replied. "All I did was listen."

"You didn't get knocked out once!" Grace shouted, startling Drake. "I'd say that's impressive!"

"Yeah, well, not impressive for me, then." He told her. Nashi rolled her eyes.

"You trained a whole lot these past few months, huh?" She asked him. "I've never seen you move like that." He shrugged.

"Yeah." He agreed. "My Dad grinded me to ashes everyday. Worked out in the end I guess." Nashi giggled.

"Yeah, you sure did...!" Nashi froze, her nose twitching. She jerked up and looked around, sniffing the air. "Elise?" She asked, making the other girl perk up. "You smell that?" Elise contorted her face in confusion but inhaled anyway, and her eyes widen.

"Son of a bitch." She stated, making everyone else confused. "Where are they?" Nashi didn't reply until she darted her eyes over to the window, where, as expected, a blonde and dark haired idiot were watching. She met his gaze, and he made an innocent face before slowly lowering his head below the window. She darted for the door and swung it open, glaring at the pair hiding below the windowsill.

"Uh..." The blonde one said, grinning. "Hey." Nashi watched him for a moment before she grinned happily.

"Katsuchi! Tetsu!" Just as the two stood up Nashi tackled them with a hug, which almost caused them to fall over. "I knew you guys were here somewhere, I saw Azzie."

"Yeah well of course we'd come and watch the Games." Katsuchi replied as they followed her inside. "Sounded exciting. Just happened to be a coincidence you guys were competing." As they reached the table with the others, Katsuchi looked over. "Hey guys, it's been a while." Simon smiled and leaned back in his seat.

"It sure has. How've you guys been?" Tetsu shrugged as he walked over to Elise and sat in her lap, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Pretty good." he said ignoring the angry Dragon Slayer he was sitting on. "Definitely not, you know, trying to kill people anymore." Damien laughed.

"That's good." he said. "Where's Azzie?"

"The hotel." Katsuchi said. "Said she was tired." Nashi then saw him look over at Winter, who blushed at his gaze as he smirked. "Remember what I told you when we met Winter?"

"Shut up..." Katsuchi laughed and wrapped an arm around Nashi.

"And you doubted we were friends with them." He taunted, making Winter look out the window in anger. Terra laughed.

"You had that coming." She informed the God Slayer, who mumbled halfheartedly about knowing that.

"Get the hell off of me!" Elise shouted, Tetsu ignoring her. "Tetsu!"

"Yes, dearest friend?" Tetsu asked sweetly.

"Get the hell off of me!"

"Nah." Elise raised her arm and turned it into a blade, and swung it at Tetsu's neck. Nashi watched as it bounced off harmlessly, the portion of his neck that had been struck having turned black. "I've forgotten how feisty you are." He said, looking over his shoulder at her, making her growl.

"Get. Off!" She roared, making Tetsu laugh as he got off of her and stood looking down at her.

"Jeez your temper is just as bad as well." he said with a smirk, making her narrow her gaze at him.

"You want to go a few rounds?" Elise asked, standing to confront him. Tetsu smiled.

"Not particularly." He answered. "I came here to talk to old friends, not have a meaningless fight with you."

"Calm down, you two." Nashi said, pushing Katsuchi off of her. "There's no need to start something here."

"Thank you Nashi." Tetsu said to her. "Come now Elise, you're a competitor. What if you have to compete tomorrow?"

"So what if I do?" Elise asked. "I'd still win even if I kicked your ass."

"That a fact?"

"Yeah! Tell you what, I will compete tomorrow! In the event!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Nashi face palmed as Elise sat down defiantly, making Tetsu chuckle.

"Anyway," Tetsu said, turning to Terra and Lamia Scale. "How've you guys been?"

"Alright." Terra said. "it is good to see you two again. Right Winter?"

"..."

"Winter?"

"...Yeah whatever." Winter answered without interest, playing with a ball of air in her hands. As the two God Slayer sat down, the conversation about the events of the day continued.

"So is anyone else curious where Blue Pegasus is?" Nashi asked. "We're friends with them as well, you'd figure they'd come to talk."

"Probably consoling Mami." Damien joked. "And, you know, making sure nothing serious is wrong with her."

"Probably both." Terra jumped in. "She looked pretty upset." This made Ultear shift uncomfortably, noted by basically everyone. "Don't feel bad Ul, she took a chance making that bet."

"Still..." Ultear murmured. Silence fell over the group, everyone thinking quietly. Finally, Tetsu sighed.

"I wonder what the event is going to be tomorrow." He said, everyone visibly grateful for the change in conversation.

"Whatever it is, I'm going to win it." Elise told him flatly, making him snicker. Nashi sighed and looked out the window as the street as the conversation continued.

"We'll see soon enough." She muttered.

* * *

_Hello and welcome to the 2nd day of the Grand Magic Games!" _The crowd roared in approval as Ross started his commentary. _"The festivities started out at a fever pitch yesterday, and it's only going to get better from here on out! So, without further ado, let's get this day started!"_

Nashi smiled as Ross finished his commentary and the crowd continued to cheer. The hype surrounding every morning did not fail to get her excited.

"So we all agree I'm competing?" Elise demanded. "Because if I don't Tetsu is going to get on me about it."

"What if it doesn't match your skill set?" Ultear asked curiously, only to get waved off.

"So what if it doesn't?" She demanded. "I'm still going to do it." This made Simon sigh.

"Of all the stupid reasons to compete today..." He said to himself.

_And today ladies and gentlemen, we have a very interesting event! While it is much akin to one of old called the chariot, it had been modified! Dubbed the Cross-Crocus footrace, competitors will be teleported to the very edge of the city! Once arriving their, they will be challenged to race back to the Domus Flau! But that's not all ladies and gentlemen, oh no, not even close! The whole way back to the arena is rigged with traps, obstacles, monsters, and of course, the other competitors! There are no ramifications for this event other than to reach the arena first! It is essentially a free for all for the goal of reaching the Domus Flau!"_

"Interesting." Simon said. "The whole city is booby-trapped with traps, obstacles, and monsters." Elise cackled as she stepped forward.

"Sounds like a shitload of fun!" She stated. Nashi laughed.

"Don't get carried away, alright?" She advised. "The goal if to come back here, you get no bonus points for monster kills or hitting other competitors." Elise nodded.

"I know, I just really want to do this!"

_And it seems we have our first competitor! Keita Cheney from Sabertooth is competing!" _Everyone looked over at Elise as a feral grin spread across her mouth.

"There's no talking you down now, huh?" Ultear asked, her only response being Elise jumping down into the arena. "Of course."

"Keita is technically her rival." Damien pointed out. "There's no way she'd let him compete with trying to show him up." Nashi knew that. Despite their reservations with each other, the two were going to look like rivals to everyone.

_And what's this?! it appears Elise Redfox from Fairy Tail is taking up this challenge as well! The Iron Dragon and the Shadow Dragon in one event! What did I say everyone, the Games and just getting started!" _The crowd roared again, which was too be expected. _"And the rest of our competitors are also joining in! It seems we have Nikki from Blue Pegasus, Megan from Mermaid Heel, Akihiro from Quatro Cerberus, and Jackson from Lamia Scale!"_ As the final competitor, Jackson from Lamia Scale came out onto the field, Nashi made a face. She swore she knew the boy from somewhere, but she was certain it wasn't anywhere from Lamia Scale.

"Do we know that guy?" Ultear asked. "I feel like we do."

"Agreed." Simon said. "But where from?"

* * *

As Elise made her way to the center of the arena, she met Keita's gaze. He didn't seem fazed by her presence, which was both understandable and a little irritating.

"You competing I suppose?" he asked as they reached the center.

"Of course I am, what other reason would I jump into the arena for?" She demanded. Keita shrugged, looking out at the other competitors.

"You look like the only challenge anyway, so I suppose it's alright..."

"Good luck, Keita-chan!" A loud voice shouted, making Keita freeze up. Elise followed the voice to the Mermaid Heel stand, where Nami was shouting and waving happily. "I should be cheering for Meg, but good luck anyway!"

"Shut up Nami!"Keita seethed, turning to shout at the girl himself. Elise made a face at the exchange, but did not pursue it, nor the slight blush on Keita's cheeks as he muttered about how stupid Nami was.

_"And now, with all our competitors present, teleport them to the start!"_

* * *

Nashi watched as the six disappeared in a blue flash, and the lacrima vision booted up, showing them all right outside Crocus, gearing up to full on sprint. Ross cleared his throat.

_"And with that, let the Cross-Crocus Footrace begin! GO!" _

**I love leaving you guys hanging, if you didn't know. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	160. The Cross-Crocus Footrace

**So...Given what happened in the last manga chapter I feel the need to remind you guys of something. Just as a reminder.**

**This story, at least the meat of it, was finalized with post-Tartarus pre-Alvarez in mind. If anything happens in the manga that hugely contradicts something I've already done, it's a tad too late. I'll do my absolute best to work around it for what I haven't posted, but even that might not be possible.**

**And luckily for you guys, today's event won't last that long.**

**With that being said, enjoy!**

_"And with that, let the Cross-Crocus Footrace begin! GO!" _the very second these words left Ross' mouth, Jackson disappear in a blur. Elise held her hair out of her face as she and the other contestants watched him dart away at the speed of sound. _"And would you look at that! Jackson making excellent use of his speed based magic here! Lamia Scale made an excellent choice for this event!"_

"Shit..." Elise murmured. "That's probably not good..." She and the others slowly came out of their daze, and realized they'd better get a move on. Elise returned to her senses just in time to see Keita melt into the ground, and a dark shadow then bolting down the street in Jackson's direction. She saw Megan and Akihiro both soar past her, so she broke into a full on sprint after them, leaving Nikki in the dust. She soon got to be on par with Megan and Akihiro, who were both too focused on sprinting to notice her catch up. She kept her breathing as stable as she could as she rounded a corner, and was greeted with the first obstacle.

It was a gigantic wooden contraption, with swinging arms barbed with steel and swinging blades below that. Jackson and Keita must've easily bypassed it, because neither were seen anywhere near it. Elise grinned as she saw Megan and Akihiro fall back to survey the situation. She was planning on no such thing, her route was chartered.

Elise noted as she approached that when the arms swung full force in random directions that there was a small space between the blades below and the swinging arms.

One conveniently small enough for a short person to fit through.

Leaping into the air and curling u her body, Elise soared right through this open gap in the machine and landed gracefully on the other side with a smile.

_"What a tactic!" _Ross shouted overhead as she broke out running again. _"Elise uses her small stature to make it through the tiny gaps in the trap!" _Elise made a face as she heard the crowd cheer. She didn't like hearing about her stature, even less so when someone somehow praised her for it. But she didnt need to worry about that right now, she had a race to win.

* * *

Megan made a face as she surveyed the object in front of her. She didn't know what to make of it, but she was sure it would take some thinking to get past. Akihiro was also stuck with her, with that Nikki girl now coming up behind them.

"See ya, suckers!" She said with a grin over her shoulder as she ran right for the trap. Megan watched in astonishment as Nikki phased right through the trap in it's entirety, continuing to run through the other side.

"Ah come on!" Akihiro complained. "How're we going to do this?!"

"Beats me." Megan grumbled, but soon Akihiro smiled.

"I got an idea." He planted his hands on the ground. "Shockwave Burst!" Megan nearly lost her footing as a shockwave left Akihiro's hands, making the machine shutter violently. Akihiro sprinted past her and got past it right as it started to whirl up once more, leaving her in dead last.

"Seriously?! Come on!"

* * *

Elise just barely avoided having her head taken off by a tripwire throwing swords at her by sliding on her knees under them.

"Holy hell they don't play around!" She shouted in somewhat irritation as she got to her feet and continued to run. The arena was still some ways away, but judging from the lack of her sight on Jackson or Keita, she wasn't pleased knowing that. The speed mage had most likely almost gotten there, and Keita was probably just running right through all of the obstacles in his way as a shadow. Turning the next corner, she was greeted by a group of Vulcans, who turned at her presence. She grimaced as they started to run at her full speed.

"Stupid monkeys." She hissed, turning her arms into clubs. She slammed a few of them into the ground before grabbing another by the arm and swinging him into the others, causing them to fall in a heap. Shaking her head at the choice of 'monsters' for this event, she continued on her merry way.

* * *

Keita was fairly certain he had this easy. He'd lost sight of that Jackson guy completely, but he was just effortlessly flying past every single on of his challenges as a shadow. Even if the other guy was a speed based mage, he had to make his way through all the obstacles legit, and not just soaring past everything like he doesn't care whatsoever.

As Keita rounded the corner, he could see his opponent actually standing still, observing the challenge in front of him. Grinning as he came up next to him and re-materialized, he tapped his shoulder, which caused Jackson to jump in surprise.

"Don't do that, man!" He hissed. Keita shrugged. "How do you think we're going to get passed this bad boy?" Keita looked back at the trap and surveyed it. the buildings had been outfitted with swinging blades, and the ground was covered in a goo like substance, presumably to slow the contestant down so that they get nailed. Keita shrugged.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to finish this up about now." He once again melted into the ground and went right through the trap without worrying about a thing. he heard Jackson run away, so he turned back to find his opponent running over the top of the buildings ahead of him. It was a clever way to get through the trap alright.

Until of course a Vulcan nailed him with a fist, sending him sailing off the buildings and off to the other side. Keita returned his eyes to the route ahead, where he could see the Domus Flau quite clearly.

_I've got this in the bag._

* * *

The six different lacrima visions were following all of the contestants, and Azzie knew Tetsu was keeping his eyes on the top three. Seeing as Elise had told him flat out that she was going to win, he had said he was going to tease her endlessly if she didn't.

"Third wouldn't be bad." Katsuchi offered as the crowd cheered.

"Yeah." Azzie agreed. "She is up against a speed wizard and a guy who can avoid every single one of the obstacles."

"But she said she'd win." Tetsu said with a grin. "So if she doesn't, She's never going to live it down." Azzie shook her head as she raised it back to look at the lacrima vision. The only person who seemed to be struggling hard was the blonde girl was Mermaid Heel, Megan, who was in dead last. The others were barely having a difficult time with any of the obstacles, or monsters.

* * *

Elise couldn't gauge where anyone else was, but she knew she was coming up on the arena soon. She could tell partially due to how much larger it had become in her peripheral vision, but also because the sound of the roaring crowd intensified the closer she got. Turning a corner, she saw a strange blob of green goo with waving arms. Elise made a face as it seemed to turn towards her.

"Ew...What the hell are you?" She demanded. She was about to start attacking it before a blur ran right into the beast, blowing a hole the size of a man into it. Whoever it was was gone, the monster slowly turning into nothing more but a puddle, and Elise stepped in it as she passed by it. "Disgusting." Elise was about to continue, but she paused. She recognized that smell. Turning, she turned her arm into a club and drove it into the wall, but the shadow just kept darting away from her. "Don't run from me!" Elise shouted after it, chasing him down. the shadow seemed intent on losing her, but Elise's nose had locked onto Keita now. They were both headed in the same direction anyway. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the shadow returned to a human state and flew into the air.

"Shadow Dragon's Roar!" The pitch black breath attack soared towards Elise, who was forced to roll sideways, lose her momentum, and tumble. Just as she recovered, Keita was already turning around to lose her. Elise wasted no time in attempting to use her club on him, but she could do nothing but watch as it fazed through his stomach without effect. _Damn, it's like Ul's water magic..._

"Stop wasting time attacking me, Redfox." She heard Keita say as he melted into the ground again. "There is no bonus for taking me out."

"But I do have a better chance of winning if I do." She grumbled as she stood, the shadow already long gone.

"I need to get moving." She grumbled. "Before someone finishes..." Deciding she'd better get a move on before anyone else finished, she full on sprinted for the stadium, taking out the variety of monsters that got in her way, ranging from more Vulcans to Cyclops and traps trying to turn her into mincemeat.

Finally, after what seemed like a millennium, the entrance to the stadium was right ahead.

And a man darted into the entrance. Just as Elise reached the entrance, the crowd roared.

_"Keita Cheney has finished first!"_

Narrowing her eyes, Elise pumped more energy into her legs and full on sprinted after it, determined to at least get second. Once she got inside, she turned and saw Jackson running up a flight of stairs. Chasing him, she could tell given his running he knew how close she was. She rounded a corner the stairwell, and he was at the top. His body blurred, and he slammed into the wall, which cascaded debris towards her.

Elise didn't have time for this. Activating her Dragon Scales, she ran right through it as it barreled past her. She did her absolute best to catch him, finally getting just close enough to be able to see him clearly.

_Come on...!_

* * *

_"What an explosive event ladies and gentlemen! So, in the Cross-Crocus Footrace, Keita Cheney from Sabertooth has placed first, Jackson from Lamia Scale has placed second, Elise Redfox from Fairy Tail in third, Nikki from Blue Pegasus in fourth, Akihiro from Quatro in fifth, and Megan from Mermaid Heel in sixth!"_

Nashi could tell, even from up in their stand, that Elise was absolutely fuming. She'd only come back into the arena a mere second after Jackson, but not close enough for them to try and judge who made it first. Truthfully Nashi felt the girl should be proud she was so close behind a speed wizard of all things.

"Tetsu's going to poke so much fun at her." Damien said with a grin on his face. Ultear giggled and nodded.

"He sure is." She agreed. As the competitors made their way back to their stands, Someone else spoke up.

"You did awesome, Keita-chan!" It was Nami again. Keita was visibly pissed in the arena, but Nami didn't stop. "Look at you getting first!"

"Don't make me come up there!" Keita shouted back, just making Nami laugh.

"Wonder what's up with them." Drake said. "She seems to have a liking for him."

"Don't see how." it was the returning Iron Dragon Slayer who said this. "He's such a pretentious moron."

"Oh the irony." Drake said, making Elise punch him in the shoulder. "Who shoved a stick up your ass?" he demanded, rubbing the area she'd punched. "You did great."

"I didn't win." She replied irritably. "And now that I talked so much shit to Tetsu and didn't follow through he's never going to let me hear the end of this." Rolling her eyes at this, Nashi returned her eyes to the field as Ross cleared his throat.

_And now onto the battles for today! And to start things off, we have Blake from Sabertooth against Grace from Lamia Scale!_

**It's a bit shorter, but you guys would not believe the difficult I had getting through his chapter. I've been trying to get it down all week and I just couldn't.. hopefully that doesn't reflect too bad in it's quality.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	161. Saber's Sixth Team Member

**I feel like I'm straight up ignoring my other stories for this one. Oh well.**

**Enjoy!**

_"And now onto the battles for today! And to start things off, we have Blake from Sabertooth against Grace from Lamia Scale!"_

Nashi perked up at this. Blake was a rather mysterious member of Sabertooth, given that he had no bloodline to back up what to expect. He was an unknown, at that could be dangerous. As the man walked onto the filed opposite of Grace, he seemed rather calm.

"I wonder what his magic is." Ultear said. "He's got to be good."

"Yeah." Damien agreed. "I guess we'll have to see." As the two combatants made it onto the field and stopped, Ross cleared his throat.

_"As usual, this bottle is the first to fall, thirty minutes! FIGHT!" _As soon as Ross finished talking, Grace's claws grew out of her hands and she charged at Blake, who stood still as she got close. Grace jumped high into the air to bring her claws down on Blake, an attack he didn't seem interested in dodging.

A bright flash of blue later, and Grace flew across the arena away from Blake, who had moved every so slightly to aim his open palm at Grace.

"What the...?" Simon asked, confused. "What kind of magic was that?"

"No idea." Damien said. "Whatever it was, looks like it hurt." Nashi looked over and saw Grace doing her best to stand after only a single blow, and Blake had yet to advance. She went after her opponent again, and with another bright flash and explosion, she was thrown back once more.

_"Just what magic is Blake using here?!" _Ross shouted, asking the same question running through Nashi's mind. The magic wasn't anything Nashi recognized. Blake moved his hair out his face and sighed.

"Looks like I expected too much from you." He murmured. He brought both hands together, and a small turquoise ball of magic formed between them. "So I'm just going to have to go all out and end this. Plasma Sphere!" The bright energy attack left his hands and soared right at Grace, who tried bringing her arms up to block the attack. It still exploded and sent her backwards.

"Did he just say...Plasma?" Drake asked. "Plasma Magic?"

"I've never heard of Plasma Magic..." Nashi murmured as Blake launched another ball of plasma at Grace.

* * *

Michael grinned as Blake continued to attack Grace. The fight was so one sided it almost hurt.

"Plasma Magic." Juno observed. "A lost caster based magic."

"Supposedly." Keita replied quietly. "Blake explained it to me a while back. Apparently he can use this state of matter for whatever he wishes. Offense, defense, if he wants, he has it."

"Where the hell did he say he learned it again?" Rina asked. "Cause I want to learn it." Michael shrugged his shoulders as he watched Grace attempt to stand.

"Who cares?" He asked. Kyoko smiled as she raised a hand to her temple.

"It seems rather difficult to memorize just by watching." She said. "I've tried so many times, but Blake has told me there's more to it then just using it like you would fire magic or ice magic." Michael nodded as Blake launched more spheres of plasma at Grace, who was still at his mercy.

"There's a reason Blake made it on the team out of every option." He said. "And we're seeing it."

* * *

It was a slaughter, Nashi could see that well enough. Blake didn't give Grace any breathing room at all. Every team she barely recovered from one attack, another was on it's way.

"This magic is powerful." Elise muttered. "He's decimating her without even trying."

"He made it on the team for a reason, I guess." Simon replied, making the others nod. "Sting chose him because he's this powerful." Looking back at the arena, Blake had momentarily stopped attacking, perhaps out of pity that Grace could barely stand. Whatever this Plasma Magic was capable of, Nashi wasn't sure she wanted to find herself on the receiving end. He raised his hand, and another ball of plasma appeared there.

"I'll give you one more charge." He said, twirling the ball around. "Just so I don't feel bad for pushing so hard." Grace seemed to take her chance immediately, rushing straight for Blake as he remained stationary. He threw the plasma at her causally, but she slid under it and her claws appeared once more, ready to drive them into Blake's legs as she got close.

The second her claws got close enough to make a mark, they bounced off of Blake's body harmlessly, plasma crackling as it defended him. Blake chuckled as Grace cradled her hand that had attempted to strike him.

"It was a nice try, I guess." he told her, a bigger sphere of plasma appearing in his hands. "But I think we're done here." he whipped his hand, which made the sphere launch at Grace.

_BOOM!_

Nashi had to shield her eyes as the plasma exploded. Once the light died away, Grace was lying spread eagle, unmoving. Blake just pocketed his hands as the timer went off.

_"T-That's it!" _Ross roared as the crowd cheered. _"Blake has defeated Grace! He earns ten points for Sabertooth!_" Nashi watched as Blake made his way out of the arena, Grace struggling to even stand.

"Jeez..." She said. "He's one powerful mage."

"We've seen worse." Damien replied immediately. A few names came to Nashi's mind, but she shook it off. As Grace finally managed to stand up and limp back into her teams stand, the crowd waited anxiously for the next battle to start. Nashi waited just as anxiously, as there was the chance her name would be called. And truthfully, she really didn't want to disappoint.

_"Alright then!" _Ross announced, getting every to got silent quickly. _"With that, I'll announce the second battle of the day! It would appear we now have Ken Lates from Blue Pegasus versus Kimberly from Mermaid Heel!" _Nashi clapped along with the others as their friend walked out onto the field, ready to fight the girl from Mermaid Heel. As the two made it to the center of the field, Ken smirked.

"Sorry about this." he said. "I'd rather not go after such an attractive young lady." This made Kim roll her eyes at him, and place a hand on her hip as she whipped her blue hair out of her face.

"You'd better not take it easy on me because I'm a girl." She told him matter of factly, making Ken laugh.

"I'd never even consider it, lovely." he replied. "As a matter of fact, some of the most powerful and dangerous people I know are beautiful young women." Nashi had a sneaking suspicion she was including in that analogy, but she let it slide. "So I'd be a fool to think you'd be a pushover." Kim nodded with a grateful look on her face as took an offensive stance, as Ken did as well.

_Thirty minutes on the clock! FIGHT!" _As soon as these words left Ross' mouth, Kim made her move. Wingers grew out of her back and she flew high up into the air, everyone watching her.

"Amazing!" Ken shouted. "You're a real angel, aren't you?" Nashi groaned as Elise hit her head on the wall.

"Is this guy for real?" She demanded in a dead pan tone."

"He doesn't know when to quit..." Ultear hissed. Kim came down from the clouds at lightning speed, aiming a foot for Ken's face. He dodged it easily enough as debris was shot up everywhere, but he sidestepped another attack and smirked.

"It's not a form of takeover." he told her matter of factly. "Or some form of lost angel magic. So tell me, what exactly is this I'm facing." Kim smirked as the wings folded up slightly.

"Figure it out yourself, lover boy." She told him. flapping her wings to propel herself right at him. He dodged the majority of her attacks, while also grabbing her fist as she tried to punch him.

"If I had to tale a guess," he said. "I'd guess some form of Wing Magic. Aera? No, you're no Exceed." Kim nodded as she backed up a bit.

"It's Wing Magic." She confirmed as one of her wings came forward, and pet it. "And I take it you use Archive just like Daddy?"

"My my, have you done your research on me?" Ken asked with a flirty raise of his eyebrows. "You flatter me."

"This fucking guy..." Damien muttered. Nashi had to agree. Nashi knew Ken well enough to know he always acted like this to girls he didn't know, but he really should have been trying just a bit harder than he was. Kim also seemed a little irritated with him, but she didn't speak up about it.

"I think we'll get back to our fight now." She told him. Darting up into the sky and diving right back down at Ken, who was forced to careen of course when Ken set up Data Blast attacks in her path. He turned and attacked her again, this one reaching it's mark and causing her to hit the ground of the stadium.

"Sorry," he told her as she stood. "But I do still have to win, so I hope this doesn't ruin my chances at getting a date."

"Oh shut up" Kim hissed, launching herself at him again. She dodged his blasts and got right in his face, hitting him several times and blowing him back. Kim soared into the air above Ken, and the man watched her warily as she started to circle.

"Why're you avoiding me?" He asked her as she flew around. "Come down!" Kim laughed.

"No, I think I'm about down with you." She replied, increasing her speed. Soon enough, the dust in the arena started to kick up around Ken, making him look around before his eyes widened.

"Oh crap...!" He shouted as the dust started to circulate ever faster. Soon enough, Ken found himself trapped in the eye of a miniature cyclone. Nashi could no longer see him in the midst of it, but he was certainly in danger. Kim smiled as she landed a little ways away from it, snapping her fingers. The cyclone disappeared, and Ken dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"She created a vacuum." Simon said, "Ken couldn't breath."

"And now he's out cold." Elise said with a chuckle as the timer went off.

_"That's it! Kimberly has earned ten points for Mermaid Heel! What a display of her power! N_ashi had to agree that Kim had some strength behind her. Ken wasn't really built for offense, but he could still do some damage if he wanted to. Kim walked over to Ken and nudged his face. When he looked up, she smiled and offered him her hand. He smiled weakly and took it, causing the crowd to cheer loudly. _"And what a display of good sportsmanship! Let's give these two another round of applause!" _The crowd listened and applauded, Nashi included. It had been a decent fight.

* * *

Azzie watched as the pair disappeared off of the field, leaving it empty for the final battle, with was Fairy Tail and Quatro Cerberus.

"Who do you think is up now?" Katsuchi asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"I don't know." Tetsu replied. "And after watching Elise not keep her word, I sort of don't care either." Azzie and Katsuchi chuckled at this.

"You really need to leave her be." Azzie advised, patting his back. "She's going to kill you." Tetsu grinned mischievously.

"All the better."

_And it appears out final battle for the day will be Damien Dreyar from Fairy Tail versus Ryo from Quatro Cerberus!"_

* * *

Damien cracked his neck as he heard his name announced. This would be a piece of cake.

"Don't overdo it." Simon advised him as he turned to leave. Damien laughed and turned.

"You mean I can't decimate him in a few blows?" he joked, making Nashi laugh.

"You can, just don't play with the poor guy." She told him. Damien shrugged as he turned to leave for the arena, walking quietly towards the entrance. Before he did, he paused and sighed, turning to face the presence he felt behind him.

"What?" He demanded, Xisplate watching him silently. "I'm kind of in a hurry." Xisplate grinned darkly.

"I can't watch you compete?"

"Fuck off."

"I so love our talks, Damien my boy." Damien sighed and turned his back on the demon, who laughed. "Take this a little easier Damien! You won't even need me or Vantros for this."

"I know that, thank you." he replied. "I just want you to leave me alone." Xisplate shrugged.

"Now why would I do that?" Damien shrugged as well as he entered the arena.

"True, then you'd just be giving me what I asked for." he did not hear the demon say anything in reply, so he kept quiet as he walked to the center of the arena, the crowd speaking in hushed whispers. Probably about him . His last name was practically been paraded around by Ross when he ad been announced, so it honestly came as no surprise. Looking up, his opponent was a scrawny guy who looked a little frightened.

"Sorry in advance." Damien told him, making his eyes widen.

"W-What?"

* * *

Nashi saw Damien and the black haired guy named Ryo meet in the center of the arena, and the crowd still did not stop muttering about Damien. She could tell why, he wasn't exactly an unknown like Blake had been. Hearing Drake exhale loudly, Nashi turned to find him leaning up against the wall, eyes closed.

"Not going to watch?" She asked him. He chuckled without opening his eyes.

"Any need to?" he replied. "I think we all know the outcome." Nashi rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the arena, when Ross cleared his throat.

_"As usual, the limit is thirty minutes! FIGHT!" _Ryo attacked quickly, throwing what appeared to be sand magic as a wave of it went right for Damien, who waited with an unimpressed look on his face. Soon enough he was engulfed in it, and the crowd watched with baited breath.

Except for Nashi and the others, who were waiting for him to stop toying with his opponent.

And they didn't have to wait long.

The sand exploded outward from Damien, who was now in his base demon form, red armor and all. The crowd watched as Damien opened his eyes, the mere sight scaring Ryo practically shitless. Damien raised his open hand and darkness exploded outwards it Ryo's direction, engulfing him just as the sand had Damien, multiplied by three.

"Told you." Drake said. Nashi turned and threw a small fireball in his direction for the snark, but he dodged it. Damien flew at Ryo without holding back, going in for blow after blow as the poor guy was thrown around like a rag doll. Soon enough Ryo hit the ground, unmoving. Damien landed near him and turned back into his human form, waiting as the bell was rung to signal the end.

_"H-Holy shit!" _Ross shouted. _"Talk about a display here ladies and gents! Damien was ended this battle in a record one minute thirty-five seconds! He's definitely earned these ten points for Fairy Tail!"_

* * *

Michael's hair was standing up on end as Damien returned to his human form, Ryo lying face down.

"Is he for real?" He asked weakly. "That was incredible."

"Incredibly terrifying." Juno replied, shivering. "I have goosebumps over here just from looking at that form."

"He's the Masters son, and a Dreyar at that." Blake said from behind them. "So naturally he's going to be a complete and utter destructive force." Michael nodded as he looked up at the lacrima vision, which was now displaying the scores after the day.

1st Sabertooth: 48 pts

2nd Fairy Tail: 44 pts

3rd Lamia Scale: 28 pts

4th Mermaid Heel: 18 pts

5th Blue Pegasus: 14 pts

6th Quatro Cerberus: 7 pts

They were winning, but only just. Fairy Tail was right behind them. Looking over at there booth, he watched them speaking to each other. Soon enough, Nashi sensed his gaze and looked over in his direction. He smiled and waved, and she repeated the small notion. He smiled as she walked away with her friends, presumably leaving the arena for the day. Turning to leave himself, Michael had the sneaking suspicion they would not keep their lead for very long.

**As you guys can tell, this is already a two guild competition. But I assume that was obvious from the start? As usual, please point out any scoring mistakes if you see any. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! let's try and get five!**


	162. Between Two

**Hey guys! I decided to upload a little late today, sorry!**

**Enjoy!**

"I'm just saying Elise, if you had..."

"Tetsu if you say one more god damn word I swear to God I'm going to cut you." The threat caused a wave of snickers to pass over the table of friends. Tetsu had non stop bothered Elise since the day had ended, and it was clear she was at the end of her rope. As Elise glared at Tetsu, Azzie started to rub her shoulder.

"Don't listen to his taunting, Elise-sama." She said with a smile. "You did just fine. I can gurantee Tetsu would have done terribly."

"I never said I wouldn't." Tetsu replied immediately as Azzie tried to defuse the oncoming fight. "But I didn't prance around telling Elise how I'd win and then not."

"One more god damn word..." Elise warned him, making him stick his tongue out at her. As the previous argument died away, the group moved on to other topics concerning the day.

"But we all saw Blake's magic, right?" Drake asked, making everyone nod. "That Plasma Magic sure is something."

"It's Lost Magic." Azzie supplied. "I remember Kronos saying something about it." Katsuchi made a face.

"Yeah, me too." He said. "He said something about how difficult of a magic it is to learn." This raised a few red flags in Nashi's mind. She had nothing against Blake as a person, but Kronos had talked about his magic, which she and the others had never seen before. She wasn't really sure if she was supposed to be suspicious. Damien sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"He might be a bigger problem then we're sizing him up to be." He said. "Those blasts he was using against Grace didn't look like they took all that much out of him." Nashi had to agree. Blake seemed rather indifferent on his attacks.

"If it comes down to it, we can persevere." She said. Just as she was about to add to this sentence, the door to the bar was thrown open. Turning to look, Nashi saw a women she had not seen in a long time.

"What's with the faces?" Aunt Cana demanded with a wide smile. "You'd think you guys would be happier to see me!" Nashi broke into a grin as the rest of Quatro Cerberus followed her in. She watched as her mother and father rushed to greet her.

"It's so good to see you, Cana!" Her mother said happily, crushing Cana in a hug. Can broke away and stared at her stomach incredulously.

"When the hell did this happen?!" She demanded. "And why was I not informed immediately?!" Nashi's mother laughed awkwardly.

"Sorry Cana, you're just so far away all the time with Quatro..."

"You did not take long to getting busy, did you Natsu?" Cana asked with a smirk as she put Nashi's father in a headlock. "Back nearly as long as Lucy's been pregnant, huh?" He just laughed and freed himself.

"At least I'm aware of it this time." he said, casting a glance in Nashi's direction. She stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh. As everyone made their way into the bar, Nashi saw Quatro's team headed their way, making everyone else perk up.

"No need for the stares, we're here on good terms!" Reyna said, holding her hands up as they got close. Seeing Reyna closer up, Nashi could see the resemblance she bore to both Cana and her father Bacchus. "Figured we'd meet our competition!"

"It's nice to finally meet you, Reyna." Ultear said with a smile. "After all, you our extended family." Reyna nodded with a laugh as she pulled up a chair next to Nashi.

"Yep! Although I didn't think I'd meet you guys by watching you tear a hole in the Games." She said. The rest of the team sat, but Ryo seemed a bit pensive, his eyes darting towards Damien every now and then. This made Damien snort.

"I don't bite, dude." He told Ryo matter of factly, making him jump. "That fight was nothing personal, I just don't play around with my opponent."

"R-Right." Ryo said, laughing awkwardly. "I've just never been thrown around like that."

"Least he didn't kill you." Simon offered, making Ryo pale. "I've seen him do it." Damien rolled his eyes.

"Eoin had it coming." Damien said. "So did Taisho" Simon nodded in a half paying attention manner, which only made Damien more miffed.

"All of you guys are insanely powerful from what I can tell." Akihiro said, sounding impressed. "And only half of you have shown off what you can do." This reminded Nashi that Elise, Simon, and herself had yet to show off the efforts they made while training. Perhaps the next day she'd be able too? "We really have no place fighting you."

"Don't be like that." Nashi quipped. "I'm sure you guys have a chance." Reyna chuckled.

"I don't think so." She replied. "Not just us either, but some other teams as well." Nashi raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What do you mean?" Reyna looked over at her, dead serious.

"I'm saying these Games are blatantly between two teams. Take a wild guess at who the second one is."

* * *

Michael really didn't want to get too drunk, even if it was rather hard. His friends felt the same, as they may have to compete in the morning.

"I'm going to eat too much" Blake moaned from Michael's left. "I'm going to bed."

"See ya." Michael said as the tan man got up. "And congrats for today man. You did fantastic!"

"Yeah, yeah" Blake mumbled, waving him off. "I'm sure it'll be nothing by the end of this." Michael smiled as he returned to his drink, Juno taking Blake's seat next to him.

"Sup?" Michael asked her, mouth full of food. She sighed.

"Don't speak with your mouth full."

"Who are you, my.."

"Mom?" Juno finished, narrowing her eyes at Michael. "I might as well be, you don't listen when she tells you either." Michael laughed, and then choked due to the food he was attempting to swallow. Juno growled and rubbed his back, making him moan in satisfaction leaning into her.

"You give amazing back rubs." he complimented. She sighed but didn't stop rubbing his back, making him smile. Juno often gave up on trying to discipline him. He really only didn't listen cause it bothered her.

"You really should start taking these Games a bit more seriously." She told him.

"I am." he said. Juno stopped rubbing and Michael looked over, seeing her scathing stare.

"I've known you all my life." She stated. "I know when your lying to me." Michael laughed and leaned forward onto the table, watching the rest pf his guild eat and chatter meaninglessly.

"I just don't see the need to take it seriously." He replied. "There's only one thing I care about competing."

"Winning?" Juno asked. Michael shook his head and looked back at her.

"Nashi." He replied. "She's all I care about." A pink tinge rose to Juno's cheeks at this, and she looked away.

"You don't have to be so blunt about your next escapade." he murmured, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Michael made a face before he realized what she was inferring.

"No no, I don't mean that." he said, smacking her shoulder. "I'm not talking about courting her. I mean I want to fight her." Juno raised an eyebrow at him, and he leaned back on the chair looking at the ceiling. "Ever since I met her, I've had the itch to test just how powerful my apparent 'opposite' is." He looked over at her. "You know what I mean?" Juno raised a hand to her chin, humming as she thought.

"I do, sort of." She replied. "Like Rina wanting to fight Damien."

"Yeah, like that." Michael agreed. "Everyone knows she and I are...well, rivals of sorts. Our fathers were, and they fought, so naturally we will too. I just want to know when." He then frowned. "And who'll win." Juno chuckled.

"I hate to say history repeats itself often, but..." She trailed off with a knowing smirk, and Michael sighed.

"Yeah yeah, her Dad destroyed mine. I see what your getting at." This made her giggle. "I just want the chance." Silence fell over the pair, before Michael spotted a familiar Shadow Dragon Slayer sneaking out of the party, presumably to be by himself. "You stay here, okay? I'm going to go see what Keita's doing."

"Alright. See you." Michael nodded and got up from his seat, following Keita out the door and down the hall, trailing his scent to a balcony.

"What're you doing?" He demanded as he walked up behind Keita as he looked out over Crocus. Keita sighed.

"I don't like crowds." he replied quietly. "You know that." Michael nodded and leaned on the railing next to his friend.

"Yeah I know." Michael ran a hand through his hair as wind blew past them. "You did a good job today, by the way."

"Thanks, man."

"Not only beating Elise, but that speed wizard from Lamia Scale. Awesome job." Keita stayed silent, and Michael frowned. "I something bothering you? Usually you at least talk to me."

"...It's Elise." He finally said, and Michael nodded.

"You want to fight her?" he assumed, but Keita shook his head.

"No, not that." He said. "But that's inevitable." he was quiet for a moment before he sighed and cocked his head slightly to look at Michael. "I sense...A darkness in her." Michael raised an eyebrow at this, so Keita continued. "I don't know what it is but...Something isn't right with her."

"Yeah, she is sort of abrasive." Michael said quietly, trying to see what Keita was, but his friend shook his head.

"She is, but it still isn't what I mean. You may not be able to see it thanks to me being more in tune with darkness."

"Maybe." Michael agreed. Silence fell over the pair before Michael sighed and rubbed his head. "Man, I have no idea what your talking about."

"Just drop it, then." Keita advised. "Don't concern yourself with it."

"And let you?" Michael asked, making Keita stay silent. "I didn't take you for the type to care about someone you don't know, let alone someone who's been rude to you nine times out of ten."

"I don't either, but..." he didn't finish his sentence, just letting it hang in the air. "Forget it, doesn't matter. Go back and party man, all that running today made me tired."

"You did no running." Michael informed him flatly, but Keita grumbled incoherently as he pushed past him. "Goodnight."

"G'night." Keita replied, leaving Michael alone. As he returned his gaze to the city, he pondered Keita's words.

_He said forget it...But how can I possibly do that?_

* * *

_"Hello ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome, to the third day of the Grand Magic Games!" _Katsuchi flinched as Ross roared at the crowd, announcing what everyone already knew. The man didn't know how to not be hyped. _"And today, oh today, do I have a treat for everyone!"_

"You shutting up?" Katsuchi asked hopefully, making Tetsu and Azzie smile.

"That'd be a treat." Azzie agreed.

_"Because today everyone, today, we have a special event! Now I know that the first event, Hidden, also falls into the same category as this next event, but we all know this one is going to be much better in every sense of the term!" _This made Katsuchi curious. What was this event that had Ross so hyped up? Katsuchi knew nothing of the Games prior to this and what the event and Hidden had in common, so he just had to sit and wait until Ross told them what was happening.

* * *

_"Because today everyone, today, we have a special event! Now I know that the first event, Hidden, also falls into the same category as this next event, but we all know this one is going to be much better in every sense of the term!"_

"He's trying way to hard." Simon said as the crowd continued to cheer, which forced Ross to wait until they died down a little bit. He just wanted to know what the event was so they could get down to it. As he waited, he recalled what Reyna had told them the night before, and how obvious it was, at least to her, what two teams were competing for first.

Them and Sabertooth.

Looking at it from an outside point of view, Simon could see where she was coming from. Even though only two days had passed, Sabertooth and Fairy Tail had been near the top of the leaderboard both days. Meanwhile her team...well, wasn't. But Simon didn't want to jinx anything by saying they had in the bag.

_"And today ladies and gentlemen, we have a high risk, high reward, crazy event of Pandemonium!"_

**I swear this is the last recycled event. Let's be honest, it's not that surprising out of any event I recycled, it was this one. It was pretty hype originally.**

**Regardless, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	163. Lucky Six

**Hey guys! I hope you guys enjoyed your Christmas! Or whatever you celebrate, it doesn't matter to me. Apologies for the leave of absence, but I wanted to thoroughly enjoy my break from school I tend to do that. School makes it easier for me to update somehow. I don't know. **

**Just a quick heads up, I'm going to be slowing down updates with this story. I have been criminally ignoring my two other stories, Partners and Roommates. No hiatus, none of that. Just slowing down a bit. Besides, we're ten chapters deep already. No need to rush,**

**Enjoy!**

_"And today ladies and gentlemen, we have a high risk, high reward, crazy event of Pandemonium!"_

Erza perked up at the sound of the event, the one in which she had made infamous. The crowd was roaring and cheering, but she could still hear Ross shouting hype and asking who was competing.

"No wonder they brought this back." Lucy said with a smile. "With us competing, they couldn't not." Gray chuckled.

"I think I know exactly what they wanted to have happen." He then looked knowingly at Erza, who's stomach turned slightly.

After all, her son was on their competing team.

* * *

As Ross hyped the crowd up for the following event, Simon remained quiet, as with the others. None of the spoke up to take the contending spot for the event, all of them probably assuming he himself was going to do it. He didn't blame them. Pandemonium was an infamous event, so much so it had been turned into it's own competition away from the Games. And now, with Simon and his friends competing with the guild that had made it infamous in the first place, he felt pressured incredibly.

_"Pandemonium, as the name so accurately describes, is an event in which the contestants will draw numbers from one through six. The contestant who draws one will go first, and then in order of the number they receive. Once they enter the event, they must choose how many monsters they wish to fight! This can range from 1 to the max of 100! Whoever has accumulated the most defeated monsters by the end of the event will be the winner!"_

Someone shoved him.

He turned to look and found Drake standing there, an innocent look on his face as he avoided Simon's gaze. He looked at everyone else weakly but they avoided his gaze, or just didn't bother saying anything. Finally, he stood straight up and rolled his eyes.

"You guys can at least tell me I should do it." he said flatly, walking towards the edge of their stand and jumping over the side, leaving his pathetically silent friends to their own thoughts. He knew why they'd done so, anyone but him competing would have been an insult to the guild. He had to do it. If Nashi or Damien did it, no one would be as hyped up. No one would be looking forward to it.

In other words, they probably only brought it back in hopes he'd be the one to descend into the arena and take on the challenge.

_"Look at this!" _Ross shouted, finally taking notice of Simon walking to the center of the arena. _"Our first contestant is coming down onto the field, Simon Scarlet!" _At the announcement of his name, the crowd erupted in screaming and cheering, making Simon flinch as he stopped walking, reaching the center of the arena. _"And looks like he's being joined by Kunio from Quatro Cerberus, Akio from Blue Pegasus and Winter Vastia from Lamia Scale!" _Simon looked over as the three others approached the center of the arena, but he kept his gaze firmly on Winter and Akio as they walked up to him with a smile.

"Hey." Winter greeted. Simon smiled back.

"Hey. You ready for this?" Winter sighed and stretched.

"Yeah. Terra wants to hold back in case there's another event we may need her for. Besides, with my ability to heal myself makes me an excellent candidate." Simon nodded at this and turned to Akio, his eyes asking the same question. Akio shrugged.

"I'll be okay as long as I don't bite off more then I can chew." He said. Simon made a face at this saying. Because judging from what he guessed was expected, he might have been mentally preparing himself for just that.

"I'm sure we'll be..."

_"And would you look at that!" _Simon jumped as Ross interrupted him with his screaming. _"Juno Orlando from Sabertooth has descended to the arena!" _Simon turned to find the raven haired girl walked towards him and the other contestants. She stopped and looked at Simon, who met her gaze halfway and held it as the tension grew. Of everyone Sabertooth sent out, it would be her. It was like they were trying to start something with the crowd and Ross. However as she approached him, he smiled kindly.

"Are you ready?" he asked her lowly, so that the crowd might assume he was threatening her or something. She nodded curtly.

"Trying to psych the crowd up are we?" She asked in an equally low tone, Simon nodding to answer her question. After all, there was no harm in it after Saber decided to send her down there. She took a step closer and grinned smugly. "Let's see how you stack up then, Simon." Simon did not back down from her, and the crowd was now dead silent.

_"What's going to happen as these two wizards face...OH MY GOD! YOU AREN'T SERIOUS!" _Simon made a face, as did Juno, both of them turning to discover the reason for the yelling. _"YES EVERYONE, THIS IS HAPPENING! IT ISN'T JUST YOUR EYES!"_

Her hair was midnight black, and her red eyes focused on him. She was clearly underplaying her power as she casually made her way to the center of the arena, her sheathed sword still at her side she stuck a hand in her pocket.

Nami Mikazuchi had descended to the arena.

"Hey." She greeted casually, a beautiful smile Simon would not normally associate with such powerful looking individuals. "You must be Simon." He recalled his mother telling him about this girl, and how she might be one of the only people who would be able to stand up to him. And now, with her standing roughly six feet from him, he could feel why. The magic practically flowed from her.

"And you must be Nami." He replied. "It's a pleasure to finally speak to you." Nami nodded and whipped her hair out of her face.

"Too bad it has to be in such a competitive environment." She said, another brilliant smile aimed at him, but Simon knew better. That smile, albeit friendly and with good intentions, was her attempt at downplaying her own strength. However, he nodded at her.

"I was about to say the same." The crowd was absolutely losing their shit over what was happening, even though Simon, Juno and Nami were making casual conversation before the event got underway. Finally, Ross called for some semblance of order.

_"And with all of our contestants ready ladies and gentlemen, please make way for Pandemonium!" _Simon was about to voice his curiosity when the ground around them began to shake violently. Looking around, he finally found the source, which was the gigantic magic circle floating above them. Soon enough, something began appearing out of the circle, and it grew it size. After a few minutes, the coliseum as a whole had appeared, floating ominously above the arena.

"Damn." Kunio murmured from somewhere behind Simon. "That's a huge arena."

"Up in the air as well." Nami noted. "Not that big of a deal." Simon wasn't all that afraid of heights, he'd had battles to the death several hundred feet up in the sky anyway. Once the arena was done with it's preparation, the lacrima vision lit up, showing the inside of the arena where creatures crawled all around.

_"Pandemonium features five types of creatures." _Ross said, sounding surprisingly calm given how hyped he'd been acting for the last few days. _"These monsters are ranked from D-rank to S-rank. Obviously, S-rank monsters, or rather monster, is extremely powerful. Should you happen to be unlucky enough to cross it, pray you are enough to kill it."_

"So the rank of the monsters is random." Winter mused. "Interesting."

_And now, ladies and gentlemen, your lovely contestants will be given a randomly generated number! Here we go!" _The lacrima vision switched over to pictures of the six contestants, with flashing numbers next to their names. Simon watched with a knot in his stomach as the numbers flashed wildly, waiting for it to tell him when he was supposed to go.

He had a bad feeling he already knew.

* * *

As the numbers flashed rapidly, Natsu felt as if he already knew what was in store for them. Randomly generated felt a whole lot more like 'Give Simon 1 and after that it doesn't matter'. He cast his gaze over at Erza, who's gaze was glued to the numbers like many others. Finally, after what seemed like forever, one set of flashing numbers finally stopped, which where next to Kunio's name.

5

One down.

* * *

Michael watched the numbers, waiting for it to tell him when Juno was up and could go and compete.

"I hope she gets one." Rina said with a chuckle. "That way she can wipe out a ton of them first and disperse them for everyone else."

"Would certainly be helpful." Blake agreed. Kyoko nodded, and Michael looked over at Keita, only to find him distracted. Following his gaze, Michael's eyes landed on the young Iron Dragon Slayer on Fairy Tail's team.

"So what did you mean by...off?" He asked in a low tone so no one else could hear him. When Keita did not give him a reply,Michael looked over at him. His partner seemed conflicted, his hazel eyes still watching the girl carefully. "Keita?" After more silence, Keita sighed and turned his eyes back to the arena.

"I said forget about it." he murmured. Michael frowned.

"Yeah..." He muttered, miffed. "Just tell me something's wrong with someone I know and withhold what..." Keita did not reply, so Michael promptly stopped asking. Another set of numbers stopped moving, this time next to Akio's name.

4

Two down.

* * *

"They really could've done this in a less dramatic manner." Mami said quietly as the numbers continued to jump around wildly. Of all things to make people sit through.

"All for the sake of drama, Mami dearest." Bella said with a smile. "Can't have a decent event without the drama."

"Coming from our resident drama queen that comes as no surprise." Mami replied, narrowing her gaze at the blonde, who just raised her shoulder in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

'Got your water and food, Bella!" Both girls looked over to find Ken and Taro on their knees presenting food and water to Bella, shit eating grins plastered on their faces like they were genuinely proud of themselves. Bella giggled.

"Thank you boys!" She took the water bottle from Ken and a bite of the sandwich Taro had before winking at them, causing them to fall over.

"Realight, I'd appreciate you stop making our teammates into seduced paste..." Mami muttered as the boys started to drool on themselves. Bella giggled.

"Drama, Kotobuki. Drama." Another set of numbers stopped, this time next to Winter's name.

2

Halfway done

* * *

Terra really did want to compete in Pandemonium, but she felt that conserving her strength for anything else would be better. After all, no matter how powerful she was, Winter could heal herself at will. That was an undeniable advantage the white haired God Slayer definitely had.

The others with her were getting antsy as the numbers slowly stopped ticking next to the remaining three. Besides, the skill of the mage mattered, not who went when. Another set of numbers stopped, this time for Juno.

3

Only two left.

* * *

Nashi was biting her lip as the remaining two names, Nami and Simon, slowly ticked down.

"I'll be totally honest right now." Damien spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "If they didn't set this up for Simon to be number one..."

"Agreed." Drake said. "They had to set it up, there's no way they wouldn't." Nashi agreed as well. They knew Fairy Tail would be competing, so naturally they had to set up Pandemonium for them. It only made sense.

"I wish they'd stop making us wait." Elise hissed. "Just get it over with damn it."

"It's stopping..." Ultear said quietly, the numbers slowly coming to a stop for everyone to see.

Nami Mikazuchi: 6

Simon Scarlet: 1

As if there was any doubt.

**You guys must've thought I wouldn't go through with it huh? I did XD. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	164. Oberon

**Hey guys, sorry for the wait! If you guys follow Partners, another story of mine, you would have seen the most recent update, which I explain I'm having issues in real life that need to be dealt with, along with writers block.**

**You guys will be okay though. This whole story is mapped out, so it's not to hard for me to get a chapter out. **

**Enjoy!**

Nami Mikazuchi: 6

Simon Scarlet: 1

As the numbers stopped flashing, it took the crowd a moment to process that yes, Simon's name had the first number next to it.

And when they did finally realize it, they _erupted. _

Simon winced as they did so, but it also made his stomach swirl violently from the weight that was now pressing down on his shoulders. He knew what these people were expecting, and he knew what everyone was expecting. They wanted him to stand tall and say he was taking on every single monster, all one hundred. To follow in his mothers footsteps.

But could he?

Simon didn't exactly know if he could. He didn't need to be told his mother was extremely powerful, but did he stack up to how she was when shed done this? Was he better?

Everyone was waiting.

What was he going to do? He brought his gaze up to the crowd, as they had died down considerably, now waiting for something to happen.

_"And that's it!" _Ross announced._ "It appears the first contender for Pandemonium is Simon Scarlet!" _The confirmation only solidified the hype, and Simon frowned.

"You okay?" It was Winter speaking to him. "Nervous?"

"More than you know." He replied quietly. He brought his eyes up to the monstrous event chamber floating above him, wondering just how he'd come out of it. He looked over at his friends, who were watching him warily. All of them seemed tense, waiting for him to say how many monsters he was planning on taking on.

Theoretically speaking, Simon could take on only fifty-one monsters and win by default. That way, nobody would be able to defeat more monsters than him, even by taking on the remaining forty-nine. But was he going to do that? Was he going to cheapen the setup?

He looked out over the sea of people waiting for him to speak up.

_"How many monsters is Simon going to take on?!" _Ross shouted. Simon wished he had an easy answer to that question, but he didn't. Ten? Twenty? Fifty-one?After much internal deliberation, Simon cast his gaze over towards the Fairy Tail stands, where his guild was watching.

Where his mother was watching. Simon knew that, despite the distance between them, she was meeting his gaze. After staring at each other for quiet some time, she finally smiled and looked down, beckoning forward.

A pit formed in Simon's stomach.

He knew what she was trying to tell him. He knew what the cheering crowd was attempting to tell him, and he knew what they wanted.

"Alright." he said, looking up at the monstrosity above him. He narrowed his eyes as he turned to the crowd, giving them a glare of steely determination.

"Give me all one hundred"

* * *

Michael choked on his own spit as the words left Simon's mouth. He watched as the red head did not retract his statement, he simply waited.

_WHAT A CHALLENGE!" _Ross announced, the ramp beginning to descend. _"Simon Scarlet will attempt to be the second person in history to clear all one hundred monsters solo! A feat only his mother has accomplished before him!"_

"Well, damn." Blake said, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't think of all numbers it'd be the only three digit one available."

"What's he trying to pull?" Rina demanded. Kyoko frowned.

"As I recall..."

"Surprise surprise..." Michael butted in with a smile, earning himself a slap on the back of the head.

"Anyway, like Ross said, Simon's mother is the only person who has ever successfully defeated Pandemonium in one go." Kyoko finished as Michael rubbed the slap mark on the back of his head. "I'm willing to bet the whole event was rigged to give him the same chance if he so choose to compete."

"Makes sense, I suppose." Keita said. "I'd do that too." Michael watched as Simon turned his gaze back to the floating fortress, waiting for what the red head would do.

"Guess we'll see if it runs in the family."

* * *

"Hey now, Simon. Are you sure about this?" Akio asked warily as Simon looked back up at the fortress.

"Yeah." he answered, exhaling loudly. He was well aware the rest of the competitors were watching him in disbelief, so he turned to look at them. "What?" he demanded.

"Just wondering how insane you are..." Kunio answered, and Winter shot him a glare

"Just trying to figure out what the hell you're thinking." She then replied, putting her hands on her hips. "Seriously Simon, I know you're more powerful than I give you credit for, but this...Are you sure?"

"I already said. Yes." He then looked over at Juno and Nami, who looked less bewildered. "You two gonna try and stop me?" Both girls blinked a few times before Juno shrugged.

"Do what you want." She said. Simon shifted his gaze to Nami, who met it. They watched each other before she smiled and placed a hand on her hip.

"Don't fuck up, Scarlet." She told him. Assuming that was the best he was getting out of either of them, he turned and watched as the ramp into the fortress finished descending, stopping in front of them. Taking another deep breath, he started to walk up it. The farther up he got, the louder the cheering became. Finally, he reached the top, and the door began to open. He stepped inside without hesitation, and it slammed shut behind him. As he walked inside, lights began to come on as he reached the center. Once he did, the floating fortress began to shudder. Simon braced as his sense of balance was slightly thrown off, but he recovered. Looking back up, he could see the source.

Monsters had spawned inside the castle. they were multicolored, supposedly to differentiate between the classes. As they advanced slowly, Simon took a deep breath. The monsters threw themselves at him, and he grinned.

"Show time."

* * *

The monster threw themselves at Simon, and he didn't move as they all landed on top of him. There at least two dozen bearing down on him, but their friend did not appear from them, and this worried Nashi a little. What was he doing.

Until the pileup started to glow.

A blinding light exploded from the center of the monsters, sending them flying every which way. Simon stood in the center, wearing his Black Wing armor, glowing gold.

_"And with that we are off!" _Ross shouted. _"Pandemonium has begun!" _Some monsters disappeared from the blow, but others got back up and launched themselves at Simon once more. He darted out of their way with his Heavenly Body magic and sliced them with his sword, causing them to disappear as well. More monsters crawled out of the woodwork to throw themselves at him, but Nashi watched as he darted around every single one, either ignoring them at first or hacking away at them with his blade.

"Look at him go." Elise said, sounding slightly impressed. "He's got this."

"Don't be so quick to judge." Damien replied, gesturing upwards. Looking up, Nashi spotted a counter, ranging all of the classes of monsters. The D-Class counter dropped by ten. "He's only defeated ten."

"We've got a long way to go." Ultear translated.

* * *

Simon covered his eyes as his blast of Heavenly magic destroyed another monster, and he heard another behind him. Turning,it was not the silvery color that ranked D level monsters. It was a different color. Simon brought his sword up, only for the creature to attack with it's tail, which forced him spin and break his current blade to block it. More of these monsters spawned, all doing the same. Simon ran along the wall to avoid it, but he was then caught off guard by another one, clawing at him head on. He felt it scratch his face and he lost his momentum, landing on the ground. All the higher class monsters converged on him, attacking with his tails.

_Shit...This might hurt a bit. _

He quickly cowered in the fetal position. This may have seemed pathetic and weak, until the shield of golden light formed around him, deflecting all the tails and claws from the currently spawned monsters. he jumped up quickly to avoid more of the monsters, using Meteor to rocket around and hack away at different monsters who dared contest him. Floating neat the center of the arena, he noticed many had been defeated.

_Where is...?!_

Simon was struck in the back by a hard surface, which sent him right into the wall.

* * *

_"Oh boy! The first of the B-Class monsters have arrived everyone!" _Lucy watched as the higher tiered monsters attacked Simon relentlessly, throwing him this way and that, not giving him a single moment to recover.

"That looks like it hurts." She said, flinching as Simon was thrown into the dirt once more.

"I'm sure he's going to be fine." Natsu said. "Right Erza?" Erza did not answer Natsu. Looking over, Lucy found the mother of the competitor had her eyes glued to the lacrima vision screen, not even paying them the slightest bit of attention. "Hey, Erza?" Natsu went to tap hr on the shoulder, but Lucy stopped him.

"Don't." She advised.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Use your head, flame brain." It was Gray who spoke up this time. "She's worried. You aren't doing her any favors." Lucy nodded and looked over at Erza, who was still watching the lacrima vision.

Lucy was no fool. She could see Erza's clenched fists sitting no the edge of the stands.

* * *

Simon cursed as he finally got some breathing room to stop the relentless onslaught. More monsters had since spawned in, and he'd been trying his absolute best to get himself some room. He needed some kind of strategy, or he wasn't going to get out of this. Slicing up a lower tier creature, he decided on his strategy. He requipped into his Flight Armor, and then activated Meteor. He flew at the speed of light around the monsters, driving his rapier into each one over a dozen times. The act forfeited a little too much of his remaining magic, but it worked, and the spawned in monsters died. Before he could recover, more monsters flew at him. He dodged them as much as he could, requipping his Lightning Emperor Staff and electrocuting them. He only got himself a little bit of time before another wave came after him. He fought them off and killed them, until the ground began to shake underneath his feet. He turned and saw a hulking, red figure approach him.

"Well then." he said in between breaths. "I assume you're A-Class? Maybe even S?" The creature roared in response and drove it's fist at Simon, who brought up his blade to block it.

That didn't work. The monster had just a bit more driving force behind it's swing. He flew back and created a brand new crater in the wall. Before he could recover though, the monster was on him, slamming all of his body weight into him in one go. Simon felt the wall of the castle buckle behind him, and he flew out into the open air. Growling, he flew back towards the castle, which the creature was now crawling up the side of. He attacked it's back, but it turned and decked him for his attempt. Destabilizing himself, Simon grimaced as his right arm throbbed.

_Did I break it...?_

He quickly assessed his arm, and found it wasn't broken. It did, however, really hurt. No weapon wielding for him anymore, even moving it a little really hurt. He put his lightning staff away and amplified the glowing light around him. It wasn't really his style to go all in with his Heavenly Body magic, but with his arm in that condition he didn't have much of a choice. he flew at the creature scaling the castle again and aimed his open palms at it, blasting away at it. It flinched as he hit it, and it turned in an attempt to hit him again. He dove underneath it's fist and hit the hand holding it to the side of Pandemonium, causing it to fall. He stopped to watch it fall, but it disappeared before it could. He assumed that they probably de-spawned if they got to far away from the castle, which made sense.

_Alright, now I just need too...!_

A tail of one of the smaller monster soared past him. Looking back, the hole the A-Class monster had created was leaking other monsters, who had presumably spawned inside the castle and were now crawling out to face him. Sighing, Simon turned to them and glowed brighter.

"Well, I guess I did ask for this."

* * *

_"Would you look at that! Simon has decimated half of the monsters! Can he take out all one hundred?!" _Nashi could hear Ross asking the question, and part of her was wondering the same thing. Simon looked pretty exhausted already, which wasn't a good sign.

"He's hurt." Drake said, Nashi nodding in agreement. "That A-Class thing hurt his right arm, I can tell by the way he's cradling it." It was blatantly obvious from the way Simon fought almost exclusively with his left arm he was hurt.

"I'm sure he's be okay...Right?" Nashi asked warily. Nobody answered her. She looked around at the others, and then at Ultear. "You've been awfully quiet Ul, what do you think?" Ultear did not give her a reply. The girl was focused intently on the golden dot darting around the outside of the fortress. One fist was clenched, another was against her chest, also clenched.

_She's pretty in the zone...Does she doubt him?_

* * *

More monsters fell and disappeared, but this, as usual, did not give Simon any breathing room whatsoever. More bore down on him, and with his wounded sword arm, he couldn't do much. He dodged a few, got hot way too much, and ended up scrapping against the ground back inside during an impromptu crash landing, which forced him to dodge even more attacks. Almost every one of his blasts killed more monsters, and at this point, he couldn't see anymore silvery monsters. Had he taken the whole class out?

Moving out of the way of another few, he finally decided he needed to attempt to use his weaponry with his left arm. Requipping his Fire Emperor sword into his left hand and immediately feeling out of place, he swung it at monsters that came at him. It felt odd and just not right, but it worked well enough and killed off the monsters coming after him .He slashed and blasted monster after monster, until eventually there were none left in front of him.

"What the...?" He asked, leaning heavily on his right leg from the pain. "Did I...Did I do it?"

He was a fool to even consider it.

The roof above him broke, and he looked up to find two A-Class monster raining down on top of him. He had no time to dodge, and all he could do was cover himself as best he could.

* * *

_"Holy shit!" _Ross shouted. _"Simon has been landed on! Is he okay?!"_

"I damn well hope so."Damien muttered.

* * *

Simon gritted his teeth under the pressure. He'd managed to requip into his Adamantine shield before the two landed on him, but they had both recovered from it and were now both pounding him into the ground in their attempt to defeat him. Finally, it stopped. He felt one of them grab his shield and whipped him back into the wall, and the other punched him, and thus another hole in the wall. This time however, He was thrown right into another tower of the fortress, and didn't move.

He'd been in a lot of pain before. Fighting Eoin, the Edolas army, Icas, Apocalypse, Lennix. All of these fights had been painful. This one was no exception. But the repetitive drain on his magic, coupled with the monsters that were created for the sole purpose of beating him into the dirt, it was much worse. The two A-Class Monsters came out of the holes in the wall, and he watched them painfully.

_I"m just about done with these fucking things..._

Simon took a deep breath. It hurt, which wasn't a good sign. However, it a breath he desperately needed. And with that deep breath, he activated his requip.

Into his red pants, and the bandages around his arms.

This was his final hurrah. He needed to end this now. He grabbed his katana as it spawned near his hand, and launched himself out of the crater towards the A-Class monsters. The two of them were restricted to staying attached to the castle, so that gave him a very small edge. Also, they were also stuck with one arm, the other obviously keeping them attached to the fortress. Another few monsters crawled out of the holes in the wall, but Simon was on them. He flew down and hacked them too pieces. He went after one of the other A-Class monsters, cutting it's arm off, the one that kept it latched to the fortress, and it fell down and other one tried to hit him, but he dodged it's fist and drove his katana between it's eyes, killing it immediately. He fell, his Heavenly magic too weak to sustain his weight in the air, and he managed to grab one of the chains and managed to stand on them.

_"This is it!" _Ross roared, the crowd absolutely losing their shit. _"Simon has defeated ninety-nine monsters! Only the S-Class monster remains!"_

* * *

_"Only the S-Class monster remains!" _Nashi watched as Simon attempted to stand on the chains holding Pandemonium up, and frowned.

"I don't know about this." She murmured. Damien nodded.

"He's running on fumes." he agreed. "This is not good."

"Who knows," Drake added. "He might have something."

"I'm no expert on his limits." Elise said. "But he does not look very good.

"What do you think Ul?" Nashi asked. However, Ultear was still being quiet. Her eyes were still glued to the screen as Simon started to glow, and eventually disappeared. He reappeared as the lacrima vision changed locations, this time showing what appeared to be a throne room. The room lit up, and the final monster revealed itself.

It was at least thirty feet tall, and obsidian black. It stood from the throne and a low rumbling sound came from it.

And it launched itself at Simon without remorse. He was thrown left and right, as the S-Class beast bore down on him.

* * *

Speaking truthfully, Simon felt like tapping out. the other ninety-nine has exhausted what magic he'd gone into the event with, and now with the strongest of them all bearing down on him, he had nothing left to fight it off with. He felt utterly powerless. It kicked him in the midsection, and he finally lost the grip on his katana, which slid away from him and into the dark corner of the room, out of sight. Now he didn't even have his weapon. What was he supposed to do?

Simon looked up as the gigantic monster came towards him raised it's palm and a dark glow came from it. Simon realized all too late he should've moved. The attack blew a hole in the wall, exposing the top of the fortress to the open air. Simon probably could've lured it outside and dealt with it that way, but there was no point. He probably wouldn't be able to sustain flight long enough to do that. The creatures fist landed on top of him, and then again, and then again. Finally, it's foot was placed on top of him, keeping him in the dirt.

_"Is Simon done?!" _Ross roared. _"It this it?!" _Simon wanted to move, but he couldn't. He wanted to tell Ross he was still there, but he had no energy left.

So yeah, he was basically done.

"Simon!" A voice reached his ears. He looked over to the hole in the wall, but he couldn't see who was shouting at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Get up!" The S-Class beast kicked him, and he landed hanging over the edge, threatening to fall out. Looking down, he found the source of the voice.

It was Ultear.

She was shouting up to him, a rather irritated look on her face.

"You still owe me dinner for winning my battle!" She shouted, a smile on her face. "Make sure you can still move to take me up on that!" Simon stared at the girl in bewilderment, and his gaze drifted to the others. They all looked worried, but they were all still looking at him.

Expectantly.

They were waiting for him to finish this up.

Simon gritted his teeth. He looked to his side and spotted his katana sitting there, gleaming from the light shining in from outside. He heard the S-Class monster lung at him, and he dodged. The creature teetered on the edge of the hole, and Simon made it to his blade. He grabbed it with his good arm, even his bad sword arm technically, and jumped at the beast. He plunged the whole blade into it's back and listened to it roar. It started swinging around wildly, knocking over pillars and creating a huge mess. Simon took his blade out of it's back and jumped high into the air. He gathered all the remaining magic he had left into his hands, causing them to glow bright gold. The creature looked up just in time to see him bringing his sword down. A roar of anger escaped Simon.

His strike, much like a sword piercing the heavens, was driven straight through the monsters head.

* * *

_BOOM!_

Simon's final strike had caused the lacrima vision to lose contact with the room. But that became apparent why, as the whole of Pandemonium started to collapse from the heavenly explosion. The other competitors, still waiting below, started to move to avoid being crushed by the falling debris. The crowd watched, anxious as ever, for what had happened. who was still standing? The monster or Simon. The dust started to settle, and everyone, collectively, leaned forward.

And the shining blade of a katana could be seen through the debris.

Simon was still standing. Bruised, bloodied, beaten, wounded, but standing. The crowd waited.

The head of the S-Class monster hit the dirt and disappeared.

.

.

.

The crowd erupted. They were screaming and cheering unlike anything they had thus far, and it was insane. The other competitors were bewildered that he was actually still standing.

_OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! SIMON SCARLET...NO! THAT DOESN'T EVEN DO THIS JUSTICE!" _Ross screamed. _"OBERON HAS DEFEATED ALL ONE HUNDRED MONSTERS! I REPEAT, OBERON HAS DEFEATED ALL ONE HUNDRED MONSTERS!" _

Simon started to walk out of the debris. During everyone's shocked silence, Drake and Damien jumped down onto the field and ran to their friend, supporting him as he began to fall over from the exertion. Ultear smiled as she wiped her eyes, Nashi and Elise hugging and cheering as they danced around.

"I knew you had it in you, _Oberon" _She said with a smile.

"Never doubted him." Natsu said with a grin. "Right Erza?" Everyone looked over at Erza, who had relaxed incredibly. She had her head rested on her arm as she watched Drake and Damien carry her son back to the infirmary.

"Yeah." She agreed, tears escaping her as well. "Not once."

**...Well? Did I do good? I'll be honest, part of the reason I held off for so long was I was struggling to write this well, but I think this was good, right? Anyway, you guys may see me tomorrow for the next chapter, seeing as I'm in the mood!**

**Oh, and the GMG is just getting started! **

**And as always, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	165. Show Me That Power

**What did I say, huh? Got today off, so I decided to update again! Enjoy!**

"I...I'm fine damn it, let go!"

"Simon shut the hell up." Damien replied hoarsely, making Drake chuckle. The two of them had umped down into the arena to catch their friend from falling on his face after he defeated Pandemonium solo, and now he was trying to convince them he was okay.

"Seriously, I can walk!" Simon complained, and Drake rolled his eyes, and decided to let go of him temporarily. Damien did as well, and they watched as Simon attempted to move on his own, but nearly fell.

"See, jackass?" Damien said, grabbing him before he could. "Let us help you, god damn." Simon just sounded miffed, but he didn't contest as the two of them carried him to the infirmary. Once they got inside, they found the girls waiting for them.

"There's _Oberon!_" Elise shouted sarcastically. When Simon glared at her, she fell back on the bed laughing as Nashi made a apologetic face towards him.

"She kept saying she wanted to call you that and wouldn't stop when we advised her too." She said, and Simon sighed.

"I take on one hundred monsters and I get made fun of for it?" he asked weakly.

"Hey, don't misunderstand." Elise said, propping her head up with her hand. "I never said I wasn't impressed. I couldn't have done that. I just wanted to tease you." Simon chuckled, and than coughed.

"Dude, lay down." Damien insisted, as he and Drake carried him over to one and laid him down.

"Someone should go get Wendy." Drake said, Nashi nodded.

"I'll do it." She said, turning to leave the room and retrieve Wendy.

_"Well, uh, seeing as we weren't exactly ready for Simon to take on and win against all 100 monsters, please put your hands together for the traditional replacement event, the MPF!" _Drake's ears perked up as he heard Ross announce what the rest of the competitors would do for the event, and he nodded. That was exactly what had happened when Erza had pulled the same thing years before.

"I wanna see that." Elise said warily. She walked towards the door, but grabbed Damien and Drake on her way, dragging them out of the room.

"Just shut up and come with me." She replied.

"Why?" Drake asked. Elise grinned and looked back at them, a malicious grin on her face.

"I just wanted to leave Ul and _Oberon_ alone for a bit_._"

* * *

Simon watched as Elise dragged the two men off, leaving him and Ultear alone. He shifted a bit to get comfortable, but groaned in pain.

"Are you okay?" Ultear asked, watching him.

"Yeah, it's nothing..." He replied weakly, managing to sit up a bit. "Wendy will have me up and moving in no time flat."

"I suppose..." Silence fell over them, punctuated only by the roaring of the crowd above them.

"Hey, Ul?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks." The girl raised an eyebrow at him for this, crossing her arms under her chest.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Simon chuckled and rubbed his right arm to soothe some of the pain.

"You called out to me." he replied, making her face go red. "Apparently I still owe you dinner." She huffed and looked away from him.

"Yeah well, you did the same for me." She replied, voice shaky. "I just felt like I owed you." Simon shrugged, which hurt.

"Still, I felt like I was done for."

"But you still got up." Ultear looked over her shoulder at him, and smiled. "More than most could've done."

* * *

Natsu turned at the sound of someone approaching them from behind, and found his daughter standing there.

"Hey Nashi, what's up?" He asked. Nashi rubbed the back of her head.

"I volunteered to come get Wendy." She replied, turning to the Sky Dragon Slayer. "Simon needs your help."

"Of course." She replied, nodding. "I'll go there right now!"

"I'll come with you." It was Erza who spoke up. Wendy nodded, and the two ran off to help Simon.

"How is Simon, anyways?" Levy asked. Nashi shrugged.

"He's trying desperately to play it off, I know that much." She said, and Gray shook his head.

"Just like his mother." He said. This caused a few people to chuckle. Nashi walked up to the edge of the stand and looked down at the competitors.

"What're they doing as a replacement?" She asked.

"The MPF." Lucy replied. "Just like before." Nashi nodded in understanding, and the guild turned their attention back down to the arena as Ross cleared his throat.

_"With the MPF, or the Magic Power Finder, we will judge the remaining contestants in terms of raw power."_ He explained. _"And we will have the contestants go in the order they drew their participation for Pandemonium, meaning our first, or second, contestant is Winter Vastia!" _Natsu watched as the Sky God Slayer stretched and walked closer to the floating lacrima.

"I wonder how well she'll do." Nashi said beside him. "She's pretty good."

"If I recall correctly, the most realistic number to beat from last time was Jura's over eight thousand." Nashi let her head hit the side of the stands.

"There's no way Winter's topping that." She said weakly, making Natsu laugh. Winter raised her hands, and they started to blow black, the wind whipping around her.

"Sky God's Boreas!" She shouted, aiming her hands at the MPF and firing the attack. The attack hit the MPF dead on and it started to tally up her magic power from the blast.

1346

_"Look at that!" Ross shouted. "Winter scores an incredible 1346! That's an amazing score everyone!" _Winter walked back to the other competitors, and Ross announced the next contestant. _"Next up we have Juno Orlando, from Sabertooth!"_

"Juno, huh?" Nashi said. "Time to scout out her abilities." Natsu remained silent as Juno walked closer to the MPF, and raised her hand. it glowed a multitude of different colors, and an orb of the same colors appeared around the MPF. Juno clenched her fist, and the orb around the MPF exploded. It started to tally up her score.

3782

_"Would you look at that!" _Ross said over the cheering. _"Juno Orando scores almost three times that of Winter's score, with 3782! An amazing score! Next up we have Akio Tearm From Blue Pegasus!"_

* * *

No way is Tearm beating Juno's score." Keita said flatly, Michael nodding his head in agreement. Juno's score was very high. Of course, her magic being so powerful definitely helped her out. Akio brought his hands together and they started to glow white.

"White Fury!" Using his Snow Magic, Akio summoned up a blizzard from his hand and it hit the MPF, and started to mark him.

1124

_"Oh, to bad!" _Ross said, sounding like he felt bad for Akio, who had a look of disbelief. _"Akio's score is the lowest yet! Next up we have Kunio from Quatro Cerberus!" _Kunio walked up towards the MPF, and raised his arms. Water started to form around his arms, and he did a weird little movement that caused it's movement to increase.

"Water Blast!" The water surged towards the MPF, and hit it. The numbers jumped immediately.

1143

_"With just a slightly high score than Akio, Kunio gets 1143!" _Ross shouted, which made Akio seem even more depressed about his scoring. _And finally, to end today's events, we have Nami Mikazuchi!_

* * *

As Nami approached the MPF, Elise had a feeling she was about to do something spectacular.

"This girl, she's probably really powerful." Drake surmised.

"Definitely." Damien agreed. "She is Kagura's daughter." Nami stood still for a moment. Then, in one swift movement, she brought her sheathed sword forward and implanted it in the ground in front of her.

Silence.

Nami did not do anything for a moment, neither did anyone else. Then, a white magic circle appeared underneath the MPF.

Then the ground began to shake. Violently.

_"Oh my! Nami is certainly making a scene for...!"_

"Graviton Strike!" Nami shouted. A blinding white light erupted from the center of the circle. Elise covered her eyes as the blast continued on for a bit. The blast finally faded, and Elise looked back down at the field, where the MPF was marking Nami's attack.

7232

_...Oh my God!" _Ross roared. _"Would you look at that number! Nami gets an astounding 7232! Such is expected from Mermaid Heel's strongest, not to mention, most beautiful member!"_

"The guy doesn't know when to stop does he?" Elise asked weakly, as footsteps sounded behind them. Turning they found Ultear and Nashi standing there.

"Hey." Ultear said. "What'd I miss?"

"A spectacle of Gravity Magic." Damien replied. "How's Simon?"

"Okay, I suppose." Ultear replied. "Wendy's there now. What was that about Gravity Magic?" Drake gestured up to the scoreboard, and Ultear followed his finger and choked. "7232?! That's an amazing score!"

"We know." Nashi said. Ultear was silent for a moment, before she turned to the others.

"With power like that...Could she have been able to do all one hundred as well?"

* * *

_"And the events for today was concluded!" _Ross shouted from above, Erza could still hear him clearly. _"Nami Mikazuchi comes fir...second! Followed up by Juno Orlando in third, Winter Vastia in fourth, Kunio in fifth, and Akio Tearm in sixth! The battles for today will be commencing shortly, starting with Taro from Blue Pegasus vs. Toshiro from Quatro Cerberus!"_

"As I expected." Erza said to herself. "Nami didn't hold back." Wendy laughed under her breath as she healed Simon.

"Kagura-san did say she has a habit of not doing that." She reminded Erza, who nodded. Looking back down at Simon, Erza felt another wave of pride hit her. She had expected him to take up the challenge, but do it so well? She couldn't have been prouder of him. Wendy leaned back and sighed.

"Well?" Erza asked, looking up at the girl. "How is he?" Wendy looked over at her.

"Resilient, like his mother." She replied with a small smile. "He's hurt badly, but I've done all I can. He'll be up and moving by the end of the day but, for now, he should stay here and rest." Erza nodded, and then looked down at her son, who looked over at her.

"Hear that?" She demanded. "You stay here. I see you anywhere but here until Wendy gives you the okay, I'll put you back here myself." Simon gulped and nodded.

"Got it." He said. Erza nodded and Wendy got up to leave.

"If that is all Erza-san, should I leave?" Erza could tell what Wendy was doing, she wasn't a fool. Wendy was asking if Erza wanted to be alone with Simon.

"Yes, thank you Wendy." She said. Simon looked over at Wendy as well.

"Thanks, Wendy." Wendy smiled and nodded.

"Anytime Simon-san." The Sky Dragon Slayer left the room, leaving the two of them alone. After a moment, Erza turned back to him.

"You did extremely well today." She told him. "I'm proud of you." Simon shrugged.

"Like it wasn't set up for that to happen." He said sarcastically, making her smile. "I just gave them what I wanted."

"And you did not disappoint," Erza replied. "You held your own against what most would've considered impossible. Seriously Simon, that's extremely impressive."

"I know, it's just..." He shrugged. "I don't know."Erza shook her head and ruffled his hair a bit.

"Just because someone set you up doesn't mean you can't be a little happy when you succeed anyway."

_"What a beat down!" _Ross said from above. _"Taro destroys Toshiro, earning Blue Pegasus ten points!" _The crowd cheered, and Ross continued. _"Next up we have Drake from Fairy Tail vs Jackson from Lamia Scale!"_

"Sounds like Drake's up." Erza said. She looked down to find Simon attempting to stand. "What the hell do you think you're doing, exactly?"

"I want to watch." Simon replied.

"What did I just tell you?" Simon met his mothers gaze, but she did not back down. Finally, Simon sighed and rolled over.

"Go and watch for me, then." He replied, making Erza frown.

"What?" Simon looked over his shoulder at her.

"Go and watch it for me, and tell me how he did. If I'm going to miss, I at least want to know what happened." Erza felt like he was trying to be alone, so she would oblige him of that.

"Alright fine. But if I see you out of this bed I'm going to punish you _severely._" Simon nodded in agreement, so Erza got up and left the infirmary, leaving Simon alone.

* * *

As Drake reached the center of the arena, he was greeted by Jackson.

"Hey." His opponent greeted. Drake nodded at him.

"Hey." he replied. They exchanged no more words, and Ross cleared his throat.

_"Alright you two, half an hour on the clock, first to fall! Let the fight begin!_" With these words, Jackson disappeared, but Drake was no fool. He knew the guy was speeding around him, he could hear him doing it.

_Rushing me from behind and attempting to elbow me._

Drake leaned forward and Jackson's attack missed.

_Trying to come back up with a punch._

He then let his legs give away under him to avoid getting punched. He gathered poison in his arm and swung it at Jackson who was forced to the side to avoid it. Drake chuckled.

"You know," He said, standing up and looking at Jackson. "I expected you have remembered I can hear your every move, Jackson." Jackson grinned.

"Of course I did, Dragon Slayer. I've waited a long time for this."

* * *

"What the hell?" Nashi asked, rubbing her head. "Does Drake know this guy?"

"I feel like we should..." Elise replied. The group was silent before it hit Nashi like a fist.

"That school!" She shouted, snapping her fingers. "Remember?! The one where we went to and got payed a lot and Drake beat that kid up in the courtyard?!" The other two that were involved realized it at that moment, but Damien just looked confused.

"What?" he asked.

"That is him!" Elise said. "Damn, it's been so long I'd nearly forgotten!"

"Guys..." Damien said weakly. "What're you..."

"He actually joined Lamia Scale, huh?" Ultear asked. "Jeez, I wasn't expecting that."

"I'm going to start knocking heads if I don't get an answer right now." Damien threatened.

* * *

Drake dodged all of Jackson's attacks and tried to punch him back, but the other man was already speeding away.

_He's a lot faster than before...doesn't mean he's trying any harder._

Drake dodged another flying tackle and Jackson flew past him.

"Poison Dragon Scales!" Drake shouted, and the projectiles flew towards Jackson without remorse. But, just like with everything else, Jackson avoided it by speeding away

_If I can avoid him by hearing him, and he's too fast for me to be able to catch, this could go either way... _Until Drake remembered he did have something against Jackson, and a very good upper hand at that. Waiting until Jackson once again went in at close range, Drake concentrated.

And accessed the paralyzing ability he'd gained when he ate that Edolas poison.

His now green and black poison fist struck Jackson the arm, and forced him back. When Jackson tried to move it however, he found he could not.

"What did you do?" he demanded. "You couldn't do that before!" Drake smirked.

"Little trick I learned." he replied. "Might want to avoid getting your legs hit, Jackson." Jackson may have had a paralyzed left arm, but he grinned nonetheless.

"You're better than I even hoped for." he said, speeding towards Drake once again. Their fists met, and Drake grinned.

"You're still a cocky little shit, ain't ya?"

* * *

Simon was woken up by the sound of the door slamming. When he turned to find out the source, he saw Nami standing there having a silent freak out, so he sat up a bit.

"Nami?" He asked, and she stood bolt right up, still quiet. "What're you doing?" She scrambled as she turned, keeping her hands behind her back.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" She asked weakly. Simon shrugged.

"It's fine." He told her. "What are you doing down here anyway?" She walked towards him and looked down at him.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing." She replied. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine by tomorrow." he said. "Wendy told me so, anyway." Nami nodded and they grew silent, before she laughed.

"I gotta say Scarlet, I hear a lot about you, but _that _I was not expecting. All one hundred?" Simon chuckled. "Truly spectacular to watch, even if you almost crushed us all at the end."

"Sorry about that." He replied. "Wasn't expecting it to crumble beneath me."

"You're just that strong huh?" She asked with a nice smile, and Simon shrugged. This was the girl who could stand up to him, huh? She seemed alright.

"And you got second?" he asked, and she nodded. "From what I understand, that was quite a high score."

"yeah well, someone should've told me to hold back." She replied. "That was one of my best powerful spells."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. That and my parents are really powerful too so, the bloodline helps a bit." Simon nodded, before he made a face.

"Do you know your Dad?" He asked. "I don't recall knowing who he is." Nami nodded.

"Of course I know him." She replied. "Can't you tell? my Dad is..."

_"What a display from Drake, ladies and gentlemen! He's paralyzed Jackson to the point of no return! He's earned himself ten pints for Fairy Tail. Bringing up the last of the battles today we have Rina Nanagear against Nami Mikazuchi from Mermaid Heel!" _Nami jumped a bit in surprise, and Simon chuckled.

"Better get out there, they're waiting."

"Yeah, I better." Nami got up and headed towards the door, but stopped in it. "Hey, Simon."

"Hm?"

"If we cross paths at any point during the final day..." She looked back at him, her ruby colored eyes meeting his. "Show me the power you used today. Okay?" Simon frowned, but then he grinned and nodded.

"And you make sure you show me yours." He replied. Nami smiled and, with a carefree giggle, fled the infirmary. Simon shook his head and rolled over, trying to go back to sleep.

_I have a feeling we're going to decimate an entire city block..._

* * *

Nami sprinted down the hall to get out to the arena. She hadn't been ready to be called on, as she wasn't expecting to have a battle planned for today. It was her own fault naturally. She'd seen Simon and Juno going down to compete so she wanted to as well. She rounded the corner, but stopped.

Standing ahead of her, mumbling to himself, was a man. He was wearing a black cloak and his face was obscured, so he didn't exactly radiate safety. Not only that, but no citizens were allowed down there.

"Hey," Nami said loudly. "What're you doing down here?" The man stopped mumbling to himself and stopped in place. He then turned and started to walk right towards her. Nami tensed and her hand flew up to the hilt of her katana, ready to attack whoever the hell this was if he was hostile.

He walked right past her and down the hall away from the restricted area.

"Excellent display, Nami Mikazuchi." he said, stopping in place, and Nami's blood ran cold. He sounded..._mechanic. _"I hope you do well in you're battle."

"Um...Thank you?" Nami asked weakly. He turned to look at her, and Nami's eyes widened.

Half his face was metal.

"Better get a move on." he said. "Or you'll be late." He then turned and walked away, disappearing down another hall.

"Who.." Nami asked. "..Was that?"

_"But where is Nami Mikazuchi?!"_

"Aw shit!"

Little did Nami know what she could have prevented had she investigated even a little bit.

**Hm, mysterious man is mysterious! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	166. The Fourth Day

**Don't get used to daily updates, guys. This is just because I have a few days off and I'm making up for the month long dry spell. Or chapters as long as the last two. It'll usually sit around two thousand and a half words, not double that.**

**Enjoy!**

_"What a display from Drake, ladies and gentlemen! He's paralyzed Jackson to the point of no return! He's earned himself ten points for Fairy Tail. Bringing up the last of the battles today we have Rina Nanagear against Nami Mikazuchi from Mermaid Heel!"_

Michael perked up at this. Their God Slayer Rina vs the ace of Mermaid Heel? He had a bad feeling about this.

"Looks like I'm up!" Rina said with a smile, stretching her arm above her head. "Wish me luck guys!"

"Rina." Rina stopped in her tracks to leave the stands, and turned to face the one who had called out to her. It was Keita, and he was meeting her gaze with a tense expression. Everyone watched him, and he turned fully to face her.

"Please do not take this so lightly." He told her. "Nami is not a joke. The odds of you coming away with a victory today is...unlikely, to be kind about it. So please, for the sake of your pride that can be so easily damaged, do not walk out there expecting a victory." There was silence among Sabertooth's team, as Rina and Keita watched each other, the remaining four trying to see how this confrontation would play out. finally, Rina smiled and winked at him as she turned back around.

"You'd know all about how strong Nami is, wouldn't you _Keita-chan?" _Keita made an irritated face and growled at this, making the rest of them laugh.

"Of course I would..." Keita growled, crossing his arms. "That's why I tried to warn you." Rina just cackled as she walked away, making everyone else shake their heads.

"She's going to get thrashed." Michael said aloud, making the others nod in agreement.

"If I know Nami, than yep." Juno said. They turned their eyes back to the arena, where Rina was now standing, waiting for Nami.

Who didn't appear. They waited for a moment, but the girl did not appear to challenge Rina.

_"Well, it appears Rina Nanagear has taken to the arena...But where is Nami Mikazuchi?!" _Nobody seemed to have an answer to this, as the girl still did not appear. And from the looks of both the contestants from her guild and those just coming to watch, nobody knew. Nami had disappeared. _Well, if she doesn't show her face, we may have to disqualify her..."  
_

"I'm here!" Everyone looked back down at the arena, to find that yes, Nami was there. She seemed to be out of breath as she finally made it onto the arena. "Don't disqualify me Ross, you bastard! I'm right...!"

Then she tripped and fell on her face.

Michael cackled when he saw Kagura face palm across from him.

"Ow..." Nami hissed as she rubbed her forehead. "That kind of hurt..."

_"W-Well, it seems she has made her entrance!" _Ross said, sounding a bit unsteady. _"Which means the fight will begin now! Ladies, half an hour in on the clock! Begin!"_

"You okay, Nami?" Rina asked, sounding both concerned and confused. Nami stood up and nodded, still rubbing her head.

"I'm fine." She replied. "Let's just do this." The green haired girl nodded, and tensed up, meanwhile Nami just stood there with a hand on her hip, waiting.

* * *

"Wonder who's going to go at it first." Nashi asked, watching as the two girls squared off.

"Not sure it really matters." Damien answered. "Because Unless Rina pulls something amazing out, I doubt she's got this."

"If she couldn't beat me," Drake, said obviously referring to facing off against Rina on the first day during Hidden. "I don't think she can beat Nami." Nevertheless, they watched with anticipation for the actual battle to begin. And finally, it did.

Rina brought her hands together and shot out black lightning towards Nami, who still did not move, just stood still with a smile on her face. The lightning just about reached her, before it arced right down and hit the dirt in front of Nami, leaving her completely unharmed. The rest of the lightning bolts did the same, and just fell in front of her.

"Does she have a lightning rod or something?" Elise asked warily, and Ultear shook her head.

"She altered the gravity of Rina's lightning, I think." The water wizard said. "Or maybe gravity's effect on it, I'm not sure." Rina launched more lightning, but the same things happened. They just struck the ground around Nami without making any difference.

"Is that really your entire strategy, Rina dearie?" Nami asked, making a face. "I was hoping for more." Rina smirked.

"Of course it isn't my whole strategy, I just wanted to see how you'd deal with it."

"Well, what part happens now?" The Gravity mage countered. Rina brought her hands together once more, but this time the lightning she formed was much bigger than before.

120mm Black Lightning Cannon!" She shouted, and the huge burst sped towards Nami without remorse. Nashi was expecting the blast to strike the ground uselessly, but it didn't.

Instead it dipped in height a bit, and then started to circle around Nami like it was swimming. Rina looked stunned.

"How're you doing that?" She asked Nami in surprise. Nami chuckled and held her hand out around the lightning as it circled her.

"It requires quite a bit of effort," She told Rina. "But all I'm doing in constantly changing where the gravity is strongest around me, which makes it circle. For example, right now." The lightning burst stopped in place, and hovered next to Nami. "Right now I'm constantly fluctuating the gravity where it is between not very much and a bit more than usual. So instead of going right up or right down, it stays in place." She hovered her hands beneath it, and giggled. "I shouldn't get so close though, it could hurt. You can have this back."

"What...?" Before Rina could ask, her own attack surged back towards her, and she grinned. "I can't get hurt by any form of lightning Nami, remember?" Nami giggled again.

"I know, I wasn't aiming for you sweetheart." Before Rina could ask, the attack changed direction again, this time aiming for the ground Rina was standing on.

And vaporized it.

This threw debris all over the place, and obviously right into Rina, who got hit by it head on. While the dust and debris was thrown up, Nami grabbed her katana from it's place on her back, granted it was still sheathed, and brandished it.

"As much as I'd love to give you a chance, I've been told by many people holding back is not one of my strongest suits." She rushed towards Rina who was now in limbo in the air, probably from Nami's gravity magic. Nami jumped high into the air above even Rina, and aimed her sheathed weapon downwards. The swordswoman accelerated quickly, and the blade made contact with Rina, who shot right into the ground.

_BOOM!  
_

Rina hitting the ground created another gigantic crater, again probably by Nami manipulating gravity in her weapon and her opponent as they shot downwards. Once the dust cleared, Rina was on one knee, struggling to stand.

"Hm," Nami said as she walked up to the edge of the crater. "Still standing? Let me change that." An invisible shockwave slammed Rina into the ground, keeping her pinned down.

_I-It seems Rina cannot move!" _Ross shouted. _"Is it gravity manipulation or is it just exhaustion already?!" _Nami shrugged and placed her blade back on her back. It seemed that with that motion, the weight was lifted off of Rina's shoulders, but the green haired girl did not stand.

"I think we're done here." Nami called up to Ross, who still seemed shaken.

_I-I must agree! Nami was gained ten points for Mermaid Heel!"_

* * *

"I told her." Keita said as Nami jumped down into the crater and helped Rina up. "Didn't I tell her?"

"As if this outcome wasn't apparent already." Michael replied with a shrug. "Rina doesn't hold a candle to Nami."

"Sadly so." Blake said. "I'm not sure any of us could, if she can use gravity to redirect attacks like that."

"Oh well," Kyoko said, looking up towards the scoreboard. "It seems we are in 2nd regardless." Michael followed her gaze up to the lacrima vision, which was now displaying scores.

Fairy Tail: 64 pts

Sabertooth: 54 pts

Mermaid Heel: 36 pts

Lamia Scale: 32 pts

Blue Pegasus: 26 pts

Quatro Cerberus: 10 pts

"So Mermaid Heel jumped up huh?" Juno asked.

"Nami competed and fought." Keita replied. "Needs no explanation."

"Yep, that would do it." Michael agreed, looking over at Keita. "Ain't that right, _Keita-chan?"_

"I'll tell Ally you're being rude again."

"Please don't, I don't need her trying to whack me all night."

* * *

"Don't worry, we'll do our best!" Nashi reassured the people, who nodded and thanked her for talking to them. As she walked away, she pocketed her hands and sighed. She'd just wanted to go out for a walk late during the day, not run into a group of fans. They'd been nice enough, but she'd never really done anything like that before. It was foreign territory to her. She turned and looked around her, which was really only illuminated by the street lights.

"I suppose I should head back now." She said to herself. "It's getting late now."

"Thanks for the autograph, Michael!" She heard a female voice say. "I'll be cheering for you!"

"Don't mention it, anything for a fan." She heard someone running off, and they appeared around the corner in front of Nashi. She made eye contact with the girl, who stared at her, than looked down the way she came, before running off. Nashi walked up to the corner and looked down it to find Michael leaning up against the wall, looking exhausted.

"Michael?" She asked, walking towards him. He looked up, and looked a little relieved.

"Thank God it's only you, Nashi." He said, turning to face her. "I thought it was another fangirl."

"You got those too?" Nashi asked. Michael nodded.

"Does't help I have a reputation of being flirty." He told her, winking. "Ain't that right, Nashi?" Nashi rolled her eyes, but a playful smile graced her lips nonetheless.

"If dorky is flirty, then yes." She replied, making him falter. Laughing at his expense, Nashi wondered why he was out here. "What're you doing out so late anyway?"

"I could ask the same of you." he replied. "I just needed some air, that's all. That and uh...Never mind."Nashi giggled.

"Ally bothering you?" Michael growled and looked away, making her laugh again.

"Keita said I was being rude to him, and she started hitting me." He complained. Nashi shook her head in disbelief.

"She can't be that bad."

"Do you have a younger sibling?" Michael demanding.

"I will." She replied. "Give it a few more months." Michael looked pretty serious.

"Then I'd get ready if I were you. They're horrifying."

"I'm sure, I'm sure." They both started chuckling, before Michael looked back up.

"What about you? Why's a pretty young thing like you out so late? Bad things could happen." Nashi smiled quizzically and tilted her head to the side.

"To anyone who tries something, yeah." She agreed, making Michael smile. "I just wanted to take a walk and relax. Lots of pressure to win, you know?"

"Hm, yep. All to well." They both remained quiet after that, before Michael stretched. "Well it's pretty late. Want me to walk you back to your hotel?" Nashi felt heat rush to her face, but she fought it back.

"My my, aren't you a gentlemen." She teased, and he wiggled his eyebrows. "I don't need it, you know."

"Don't be like that." He said. "What kind of 'gentleman' would I be if I let a girl like you walk home by herself? Come on, it isn't that far from here, right?"

"No..." Nashi thought it over, and decided it couldn't do that much harm. "Alright, come on. Just don't make a scene."

"Whatever do you mean?" Michael asked, draping an arm around Nashi as they walked. "I'll have you know I prefer not to make scenes." Nashi felt her cheeks go pink, but she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, which is why we're risking being in tabloids for a few months, right?"

"We'll just say you were cold. It is fall, after all."

"I'm a fire wizard, Michael."

"And?"

"..."

"...Oh. Right." He laughed and face palmed. "Fire. Warmth. I get it." Nashi shook her head in exasperation. He couldn't be serious. Still, she didn't mind the closeness. It felt...Nice. Soon enough, she could see her hotel up ahead, and Michael let her go.

"Thanks." Nashi said. "Good thing no one saw us though."

"Gd forbid, huh?" Michael replied, pocketing his hands. "Seeing as I wasn't Drake."

"Huh?" Nashi asked. "What does that have to do with anything?" Michael seemed just as confused, but he shrugged.

"Nothing. Good night."

"G'night." Nashi turned and started to walk up to the door into the hotel.

"Nashi?" She stopped and turned to look back down at Michael, who was smiling.

"Yeah."

"I got a request to make of you."

"Okay, let's hear it."

* * *

_"Hello and welcome to the fourth day of the Grand Magic Games! Today is the last today before our tag team competition, so let's get right into it!" _ As the crowd cheered at this announcement, Nashi and the others waited for him to announce what the event would be.

"I wonder what we'll get today." Ultear asked.

"No idea." Simon replied. He looked considerably better than the day before, which was a relief.

_"And today ladies and gentlemen, we have the Sky Battle! In this event, our six contestants will be placed on a platform above the stadium! You are then to try your best to knock the other contestants off of the platform! You gain no bonus points for knocking out the most people nor lose any for being knocked out too soon, it just matters how long you last! Not only that, but this platform is enchanted with thousands of random effects!"_

"Wow, this sounds like fun." Elise said, sounding pissed off. "Why did I get the damn footrace?"

_"These effects will randomly start and stop during the duration of this event, so let's get started! Who will be our contestants today?!" _Nashi took a deep breath, and looked over towards where Sabertooth was.

Michael was already looking her way. He nodded at her, and she nodded back.

_"I want both of us to compete tomorrow."_

Michael's words came back to Nashi as she walked forward and jumped into the arena, at the same time as Michael. The both landed at the same time, and the crowd erupted.

_"OH MY GOD! BOTH NASHI DRAGNEEL AND MICHAEL EUCLIFFE HAVE ENTERED THE ARENA! WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?!" _Of course he was excited, this was near levels of Simon and Pandemonium. As both of them walked towards the center, Michael smiled at her.

"You didn't back out." He stared.

"Neither did you." Nashi accredited.

_"It seems that, for this event, we have Nashi Dragneel from Fairy Tail, Michael Eucliffe from Sabertooth, and they are joined by Reyna Groh from Quatro Cerberus, Mami Kotobuki from Blue Pegasus, Kendra Akatsuki from Lamia Scale, and Mai from Mermaid Heel! Now that we have all of our contestants, let's get this going!" _

The ground started to rumble beneath their feet. Before long, it started to rise. The platform in question started to rise quickly into the air, and then hovered above the Domus Flau. It was the size of the hole arena below, with all six spread out from the shaking.

_And now everyone, let's get the fourth day underway! Contestants, YOU MAY BEGIN!" _The battle started immediately, with the other contestants attacking each other immediately, leaving Nashi and Michael alone.

"Sorry Nashi, but I can't let you get anymore points." He said, body glowing bright white. Nashi grinned and ignited herself.

"If I intend to win, I'll need them." She replied. They both rushed headfirst at each other, ready to attack.

_And here comes the first random magical effect! What is it?!" _Just as the two were about to meet in the center of the arena, the platform started to shake.

And started to move in a circular motion.

Michael and Nashi both froze, paling.

* * *

_"What's this?! It seems Nashi Dragneel and Michael Eucliffe have frozen as the effect starts!" _Juno made a face. Then Keita doubled over.

"Just looking at that hurts." He hissed.

* * *

Ultear frowned as the two failed to keep fighting after the platform started to rotate.

"What the hell are they doing?" She asked. Elise groaned. When Ultear looked over, she and Drake both looked queasy. "What's wrong with you two now?"

"Can't you tell?" Elise demanded angrily. Drake pointed back upwards, where Nashi and Michael both had collapsed to the ground, covering their mouths and writhing in pain.

"They're motion sick."

**...I had too okay! It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	167. A Quick Day

**I'm sorry in advance for the teasing of a certain fight I do today...But you guys won't have to wait that long ;). This'll probably be a longer chapter seeing as I plan to end day 4 today. And maybe a double chapter special? Who knows?**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi regretted not backing down from Michael's challenge. As she writhed around on the airborne platform, she wanted to just roll off the side and quit. She couldn't do this. Her breakfast was fighting her more than anyone in the event was, and she was losing to it.

"Kill...Me..." She heard Michael hiss somewhere in front of her. She couldn't agree more. "Of all effects...It makes the thing...Move..."

"Can we call this off and just agree to lose?" Nashi asked weakly. "I can't do this..."

"That's...That's fair." They both started to crawl towards the edge of the platform, making sure the other kept their word about crawling off the side.

Then, it stopped.

Nashi's stomach stopped churning like an ocean in a storm, and she instantly felt a lot better. Michael also seemed to feel much better.

"Oh thank God!" he shouted, standing up with a laugh. "I'm so happy that's over!" Nashi sprung to her feet as well.

"Yep! Now we can actually try and win!" They both made eye contact again and smirked, about to start another brawl.

Until a figure flew between them and right off the side of the platform. They both jumped in surprise and ran to the edge and looked down to try and see who it was, and found Mai from Mermaid Heel flying straight down to the arena below. She landed on something, a magical net of sorts, that prevented her from getting more hurt from the impact.

_"That's it for Mai!" _Ross shouted. _"She's been knocked off of the platform by Mami!" _

"So there's a safety net, huh?" Michael asked. "That's good. I'd hate for someone to get seriously hurt by hitting the ground."

"Yeah." Nashi agreed, pushing her hair out of her face. The wind up that high was blowing it everywhere. She quickly turned, ignited her fist, and slammed it into Michael, but he was ready for her to try something like that. Their fists met, creating a shockwave of fire and light that staggered the other contestants. Nashi jumped away from him and brought her hands together, creating a flamethrower that soared towards Michael. The man jumped out of it's way and high into the air above the platform, bringing his own hands together.

"Holy Spears of the White Dragon!" He shouted, and hundreds of tiny arcs of light launched from his hands down onto the battlefield. Nashi brought her arms up to protect her face from the attack, feeling the light hit her it various other places. The other contestants were not unaffected by this attack, either. Mami was thrown near the edge, Kendra tried to dodge it but failed, and Reyna tried to block them with card magic, but a few got through to her as well. As the smoke started to clear around her, Nashi heard Michael running at her through it. She jumped just in time for him to go right under her. She landed behind him and turned.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" The column of flame shot from her mouth towards her opponent, who turned quickly.

"White Dragon Roar!" He shouted. A laser came from his mouth, cutting right through the center of Nashi's attack, and hit her square in the chest. She flew backwards and stood just in time to through up a wall of fire to prevent Michael's' advance. No one else was attacking them, just each other.

_"Here comes the next random effect, everyone!" _Ross announced. _"Let's see what we got!" _Nashi looked around for what was about to happen, and it soon did. Cracks appeared in the ground, and soon the platform began to split apart in large chunks. Reyna was on her own, Mami and Kendra on another, and Nashi and Michael on another.

"It's like they're trying to make us fight." Michael remarked as the chunks continued to float like normal. Nashi nodded.

"I can see they're reasoning though." Michael smirked at her, and started to radiate light.

"Yeah, they just want to see me beat you senseless."

"That a fact?" They got close to each other, both radiating their element.

Nashi struck first. She threw a punch, and Michael threw one as well, they started to trade blows in this close proximity, each punch from both party starting to get harder and harder to shake off.

"Ugh, enough of this." Michael said. He dodged Nashi fist and ducked underneath her. "White Dragon's Claw!" Michael's attack dragged across Nashi's front, but it didn't really hurt that much. She snorted.

"What the hell was that, man?" She demanded. Michael smirked.

"Nothing." he replied. "Come on, hit me back." Nashi would happily oblige.

She couldn't. Her arms nor her legs would respond to her commands. She was frozen in place.

"What the hell?!" She hissed. "I can't move!" Michael smirked and gestured down, where light glowed from Nashi's front where he'd struck her.

There was a stigma resting on her stomach.

"The claw of the White Dragon marks the opponent with a stigma." Michael told her, getting closer. "Stripping your body of it's freedom."

"You bastard...!" Michael laughed and placed a hand on Nashi's shoulder.

"Sorry Nashi, but you need to not win this by a wider margin than second." He said.

Then he pushed her.

Nashi yelped as she teetered on the edge of the platform before finally losing her balance. She couldn't regain it, because she couldn't move. After way to long of teetering right on the edge of the platform, Nashi began her descent downwards, still unable to move.

"Michael!" She roared angrily while she fell, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. She felt her back connect with the magical safety net below her, and that was it.

He'd beaten her _that _easily.

_"W-Well then!" _Ross said. _"Michael...easily dispatches Nashi! What a display of his power!" _

"Power my ass..." Nashi hissed, still unable to move as she glared up at the blonde man who'd knocked her off "He just made me unable to move.." The stigma on her stomach faded, and the ability to move her limbs returned.

"Sorry Nashi!" Michael called from above as the pieces of the platform reformed into one. "I just needed to get you out of the picture! Surely you understand, right?" He started laughing, until the next effect started.

The platform started to spin rapidly in a circle. Before it had just been moving erratically, but now it was spinning unforgiving. Michael looked sick.

"Maybe I should've given up after all... He said in a low voice, doubling over weakly.

And Kendra flew right over his head.

Nashi watched as the Lamia Scale contestant was thrown from the platform as well, hitting the safety net.

* * *

"Damn it!" Michael heard someone shout. "I tried to take out two for one but it didn't work!" he turned weakly to find Reyna watching him.

"Please.." Michael whined, trying to prevent the dry heaving. "Please give me a moment...At least until the spinning stops..."

"Groh!" Reyna flinched as Mami reappeared behind her. "Think you can just ignore me for him?!" The buff and fast Mami slammed into Reyna, who took the hit and slid towards the edge near Michael. Who the girls kept functioning during the spinning was beyond him. Reyna brandished cards in her hand as Mami sprinted towards her, and threw them at the ground.

"Card Magic: Ice Floor!" It was a similar tactic that Ultear had used on the first day against the girl. Mami lost her footing and slipped. The girl slid rapidly towards the edge, and right off of it.

Although not before grabbing Reyna by the ankle.

"Let go of me!" Reyna shouted, the only thing keeping Mami in the fight.

"Why don't you make me?!" Mami retaliated. Michael just watched feebly from the ground. However, he came up with an idea. He reached over near the girls feet, and rested his open palm there.

A white light burst into the ground, cutting off the part of the platform Reyna and Mami were still on, which sent them both down into the safety net. From what he could guess, Mami was in third and Reyna in second.

_Wha...What a turn of events! It would seem the motion sick Michael Eucliffe has won the event by...Doing almost nothing!"_

"GET ME OFF THIS THING!" Michael wailed as the platform continued to spin.

* * *

_"Alright! After our committee reviewed the footage, we have the results! in sixth we have Mai from Mermaid Heel, in fifth we have Nashi Dragneel from Fairy Tail, fourth in Kendra from Lamia Scale, third is Mami Kotobuki from Blue Pegasus, second goes to Reyna Groh from Quatro Cerberus, and finally, first place goes to Michael Eucliffe!"_

"Bastard." Nashi growled.

"His strategy was pretty good, admittedly." Simon replied. "Make you immobile so that you couldn't fight back."

"Still!" Nashi shouted. "He made it sound like a big deal last night, and then he just knocks me off with no effort whatsoever..."

"Granted, that event did not last very long at all." Drake tried, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Nashi would not be convinced, she was angry at Michael, and for a very good reason in her eyes.

_"Well, nothing to do now but get the fights for today underway! First up we have Simon Scarlet against Tsuneo!" _Simon tensed up at this, and the other regarded him carefully.

"You okay to go out there?" Ultear asked from next to him.

"I should be." He replied, looking down at his hand. "Wendy gave me the okay last night, so..."

"Don't worry about it." Drake told him. "The guy isn't that powerful, certainly not in contrast to you." Simon nodded and walked towards the edge of the stand, and jumped down into the arena.

* * *

Simon wasn't one to doubt Wendy's healing abilities, but he really did not feel one hundred percent yet. As he stood opposite of Tsuneo, the man did not seem very confident in his ability either.

"Good luck." Simon said, and Tsuneo nodded.

"Yeah, same to you." he replied.

_"Alright men! You have half an hour on the clock! Get to it!" _The bell rang to signify the start of the fight, and Simon tensed up, before shooting forward with Meteor. He requipped into his sword and swung it at Tsuneo, before a trunk of a plant got in his way. He veered out of the path of the sprouting plants, and landed a short distance away. The plants extended towards him, and he slashed them to pieces with his sword, feeling his right arm throb a bit at the motion. He was right, he wasn't at one hundred percent. More plants sprouted up around him, so he took to the skies to get away from them. Slashing more plants apart, Simon looked down at Tsuneo, who was standing still and watching him as the plants grew out of the ground after him.

_The plants are his whole strategy from what I can tell...So what will happen if I take that strategy away from him? How exactly, though?_

Simon's kept the plants a fair distance away from him with Heavenly blasts, but he kept thinking of ways to stop the one controlling them. Before he got an idea to end the fight quickly. He soared past the plants in his way and went right for Tsuneo, who couldn't stop him in time. Simon grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hoisted him into the air. They went up higher than the statues making up the edges of the Domus Flau and Simon wasted no time in blasting his opponent back downwards towards the arena. The battle seemed over.

Or so he thought.

Plants made their way to Tsuneo and broke his fall in time to keep in conscious, and the man looked back at Simon and laughed.

"Was that all you can muster after yesterday?" He asked. Simon didn't need the reminder. Wendy or not, his body still felt sluggish after his display the day before. The plants below Tsuneo grew quickly, making the other man fly up to around Simon's height. The tendrils of greenery again attempted to grab Simon, but he hacked them away and then soared underneath Tsuneo, cutting the plants that were holding him up. His opponent started to fall, and Simon grabbed him as he did and flew right at the ground, feeling the wind whip at him as he did.

_I can't pull up in time to save myself from getting hurt...Might as well brace for impact..._

"Are you an idiot, Simon?!" he barely heard Tsuneo shout, voice lost in the wind around them. "We're both going to hit the ground!"

"That's the idea!" Simon roared back, the ground rushing to meet them.

Simon let go of Tsuneo and tried to pull up. He turned his back to the ground to try and lessen the pain. He heard Tsuneo hit the ground, and Simon could not keep himself airborne. He hit the earth hard and rolled right into the wall, creating a small crater of damage from it. He gritted his teeth to prevent screaming from the pain, and hit the ground coughing. Looking up, Tsuneo was not standing from the crater he had created.

_"I..I think this is over!" _Ross announced. _"Simon has defeated Tsuneo! Although from the looks of it, not unscathed..." _The announcer was right. Simon felt an incredible amount of pain as he stood up and hobbled towards his fallen opponent.

"You okay?" He asked weakly. Tsuneo didn't respond at first, but eventually nodded.

"You crazy bastard..." Tsuneo moaned. "You could have killed us both."

"Yeah well, I've come closer to death than that."

* * *

_"With our first fight out of the way, let's bring our second fighters out! Next up we have Winter Vastia against Akio Tearm!" _Winter looked up in surprise. Her against Akio? That didn't really seem fair to her. Akio was by no means a weak fighter, but it was pretty apparent she had the upper hand here.

"Good luck." Terra told her.

"She won't need luck." Jackson said. "She has this in the bag."

"Of course she does!" Grace shouted, startling the rest of the team. "She's a God Slayer!"

"Don't shout at us!" Jackson threatened. Winter sighed as her friends began to argue, and she jumped down into the arena to meet the center with Akio.

"Hey." He said, his hands in his pockets." Winter nodded at him.

"Hey."

_Half an hour on the clock! You two may begin!"_

Akio formed his hands together, a whitish blue glow coming from them. Snow flew towards Winter, who waved her hand. A gust of air blew it away from her. Akio tried again, but she blew it away again.

"Come on Akio." Winter said. "Try a little bit harder, could you?" Akio rolled his eyes and gave Winter what she asked for. When she tried to blow away that blizzard, it barely moved. She was hit by it dead on, the snow tearing at her relentlessly. She pushed her way through it and brought her hands together, dark wind gathering their. The cyclone flew towards Akio, who moved to dodge it as fast as he could. Winter was on him quickly, forming another cyclone, this time around Akio himself.

"Wait, are you trying too...!"

"Yep." Winter agreed. "Doing what happened to Ken during his fight. A vacuum knocking you out cold."

"Of course, you wind wizards and your vacuum cyclones..." This, however, did not work. The cyclone started to slow, and eventually started to give off a frosty look. Eventually Akio stepped right through it, the cyclone dissipating into nothingness.

"Impressive."

"Don't patronize me, Winter"

* * *

As the two continued to trade blows, Nashi was till fuming. She was absolutely livid at Michael for knocking her out so cheaply. None of the others understood. He'd acted like he wanted her to compete so that they could have a good fight, and instead he goes right for the easy knockout.

"These two are really going at each other." She heard Ultear comment on the fight currently happening.

"They sure are." Damien agreed. The two fighters separated.

Blizzard!" Akio shouted, a blizzard rushing towards Winter without remorse.

"Sky God's Boreas!" She shouted, the dark column of wind shooting towards Akio's attack and meeting it halfway. The attacks exploded, engulfing the two combatants in a smokescreen and probably hurting them both considerably.

As the smoke started to fade, only one person was still standing after the explosion.

The wounds closed on Winters body as she healed herself, regarding Akio's motionless form.

_"Well...There you go! Winter Vastia is the winner!" _

"She can heal herself, I forgot." Simon said. "Akio was at a huge disadvantage."

"Yep, he sure was." Elise said.

_"And finally, to wrap up the fights for the fourth day, he have Juno Orlando against Kumi from Mermaid Heel!" _As the final two contestants took to the battlefield, Nashi finally stopped wallowing in her anger and decided to pay attention to what was happening. _"You lovely ladies have half an hour on the clock! You may begin!" _Kumi's hands grew claws and she launched herself at Juno, who remained still.

And then, something happened.

At first, Juno had been standing and Kumi had been launching herself at her.

The next moment Kumi was flying right past Juno, who had reappeared behind where Kumi had been a moment before.

Nashi had to double take, in case she'd missed something.

"Uh..." Elise started.

"We all saw it." Simon reassured. "It's her magic, I can guess." Juno turned to look at her opponent, and in her open palm an orb of multiple colors appeared. Kumi was engulfed in a bigger orb of the same colors, and then disappeared.

There was silence on the battlefield. Juno remained stationary.

And then, something came crashing to earth next to her.

After the dust cleared, Kumi was in the center of the crater, struggling to get up. Once she did, she went after Juno once more, who again, swapped places with the girl. This went on for a bit before Juno once again engulfed Kumi in a sphere of colors.

Small explosions sounded against Kumi's body in the sphere, but her cries of pain went unheard by everyone. The girl dropped to the ground, unmoving.

_"Uh..." _Ross started._ "Is...Is that it?" _Kumi didn't get up, and Juno just seemed to be waiting. _"O-Okay! That's it! Juno has defeated Kumi!"_

"That was Territory?" Nashi asked. "That's quite formidable..."

"Sure is..." Simon agreed. He seemed tense.

_"And with that everyone, marks the end of the singles competition! Tomorrow we will have a tag event and three tag battles, so look forward to that!_

Fairy Tail: 77 pts

Sabertooth: 74 pts

Lamia Scale: 46 pts

Mermaid Heel: 38 pts

Blue Pegasus: 32 pts

Quatro Cerberus: 18 pts

After looking at the scores, Nashi noticed that Sabertooth was indeed trying to catch them. Looking over at the guild in question, Michael met her gaze. He winked, she glowered, which made him laugh.

_We'll beat them in the tag competition...Wait a minute..._

**I'm sorry for rushing through this day. Nothing particularly exciting was planned, so I saw no reason to drag it out. I mean, look at what this day had.**

**Nashi getting knocked out immediately.**

**Simon thrashing Tsuneo.**

**Winter beating Akio.**

**Juno thrashing Kumi.**

**None of that bears any sort of significance, at least not in contrast to the next day, if you guys catch my drift ;) I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	168. Draconian Event

**Double chapter today! Don't get hyped, just some exposition in this chapter. Setting up day 5, and the like. **

**Enjoy!**

"You don't have to be so mad." Elise advised Nashi, who was still miffed. She laughed and looked over at Elise.

"This coming from you." She retorted, making the others laugh and Elise fume.

"She's got you there." Drake said, earning a punch in the arm. Ow! See?!"

"If Tetsu kept his mouth shut I wouldn't have gotten mad!" Elise shouted back, making Drake cower a bit.

"You get mad way to easily no matter what we're talking about..." He said lowly.

"What did you say?" Drake did not speak up again, which was probably for the best.

"Today seemed pretty tame." Ultear said. "Nothing extremely exciting happened."

"After yesterday that's hardly saying anything." Damien said, elbowing Simon with a smirk on his face. The redhead ignored this. "Tha tag team competition is tomorrow, huh?"

"It is." Simon answered. "Which means you and Ul are up for our event team, Damien." Damien smiled over at Ultear at this.

"We'll handle it, don't worry guys." He said, Ultear nodding.

"We'll do our best."

"And that means Nashi and Elise are up in the tag team fight, right?" Damien asked. Elise nodded.

"Yep. We have yet to have a fight." Nashi looked down at the table as her friends continued to talk about the tag competition.

_The only ones left to fight..._

Nashi could list everyone who was in the tag competition by process of elimination. Herself and Elise, Yuki and Kendra from Lamia Scale, Bella and Nikki from Blue Pegasus, Mai and Meg from Mermaid Heel, Kunio and Akihiro from Quatro Cerberus...

And Michael and Keita.

She wasn't an idiot.

Excusing herself from the table, Nashi walked out of the bar and up the stairs towards the room they all shared as competitors, lost in her thoughts.

_The Queen set up the fights for each day...She would be insane if she didn't set it up..._

* * *

"Just don't disappoint us, Keita!" Rina chastised. Keita rolled his eyes.

"So don't copy you?" he asked in a deadpan, making the others laugh. Rina just ignored him.

"But you guys are probably the best to go in the tag fight." Kyoko said, leaning on the table. "You work really well together."

"Do we?" Keita asked. Juno nodded.

"You do." She answered. "When you aren't fighting over something, that is." Keita knew that was often, so he hoped the next day would go over well.

"Speaking of your other half." Blake said. "Where is he?" The team looked around, but the White Dragon Slayer was nowhere to be found.

"He went for a walk a while ago..." Juno said. "I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine." Rina replied. "He jut wanted to get away from all the noise, I'm sure." Keita wasn't so sure.

"I'll go and look for him." He said, standing to leave." We should be planning for tomorrow, not wandering around aimlessly." He had more of an aim than that. Leaving the hotel and walking down the near empty streets, Keita was left alone with his thoughts, and one very specific thought in particular. He walked through a few streets before finally catching his friends scent, and he moved in the direction it was strongest. Doing so, he eventually found Michael overlooking the city, leaning against a railing.

"You okay?" He asked. Michael nodded without looking back at him.

"Just swell." He answered in a monotone. "Just...thinking."

"I think I can wager about what." Keita said, walking closer to his friend. Michael chuckled.

"You can read me like a book, Keita." He said quietly. Keita shook his head.

"No, I just know you're thinking what I'm thinking." Silence, then, "We both know who we're going up against tomorrow." Michael nodded again.

"Fairly obvious." he answered. "There's no way we aren't."

"What's got you so bothered? Nerves?" Michael shook his head once more.

"No." He said. "I'm just...wondering."

"About what?"

"If the power she displayed today is all she's capable of." Keita frowned, thinking back.

"I somehow doubt that incredibly." He replied. Michael sighed.

"That's what I'm worried about." he turned to look at Keita. "In any case, we should try and plan our way around this." Keita nodded.

"Never hurts to be prepared."

* * *

Elise decided to may have been appropriate to knock. She highly doubted that, for whatever reason, Nashi would be naked or something, but she wasn't risking it.

"Nashi?" She asked upon gaining no response from the knock. "You in there?"

"Yeah." Elise opened the door and found Nashi sitting on her bed, staring out the window.

"You okay?" She asked. "You were pretty pissed for a while, and then you got really quiet for some reason." Nashi nodded.

"I know. I was just thinking."

"About our tag fight?" Elise asked, and Nashi nodded again. "Hey, don't sweat it. We'll stomp whoever gets in our way and then we'll..."

"You do realize who we might be fighting right?" Nashi asked, cutting her off. Elise made a face as Nashi looked back at her. "Give it some thought, Elise. It should be fairly obvious." So Elise did that, and she thought about the tag team competitors. Only a select few hadn't had a fight yet...

She pieced it together fairly easily after that.

"Oh." She said. "That's what's bothering you." Nashi looked down.

"Yeah."

"Is that it?" Elise put her hands on her hips. "You're the one who survived a point blank Etherion explosion. Why are those two bothering you?" Nashi shrugged.

"I don't know." She said. "There's nothing to worry about at the end of the day, really. Not life threatening, for one. Which seems to be every time I have too fight." Elise couldn't agree more. They very rarely fought outside of for their lives. "But after today..."

"All he did was prevent you from moving." Elise jabbed. "other than that you would have had him."

"It wasn't just that." Nashi said. "Every time I tried to do something, he stopped me. His roar pierced mine, his punches hit harder, and he won." Nashi made a face. "Will that be the outcome of tomorrow too?" Elise looked down at the ground, thinking over what she was being told.

"Well, then that's it." She said, rubbing her hands together, making Nashi raise an eyebrow. Elise walked over, sat on the bed, pulled a pillow over, and rested herself on it. She smiled over at Nashi. "Let's come up with a strategy for tomorrow. If he have a battle plan, at least a vague one, we'll be set." Nashi watched Elise closely before she smiled.

"Good idea." She said. "If we have a plan, we'll be set up well." She grabbed a pillow for herself and a determined look grew over her face.

"After all, tomorrow the second Fire and Iron vs. Light and Shadow showdown begins"

* * *

It wasn't the sunlight that woke Nashi up on the fifth day of the Grand Magic Games. She'd woken up before that. As her friends all began to wake up and get dressed and ready for their day, Nashi remained sitting on the edge of her bed, thinking over what had happened the night before. Hours of planning, the two had spent, all preparing for half a =n hour of their day.

Maybe less, depending on who fell first.

"Nashi?" Nashi looked up to find Drake standing in front of her. "We're going." Nashi nodded and stood, walking towards the door. once she got there, he stopped her.

"What's the problem?" Nashi asked without looking over at him. Drake took a deep breath.

"You'll do fine." he told her. "Stop thinking about it so much." Nashi looked over and narrowed her eyes at him.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay about of my head?" She demanded, and he met her fiery gaze with an equal amount of determination.

"Is it so wrong to worry about a friend?" he asked. She didn't really have a response for him, so she remained quiet and just stared at him. "I wanted to know what was worrying you, so I indulged myself. Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to know."

"It's fine." She said. "It's one of your more endearing traits"

"...Gee, thanks." The two of them left the room and down into the lobby of the hotel, staying silent the whole way. Once they met up with the rest of the group, they left the hotel and walked towards the arena. Thankfully not a lot of people were out on the streets at that time, probably all huddled in bars across the city or in the Domus Flau, ready to watch the fifth day of the Games start up.

Once they reached the arena, they walked up towards their stand and once they got there, they could sense the hype. They on,y had to stand there for a short time before Ross cleared his throat, ready to start his shoutcasting.

_"Good morning everyone!" _He shouted, making the crowd cheered. _"Today starts the tag team competition of the Grand Magic Games. Today the final competitors who have yet to compete i a fight or an event will do so! Are you ready to get started?!" _The crowd roared a resounding yes. _"Let's get right into it!Let me show you just what exactly our final event is!"_

At first, nothing happened.

And then, the ground started to shake.

The center of the arena opened up, and a platform started to raise up from the pit below.

Something roared in anger.

"What the hell was that?" Simon asked. Nobody had an answer for him. The roar got louder, and finally, the platform raising up from beneath appeared.

"You can't be serious..." Ultear said in disbelief.

A Wyvern, chained down with magic, roared again as the crowd cheered itself into a frenzy.

_And for the final event, ladies and gentlemen, do we have a good one!" _Ross roared. _"The event today features not only this angered Wyvern, but also our tag teams! Allow me to explain. This event, dubbed Scale Treasure Hunt, will have our teams of two from each competing guild squaring off against this angered Wyvern! However, defeating the beats is not the purpose of the event, as the name implies. All across this monsters, six scales have been painted with the insignia of each competing guild! Take a look!"_

The lacrima vision turned on, and zoomed in on the beast and circled it. Nashi could see what Ross was talking about. Sitting in the center of the Wyvern's back, was a scale painted with Fairy Tail's guild mark.

_"Each team will be competing to take the scale painted with their guilds mark! However, there is a catch, and a big one at that! If any team takes the Wyvern out before all scales have been taken, you will be disqualified! This, however, does not count if your guilds scale is the last to be retrieved! Teams will be ranked in descending order of time in took to retrieve their respective scale! So, say if you got your scale if one minute, and no other team did, you will be in first place!"_

"So we just need to get our hands on the scale branded with the guild mark."Damien reasoned. "You ready, Ul?" Ultear gulped.

"Yeah...totally." She replied. "We, uh, have a plan right?" Damien laughed as the other teams descended into the arena.

"Sure we do! Come on!" Ultear didn't really have a choice. Partially because she was the only other one of them who had yet to do an event.

And also because Damien grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and dragged her down into the arena.

**Not the longest chapter given the last few, but you guys have no room to complain seeing as you got two chapters today. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	169. All Leading To This

**To be totally honest with you guys, the only reason I gave you two chapters yesterday was because 167 was a little lackluster. You know what I mean? Whatever, more story!**

**Enjoy!**

_"It seems the teams for the event have made their way to the arena! And oh man do we have some powerhouses down there! We have Yuki and Terra from Lamia Scale, Rachel and Kimberly from Mermaid Heel, Damien and Ultear from Fairy Tail, Kyoko and Blake from Sabertooth, Ryo and Toshiro from Quatro Cerberus and, for the first time in the Games, Bella Realight from Blue Pegasus joins us with her tag partner, Ken!"_

Ultear was finally released from Damien's grasp as they reached the rest of the competitors in the arena.

"You didn't have to drag me..." Ultear hissed, dusting herself off. This just made Damien laugh.

"Sorry, I'm excited." he said.

"Don't get too into it, Dreyar." It was Terra who spoke. "There aren't any rules against attacking other competitors." Damien smirked at this.

"Are you saying you want another go, Neekis? Make me beat you down again?"

"You tricked me, alright?!" This made Damien snort in laughter and made Terra fume in irritation.

"Good luck anyway, guys." Ultear said. "This is going to be an interesting event."

"Definitely." Yuki agreed, her eyes moving over to Ken and Bella. "May I ask you a question, Ultear?"

"Yeah, sure." Yuki looked back at her, a serious look on her face.

"Are you aware of what Bella Realight is capable of?" Ultear cast her gaze over to the girl in question, watching her giggle as Ken fawned over her.

"Not a clue." She said. "I've never seen her in combat before." After realizing this, it made Ultear curious. Just what was Bella going to pull out? Had Blue Pegasus saved her for an important event, or just made sure she stayed away as long as possible due to her uselessness? Ultear surmised she was about to find out.

_"Alright everyone! The event begins NOW! Release the Wyvern!" _The magical chain keeping the beast tethered disappeared, and it let out a vicious roar and flapped it's wings as it stood up straight.

"Ready for this, Ul?" Damien asked. Ultear gulped and nodded.

"As I'll ever be." She replied. Every contestant charged right at the beast without a second thought, Ultear in the middle of the pack. She watched as Quatro Cerberus reached it first, and both men were thrown back with a flap of its wings. The Wyvern flapped it's wings again and took off, Now flying into the sky above the arena. Damien took over into his demon form and unfurled his wings.

"Get ready Ul!" he shouted, Ultear making a face.

"What do you...Kyaah!" Ultear yelped in surprise as Damien grabbed her with one arm and took to the skies after the beast. "Give me more warning next time!" She scolded, punching his back.

"Sorry, just trying to get this over with!" he replied. The pair caught up to the Wyvern and Damien kept speed with it. "Think you can get the scale from here?!" He yelled over the wind as the Wyvern circled the Domus Flau.

"I think so..." She replied. "Keep up with it o you can catch me, just in case!" Damien nodded and got closer to the beast, trying to let Ultear mount it.

Bursts of plasma nearly knocked them out of the sky. Damien veered away from the blasts as a few struck the Wyvern. It changed direction and headed back down towards the remainder of the contestants, who were waiting without much they could do.

"He could've really hurt us with that..." Damien hissed, slowing down to descend after the beast.

"Don't dwell on it, just go after it!" Ultear shouted. Damien listened and shot after the beast, who was engaging those on the ground. A few of them got thrown around as the Wyvern landed, and others went after it to secure their scale. Ultear got an idea.

"Drop me!" She shouted at Damien.

"Are you insane?!" he asked.

"Do it!" Damien growled but released his hold on Ultear's midsection, causing her to plummet down towards the Wyvern. Liquefying her body, she landed on the Wyvern's back, and looked around frantically for the scale painted with the Fairy Tail emblem. Looking below her gaze her the answer, as the fist sized object was right below her.

The Wyvern bucked as it realized a human was clinging to it, which made Ultear lose her grip on the beast and fell to the ground. Ultear got to her feet just in time to avoid the torrent of flame that shot from the beasts mouth. Damien landed near her and curled his wings up a bit.

"Got any ideas?" he asked.

"Not really." She said. "Our scale is pretty much right in the center of his back." Damien nodded at this as others threw themselves at the Wyvern.

"We just need to get the scale." Damien said. "So as long as we manage to get it, we can..." The Wyvern interrupted Damien by roaring in anger, making them both look back at it.

It was being chained by plasma.

"Keep it down, Blake!" Kyoko yelled as she mounted the Wyvern as it bucked around. More plasma chains kept it down as Kyoko reached for their scale, which was resting near the beats head.

"He can create chains?" Ultear asked, genuinely surprised.

"Don't be shocked, use it our advantage!" Damien told her, going after the Wyvern. Everyone seemed to get the same idea, and ran towards the chain beast.

Kyoko got the scale.

And Blake let go of the chains.

The very second he did, the chains did not disappear, and instead lashed out every which way as the Wyvern shook them off. A few people were struck by them, but everyone else got out of the way in time as Kyoko returned to Blake.

_"It seems that Sabertooth has already retrieved their scale!" _Ross announced, both contestants fleeing the arena._ "This places them in first place!"_

"Of course they did, Blake could chain it down..." Ultear muttered under her breath as everyone backed away from the Wyvern to think about how to approach it. Ultear watched as the Wyvern attempted to take off again, and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, not again. Raising both of her hands, she concentrated.

Ice started to form around the wings of the Wyvern, keeping it from taking off.

"Great job Ultear!" Damien praised. "Now, let's get this scale and put this to rest." Ultear nodded, but refocused her energy on keeping the ice from cracking.

"I need to keep the ice on it's wings!" She told Damien. "Go! I got this!" Damien nodded and shot towards the Wyvern, just as everyone else tried to get their scales from it, or even find them. Pillars of earth struck the beast in the midsection, allowing Yuki and Terra to jump onto the beast and try to get their scale as well, which was resting on the chest of the Wyvern. The Wyvern blew fire at the ice on it's wings, making Ultear work overtime in her attempt to keep the ice on there. The Wyvern's tail came swinging around, knocking Rachel and Kim away from it.

_"From what I can tell, Terra Neekis has retrieved her scale!"_ Ultear looked up to find Terra waving the scale emblazoned with Lamia Scale's mark, smirking at Damien, who seemed to be trying to ignore her. _"Lamia Scale finishes second!" _

"Come on Damien!" Ultear shouted, sweat trickling down her forehead as the fire melted her ice faster than she could freeze it again. "I can't keep this up much longer!" Damien did not reply to her, so she looked up to see what he was doing.

He wasn't even near the Wyvern.

Looking around frantically, she found her tag partner a little ways away from the Wyvern, fighting off Ryo and Toshiro, who were both attacking him. He wasn't struggling o much as just trying to get away from them. Ultear heard someone giggling.

"Boys please!" Bella shouted from somewhere. "There's no need to fight over me!"

"She's mine!" Toshiro shouted, going after Damien.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Damien hissed, punching the man in the face. Rolling his eyes, Damien soared away from the men attacking him (who were for some reason, shouting about Bella), went right past the girls from Mermaid Heel, and right for the back of the Wyvern. He latched onto the back, but the beast was already done melting the ice keeping it from using it's wings. It tried to shake Damien off, but the man's grip was a bit too strong. He dug his fingers underneath the scales and pulled.

Causing it too fly off. Ultear frantically ran off of it and held her hands out, managing to catch it before it hit the ground. She smiled as she raised the scale above her head.

_"Damien Dreyar and Ultear Fullbuster have retrieved their Scale! This places them in third!"_

* * *

Ken watched as Ultear caught the scale representing their guild, and he he heard Bella sigh.

"Well, that's disappointing." He heard her say. "All the good competition is gone." Ken shrugged

"So what's our strategy?" he asked her, and Bella smiled.

"Don't worry, I have it down pat." She cleared her throat and posed. "Ryo! Toshiro!" Both men from Quatro Cerberus looked back at her. "Whoever gets the Blue Pegasus scale to me gets a kiss!" Both men's eyes widened, and then looked over at each other.

They then sprinted towards the Wyvern, all sense of fear replaced with what Ken could tell, overwhelming courage. They attacked the Wyvern with Ryo's sand magic and Toshiro flew at the beast, roaring angrily as he tried to grab the scale with the Blue Pegasus mark on it. After struggling with the beast for a bit, Toshiro managed to get it off, and sprinted towards Ken and Bella. Rachel and Kim tried to talk some sense into him or stop them, but nothing worked. Ryo went after Toshiro and tried to grab the scale from him, but Toshiro wouldn't cave.

"Give it to me!" Ryo shouted. "I did all the work!"

"You shut your mouth!" Toshiro shouted back. "I had to wrangle the thing!" They continued shouting at each other until they tripped and landed in front of them, both having a single hand holding up the scale for Bella to take.

"I got it!"They both shouted, grinning like blithering idiots. Bella smiled, bent down, and took the scale from them.

"Thanks boys!" She said. "You can go get your own now!" It was as if the boys were released from a daze. They looked around in confusion, looked at Ken, who just blinked in confusion as well. Why were they not even asking about their end of the deal.

_W-Well, that was not expected!" _Ross shouted. _"Quatro Cerberus has retrieved Blue Pegasus' scale for them!"_

"Come on Ken hun, we're done." Ken blinked and looked back to find Bella leaving the arena, so he hastily joined her.

After all, the Wyvern seemed rather pissed off from four scales being ripped from it's body.

* * *

"Uh..." Toshiro said. "What...Just happened?" Ryo shrugged and looked around.

"I...I don't know." he replied. "I feel dizzy..." Looking around, the two could see that the entire arena was vacated save them, the girls from Mermaid Heel, and the angry Wyvern. "But I think... we're in danger of getting last again."

"Again?!" He shouted. "We need to step it up man!" Both of them got to their feet and prepared to rush the Wyvern. Both Rachel and Kim seemed ready to rush it once again.

All four of them rushed the beast, not wanting to be last.

* * *

_And that's it!" _Ross announced. _"Quatro Cerberus takes fifth place, while Mermaid Heel gets stuck automatically with sixth! And now, we move onto the tag team battles! First up we have Mai and Megan from Mermaid Heel against Kunio and Akihiro from Quatro Cerberus!"_

Natsu wasn't all that interested in the upcoming fight, so he opted to take a walk. Moving past the rest of the guild, he made his way down the stairs into the lobby of the Domus Flau, which was basically vacated because no one wanted to miss a single moment of the Games.

And he was certain that wouldn't change.

He wasn't worried, not one bit. He'd trained Nashi well enough, so there was really no reason for him to have a knot in his stomach.

So why did he?

"Daddy! Mommy wanted you to get the other kind!"

"Ally!" A deeper voice scolded. "You could've said that ten minutes ago!" Natsu looked up to find Sting and his daughter Ally walking his way. The little girl seemed miffed, and Sting did as well. Natsu wondered what was in the box Sting was carrying. The Master of Sabertooth looked up to watch where he was going, and spotted him. "Oh, hey Natsu-san!"

"Hey Sting." Natsu greeted, shifting his gaze to Ally. "Hi Ally." The little girl beamed up at him.

"Hi Mr. Natsu!" She said in a sweet tone. Natsu smiled at her before returning his gaze to Sting.

"What's in the box?" he asked. Sting shifted a bit and laughed.

"Just some lunch for the others." He replied. "And apparently the wrong type, according to Ally."

"I listen to Mommy, that's why." Ally said. Sting just rolled his eyes.

"Ally, how about you bring this to your mother?" The girl happily held her arms out, and took the box in her arms. "Don't drop it! I'll take the blame!"

"Sure thing Daddy!" The girl ran towards her guild, and Sting sighed.

"She's going to drop it." He muttered. Natsu chuckled.

"She seems like a handful."

"She is, but I still love her." Natsu nodded in an understanding way. Both men remained quiet for a moment, before Sting took a deep breath.

"I assume you've realized?" Sting asked. Natsu nodded.

"If Hisui planned them, she most certainly did it." He agreed. More silence, then, "I'm sure they'll all do fine."

"Yeah..." Sting made a face. "I'm just worried about how much damage to the arena they'll do." Natsu looked over at Sting to find the Third Generation Dragon Slayer making a pitiful face. "You have no idea how hard it is paying for stuff like that..." Natsu snorted.

"I doubt they'll make you pay for it." He replied.

_"That's it for Mermaid Heel! The boys from Quatro Cerberus have defeated them, earning themselves ten points! Next up we have Yuki and Kendra from Lamia Scale against Bella Realight and Nikki from Blue Pegasus!"_

" And they're last as well?" Sting asked. "They're preparing for it to destroy everything..."

"probably a smart idea..." Natsu murmured. "...Sting?"

"Hm?"

"...If Nashi..." Natsu found it hard to finish his thought process, as he was imagining the sheer destruction. "If she somehow..." The two Slayers eyes met, and the message was conveyed to Sting that way, which made him tense.

"Doesn't she have to be aware of it to go Etherious?" he asked in a low tone. "Like Mard Geer?"

"...I don't know." Natsu answered, looking back up to the lacrima vision in the lobby showing the Blue Pegasus girls getting thrown everywhere.

"...All I can do is pray she doesn't do it on accident."

* * *

_It looks like that's it for the beautiful girls from Blue Pegasus! And now, we have our final fight for the fifth day of the Games! And ladies and gentlemen, do we have an a amazing fight planned! For now, we have the be all, the end all! It's been seventeen years in the making! Please put your hands together for the final tag team battle, NASHI DRAGNEEL AND ELISE REDFOX VS. MICHAEL EUCLIFFE AND KEITA CHENEY!"_

Nashi took a deep breath and looked over at Elise, who met her gaze. She nodded, so the two turned and prepared to leave the stands.

"Good luck, girls." Drake said. They both nodded. Neither felt like talking. They walked down the flight of stairs and turned to get into the arena, and encountered someone on the way.

"Rocky?" Nashi asked, surprised as the presence of her former enemy. Rocky looked up as they approached him, and he nodded.

"Hey girls." He said. Elise walked right past him and went into the openness of the arena, and Nashi followed her. She didn't spare Rocky a look.

"...Good luck, Nashi." She heard him say. She stopped, and smiled.

"...Thank you, Rocky."

Nashi entered the arena.

But would she leave it the victor?

**If you guys couldn't tell, I'm doing my best to get through the GMG but not make it rushed. I feel like I'm failing but meh, whatever. The next fight will make up for it ;)**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	170. The Showdown Begins

**I don't enjoy making you guys wait for the most anticipated bits of the story, thankfully for you ;)**

**Enjoy!**

_It looks like that's it for the beautiful girls from Blue Pegasus! And now, we have our final fight for the fifth day of the Games! And ladies and gentlemen, do we have an a amazing fight planned! For now, we have the be all, the end all! It's been seventeen years in the making! Please put your hands together for the final tag team battle, NASHI DRAGNEEL AND ELISE REDFOX VS. MICHAEL EUCLIFFE AND KEITA CHENEY!"_

Michael broke into a grin at these words. He looked over at Keita, who nodded at him.

"Good luck guys." Blake said. "You're going to need it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Michael joked, punching the tan man in the arm. The two walked away from their team and down the stands, to begin quite possible the most anticipated fight of the entire Grand Magic Games.

"How do you think this'll go?" Michael asked, putting his hands behind his head. Keita huffed.

"I don't know." He replied. "All I can do is guess."

"What's your guess?"

"It won't be an easy victory no mater who comes out on top. Besides, I..." Keita stopped walking, and his eyes widened. Michael followed his gaze, and a rock settled in his stomach.

Standing in front of them was a man in a black cloak. That was not the menacing part.

That belonged to the metal arm protruding from it and the fact that the mans face was half metal. Steam billowed out of small nozzles in the face, and the man realized they were there. He threw his hood up and began to walk away.

"Who the hell are you?" Keita asked. The man stopped, and a chill went down Michael's spine as he chuckled.

At least Michael hoped that the sound coming from the cloaked individual was laughter.

"Better get a move on, boys." He said in a hollow and robotic tone. "Those girls don't appreciate being held up." Another bone chilling laugh later, he was gone.

"...You saw the metal face, right?" Michael asked weakly. Keita nodded slowly.

"I saw it." He replied. "Who the hell was that?"

"...We have no time to dwell on it. Come on, let's go."

"They could be dangerous, Michael!"

"I know that thank you!" Michael replied, glaring at his partner. "But we don't have something unimportant to put off." Keita made an unhappy face but eventually nodded in agreement, following Michael up into the arena.

* * *

Once the new Twin Dragons finally entered the arena, the crowd grew even more excited. They were all waving around either a Sabertooth or Fairy Tail flag, and everyone was ready for the fight to start. Michael and Keita finally made their way to standing across from Nashi and Elise, who had been waiting a little bit.

"Took you long enough." Elise said, irritated. Michael chuckled.

"Want to get beaten that badly?" He taunted, making Elise roll her eyes. They stood there for what seemed like longer than usual, waiting for the fight to start.

_"Let's get this started!" _Ross shouted. _"Whichever pairs falls first is the loser! Fairies, Tigers, YOU MAY BEGIN!"_

"Let's go, Keita!" Michael shouted, breaking into a sprint.

Nashi got to him first.

He had time to realize she'd reached him when her fist hit him square in the face, sending him flying backwards. He slid against the ground and opened his mouth, a white glow coming from it.

"White Dragon Roar!" He shouted, the laser heading straight for Nashi without stopping, and she just sprinted right towards it without stopping.

Bending her midsection, Nashi slid on her knees under Michael's roar and right up next to him. Michael looked down in shock as the girl coated her fist in flame and slammed it into him, forcing him back again.

Keita watched as Michael flew through the air away from the girl who'd struck him. He should've expected the girls to go on the heavy offensive.

_Speaking of girls... _

Keita turned back just in time to jump out of the way of an iron club going his way. He melted into the ground and sped towards Elise, who attacked the ground where he was snaking towards her. He jumped out of the ground, his arms glowing black.

Their fists met, creating a shockwave around them. A wolfish grin came over Elise's features as they fought.

"One thing you ought to learn about me, Keita." She said, making him look up. She reared her other fist back And met his other one, but this time it glowed green.

Smaller iron clubs came from her arm and attacked Keita, throwing him away from her. He looked up to find Elise had jumped into the air, and her arm became a sword.

"I hate it when people run from me!" Elise finished, aiming her sword arm down and bringing it down towards Keita, who once again melted into the ground. He got out of it behind her and brought himself out to attack her.

Until a hand clamped onto his shirt, pulling him out of the ground.

Nashi had grabbed him, a grin on her face. She reared back and threw Keita as hard as she could, and he made contact with another body.

"God damn it Keita!" Michael shouted, the one Keita had struck during his flight. "Get out of the way would ya?!"

"Make an effort to dodge me next time!" Keita shouted back in irritation.

Michael got off of the ground and ran towards the girls, who seemed to be waiting for them. He dodged Elise's attempt to stop him and went after Nashi, and the two engaged in a similar brawl to the day before, trading blow after blow on each other. Nashi dodged one of his oncoming punches and reared back, striking him in the chest. Michael took his opportunity and grabbed her by the arm. She struggled to get away from him, but he kept his grip firm.

"You're trying a lot harder than the other day." he told her. She grinned.

"What can I say?" She asked. Michael eyes widened as her cheeks expanded. "I hate when people look down on me!"

The gout of fire hit Michael at point blank range, sending him flying back. Nashi came after him without remorse, dodging every fist and hitting back harder. She struck him in the face, and he flew away from her, staring at her in shock.

_Where is this coming from? She wasn't like this yesterday..._

Keita's punch missed, and Elise spun around in the air, driving her foot into his side. He blocked the blow, but the girl ducked underneath him and knocked his feet out from under him. A club hit him as he fell, causing him to roll away from her. He got to his feet just in time to block her attempt at striking him with her sword, and tried to hit her back.

_I'd be doing better if I didn't feel her darkness every time she struck me..._

Keita was being thrown off by the odd feeling he got from the Iron Dragon Slayer. He didn't know what was wrong with her, but easily the most unnerving part was she herself seemed unaware of it. With the level of uneasiness he got from her, she should've been a little...He didn't really know.

"You don't look so hot, Keita!" She told him, an iron coated fist bringing him backwards. She swung even harder the next time, forcing him back even more. "Please don't tell me this was so hyped up for me to kick your ass!"

Keita saw no reason to respond, he had nothing to say to her. He tried to push her back, but her shorter stature gave her a lot more flexibility to keep him at bay than he had imagined.

* * *

"What the hell is happening out there?" Rina demanded, watching Michael and Keita getting thrown around like rag dolls. "Their getting the shit kicked out of them!"

"Interesting..." Blake murmured. "So she is very powerful, as predicted..."

"What?" Rina asked him, and he shoo her off.

"Nothing." He replied. "Just wondering how powerful the girls really are"

"Well, from this angle it seems Michael and Keita are not as powerful." Kyoko replied. Juno grinned at this.

"You guys are forgetting something." She said, making everyone look at her. She looked back at them.

"They still have one thing up their sleeve."

* * *

Nashi slammed her foot into Michael's midsection, but he hung onto it and flung her away from him, she used this as an excuse to throw a massive fireball at him, exploding and throwing him back as well. Nashi landed on her feet and stood up straight just in time for Keita to get thrown past her and slam into his tag team partner, who seemed rather irritated with him. Nashi grinned.

"Elise," She said, making the girl look over at her. "I think it's about time we ended this." Elise smirked.

"Just like we planned?" She asked, and Nashi nodded. "After you, hot head." Ignoring the girls attempt at teasing her, Nashi and Elise charged at their opponents again, Attacking with without remorse. Neither of them got hit once as the boys were thrown backwards by their overwhelming force.

"Back up!" Nashi shouted. Elise did as was instructed. Nashi stood in front of the boys alone, Elise behind her.

"What, you're going after us alone now?" Michael demanded. "You're good Nashi ,but not that good!" Nashi smirked.

"Who said I was going alone?" She asked, taking her position, fire whipping around her violently. Michael made a face.

"What are you...?"

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" Nashi announced, the fire responding to her cry, whipping even more violently. She moved her hands in the motion she had countless times before, the fire growing in strength. "Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade!" The swirl of fire left Nashi's hands and soared towards her opponents, who cowered to protect their faces from the heat of the attack.

Until the blast redirected away from them entirely.

Michael and Keita looked up in shock as the fire whipped away from them.

And towards Elise. The smaller girl grinned and prepared herself as the fire got close to her. Her arm glowed.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" She shouted, her arm starting to grow as well. She swung her glowing arm into the oncoming secret art from her partner, the fire meeting her by exploding against her.

"What the hell are they doing?" Keita demanded, but a pit formed in Michael's stomach.

"Oh my God, are they trying too...?"

The smoke from the explosion faded, and the girls intention was made clear.

Elise's arm was a gigantic sword, that reached all the way into the sky above the Domus Flau.

And it was coated in Nashi's fire.

"Well.." Michael managed. "That looks painful."

The giant sword tipped in there direction.

"DUAL DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART!" Both girls shouted ."CRIMSON LOTUS EXPLODING IRON GOD SWORD!"

The sword slammed into the Twin Dragons, causing a huge explosion that rocked the very arena.

* * *

"Holy shit!" Ultear proclaimed as the attack exploded. "When did they learn to do that?!"

"No idea." Drake said with a grin. "But it looked like it hurt."

"The power of Nashi's fire and Elise's iron in one strike." Simon agreed. "Although it is definitely powerful, don't count Michael and Keita out, there's no way that was it."

* * *

Nashi panted from the exertion of magic as the smoke billowed around. She couldn't see the boys, neither could she hear them.

"Did we get them?" Elise asked, also panting. Nashi didn't give her an answer, she didn't have one.

_"Oh my God what an explosion!"_ Ross shouted, the crowd cheering their heads off._ "Is that it for Michael and Keita?! Have the girls ended this already?!" _No one answered him until finally, someone laughed.

"Really?" His voice asked. "Was that all you could muster?" Nashi's eyes widened as the smoke finally began to clear. It was evident what the voice meant.

Michael and Keita were both still standing, and the blonde was smirking in their direction.

"You have to be kidding..." Elise hissed. "They look fine!" Michael chuckled and crossed his arms.

"To be honest You had me worried." he told them. "I honestly thought that was going to hurt. Luckily I happen to have a shadow wizard on my side." Now Nashi realized why the boys were unhurt by the attack. Keita had melted himself and Michael into the shadows.

They weren't harmed by the Dual Secret Art, leaving Nashi and Elise exhausted.

"Well, I never thought this was going to be easy." Nashi said under her breath, watching Michael and Keita closely. Michael uncrossed his arms, his smirk fading.

"Now." he said. White magic began to pulse around him. "How about I stop taking this so lightly?" Keita also started to pulse with magic, but of the opposite color. Nashi gulped as they both radiated raw energy, but she was catching her breath.

"This s bad Nashi." Elise told her. "They're going on the offensive now."

"I can tell that by myself, thank you." Nashi replied. Michael smirked.

"Now," he said, the pulsing stopping. "I'm going to show you the real power the 4th Generation is capable of!"

Michael and Keita flew at Nashi and Elise with unforeseen speed, both ready to deliver a strike.

The battle was just beginning.

**Heheh, yeah I'm gonna just leave it there. Don't worry though, I'll get back to you as fast as humanely possible. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	171. Fire and Iron vs Light and Shadow

**Not really much to say about today, to be completely honest. Let's get into it!**

**Enjoy!**

Michael struck too fast for Nashi to have time to react. The exhaustion from her full on assault earlier left her open to her opponent. He swung at her with a fist coated with white magic, and it drove Nashi back a little bit, even as she attempted to block it. Michael hit her again and again, each fist driving her backwards before finally, he brought his hands together.

"Holy Spears of the White Dragon!" He shouted, the arcs of light soaring towards Nashi. Just like the day before, there were far to many for Nashi to block them all, and she took the brunt of the spell and rolled away from him.

_I need to get some breathing room, or I'm done for..._

Nashi ducked underneath Michael as he came at her again, and tried to roar at him to keep him a fair distance away.

Michael had other ideas. He turned and swept Nashi off her feet, making the flame shoot high into the air away from Michael, making it so he was unharmed. He grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and threw her into the wall, creating a crater. Nashi had no time to recover from the attack before he was on her again, throwing her every which way.

Elise tried once again to swipe at Keita, but the Shadow Dragon disappeared into the shadows, and she growled.

"Come out and fight me!" She demanded, looking around for where he decided to pop out next. She felt a presence behind her, so she turned and shot a club there.

It simply phased through Keita's midsection, and he slashed her away from him. He came at her relentlessly, her attacks doing nothing to him while he continued to wail on her. Sliding backwards and waiting for the shadow to come at her again, Elise had some time to think. If Keita was going to go at her like this, she really didn't have a way to attack him back. How could she even attack a shadow anyway?

"This is so cheap..." Elise hissed and Keita melted into the ground again.

"Cheap?" His voice asked, a dark sound that came from all around her. "I hardly think using my own skills on my own free will is cheap. If anything I'm playing fair." Elise snorted.

"Yea, whatever." She turned and tried to club him again, but once again it phased through his midsection without causing him any harm.

"Shadow Dragon Claw!" Keita shouted, sending Elise flying backwards. She collided with another body, and judging from the feminine yelp, it was Nashi.

"You holding up?" She asked the pinkette. Nashi let out a long breath.

"I suppose." She replied. "You?"

"...We need a new strategy." Elise said as the boys circled them. "Cause the Dual Secret Art didn't exactly get the job done."

"I really only have one idea, but..." Elise made a face as Nashi trailed off, and then she realized what her partner meant.

"That's a risky plan, Nashi." She replied. "And not the type of risk we should be making just yet. If anything we'd be digging ourselves a bigger hole if they can still hold up."

"I know, but keep it in mind, would you?" Elise nodded. "Okay, let's get these guys!"

Nashi sprung at Michael, ready to deliver a blow of fire. He met her fist with his, creating a shockwave that sent small bits of debris flying. The two traded blows for a bit, and Michael chuckled.

"Those punches feel a little less painful than before." He taunted, making Nashi grit her teeth. "Having trouble, Nashi?"

"Nah, I'm just getting warmed up pal!" She replied. She tried to uppercut him, but he caught her fist easily, as if it meant nothing to him at all.

"Really?" He asked, getting closer to her. "Cause from where I'm standing you're having a bit of difficulty."

"I've survived tougher."

"Oh yeah?" Nashi glowered. In that moment, when Michael met her gaze, he felt a raw truth radiate from her.

"You couldn't even imagine." She replied. The casual small talk had no prepared Michael for Nashi erupting in flames, burning him as he had a grip on her. He backed up far enough to get a good look at her.

Despite the wounds he'd inflicted on her, she stood tall. If anything, he could tell the Secret Art only left her temporarily breathless. She was good to go. Michael grinned.

"Good, I was worried what you showed me yesterday was all you had in you!"

Keita dodged another of Elise's clubs, grabbed her by the arm, and slammed her into the ground. The girl tried to kip up, but Keita was ready and punched her in the stomach, sending her flying backwards, holding her gut in pain.

"I'm having trouble figuring you out." Keita said. "I tell you you cannot hit me, so you keep trying? There is so little reason to you I don't know what to say." Elise rolled her eyes.

"Yeah yeah, what else can I do?" Elise asked. "It ain't like sunlight stops you or anything." She rushed him and he caught her fist, locking them in close quarters. Keita reared his free arm back to hit her, but she caught it. Their eyes met.

And Keita's head throbbed.

He winced and looked away from her. She'd seen her darkness again. What was it?

"Don't look away Keita, or I may get you!" Elise shouting was all the warning Keita needed, and Elise punched another hole in his shadowy frame. "Oh god damn it!"

"Word of advice, don't announce your attack next time." He said, driving a shadow ball into her face at point blank range.

* * *

"Jeez, those guys sure turned the tide." Kinana said as both of the girls continued to lose ground.

"Nashi and Elise made the mistake of going all out immediately." Erza surmised. "I have no doubt they both feel winded, even if only a little."

"They'll be fine." Gajeel said, sounding a bit irritated. "Michael and Keita don't stand a chance if the girls get serious."

"Before wasn't serious?" Gray asked. "Seemed like it too me." Natsu crossed his arms.

"If it was serious and Michael and Keita got through it, they'd have lost already." He answered. "Give them some time to regain their footing, then they'll be fine."

* * *

Nashi and Elise made contact with each other once again, nearly falling on top of each other.

"Sp, any grand ideas?" Elise asked as the boys closed in on them. Elise felt Nashi shake her head.

"No..." She replied. "He's one of the best fighters I've gone up against... I don't know how to handle him." Elise nodded in understanding. Despite the trash she talked, she'd never fought a pair so on par with herself or Nashi.

"Keita." Michael spoke up. "You know what to do." Keita phased into the earth below and disappeared. Michael charged in and Elise turned her attention to him, Keita having gone somewhere else. She couldn't hurt him anyway. Michael may have been good, but with both girls going after him he faltered slightly and got hit a few times. Elise smirked as he tried to punch her and she stopped him. She grabbed him by the collar of his coat and threw him into the air.

"Nashi!" She shouted. Te girl released a roar exactly on cue, which hit Michael directly and sent him flying into the air above them.

"Finally got him!" Nashi shouted happily.

A laugh reached them.

"Big mistake, Nashi!" Michael shouted. "Look below you!"

Nashi made a face and did so.

A shadow was beneath them. Her eyes widened.

"Shit!" She shouted. "Elise, Keita's...!"

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" Both girls were forced to cover their eyes as a bright light from above began to shine down on them. Similar to the light above, a vortex of shadows formed beneath them.

They were trapped between the light and the dark.

"HOLY NOVA!"

"SHADOW ECLIPSE!" Michael shot down like a bullet and the ground opened up, revealing a maw of darkness.

They both connected at the same time, the resulting explosion rocking the stadium.

* * *

_"Oh my God! Michael and Keita unleash a devastating combo from above and below! How are Nashi and Elise faring after a blow like that?!"_

"Oh no..." Ultear aid slowly, the smoke still billowing around viciously. "That doesn't look good."

"It really doesn't..." Simon replied. "The girls don't have a end all defense, so that might have hurt..." Drake wouldn't lie, sweat was making it's way down his forehead. The girls were good, very good.

But were they better?

* * *

Keita came out of the ground, waiting for the smoke to fade. His attack had not required direct contact with the girls, so he was allowed to back up a bit.

"Michael?" he called through the smoke. "Are you there? Did we get them?" He got no response, but he heard something shift in the smoke.

Michael flew out of the smoke and landed on his face, rolling in the dirt and debris around the arena before coming to a stop near Keita's feet.

"M-Michael?" he asked weakly.

"Absolutely Pathetic." Keita's blood ran cold. He looked up as the smoke faded, revealing the fate of the two girls.

Nashi and Elise, clothes ripped and tattered, bodies visibly wounded, stood tall. Nashi opened her eyes, and the fire that burned there made Keita want to cower.

"You talk down our attack, but your own can't even finish us off when we don't block it?" She asked.

Keita was in disbelief. They had escaped the wrath of the girls attack, but they had got right through theirs and could still stand? It wasn't possible.

"Those two..." Keita whispered as Michael stood. The blonde spat blood out on the ground and grinned.

"Worthy opponents." he agreed. The girls shot towards them.

And they responded in kind.

* * *

Sting watched as Nashi delivered a resounding blow to his sons incredibly thick skull and smiled. The girls had gotten through both Secret Arts, and didn't even hide behind anything.

"They're amazing" Yukino whispered, barely audible below Ally telling her brother he needed to try harder. "Those two..." Rogue chuckled and nodded as Michael and Keita were thrown left and right.

"They're amazing all right." he said. "The way they move, the way they fight..."

"That type of movement is only possible from people who have fought in a situation where loss means death." Sting finished. "Michael and Keita are good, even on par, but they don't have the same style to their attacks."

"Come on Onii-chan!" Ally shouted angrily. "Your girlfriend is beating you up!"

* * *

Michael didn't understand. Through all the pain and the magic, Nashi and Elise were not only still moving, but besting them. And now, Michael was feeling the effects of magical fatigue. He hadn't been expecting Holy Nova and Shadow Eclipse to finish them, but for them to still be a force to be reckoned with? He was elated this was going so differently then he had envisioned. He laughed and threw Nashi back, before rushing at her.

"Impressive!" he shouted. "Is this the effects of your tougher situations?" She too laughed and struck him back as they traded blows.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" She replied, ducking underneath her Michael's fist and knocking the air from his lungs. She grabbed him and threw him up and over her, right into the dirt.

Keita stood just in time to avoid a sword strike from Elise, backing up as fast as possible.

Which wasn't fast enough.

Elise struck him in the face with a club, sending him flying backwards and into the ground. She picked him up and drove a club into his stomach. Her arm extended and Keita was thrown high into the air.

"Iron Dragon Roar!" Keita only had time to brace as the shards cut into his arms and face. He had no time to properly time a landing, so he melted into the shadows to do so. He came out and materialized just in time to get hit by Michael, who flew into him and they both rolled away from the girls. Michael laughed as they got on all fours.

"They're amazing." He whispered.

"Agreed." Keita answered. "But I think it's time we ended this, or we won't be able to move in the morning." Michael laughed.

"Fair enough, fair enough." Both of them stood, and Michael put his hands behind his head. "You girls really are something, you know that?" Nashi grinned.

"Can't say you're anything short of a prodigy either." She answered. "Both of you, really." Keita nodded, as did Elise. Michael lowered his arms back to his sides.

"However, there is one thing you aren't capable of." Michael threw his coat to the side, and Keita his cloak. This left both of them in the ripped rags of their shirts. "Much like you Nashi got your Fathers amazing fire, and Elise your Fathers iron, we inherited the Light and Darkness."

Michael's smirk grew dark in nature.

"However, we inherited just a bit more than you."

"What does that mean?" Elise demanded. Michael chuckled darkly.

"I'll show you!"

* * *

Michael and Keita erupted in their respective elements.

"What is this?" Ultear asked, covering her eyes from Michael's light. "The magical pressure is incredible!"

"Whatever it is, it's incredible!" Damien agreed. Looking over, Ultear found their Poison Dragon with a shocked look on his face.

"This pressure..." Drake whispered. "...I haven't felt it since Edolas...With the Dorma Anim..."

* * *

Sting smiled as his son and Keita's magical pressure grew.

"Now the fight can really start!" Orga said with a laugh. Sting nodded.

"Yes it can. The only two Dragon Slayers in the fourth generation to inherit the ability from birth..."

* * *

Nashi could barely stay on her feet from all the pressure. Whatever the two of them were doing, it was incredible.

The glow faded, which allowed Nashi to look back at their opponents. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat.

They both looked tattooed with white and black. Their hair was standing up, and power was leaking from their frame.

Upon closer inspection, there was also white scales lining the sides of Michael's face. Nashi gasped.

"Dragon Force?!"

**Ah? Ah? Cliffhanger! I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	172. Power of a Dragon

**Back again, I'm not in the business of making you guys wait long for such a battle.**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi watched in disbelief as the boys cracked their necks.

"Dragon Force..." She whispered, barely able to comprehend it. She herself had only entered Dragon Force once, but to feel the power from the soon to be receiving end...

"Nashi, we need a plan!" Elise shouted. "Like, now!" Michael chuckled and cracked his knuckles.

"You taking the shorty?" He asked. Keita nodded.

"Sure. Have fun." Michael grinned as his body glowed once more.

"With pleasure." With this, he shot at Nashi with incredible speed and delivered a punch so strong Nashi's vision became clouded with black spots. She looked up just in time to see him come down on top of her, an explosion throwing her down into the arena itself. Nashi toppled through the arena before coming to a stop. When she raised her head, she had a chance to look around. From what she could tell, she'd landed in the concession area. People were staring at her in shock, there were carts advertising food and merchandise.

"Is that Nashi Dragneel?"

"Isn't she in a fight right now?" Nashi's ears perked up as she heard a whistling sound.

"Move!" She shouted. "He's coming!" Luckily the people had enough sense to move as Michael soared down the hole he'd created after her, bearing down on her. Nashi coated herself in fire and defended as best she could, which wasn't saying much. Michael was tearing her apart. He blasted her with his magic, and she soared through a cart carrying team merchandise. She had just gotten the Blue Pegasus team flag off of her face when Michael was on top of her again. He blasted her left and right, not giving her a moment to breath and relax.

_Is this... what it felt like...for King Simon...?_

Michael grabbed Nashi and flung her into the roof. He then roared, pushing her through several more floors of the arena and into an empty hallway. Again, she had no time to recover before she was once again doing her best to get away from Michael. She heard laughter as she managed to make it around a corner.

"Come out and play, Nashi!" He shouted. "It's not fun to chase you down!" Nashi gritted her teeth as she assessed her condition. She was hurt, incredibly so, and she wasn't sure how long she could hold out.

_What the hell am I supposed to do?!_

* * *

Michael tore through the wall Nashi was hiding behind, causing her to once again face him head on. Looking back at the battlefield in front of them, Lucy could see that Elise was not having an easy time either. Keita bore down on her mercilessly, throwing her every which way. Every time the girl hit the earth, she had a harder time standing back up again.

"This doesn't look good..." Levy said quietly.

"I-It's nothing." Lucy said. "I'm sure the girls will be fine, right Nat...?" Lucy turned to ask her husband a question, and froze in place.

Natsu was watching the lacrima vision intently. He had a shocked expression on his face, his fists were clenched, and sweat was dripping down his forehead.

Lucy couldn't believe it.

_Natsu... Is worried?_

She turned to look at Gajeel. Although less painfully obvious, the worry was present on his features as well. Neither man looked up from their respective daughter.

_If they're worried...Are Nashi and Elise going to lose?_

* * *

Elise grimaced as her side throbbed in indignation as she tried to stand again. She managed and looked up to find Keita watching her.

"I wasn't anticipating this..." She whispered to herself. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Lose." Keita answered her. "If you can't enter Dragon Force, there is no standing up to do I'm afraid." Elise growled and launched her lances at him, be he ran through them and delivered another blow to her midsection, causing her to double over. He grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and hoisted her into the air. He reared back and delivered a punch right to Elise's face. She felt her body whistle through the air high above the stadium. before she crashed into something hard. She was sitting in a crater the impact had made in one of the four gigantic statues surrounding the stadium. She crawled out of it just in time to get out of the way as Keita drove his fist into the crater, right where she'd been only a moment before. She tried to counter him, but her attacks phased through him like usual.

"Come on, man..." Elise hissed, Keita coming after her. They traded blows atop the giant statue before he whacked her so hard she lost her balance and started to fall.

Luckily, he had her covered.

He grabbed her again as she started to fall, wound up, and threw her. Elise flew through the air and slammed into another one of the statues, causing debris to fall over the crowd. Elise looked down frightfully, fearing someone may have gotten hurt, but that wasn't possible. As the debris got close to them, it exploded against a bright purple barrier. She breathed a sigh of relief.

_That's good. There's a barrier protecting the crowd from harm..._

Elise brought her gaze back up to her opponent, who was standing on the previous statue. Even with the length of the entire Domus Flau between them, Elise could feel the power he was radiating as a result of his Dragon Force.

"I don't get it..." She said to herself as they continued to watch each other. "How are they able to enter Dragon Force at will? Are they that much more powerful than us?" Elise knew full well that once a Dragon Slayer reached a certain level of power, they could enter Dragon Force whenever they wanted. But not once had she ever done so, and as far as she knew, neither had Drake or Nashi. So how ere Michael and Keita able to do it? "Or is there some kind of secret?"

She didn't have a lot of time to consider it, as Keita was coming over to continue demolishing her.

* * *

Sting smiled as both Michael and Keita overpowered their Fairy Tail opponents.

"They're doing just fine now." Minerva observed. "Obviously because of Dragon Force."

"Speaking of which, what is the explanation behind that?" Orga asked. "They're not any different than the girls. No implanted lacrima, not shit like second origin or anything." Sting chuckled.

"Dragon Force is a technique." He replied. "And like any technique, it can be learned through practice."

"Nashi, Elise and Drake are all capable of entering Dragon Force when they want too." Rogue simplified. "It's just a manner of learning how to do it. Of course a power boost is always a great way to simplify the process, it's just that Michael and Keita have learned how to do it." Elise was thrown from the statue she and Keita were dueling on top of, and rocketed right back into the ground in the center of the arena. At the same time, a hole was blown in a nearby wall and Nashi rolled through it, coughing viciously.

"It's basically over." Sting said. "They're almost done."

* * *

"Come on, what is this?!" Tetsu demanded as Michael and Keita picked the girls up and continued to attack them without mercy. "They're sucking!"

"You remember what Drake did when we were fighting Master Kronos?" Katsuchi asked, making Tetsu nod. "That's what they're doing." That did't seem to quell Tetsu's anger on the subject, and Azzie felt just a bit more worried than angry. She'd seen first hand Dragon Force was crazy. It's capability to give the user the aspects of a dragon was downright terrifying to be on the same side as, let alone against it. She could only imagine how difficult it was to fight.

"I hope they're okay..." She said quietly as they both struggled to stand. "Michael and Keita are a lot more powerful than I was giving them credit for..."

"If the girls lose, I'm never going to forgive them!" Tetsu growled. Katsuchi sighed.

"I'm all for teasing, but this is something I'd avoid if I was you." Tetsu shook his head.

"Not that! If they can't beat those clowns, how could they beat us?!"

* * *

Nashi felt her body complaining as she stood, but she told it to shut up. She wasn't going to lose, she just needed a plan. Elise slowly managed to stand near her, and she regarded the boys quietly. They seemed to be watching, perhaps waiting to see if they were about to cave and give up.

"You okay?" Nashi asked Elise, who was panting.

"Do I look okay?" She demanded angrily. Nashi managed to laugh a bit at this, returning her eyes to their opponents, who were still watching.

Dragon Force.

She didn't know what they were supposed to do. Michael and Keita were faster and stronger. At least in that state. What could they hope to accomplish by falling into a routine of attacking feebly?

"Come on, Nashi..." it was Elise who spoke to her. "We can take these guys, we just need...something to eat, I guess..."

"And where do you supposed we get enough fire or iron to accomplish anything?" She shot back. "I hate to say it but, this may be over."

"It was over the moment you stepped inside the arena." Michael replied. "And I think it's time we got this over with. Distract them Keita, I'm going to make sure we end this." Keita nodded and shot towards Nashi and Elise without remorse, keeping both of them distracted as instructed. Nashi threw a fireball at him, but he blew right through it without a second chance and punched her down. Elise jumped on his back and tried to hit him right in the back of the skull, but she lost her grip as he became a shadow, and he hit her back. This continued on until both of them were about to fall over from the exertion.

_Even with just one of them...We can't do it..._

"Keita!" It was Michael speaking. "Back up!" Keita jumped back as instructed. Before Nashi could question what was happening, she had a chance to look around.

Four white stigmas were on the ground around them. Michael snapped his fingers, and they started to glow.

Pillars shot out of the stigmas, and once they reached a certain height, white magic shot out of them and towards Nashi and Elise. Nashi protected her face from it, but that didn't do her much good.

Seeing as the magic wrapped around her wrists and tightened, making her arms shoot up above her head. She tried desperately to pull it off, but nothing happened.

"What is this?!"She asked angrily, and Michael chuckled.

"It's akin to the way I immobilized you yesterday." he answered. "The Pillars of the White Dragon prevent my foe from escaping me." Nashi growled, and then realized something.

"Um, where's Keita?" She asked weakly. Michael smirked and pointed upwards. Nashi and Elise looked and, sure enough, Keita was high in the air above, his body glowing darkly.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" He shouted, making Nashi's stomach turn. "Ebony Path!" The beam that escaped Keita was narrow, but the destructive force it contained could be sensed even a hundred feet below him.

"Brace yourself, Elise!" Nashi shouted. "This is going to hurt!"

"Way ahead of you!" Elise replied, body coated in iron. Michael smiled as the attack bore down on them.

"Get yourself out of this one, Nashi!"

_BOOM!_

* * *

When the smoke cleared, there was nothing but a hole in the arena where the girls had been,

No pillars.

No girls.

No nothing.

Just a hole.

_"M-My goodness!" _Ross announced. _"What happened to Nashi and Elise, are they okay?! They must be below the arena somewhere!" _Drake watched, sweat rolling down his face, as the girls did not reappear from below. Michael and Keita seemed to be waiting as well.

"Come on, come on..." He muttered. "Please be okay..."

"I don't want to be a downer but..." Damien whispered. "I don't think they're getting out of that one..."

"Please be okay..." Ultear said. "Please just be okay..."

* * *

_"W-Well, um, if the girls do not reappear soon, we'l have to count it as a loss!" _Ross said, making Michael smile.

"You tried valiantly, girls." He said.

"Nashi, Elise, please do the smart thing." Keita said. "Stay down. I feel bad being in such a one sided fight." The girls did not reappear, and the lacrima vision did not go down to check. There was simply silence as everyone waited with baited breath. After a few more seconds, Michael sighed and turned to leave.

"I suppose I was a bit too wistful thinking they could stack up." he said. "But if they can't enter Dragon Force to contest us, then..."

_"WAIT!" _Michael froze in place as Ross shouted and the crowd started cheering. He slowly turned to find out what was happening.

Two hands.

Two hands were gripping the edge of the hole Keita had created with his attack. The hands were different in size, meaning they did not belong to the same person. The hands did not do anything for a moment, but then they did.

Nashi and Elise, battered and bruised beyond belief, and looking as though they were barely breathing, crawled out of the hole and onto their knees. The crowd was whipping itself into a frenzy now. The girls just kept getting up!

"...You sure are something special, you two." Michael said, body glowing once more. "Too think, after all this punishment, you can still stand. You'd passed my expectation already, but this? What will you do next to impress me?" Nashi grinned, eyes obscured by her hair

A dark grin, making Michael a little apprehensive. What was she grinning about?

"Elise." The pinkette said. "It's time." Elise cackled darkly, her eyes obscured as well.

"Finally." She growled. "I was getting sick and tired of these idiots throwing us around." The girls stood tall, and both inhaled deeply.

At first, nothing happened.

Then, Michael felt a rock settle in his stomach.

Fire started to whip around Nashi viciously.

_Black fire._

Elise's skin started to grow dark grayish black.

The magical pressure...

"What...?"

* * *

_"W-What the hell is happening?! _Ross asked. _"It seems the girls are activating something!"_

Katsuchi watched the girls as the black fire and black iron continued to grow around them. He looked over at Tetsu.

They both smirked.

* * *

Lucy felt a smile crease over her face as the girls magical power grew.

"I was wondering if they were going to pull this out." Gray said. Natsu grinned, his first reaction since Michael and Keita had entered Dragon Force.

"Now the showdown can really begin."

* * *

Michael watched as the girls continued this, and soon enough, red fire merged with the black, and Elise's body became covered in the grayish black coating.

"What do we do?" Keita asked. "What is this?" Michael gritted his teeth despite the unsettling feeling in his gut.

"We attack, damn it!" He shouted, his holy white magic whipping around him. "We have Dragon Force! Nothing can top the power of a dragon! NOTHING!" Michael catapulted off the ground towards Nashi, and reared a fist back to punch her.

She met him halfway with another punch, one coated with black and red fire.

"Nothing can top a dragon?" Nashi asked Michael, who looked past the fire towards Nashi's face. Much like the fire around her, the fire in her eyes burned angrily. "Interesting hypothesis, Michael. However, there is one thing, in this world that a dragon does not stand up too."

"What the hell are you...?" They broke apart, and Nashi rushed him as he landed.

"A _God_." She finished

She slammed her fist into his face, and he flew back right into the wall. Michael groaned as he lifted his head and looked towards them, both of them standing tall. Nashi laughed.

"Alright Michael, let's see how you fair against the power of the Fire and Iron Dragon Gods!"

**Yeah yeah, complain all you want, I know it's coming. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	173. Dragon Force vs Dragon-God

**This wasn't supposed to be up today, or at least so early cause I had school. Snowed in though, so here I am!**

**Enjoy!**

The crowd was still in a frenzy, cheering so loud Drake could barely hear himself think.

"Dragon-God mode." Simon said, a smile on his face. "I'd forgotten all about it." Drake frowned.

"Yeah, it's a great idea now, but...| He trailed off, lost in thought.

"What's the matter, Drake?" Ultear asked. Drake looked over at her.

"Dragon-God mode in undoubtedly very strong." he told her. "But if you recall, it hurts them as well." He returned his gaze to the field as the crowd continued to roar. "I'm just worried that, after that beating, they won't be able to hold it long enough to beat Michael and Keita."

* * *

Michael watched as the two girls stretched their own stiff muscles, the black elements still present.

"Dragon-God?" Keita asked. "What is that? Could it be...?" Elise grinned and tilted her head to the side.

"The fusion of Dragon and God slayer magic." She answered. "The ultimate offense and defense." Michael gritted his teeth. It couldn't be that bad, right?

"Don't act so high and mighty!" Michael shouted, Dragon Force sending off a wave of magical energy. "You're still in horrid condition! Let's end this, Keita!"

"My pleasure." Michael broke into a sprint towards Nashi, who waited for him. As he got close, the pinkette smirked.

She erupted into black and red flames.

Michael stopped dead in his tracks as the flames grew, he covered his face and held his ground.

_This heat...If I get any closer she'll melt me to pieces!_

"Divine Talons of the Fire Dragon-God!" Michael looked up just in time to get a face full on Nashi's fire covered foot, sending him flying away from her and thankfully to a cooler portion of the arena. She launched herself after him, the fire burning even brighter. Michael attacked her with White bursts of his own magic, but the attacks were seared away as they got close to her.

_How am I supposed to hit her if the fire is so intense in burns away my magic?!_

Nashi tackled him with all the force she had, and Michael writhed in pain as he fell, the fire clinging to his clothes and singing them. He grimaced as he hit the ground and rolled, getting himself out of the way of another fireball that destroyed the ground he'd just been standing on.

"This power..." he breathed weakly, as Nashi landed on her feet. "Where did you get it...? This is no mere use of both magic, it truly is a fusion..."

* * *

"Did you guys ever figure out how this works?" Erza asked. "If Natsu can't reuse Zancrow's flame, then how is Dragon-God mode even possible?"

"Because the way the elements were consumed was different." Levy answered, all eyes turning to her as she continued. "I did a little research on the effects of Slayer magic, and did my best to figure it out. I think it has to do with the differences between how it was consumed.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked curiously. Levy pointed to Natsu.

"Natsu got rid of his own magical power to eat Zancrow's, allowing his body to becomes a vessel of the fire he ate at that moment." She then pointed at the girls on the field. "The girls created no such vessel, at least not the same way. From what Elise told me, they only ate the God fire and iron when they were low on magic."

"Okay..." Natsu said, scratching his head. "How does that make a difference?" Levy sighed.

"As oppose to you, where your Dragon Fire and God Fire stayed separate, the girls ate in differently, and caused a fusion of the God element and the Dragon element. Which allows them to call upon the God Flame and God Iron whenever they please."

"I wouldn't say whenever." Gajeel replied, all eyes turning to him. "It still hurts them to use it."

"I forgot about that." Gray said, nodding. "Even with the fusion, their lower tiered slayers..." The group grew tense as the girls continued to attack Michael and Keita.

"How long...?" Laxus asked quietly, not getting an answer at first. Natsu sighed.

"In their peak condition, Nashi was able to hold Dragon-God mode for thirty minutes." He answered.

"Elise too." Gajeel supplied. Natsu narrowed his eyes at the arena.

"But with the girls as hurt as they are, after taking so much damage from Michael and Keita..." The four young wizards flew around the arena. destroying anything their magic touched.

"I give Nashi and Elise, at most, five minutes until the God element knocks them out."

* * *

Keita took the club to the face and soared backwards, flipped, and landed on his feet. He looked up as Elise slowly came towards him, Nashi and Michael doing their own thing around the arena. He'd never faced off against magic like this, so he was unsure as to what to do.

Didn't mean he was going to cave. Keita inhaled deeply, shadows forming around his face.

"Shadow Dragon Roar!" He shouted, the torrent of darkness soared towards Elise without remorse.

"The attack struck the girl head on, as she didn't even try to move out of the way. Keita waited as the smoke billowed out from the strike, seeing if his roar had any effect.

"Hm, that tickled." Keita's eyes widened as the smoke cleared, revealing Elise standing exactly where she had been but a moment ago, still smirking. "Sorry Keita, but you may have to try a bit harder to get through the armor of the Iron Dragon-God!" Elise raised an arm, and it glowed. It turned into a thin blade, akin to a katana, and swung it full force at Keita, who allowed it to pass through him without harm. Even in her advanced state, she couldn't ht a shadow. Keita ran up to her and delivered a blow to her midsection.

He reared back and shout out in pain as his hand resounded off of her stomach with a clank.

"What did I tell you?" Elise demanded, delivering a blow to his stomach herself and throwing him up into the air. "You won't get through it with that kind of attack!" She sailed through the open air, looking down at the girl below him as he herself inhaled deeply.

Bellowing Roar of the Iron Dragon-God!" The black and gray attack flew towards Keita, and he covered his face for the impending impact. The shards cut deep into his body, nothing was not effected. He landed back on the ground and sank into it, trying to find a way to get past her. He went behind her and attempted to attack her from behind, bit the armor was just as strong on her back. She turned and sent a club his way, knocking the wind out of him for a moment.

"Your turn." She told him. Before he could ask her what that meant, or even regain the ability to breath, another club connected with his face, sending him high into the air. He crashed into one of the four giant statues above them, and now he understood what she meant by it was his turn. He got to his feet to see her climbing up after him, and he prepared himself for it.

An explosion of black, red and white distracted him, making him look up as Nashi and Michael flew away from each other in front of him. Michael flew towards him and Nashi flew towards the statues across from them.

"You good?" Michael asked. Keita didn't answer as he pointed downwards, towards the girls rocketed toward them. Michael put his hands together and shot light at the girl, forcing her to jump from the statues as it exploded from the force, landing on the statue next to Nashi's.

All four of them occupied one of the statues around the Domus Flau.

"Well, this certainly turned around!" Michael shouted to the girls, "To think you had a form that rivaled the power of ours!" The girl didn't reply, and Michael crossed his arms over his now bare chest. Keita noted the burns lining his friend's figure. Michael glowed with light, causing his statues to tremble. "It's time we put this power of yours to a direct test! Keita!" Keita nodded an inhaled.

"Shadow Dragon..."

"White Dragon..."

"ROAR!" The Dragon Force boosted streams of magic soared towards the girls.

"BELLOWING ROAR OF THE FIRE/IRON DRAGON-GOD!" The girls shouted together, their own streams of magic flying at them as well.

The four attacks struck in the center of all four statues, creating an eye of the hurricane-esque effect as the entire arena trembled from the sheer force.

* * *

Nashi he;d her own as the four roar attacks met in the center, doing her best to apply more power to it. She needed to beat them, she needed too...

A searing pain roared across her chest.

_No!...Please, no no no not now...!_

But the pain persisted. Eventually it grew all over Nashi's body. She'd only ever experienced such excruciating agony a few times before.

Dragon-God mode was warning her persisting after this point would be dangerous to her health. But she pushed back. She had to beat them. How much time was left in the match anyway?!

She couldn't. Nashi let up and succumbed to the pain, her roar disappearing from the four. She dropped to her knees as the pain started to die away. She needed to do something, or else.

"Shit!" It was Elise's voice swearing. Nashi looked up as the Bellowing Roar of the Iron Dragon-God failed in holding back the other two attacks, the blasts of light and black now coming forth unopposed. Nashi braced for the worst.

The Roar of the White Dragon barreled towards her and stuck her and the statue she was on, annihilating it in a blast of Holy Light. Nashi grimaced in pain as the statue started to collapse. She couldn't move very well thanks to the pain, so she opted to fall with it.

Something shiny jumped into the air, though.

"Don't think you're getting out of this!" Elise shouting, her arm turning into a katana, and Michael and Keita braced.

Elise wasn't aiming for them.

Nashi watched as the girl cleaved through the solid stone that kept the statues up, making the other two fall as well. Michael and Keita looked frantic as they looked for something to hold onto, but disappeared in the debris anyway.

All four of them fell to the arena below, amid the mess they had caused.

* * *

Sting sank against the wall as the statues fell over.

"What's the matter, Sting?" Rufus asked. "Are you worried?"

"Not necessarily..." Sting whispered. "I just hope they don't make me pay for this..."

* * *

Nashi coughed as the debris started to settle, all four of them having hit the ground. She sturggled to her feet, and looked around the destroyed arena.

_"Oh my Lord!" _Ross shouted, the only thing Nashi could hear amid the dust. _"The competitor have destroyed the statues around the arena!What a display!" _Nashi could also hear the crowd going ballistic, but she ignored that.

"Nashi?" It was Elise calling her. "Where are you?"

"Over here!" Nashi called back, and soon enough her tag partner appeared through the dust. "You okay?" She asked. Elise nodded.

"More or less." She answered, body still covered in her Scaled Dragon God Armor. "You?" Nashi flinched and hit her midsection.

"I hit my limit." She hissed. "Dragon-God mode will only hinder me from here..."

"Nashi, you can't give up! It's our only hope!"

"I know, but I..."

"Do you realize how much pain I'm in right now?" Nashi looked back up, taking a closer look. Upon closer inspection, she could see it clearly. Elise's face was twisted in pain. "If I can keep it up, so do you. Go until it beats you, not those idiots! Where's the girl that survived an Etherion explosion?"

"I..."

Nashi's world froze.

She wasn't in the arena anymore.

She was in a crater.

She was surrounded by ruins. The sky was bleached a dark red.

"Where...?" Nashi looked around, but she couldn't see anything worth noting. She looked down, and gasped.

Her hands were black.

"What-What is...?" Nashi asked weakly.

"Nashi!" Her head moved on it's own towards the voice. Drake stood in the crater watching her. His eyes were filled with fear and confusion.

"Drake..."

And just like that, in the blink of an eye, Nashi was back in the arena.

"Nashi?! Nashi?!" Nashi looked around frantically as Elise called her name, meeting the girls eyes.

"What?" Elise's face was laced with concern.

"You blanked out on me." She replied. "And your body got really hot."

"Did it?" Nashi looked down on her hands, and they flashed black once more. She closed her eyes and grimaced.

"What the hell was that..."

"Fuck!" Nashi looked up to find rubble being thrown away as someone clawed their way out of it. Michael stood up amidst it, watching them closely. "That was a rotten thing to do, Elise." He said flatly. Elise shrugged him off. Keita materialized out of the ground, looking just as terrible as the rest of them.

"This needs to end." He said, body glowing black. Michael responded in kind. "Or we'll kill each other." Elise stood, ready to go. and Nashi joined her.

Nashi's eyes widened as she felt her veins flow with magic.

"What the...?" She looked down at her hands again, and black fire sprung forth with ease, mixed with the red.

_Where did this magic come from? I was running on empty just a moment ago..._

She grinned as her body erupted in black and red fire once more.

"Let's end this." She agreed.

* * *

Michael smiled as the girls stood once more.

"Once and for all, we decide who is the strongest!" He and Keita sprinted forth, as did the girls. They met their respective pair in the center of the arena and started to trade blows. Fire against Light, Iron against Shadow. No one backed down, no one complained. They just slugged each other mercilessly. Michael took a slug to the face and slid backwards, nursing the burn on his face from the strike.

"Man, this Dragon-God fire really hurts..." He looked up at Nashi, and his blood ran cold.

The fire still kept her body alight, but that was not what Michael was staring at.

The fire had eyes. Or rather it looked like it did. The flames above Nashi's head were shaped like eyes, burning themselves into Michael's heart.

_What the hell is that?!_

* * *

Lucy watched worriedly as the four exchanged blows.

"Did she just..." Natsu lowered his head slightly.

"Yeah." He said. "I felt it..." The older generation was silent, watching the battle unfold as Michael and Keita started getting pushed back.

"She called on her Etherious and it replenished her magic enough to survive the battle..." Gray said lowly.

"She couldn't have done it on purpose..." Erza said. "Her body reacted to the danger..."

"Did she go Etherious?" Gajeel asked weakly. "That fire...I can feel it from here."

"No she didn't." Natsu answered. He took a deep breath.

"Michael and Keita would be dead if she had."

* * *

Nashi pushed Michael back with ease. He swung at her with a fist, she responded with an even harder punch. He tried to immobilize her with another stigma, and she burned it away without a second glance. She was systemically destroying him.

"Dragon-God Death Scythe!" The fiery object appeared in her hands and Michael was immersed in it, knocking him back. Keita soon joined him and they both rolled back into a heap. Elise stepped up next to Nashi.

"You doing okay?" Nashi asked. Elise was panting and parts of her Scaled Armor had chipped off and disappeared.

"About to collapse..." She replied. "This needs to end." At the word collapse, more pain erupted across Nashi's body. She collapsed to one knee ans started to breathe shakily. Dragon-God mode was always a risk, and no matter when she played it, it never worked out.

"Enough of this!" She heard Michael shouted as he stood tall. "I refuse to lose this battle! Its been seventeen years in the making and I'm not going to LOSE IT!" Keita stood as well, looking equally as pissed off.

"Just like back then..." Keita said, both of them aiming a fist behind them, standing together. "We'll use the rest of our magic..."

Spheres of Light and Shadow exploded behind them, and started growing in power.

_"Oh my God!" _Ross shouted, the crowd still cheering itself senseless. _"Michael and Keita go for the signature of the Twin Dragons, the Holy Shadow Dragon's Fang Flash!" _The name only made the crowd more excited, and they started chanting Michael and Keita's names.

And Nashi could even bring herself to stand.

* * *

"This is bad, they can't even stand!" Lucy heard Natsu shouted as she kept her eyes glued to the arena. "We've practically lost, even after she boosted herself!"

"Don't be so quick to judge, Salamander!" Gajeel shouted back. She heard the two butt heads. "Our girls got this!"

"You've never even been on the receiving end of that attack!"

"Neither have you!"

"Closer than you ever were pal!" Lucy tuned out the man children arguing.

_Nashi...My little girl..._

When Lucy gave it some thought, the past year had been the most incredible year since she'd become a mother. To see her baby girl grow from an introverted, unable to use magic, depressed mess to the amazingly talented and powerful wizard currently trying to get to her feet, it made her chest well up with pride.

_I always knew she had it in her...and now look at her. _

Lucy looked down at her daughter. She'd managed to get to her feet, and was watching Michael and Keita's attack grow.

_And right now..._

Lucy looked down at her hand.

_Right now..._

She clenched it into a fist as Natsu and Gajeel continued to argue.

_Right now my baby girl needs the support of her family. _

Lucy stepped towards the edge of the stand, making everyone turn to look at her.

She shot her hand up into the sky, pointing her forefinger and thumb towards the sky.

_You're more powerful than you could even imagine right now, Nashi..._

* * *

_I know you've got it in you._

Four more hands shot up into the air.

Drake, Ultear, Simon, and Damien all saluted the girls as well. Soon, the rest of the guild joined in. Nashi tilted her head slightly to look at her friends and family, all sending them the signal.

_Thanks, mom..._

"HOLY SHADOW DRAGON'S FANG FLASH!"

She turned back to find Michael and Keita launching their Unison Raid, and the explosive force of the Light and Shadow rocketed towards Nashi and Elise. It blew through all the debris, and came for them without stopping.

"Use everything left in the tank, Elise." Nashi said. Elise chuckled.

The girls joined hands and intertwined their fingers, taking a similar stance to the boys, and closed their eyes

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Nashi." As the Light and Darkness got halfway to them, Nashi and Elise opened their eyes and aimed their conjoined hands forward.

"DRAGON-GOD SLAYER SECRET ART! DIVINE OBSIDIAN IRON/LOTUS SUPERNOVA/BARRAGE!"

The black and red fire left Nashi's hand, and merged with the iron pillars rising from the ground and both shot towards the Holy Shadow Dragon's Fang Flash.

The attacks collided in the center of the stadium, causing an explosion that encompassed the entire battlefield and, when it couldn't expand anymore forward thanks to the magic barrier, it shot into the sky and through the clouds.

* * *

_SWEET MERCIFUL GOD ABOVE! WHAT EXPLOSIVE FORCE FROM THE FOUR DRAGON SLAYERS! ONE QUESTION REMAINS: WHO'S STILL STANDING!"_

The crowd was dead silent, other contestants as well. No one spoke as word as smoke blew around the arena.

No one even dared to blink, fearing they may miss what happened.

Finally, the smoke started to fade away., and everyone held their breath.

Two figures were lying on the ground, and everyone waited.

The outline of two standing appeared, and you could almost hear the sweat dropping to the ground.

Finally, the four figures were revealed.

Michael and Keita were spread eagle on their backs, staring up at the sky.

While Nashi and Elise were still standing. The two girls hands shot into the air, still holding each others.

.

.

.

The screams and cheering could've easily been heard a few miles out from the city of Crocus. No one was even thinking, they were just screaming.

_THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT! NASHI DRAGNEEL AND ELISE REDFOX WAS DEFEATED MICHAEL EUCLIFFE AND KEITA CHENEY! THEY'VE EARNED FAIRY TAIL TEN ASTOUNDING POINTS! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY!"_

Sting smiled and cracked his back.

"About time they got this over with." He said, observing the damage done to the arena as a whole.

"What were you doing, Onii-chan?!" Ally shouted angrily, looking absolutely livid. "You lost!"

* * *

Juno watched as both boys struggled to even move.

"I guess they lost then." Kyoko said, sounding sad.

"I guess." Juno agreed, taking a deep breath. She made a face as Blake pushed past her and walked away. "Where are you going?" She asked him.

"Got someone to talk too." He replied, throwing up a hand over his back to wave. "Give Michael and Keita my regards." Juno nodded, but watched as the tan Plasma mage retreated into the darkness of the arena.

_What did he mean he's got someone to talk too...?_

* * *

The sky was rather pretty with a cloud in it that was pierced from the sheer power displayed below. Michael inhaled deeply, watching a flock of birds fly over him.

"I lost." He stated flatly. "That sucks." He gritted his teeth weakly and clenched his fists. "After all that big talk...I fucking lost to her..."

A hand appeared in his vision.

He made a face and picked his head up a bit to see what was going on.

"Need a hand?" Nashi asked, smiling kindly down at him. He just stared back at her.

"W-What are you...?" He asked weakly. Nashi smiled even wider and gestured her hand forward, obviously wanting him to take it.

"That was an amazing fight!" She complimented. "You sure are something else, Michael. I'd love the chance to go at you again someday!" Michael made a face at the girl. Why was she not just reveling in her victory? She didn't owe him help, she didn't owe him anything.

Still, the gesture alone was nice.

Michael decided not to be rude, and grasped her hand. He was surprised to feel Nashi actually pull on him and help him up. Once he was on his feet, he turned to find Elise helping Keita up.

_"What an amazing display of good sportsmanship!" _Ross announced. _"Let's give these teenagers a round of applause everyone, they've earned it!" _The crowd began to clap and cheer, making Michael look around at them. He lost, so why was he getting cheered.

He looked over at Nashi, and realized he was still holding her hand. She smiled and him again, and he felt heat rush to his face.

Not the fire kind of heat, either.

_This girl..._

"Hey, uh, Michael?"

"Hm?" He snapped out of his trance and looked her in the eyes. A breeze blew past, and Michael watched as Nashi swayed in it like a twig.

"I hate to impose because we don't really know each other very well..." Nashi started to fall forward. "Could you please hold me up?" Michael panicked, almost dropped her, but managed to wrap his arms around her upper body and keep her up. He looked over to find Keita doing the same for Elise, and they met each others gaze.

Keita shrugged, and Michael chuckled.

"You're lucky we fell first." he told Nashi. "You're out of magic too, aren't you?"

"Yeah...That Secret Art took the rest of it from me..." Her face was buried in his bare chest, and he could feel her cheeks burning up. "I also told you I wanted to avoid getting in tabloids." Michael laughed.

"Sorry for catching you, then." he replied sarcastically.

* * *

Standing neat the edge of the Domus Flau, was a man. A man wearing a black cloak that obscured his face.

He watched as the girls were caught by Their opponents, and sighed.

_Lucky those boys can even still function, unlike myself...Then again the attack that took me out was a six way Unison Raid, so..._

He brought his real arm up to his head and activated his telepathy.

"Zeus, did you see that?" He asked in his metallic tone. He hard the the old man hum in acknowledgement.

_"I did. Our sleeper cell will be giving us a report shortly."_

"Should I move in?"

_"No. Stay away until our sleeper agent can commence his portion of the plan. Once he has reported in, we will tell you whether or not you're needed"_

"Understood."

_"Do not cause trouble. If anyone suspects you, especially the Fairies, it'll only cause trouble."_

"I know."

_"You'd better." _After the old master of the Olympians severed the connection, the man brought his cloaked face up to the scoreboard.

Fairy Tail: 93 pts

Sabertooth: 84 pts

Lamia Scale: 54 pts

Blue Pegasus: 46 pts

Mermaid Heel: 40 pts

Quatro Cerberus: 31 pts

He looked down from the scores towards the pink haired girl who was being held up by Michael Eucliffe.

_Nashi Dragneel...I sure do hope you're ready._

** And the 5th day comes to a completion with a nearly 4,500 word chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	174. Sleeper Cell

**Snowed in again, writing again. **

**Enjoy!**

The sun shining in through the blinds as they were moved was what woke Nashi up. She groaned and pulled the blankets over her bandaged head, which caused her friends to laugh.

"Come on Nashi, it's time to get up!" Ultear said. Nashi's body ached even from the simple motion of pulling the blanket up.

"It's our day off." She complained. "And I'm hurt. Let me stay in bed."

"Hey, even Elise got up!" Damien said.

"Cause you threw me out of my bed." Elise shot back from somewhere in the room. Nashi groaned as the sheet was pulled away by Drake.

"Fine." She hissed, upset. "I'll get up. But if I pull something, you're all to blame, got it?" Everyone nodded absentmindedly at her threat, which only made her want to pull something to get back at them. Throwing her clothes on and following everyone downstairs, they walked into the bar area if the hotel where everyone else was.

Nashi and Elise walked in last, which in hindsight may not have been the best idea seeing as no one except Wendy and their parents had seen them since the day before.

The girls were immediately swarmed by their guildmates congratulating them and telling them how awesome the fight was. They did their best to thank everyone, but Nashi was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the attention. After what seemed like forever, her savior came in the form of her father, who waded through the crowd and grabbed her, carrying her through the crowd.

"You forgot me!" Elise shouted in indignation, but Nashi could do nothing to help her.

"Thanks Dad." Nashi said as she was placed down outside the circle of people.

"No problem." He replied. Nashi brushed herself off and looked around. The Games were not taking place that day, seeing as everyone was being given a full day to recuperate before the final day, which ended the Games in a free-for-all as every team was set loose in the city and they determined the last guild standing. That of course didn't change who won, but seeing all but one team needed to go down for the day to end, a lot of points would be handed out, and teams could easily switch places.

Of course, until then, she had a day to kill. Even in her rather injured state, she didn't want to spend her day doing nothing. Walking towards the others, she reached them as her leg throbbed in pain.

"You okay?" Drake asked, watching her carefully. Nashi winced, but nodded.

"Yeah..." She replied weakly. "Still feeling yesterday, but otherwise I'm just peachy."

"Of course you're still feeling it." Simon said. "If I'm still feeling Pandemonium, you must be in a lot of pain." Nashi shrugged as she pulled a chair out to sit.

"It's not that bad." She replied, hiding her pain behind her smile as she sat. "I'll be just fine."

"In time for tomorrow?" Drake asked. That was a different question. Nashi was no fool, she knew she wasn't going to be at one hundred percent by morning, but she was sure she'd be fine. After all, all they had to do was maintain their lead.

Against Sabertooth.

Nashi felt the need to rest.

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Damien reassured. "After all, we just need to retain our lead. People will come to us and try to take it." He laughed and slammed his fist into his other hand. "Then we squash 'em."

"Exactly." Ultear agreed. "And even if you aren't exactly one hundred percent, I'm sure you'll be more than enough." Nashi made a face, but nodded regardless as she massaged her arm. As she looked around the guild, she noted that everyone seemed pretty laid back. Of course they were, they had nothing to worry about.

Her eyes drifted over Rocky, who was sitting by himself at the bar.

"I'll be right back." She said, the others nodding at her. She walked behind Rocky and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look at her, and she smiled. "That seat taken?" She asked, gesturing to the seat next to him. He regarded her closely for a moment, before he shrugged and returned to his drink.

"Nope." he replied. Nashi sat down and rested her arms on the counter, silence enveloping them. A drink was placed in front of her, and she sipped in quietly.

It was a bit more awkward than she'd anticipated.

"You were amazing out there yesterday." Rocky said, making her jump. "I'd have never thought I'd see you demolishing the Domus Flau." Nashi chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess that was pretty cool." She agreed.

"Pretty cool?" Rocky demanded. "That's like saying blowing back Master Laxus is 'no big deal'" They both laughed a bit and they returned to silence.

"I don't know." Nashi said. "I guess I'm just a natural at magic. I just needed someone to teach me."

"Hm." Silence came over them again, but Nashi wasn't going to let it happen again, so she took a deep breath.

"I'm not mad at you anymore, you know." She said, but he didn't reply. "What happened when we were little...I don't blame you anymore."

"Great." He replied. She heard the grip he had on his cup tighten. "Doesn't mean I've forgiven myself." Nashi looked down at the liquid floating around in her own mug, thinking about how to approach him next.

"I get it." She said quietly. "Why you acted the way you did, I get it. I got everyone's attention for nothing. You tried but got nothing. You reacted like a child your age would've."

"And I held onto that for over ten fucking years." He hissed.

"And?" Nashi asked. He didn't respond, and Nashi watched him carefully before he downed the rest pf his drink, and turned to leave.

"Good luck tomorrow." He said in a voice just above a whisper, and Nashi sighed.

"Yeah, thanks..." Nashi sipped from her own mug as she heard the door to the inn open.

"Excuse me? I'm a representative of the Grand Magic Games committee. I'd like to speak with Team Fairy Tail, please."

* * *

"Oh lookie here, it's the big tough Dragon Slayers!" Rina called as their injured teammates joined them at the table.

"Fuck off Rina." Michael hissed. Slowly sitting down and wincing, which made the God Slater snort. Juno watched as Keita set his crutch down and slowly shuffled in next to her.

"Are you guys going to be okay for tomorrow?" She asked. "You look like shit." Michael waved her off.

"Nothing a good drink won't fix." He replied. "Right Keita?" Keita nodded.

"Indeed." he agreed. "I don't feel so hot, but it'll be alright by tomorrow." Juno didn't really believe him, but she nodded and dropped it regardless.

"Man, that fight was something else." Rina said, leaning back. "And you guys got your shit pushed in."

"I don't want to rain on your parade there Rina," Michael butted in. "But if you didn't see, Nashi and Elise both collapsed after they won so technically had we stayed standing a few seconds longer we would've won instead."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Rina said with a smirk, making Michael look pretty miffed.

"You should stop making fun of them for such an even fight, Rina." Kyoko said quietly, sipping her drink. "Especially since you got thrashed by the one and only Nami Mikazuchi." Rina choked on her drink as Michael started to laugh, Juno even saw Keita crack a grin.

"You don't have to rub it in, Kyoko..." Rina said, coughing up her drink. Kyoko uncrossed her legs and sat forward, regarding the rest of them.

"We should be thinking about our plan for tomorrow." She said. "Are we going to go for the win?" No one replied to her at first, avoiding her gaze.

"I think a better question is," Juno said under her breath. "Is whether or not it makes a difference if we want to win."

"Cause Fairy Tail will be in the way..." Keita said quietly. Kyoko sat back and crossed her arms.

"More than likely our best bet is to avoid Fairy Tail at any chance. If we encounter anyone of them, we risk defeat, and that is a really big risk for the final day."

"So we just run away?" Juno inquired. Kyoko shrugged.

"Essentially." She said. "We don't know if we can handle them, but the other guilds are not as big a problem."

"Can we say that with certainty?" Michael asked, speaking up. "We're talking about people Like Terra Neekis, Reyna Groh, Nami, Mami Kotobuki, and not mention whatever the hell that Bella girl is capable of."

"I think one or two wizards on another team is not as big a problem as a full team of problems." Kyoko fired back. "We can deal with people like Terra or Bella if we can, but when it's up to someone like Damien, who has a form only Michael could touch effectively, it's safe to say we should avoid them."

"Wait, what?" Michael asked. "Why can I hurt this form?" Kyoko rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation, so Juno took the lead.

"Damien is a Demon Lord takeover wizard." She replied. "Demon Lords have very few weaknesses, save Holy Magic and other Lords."

"Oh." Michael replied, then he shuddered. "Yeah, please do not leave that to me."

"So it's agreed then?" Kyoko asked, and everyone nodded. "Alright, avoid FT if you can." Juno nodded, and everyone returned to their food or drink.

"I have another idea." It was Michael who spoke up. everyone looked over at him, and he looked up at them.

"Go all out. Hold nothing back on anyone you find. If we're going to win, we need to demolish everyone we come across. Unless you can't handle it, _destroy them."_

* * *

Nashi sighed and leaned back against the bench. She was alone, and the sun was starting to set. She'd decided to take a walk around, even in her wounded condition, and it had been rather peaceful. For the most part people left her alone, which was nice given any other time during the week she'd been subjected to fanboys and people wanting her atrocious looking autograph on a piece of Fairy Tail merch.

"I swear if I get an action figure I'm gonna need to talk to the people who make that shit..." She murmured to herself. She heard someone walking up to her, but it was probably somebody random.

"Nashi?" Fuck. Nashi slowly looked over and was relieved to find Michael standing there.

"Michael?" She asked. The two stared at each other for a moment.

"You look like shit." They said together. They both started laughing, before Nashi grimaced and held her side, and Michael growled and held his stomach.

"Ow..." Nashi murmured. "Shouldn't have done that."

"Agreed..." Michael said, looking up. "This is our fault, though."

"Right back at you." Nashi replied. "Even if I still beat you." Michael snorted.

"And then fell over?" he asked. "I had to catch you!"

"So wha..." Nashi got a flashback of her face buried in his chest, and her face erupted with red.

"What's wrong with your face?" Michael asked. "Your figuratively catching fire over there."

"It's nothing!" Nashi shouted, trying to rid her mind of the feeling. Sadly, it was burned there. "Ignore it!"

"...Okay..." Nashi shook her head the get rid of the though and looked up at Michael.

"What are you doing?" She asked him.

"Looking for something to eat." he replied. "Guild hall is way to fucking loud at night, and I am not in the mood."

"Cool, cool." The two went quiet as the wind blew around them.

"Wanna come with?" Nashi looked up, startled at the request. Michael smirked. :Unless you wanna stay out of tabloids, of course." Nashi rolled her eyes and stood.

"We'll already be in them because I had my head buried in your chest." She replied, making Michael blush as well. "I think it's a bit to late to prevent that."

"Fair game, fair game"

* * *

Nashi threw her head back and laughed as Michael chuckled offhandedly.

"I'm not kidding, you know." He told her, and Nashi put her hand down on the table as she laughed.

"There's no way that true!" She replied. "How could Rina be so dumb?" Michael laughed and shrugged.

"I don't know. One minute she's saying she's got this and the next she's covered in monster shit!" The two kept on laughing, fully aware they were being a little too loud. But hell, they'd worked their asses off the day before, they were going to be as loud as they wanted.

"I..I...I can't..." Nashi managed as she tried to calm down.

"Alright hotshot, your turn." Michael said. "what's a funny job story of yours?" Nashi raised a finger to her chin and gave it some thought.

"I have a few." She replied. "But most of them aren't that funny."

"No?"

"No. As a matter of fact most of the time my like gets put in serious danger." She didn't mean to damper the mood, but it happened anyway. "Like Silverridge."

"Hm, I heard you were involved." he agreed. "The whole city got annihilated, right?"

"Yep." Nashi replied, looking down. "And I..."

It happened again.

Nashi was in the crater, the sky was red, and things were burning. She looked down at her hands and them black.

"Nashi?" As per usual, looking over she saw Drake standing their in terror and confusion.

Nashi!" Nashi blinked and she was in the restaurant again. Michael and shaking her by her shoulders, and she looked up at him. He looked concerned.

"Did I black out?" She asked weakly, feeling dizzy. Michael made a face.

"Yeah." He answered. "And the room got really hot." It had happened again. Nashi needed to stop thinking about Silverridge and Etherion all together. "Maybe you need to go rest, you look pale."

"Y-Yeah, okay..." Nashi stood and walked with Michael to the exit of the restaurant, where he payed for their food and they left. he open air made Nashi feel a whole lot better.

"You going to be fine on your own?" Michael asked.

"I'd be more comfortable with you there, but if you've got places to be I won't stop you."

"Oh..." Nashi raised an eyebrow as Michael's face flushed. "Right, you did just black out. It'd be bad idea to leave you on your own."

"Uh huh..." The two began walking back to the hotel Nashi was staying at, and silence enveloped them. Nashi made a face and raised a hand to her chest.

Her heart was racing. Did the black outs always do that and she hadn't noticed?

"Say, did a committee member talk to you guys today?" Michael's question knocked Nashi out of her trance. She nodded.

"Yep." She agreed. "He told us we're not supposed to leave out hotel tomorrow morning, that we're just starting from there. That and our guild was being moved to another one to avoid trouble."

"You guys too then?" Michael made a face. "I suppose it makes sense. N point in bringing us all to the arena just to set us loose again." Nashi nodded in agreement as they reached her hotel.

"Thanks for tonight." She said, smiling at him. "I had fun, really." Michael blushed again and wouldn't look her in the eye.

"Me too..." He agreed. "We should do it again sometime." This made Nashi go red as well.

Neither said a word.

"So...I'll see you tomorrow?" Michael asked weakly, staring at his feet.

"Yep..." Nashi agreed, looking at hers as well. "T-Tomorrow..." Nashi turned and quickly dashed up the stairs, and flung the door to the hotel open. She'd never felt so embarrassed.

"Nashi?" Nashi had half a mind to not turn around and look at him, but she did anyway. Instead of looking awkward and red, Michael had a determined look in his eye.

"Yes?"

"...I'm getting you back for yesterday tomorrow." he said. "So you'd better meet me halfway!" Nashi smirked.

"Oh really?" She asked. "Better bring your A game than pal, cause you were a walk in the park yesterday!" They both smirked as Michael started to walk away, and Nashi closed the door behind her. She leaned against it as her heart slowed down.

_Jeez, what is up with that thing?_

* * *

There was nobody near the pond, which was a good thing.

After all, the meeting could put both parties in prison for a long time.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, a man approached him. The man was wearing a dark black cloak, and walked right past him as he walked, carrying a staff with two snake figureheads on it. The man stopped walking and looked up at the sky.

"It's nice out tonight." He stated.

"Indeed." He replied. "However, a tad cold. Could use some _fire._" Silence enveloped the pair, and the man waited as the cloaked figure turned.

"So Zeus is sending you in?" He asked. The man nodded. "Good, it's about time we tested her." The man took a package out of his cloak and handed it to the man. "Speaking of which, what the hell are you even supposed to do?" The man grinned as he took the package and hid it.

"He wants me to set this fusion charge on their hotel." He replied. "The other device is to hide it and make sure no one suspects they were attacked. Silent, and no one sees it." The other man nodded.

"Excellent. Pushing her to her limits is the best way to force END out. Will it work?"

"I'm unsure. Zeus did tell me I can gauge her power even without END coming out, but it'd be best to force her hand." The cloaked figure nodded.

"Good. Work swiftly, Agent. Zeus will not tolerate failure." the man bowed.

"Understood, Master Hermes." The messenger of the Olympians turned and began to walk away, and the man began to walk away as well.

"I hope you understand what's at stake." Hermes said. "Our whole plan hinges on her power level. If she is strong enough or not, I mean."

"I know."

"Do you, _Blake? _or are you still trying to win Sabertooth the Games?" Blake gritted his teeth.

"I'm not."

"Bullshit. We're always watching, Blake. We know you've grown attached to them."

"You sent me there to grow up, no fucking wonder."

"_They are nothing but your cover, do you understand?" _Blake gulped as he felt raw magic radiate from behind him.

"Y-Yes, Master Hermes."

"Good. I'd hate to see such an aspiring young man be turned to ash my Zeus. Good luck then." The wind picked up, and the presence of the man disappeared, leaving Blake alone, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Holy fuck, that was close..." Blake felt the package carrying the fusion charge and illusion device pres hard against his chest.

"It's nothing personal, Nashi. I'm just doing what I need to too stay alive..."

**And there we go! Some fun times are ahead! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	175. The Final Day Begins

**More content! Last chapter we has some fluff, and a huge important reveal!**

**Enjoy!**

_"Hello and welcome, ladies and gentlemen, so the seventh day, the final day, of the Grand Magic Games!" _The crowd started cheering, and even Katsuchi felt the need to clap a little bit for the hype man. After all, today was going to be the best day yet. _"I am your host Ross Kennedy, here to deliver your play by play telecast of the Games!"_

"Play by play?" Azzie asked. "I wouldn't call occasionally commenting on what happens as a play by play."

"Let the poor man dream." Tetsu replied.

_"Today, the final day, our six teams will be competing in a free-for-all all throughout our lovely capital city! For every normal contestant a fighter defeats, they will earn their team one extra point! If a fighter defeats a leader, who is appointed by the team, they will earn five points!"_

"So a lot of teams could switch places." Azzie surmised, and Katsuchi nodded.

"Seems like it. Fifty points in no joke right now for some."

"You mean for Quatro Cerberus, right?" Tetsu asked, a smirk on his face.

_"But that is not all, ladies and gentlemen! I am proud to announce that, for the final day, we have a special guest with us! Please put your hands together for the beautiful Queen of Fiore, Hisui!" _Katsuchi perked up as the special guest was announced as none other than the Queen. He'd heard she had a hand in the organization of the Games, but for her to be here?

_"It's a pleasure as always, Mr. Kennedy."_ A smooth feminine voice said from the announcers box.

_"The pleasure is all mine, your highness!" _Ross replied. Looking up, Katsuchi could see the Queen sitting next to Ross. She was a beautiful women with flowing emerald colored hair, as eyes the same color. She was wearing magnificent white robes, as expected of a royal. She also seemed to be smiling as everyone cheered.

_"You're too kind, Ross"_

_"Thank you, your Highness! What do you think about the Games thus far? Has this year been exciting or what?"_

_"It sure has. I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of such well known guilds for this, especially since they're sporting the children of some of most well known competitors from years ago."_

_"Amen to that! Would You like to explain the premise to begin today, Queen Hisui?"_

_"Sure." _The Queen turned to the arena, where the lacrima vision booted up, six different screens showing six different hotels.

"What're they doing?" Tetsu wondered.

_"This year, we went with a different start to the final day."_ Hisui explained. _"Each guild has been instructed to not leave their hotel to come to the Domus Flau. Once the bell is rung, each time will be allowed to leave, setting them loose in the city from the very beginning."_

"Makes sense." Katsuchi said. "No point in bringing them here and then having them leave." The others nodded as Hisui cleared her throat.

_"So, to begin today, we'll be releasing the teams from the bottom of the scoreboard up. So, please put your hands together for the team in sixth place, Quatro Cerberus!" _The crowd cheered as one of the hotels front doors opened, revealing Reyna Groh as hammered as ever, and her five male companions as they stepped out.

_"In fifth place, Mermaid Heel!" _

The ladies also left their hotel, all looking ready to kick some ass, especially Nami.

_"In fourth place, Blue Pegasus!"_

The guild that had the least reason to be beating Quatro and Mermaid stepped out, also ready to go.

_"In third, Lamia Scale!"_

From here on out, at least to Katsuchi, the guilds were ranked appropriately_. _The team stepped out of their hotel.

_"In second place, Sabertooth!"_

One of the favorite teams stepped out to roaring applause, but Katsuchi made a face as the lacrima vision started to fizzle.

"What the hell?" he asked. Hisui pointed to the last lacrima vision screen.

_"And in first place, Fairy Tai...!"_

The six lacrima vision cut out. The crowd started shouting in confusion and disappointment, but Ross was quick on the draw.

_Gong! Gong!_

The bell telling the teams to start went off at the same.

_"You think a little malfunction will stop us?!" _He demanded, and the crowd roared a resounding no. Soon enough the lacrima vision turned on again, but all six teams had already left their hotels, as the bell they'd been instructed to follow had rung.

_"With this," _Queen Hisui said. "_The final day has begun!"_

* * *

_Gong! Gong!_

Blake smiled. The lacrima vision cut on just on time to conceal Fairy Tail's absence. All according to plan.

"Alright, let's do this!" Rina said. "Time to get the lead back from Fairy Tail!"

"Like we discussed yesterday, avoid them until we can't any longer." Juno said. "We stand a better chance that way."

"Can do." Blake replied, still smirking.

"Divide and conquer, guys." Michael said, pocketing his hands. "We need as many points as possible." The others nodded, and they all sprinted off in different directions. Blake just ran in a direction, looking for anyone to go after.

_They are nothing but your cover, do you understand?_

Blake frowned as Hermes' words came back to him.

The man was right after all.

Sabertooth was nothing but a cover.

Having been orphaned at a young age, The Olympians took Blake in out of, he didn't know, pity? When they discovered his amazing magical power, they decided he would be of some use, and sent him to Sabertooth undercover, telling him they'd contact him again when the time came. He got updates constantly, warning him against conversion against them. They kept telling him all he needed to do was listen to them, and he'd be safe.

Blake knew the odds of that being true were unlikely. He was a puppet, just like Apocalypse before him and the man he worked with after him. Once he'd expended his usefulness, he'd be excommunicated _violently._

But still...

"I owe Sabertooth this victory, at least..." He whispered. "I don't care that I'll probably get booted out for this...I want to help them win..."

Because sadly, at the end of the day, Blake had gone against the Olympians. He was friends with Michael, Keita, Juno, Rina and Kyoko. He'd warmed up to his cover, and he'd pay for it in time when Sting learned about what he'd done and kicked him out.

"Data Blast!"

Blake barely had time to cover his body in a protective lining before the explosion went off around him. He covered his eyes as dirt flew up around him, blinding him. More explosions sounded around him, but the Plasma kept him safe.

"Nice sneak attack, Ken." he called out. "If only it had actually worked, huh?" The pretty boy of Blue Pegasus was in front of Blake, watching him.

"I don't intend to win the Games." He replied. "I just want to try my best."

"Sadly," Blake replied. "Your best ends here, my friend. Plasma Burst!" Small bursts of plasma left Blake's palm, and soared towards Ken, who dodged out of the way. Blake aimed his palm at the man as he continued to dodge, but he didn't land a single blow.

"Plasma Magic." Ken said as he stood. "I've done some research, and your some tough stuff." Blake frowned.

"Huh?"

"Plasma Magic requires the user to forcibly expel ether-nano from their body and convert it into this state of matter." Ken replied. "Doing that requires years of training, it's why it became lost in the first place." Blake grinned.

"Being a natural helps the process." he replied.

That and Athena's knowledge of all things, which helped Blake learn the fast way.

"Plasma Burst!" More rounds of plasma left Blake's palm, forcing Ken to dodge even more. Blake brought his hands together, expelled magic, and felt the fourth stare of matter form in between his hands. "Plasma Blast!" The blast was much bigger this time, and it soared right for Ken without remorse. The man managed to get out of the way from the direction strike, but the plasma exploded and threw him forwards. Blake walked up to him and opened a palm at him, blasting him again.

Ken did not get up. Blake regarded his fallen opponent before sighing and turning to leave.

_"W-What a display of power! Blake Hunt takes out Ken Lates with ease! Sabertooth has earned another point, giving them 85!"_

Blake turned a corner and tightened his fists.

"If I survive this day, I'll have to apologize for being so unforgiving..."

* * *

Kyoko dodged around the sand and the plats and landed gracefully on a rooftop, watching all of Quatro Cerberus minus Reyna watching her carefully. It made sense the the team in last place would stick together, but where was their hammered leader?

"As I recall, none of you are that big of a threat." She stated, making them all look pretty pissed. "So this is basically a walk in the park for me. Anyone care to have another go?"Ryo growled and launched himself up, using the sane as a launchpad.

"Shut your mouth!" he said. "You're all alone in a one against five! Don't take us so lightly!" Kyoko smirked.

"On the contrary, I'm very much accompanied."

A dark yellow explosion. later, and Ryo was sent hurling back into his teammates, like Rina had been bowling with the and had gotten a strike.

"If you'd payed any attention you'd know my overwatch has my back." She finished, waving her hand at Rina as thanks for the showing. The boys all stood, but they seemed pretty ticked.

"Where the hell is Reyna?" Toshiro asked. "We need her!"

"I do believe," Kyoko answered. "You will see her very soon."

Kyoko's cue once again came to fruition. An orb of multicolored light appeared in the center of the five men, and it grew it size. Soon enough, a figure appeared out of it and was thrown into a building with an explosion.

Reyna Groh rolled out of it and coughed.

"Reyna?!"Akihiro asked in disbelief. Juno jumped out of the portal her Territory magic had created and caused another explosion, throwing all the members of Quatro Cerberus to the side. Kyoko raised a hand for Rina to see her signal, and she clenched her fist. She could practically heard Rina laughing.

"Juno, we're ending it." Kyoko said. Juno nodded, and her hands glowed. Kyoko made a simply motion, and a magic circle appeared above her head.

"Fire-Shadow Explosive Blast" She said, the technique she herself created surging forth. A sphere of Territory appeared around the boys and Reyna, and Kyoko winced as huge explosion of Lightning God magic surged past her ear. All three attacks struck the whole team at once, causing an explosion that rocked the entire area and nearly threw Kyoko's balance all off.

Once the explosion died away, all six members were lying in a heap, not moving.

_"Oh my God! What a development! Juno Orlando, Kyoko Lore and Rina Nanagear have taken out the entire Quatro Cerberus team! What a display of power! This officially puts them two points ahead of Fairy Tail!"_

* * *

"_This officially puts them two points ahead of Fairy Tail!"_

Michael looked up from attacking Akio to look at the scoreboard being displayed high in the air. Ross wasn't lying, they were indeed two points ahead of Fairy Tail. He smiled.

"Good job, girls." he said with a smirk as he dodged a blast of snow. "That's the kind of boost in points we need. Now, I just need to deal with this guy..." Michael rolled underneath another blasts of snow and marked Akio with the stigma of the White Dragon, which prevented him from moving. From this, he blasted him away and then roared, devastating the building Akio was leaning against. Once the smoke cleared, the boy was struggling to stand, but couldn't thanks to the stigma on his chest.

"What the hell is this mark..." he heard Akio complain. Michael smiled.

"No need to wonder, it just looks like you lost now."

_"And look at that! Michael has taken out Akio Tearm! Sabertooth is on a roll right now!" _As soon as Michael heard the point become added, he allowed the stigma to wear off, and allowed Akio to stand up.

"Why don't you just fight me like a man?" Akio asked. "Still hurting from two days ago?"

"As if the guy with the lowest MPF score gets to shit talk me." Michael shot back, looking around. "I'm conserving my strength, thank you."

"For what?" Michael sighed and closed his eyes.

_"I'm getting you back for yesterday tomorrow, so you'd better meet me halfway!"_

His words from the night before came back to him. Despite everyone else's convictions, Michael did not intend to avoid Nashi. He wanted to settle the score and beat her this time, not wander around avoiding her. Anyone else he couldn't care less about.

Michael's eyes twitched as he heard the sound of someone running up on him. He ducked just in time to avoid Jackson from giving him a decent bruise. Michael kicked at the speed wizard, but he dodged him and moved out of the way.

"You got a losing wish, Speedy?" Michael asked, and Jackson grinned.

"Good luck catching me first."

"Boys, boys! There's no need for violence!" Michael and Jackson turned to find Bella Realight standing there, watching them with a hand on her hip. "I'm enough for both of you!"

"Huh?" Michael asked in confusion. Bella turned to Jackson and flashed a brilliant smile.

"Jackson honey, I don't want to fight you." She said, and Michael saw Jackson's face go completely red at her gaze. "How about you just surrender to Blue Pegasus, and I'll give you a big kiss? Huh? Would you like that?" Jackson looked weak at the knees, and that was proven true a moment later as he collapsed.

"I..I surrender." He said weakly. "I surrender to Bella!" he shouted.

"What?!" Michael demanded. "Are you insane?!"

_W-Well, there are no rules against surrendering, so it seems Blue Pegasus gains a point!"_

"Aw, you're the best Jackie. Now, how about you go somewhere else and take a nap? You've earned it, big boy."

"O-Okay..." Michael watched in utter disbelief as Jackson sped off, looking for someplace to nap. He turned back to Bella.

"What did you do to him?" He demanded, and Bella giggled.

"Sent the poor boy off for a nap, what did it look like to you?" She asked innocently. "You're Michael Eucliffe, I presume. Mmm, I've heard _a lot about you."_

Michael froze in place as his cheeks heated up. He'd never noticed how beautiful Bella was before. Bella's hips moved hypnotically, and she giggled.

"Mm, yes. The big tough White Dragon Slayer. I bet you're a tough guy, aren't you?"

"I-I..."

"Aw, don't be embarrassed, I bet girls go after you all the time, don't they? Huh?"

"I-I mean..." Michael didn't know what to say. Was Bella into him?

"Can I ask you a personal question, Michael?"

"Hm?" Bella was blushing no, and she looked back and forth between Michael and anywhere else constantly.

"Are you...A good kisser?" Michael's eyes widened at the question. What the hell was she getting at?!

"I-I don't know." He replied, looking away as well. "Maybe."

"Can you...show me?"

...

Michael's brain was short circuiting. He was no stranger to kissing girls, but in the middle of the battlefield?

Still, he moved forward.

He walked towards Bella and her hypnotic gaze, who was still averting her eyes. He reached her. He wrapped his arms around her, which made her giggle. She cupped his face with her hands.

He could feel her breathing on his lips.

He was so close to her. He felt intoxicated.

And...

And...

* * *

Michael's head hurt. He rubbed his eyes and looked around him. All he saw was destroyed street.

"W-What happened?" He asked, shielding his eyes. "Where'd everyone go..?"

He was alone in the middle of the street, flat on his ass for who knew why.

Bella.

He jumped to his feet and looked around for the weird girl that had made Jackson surrender with nothing but words, but she was gone.

"What the hell?" he demanded on confusion. "Where'd that weirdo go?"

* * *

_Well, um, that was rather strange development." _Ross said as Michael looked around in confusion. _"Bella instructed Michael to wait, and he did...But where did she go?"_

"What was that?" Azzie asked in confusion. "She had him wrapped around her finger, Jackson too.."

"Those lucky sons of bitches!" Tetsu shouted. "I want to kiss Bella too!"

"You wait your fucking turn!" Katsuchi shouted back. A lot of men in the crowd seemed to be angry for one reason or another, but Azzie couldn't figure out why.

"What is her magic? I'm so confused..."

_"Regardless of that," _Hisui said. _"it seems Sabertooth is going on an all out offensive. They've already regained the lead, but..." _Ross jumped up to his feet.

_"Where is Fairy Tail?!"_

**Good question, Ross. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	176. Where are They?

**The final day is just so hype, I feel the need to keep posting!**

**Enjoy!**

_"Where is Fairy Tail?!" _Natsu stared up at the lacrima vision, asking himself that very same question. Where was their competing team? A whole team had already been taken out and they had yet to even show.

"Where are they?" Gray demanded. "Why the hell are they playing hide and go seek right now?"

"Maybe something happened?" Kinana asked.

"I doubt it." Erza replied. "We would have heard the explosions of a fight if anything had gone wrong before the day started." Natsu didn't comment on their absence, he had no reason too. At this point, all he could do was wonder pointlessly. If they were playing hide and seek to cause tension, they were doing a damn good job.

"Natsu?" Lucy calling his name broke him out of his trance. He turned to look at her.

"Hm?" Lucy's fists clenched as they rested on the edge of the stand.

"I have a really bad feeling about this." She murmured.

* * *

_Where is Fairy Tail?!" _Blake smirked as he heard Ross announce this.

"Who knows." He said. "Maybe at their hotel?"

* * *

_"Where is Fairy Tail?!" _Michael looked up towards the scoreboard at this question, which made him frown.

"They still haven't showed up?" He asked. "What the hell are they playing at?" Finally, he supposed that Bella wasn't going to show up to fight him, so he needed another distraction. Now that the others had boosted their score up by taking out all of Quatro Cerberus and some of Blue Pegasus, they had a comfortable lead.

So, Michael made up his mind.

He turned, adjusted to his surroundings, and decided on a direction to take, which he hoped would ultimately lead him to his destination, which was Fairy Tail's hotel. He had a pretty decent idea of where in the city it was, but he needed to get to an area he recognized first. Michael chuckled. After all the reassuring he'd given Kyoko, he as not only not listening to her and avoiding Fairy Tail, he was outright looking for them. He really didn't see what was wrong with that though. The odds of them actually still being at their hotel was unlikely.

Or maybe they'd overslept?

He knew that wasn't it, but it was a good way to distract himself while he searched for the hotel. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

Kumi gracefully dodged out of the way of the rock giant as it swung at her, once again angering her opponent as she snickered.

"Too slow, nyah!" She teased, landing crouched, preparing to jump out of the way again. "You really need to work on your speed, nyah." Kendra crossed her arms angrily.

"Well maybe if you stopped moving I'd be able to get you!" She shouted back.

"Now where would the fun in that be?" Kumi responded. The rock giant went after her again, which forced Kumi to slid underneath it, giving her an opening at Kendra. Kumi opened her hand and an orange cat paw shaped rope shot out of it. Kendra tried to dodge it, but it wrapped around her ankles and prevented her from moving. Kumi shot out another rope, and it wrapped itself around Kendra's chest this time, and she tightened it, trying to squeeze the life from the other girl.

"Let...Go..." Kendra hissed in between sharp breaths, and Kumi chuckled.

"Now, where would the fun in that be?" She demanded, watching as the girl kept struggling against her. "Save it, nyah. You're not getting free." Kumi clenched her fist, and Kendra cried out as it tightened. Kumi watched as she struggled some more before finally, it started to stop. Finally, the girl gave up and stopped trying to free herself, so Kumi let her go. Kendra didn't try to get up, so Kumi smiled.

_"And it looks like that's it for Kendra!" _Ross announced. _"Kumi's squeezed her unconscious, earning Mermaid Heel a point!" _Kumi turned and sighed, looking around.

"I suppose I should go and look for someone else now." She said to herself. "I doubt we'll be able to make a come back but, at the very least, we can get some more points..." She began to walk off, looking for her next target.

Until a multicolored explosion went off.

Kumi cried out and sailed through the air, slamming into a rooftop as she landed. She looked up to find Juno standing on the street, her outstretched hand glowing.

"Sorry, Kumi." The girls said, the color brightening around her palm. "It's nothing personal."

"That doesn't make it better...Nyah!" Kumi as blown into another wall and struggled to stand, but another explosion went off before she could. As oppose to Kendra and her marionette based magic, Juno was stronger and better at keeping Kumi at bay.

Also Kumi had exhausted a lot of magic by fighting Kendra, leaving her open for the assault.

After a few more explosions, Kumi could no longer stand. Ross announced her defeat, and she chuckled as Juno walked up to her.

"You guys really want to win badly don't you?" She asked weakly, rolling over to face Juno, who nodded.

"We do." She answered. "I do hope I didn't injure you too badly."

"Nothing a nap won't fix, nyah..." She replied. Juno nodded, and then turned to leave. "...You'd better hope Fairy Tail doesn't show up." Juno paused and looked over her shoulder at Kumi, who smirked. "Cause unless you devastate enough people to prevent their advance, you're losing..." Kumi coughed, but she new Juno got the message. The raven haired woman turned and continued to leave as Kumi remained on the ground, wondering how the rest of the Games would pan out.

"I'm only a stepping stone, the real battle hasn't even begun yet..."

* * *

Winter felt herself get blown back through several buildings, and she tried to slow herself down. Landing on the street on the opposite side of the buildings, she brought her hands together and blasted dark wind into the hole where she'd come from, hoping to land a hit on the foe throwing her around senselessly.

The buildings started to collapse, blocking the flow of the air and cutting Winter's attack off. She grimaced as the buildings were blown away, revealing her foe.

"Winter honey, you need to try a bit harder." Nami said, a bright smile on her face. "You're not doing so hot right now." Winter didn't have the heart to respond, seeing as the odds of her coming out of the battle with a victory was incredibly unlikely. "How about you just surrender before I make you look even worse?" Winter knew she had a lot of battle wounds already, but she wasn't willing to heal herself yet. If she was in this for the long haul, she'd need to wait until her absolute limit, not whenever she felt hurt.

_This woman is way out of my league...he best I can do realistically is slow her down for someone else..._

Winter inhaled deeply.

"Sky God's Bellow!" She shouted, the dark winds spouting fourth and soaring towards Nami, who reached to her back and drew her katana. The woman positioned it in front of her.

Winter watched in shock as Nami cleaved right through her attack. The winds faded, and Nami whipped her hair back over her shoulder and chuckled.

"Nice try." She said. "But sadly, not enough. Now, how about you surrender before I end this fight?"

"Why are you so determined on ending this without violence?" Winter demanded. "Just defeat me by using your full strength."

"That strength is reserved for someone else." Nami replied. "So I'd rather end this without you making me try too hard." Winter felt offended. Was Nami so unimpressed by her that she wasn't using her full power and keeping it on hold for someone more powerful? That stung a bit.

"Still, if you want this over so badly, you might as well open the well!" Winter replied, the wind whipping around Nami violently. Soon enough, a black tornado appeared around the girl, and Winter could no longer see her inside. She waited, but she wasn't holding her breath. Nami wasn't going to go out so cheaply, not in a million years.

The sunlight shining on her shadowed out a bit. Winter looked up just in time to dodge the strike from the girl from above. She rolled back and stood, only to see Nami shove her katana into the ground below her.

"If you're going to be that way, I suppose I have no choice." She said. The katana glowed, and Winter felt incredibly light.

And she shot up into the air at lightning speed. Winter wailed in surprise as she barreled upwards. Once she stopped, she was hovering at least a hundred feet above the earth.

_"Fall" _Winter gulped at this. She started to speed downwards, picking up an insane amount of speed on the way. She brought her hands together and tried to use the wind to slow her fall, but gravity out did the wind. Winter braced her impact as she got close and closer, only able to slow the fall a little bit.

_BOOM!_

* * *

Nami watched as the smoke cleared, revealing the crater Winter's impact had made as she connected with the pavement. Once more smoke billowed away, the girl was lying face down in said dirt, not moving.

_"I-I think it's over for Winter Vastia!" _Ross shouted. _Or will she heal herself and jump right back into this fight?!" _Nami, like Ross, waited for the answer to this as well. A few seconds passed, and Winter still didn't move from the dirt. _"Unfortunately, I have no choice but to declare this a win for Nami Mikazuchi, earning Mermaid Heel another point!" _Nami sighed as she slid down into the crater and walked towards Winter, shaking the girl softly.

"You okay?" She asked. After a few seconds, Winter coughed and lifted her head up a bit.

"Yeah..." She answered. "I'm guessing they declared me a loss?"

"Uh huh." Nami answered, and Winter sighed.

"I guess getting knocked out cold does that." She said, mist starting to flow around her. Nami watched as her wounds healed and closed, and the scars faded as well. "I'll be okay, you keep going." Nami nodded and jumped out of the crater, turning to leave. "Do your best, Nami."

"Thanks." Nami said, waving to Winter as she walked away. Once she got a fair distance away, she stopped and looked over at the scoreboard.

_Where the hell are you Scarlet? Why are you making this so difficult?_

* * *

Keita watched as Mami hit the dirt hard and struggled to stand.

"Is it over?" he asked, and the ginger girl growled.

"Not a chance!" She replied. "I'm still good!" Keita sighed as the girl rushed her again.

"How many times do I have to tell you, you moron?" Keita asked as the girls fist soared through him. "You can't hit a shadow." He slammed his leg into her midsection, throwing her away from him and into the dirt once more. "I mean really, it isn't that hard too..."

"Mami, Mami, Mami, what is going on here?" Keita turned, as did Mami, at the voice. Bella Realight stood behind him, watching him closely.

"Bella..." Mami said weakly. "What're you doing here?"

"Helping." Bella answered. Her gaze drifted over to Keita, and she bit her lip. "Hey there." Keita felt his face flush at her gaze, and he turned away."Aw, shy are we?"

"N-No..." Keita answered, still unable to look the girl in the eye. She was very distracting.

"Aw, don't be so awkward!" Bella said with a laugh. "Or maybe you should stay awkward..." She purred, making Keita choke. "It is _such _a turn on."

"Here we go..." Mami muttered.

"Keita, honey?" Keita didn't want to look up, but he did regardless, meeting her eyes. "Can you do something for me?"

"Anything." Keita blurted without thinking. She was so gorgeous, he couldn't help himself. Bella giggled at this, making his head spin.

"I want you to go and find someone else to fight." She answered. "Anyone at all...I don't really care who. Okay?"

"Got it. Anyone else."

"Aw, thanks honey! See you later!"

* * *

Bella watched as Keita ran off, looking for someone else to fight, leaving her and Mami alone.

"I still don't understand how you're able to do that." Mami said with a sigh. "Seems like such an effective tool."

"And you'll never get it, Mami dearest." Bella replied, smirking at the other girl on her team. "Now, shall we continue on our way?"

"I suppose. Are we going together?"

"God no, I don't want to be seen with you, you muscle bound moron." Bella quipped, teasing Mami about her strength perfume. "Go and find, like, a tree to cut down or something." Mami rolled her eyes, but walked away.

"Shut up." the girl said simply. Bella watched her friend go, before she turned and walked away herself. She stopped, and growled.

"Playing with these idiots is no fun." She hissed under her breath. "There so simple minded, all I have to do is bite my lip and purr a bit and they're surrendering, waiting, or taking off all at my behest..." She grabbed her head and wailed angrily. "I just want a challenge! And there's only one man in this competition capable of really challenging me!" She let go of her head, and looked down at her open hand.

A black magic circle appeared there.

"Where are you, Damien Dreyar?"

* * *

Michael had made it too Fairy Tail's hotel, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary there. The hotel looked fine, and no one seemed present.

"Maybe they aren't here after all." She said, rubbing the back of his head. "Then again, why would they be?" Michael turned and walked away from the hotel.

He stopped as he reached the street, and turned to look at the hotel. A sinking feeling appeared in his stomach as he watched it. It appeared completely vacated, like no life was present.

And that unsettled him a great deal.

"Ah fuck it." He said, turning and walking back up to the hotels front door. "Looking couldn't hurt much, am I right?" Michael reached for the handle to open the door, waiting to see if Fairy Tail really was present.

His hand went right through the door like it was a ghost.

Michael stared down at the door in surprise. He retracted his hand, and tried to grab the handle once more. The same thing happened.

"Okay I know I feel like it's lifeless, but I didn't mean a god damn ghost hotel." He said. He tried it again, but it didn't make a damn bit of difference. Growling, Michael turned and looked around. "Is this some kind of prank?" he demanded. "A joke? A trap?"

No one answered him.

"Hello?!" He called again. "Fuck!" He clenched his fists and looked down at his feet, trying to process why the hotel was a ghost.

Something was lying at his feet.

It was a lacrima.

Michael made a face and stared at it. He leaned down and graze the top of the lacrima with his fingers, and they illuminated like a light was shining on them.

An illusion lacrima.

That was projecting the ghost hotel.

Michael growled and blasted the illusion lacrima with holy light, causing it too shatter immediately.

"What in the fuck is going on?" He demanded.

The smell of smoke filled his lungs, and his eyes widened. He slowly turned to look back at the hotel, trying to locate the source of the smell.

A smoldering wreckage stared back at him.

**Heh, more cliffhangers. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	177. Firewood and Lavender

**So...Hey guys! It's me. There's an important matter I must address before we start today's chapter, and it's very important. So please, do not just skip this authors note. **

**If you guys read the Fairy Tail manga (Which I would hope you do if you're reading this), you guys no doubt have seen chapter 474.**

**If you guys don't read this as it's published and what happened in said chapter no longer becomes an issue, than ignore this. But as of now, for the first time, Hiro has written something in the Alvarez arc that outright contradicts something I did, at least to an extent. Not saying I blame him, this fic is a dangerous guessing game, as is any next-generation fanfiction of a unfinished work. **

**So I'm using this chance to reiterate what I've been saying for a long time now: This story's plot was finalized with pre-Alvarez in my mind. If something I've already planned out and alluded to gets a contradiction in canon, it sadly has to be ignored. I can't change that.**

**Someone is still alive? Might be too late. The parent of a certain character end up dead? Possibly too late. A certain ship that has given birth too one of my characters doesn't happen and so and so ends up with a different partner by the end? Too little too late. **

**I'll use a very blatant example for you. Say, for whatever reason, Juvia dies. Not saying it will happen, but if for some reason it does, I can't just take her out of the story and act like her daughter, one of the six main protagonists, doesn't exist anymore. It's not possible.**

**Or perhaps this less important factor from the chapter in question, Lyon saying Meredy is cute ends up with them being a couple by the end. Do I just despawn Winter? I can't, she's a semi-important side character. Do I add a son or daughter for Lyon x Meredy? I can't really, we're in too deep.**

**The point I'm trying to make is that if anything gets contradicted, please do your best to ignore it. Although it may not seem obvious, I have done my best to stick closely to canon. Picking ships and making their kids based on what I think would happen, for example. Granted some have been a stretch, like Lyon x Chelia, or another certain ship I can't reveal yet. I've made exceptions, and I now have to ask you guys to do the same for anything that no longer makes sense with a constantly changing canon.**

**This is also my reasoning for the number of kids in the story with only their mom or dad, like Juno or Mami. I don't want to just add some random shoehorned character to be their missing parent. It'd feel wrong to do so. I'd rather the missing parental half not exist whatsoever. **

**Please? If I can do it as the author, I'm certain you guys can turn a blind eye.**

**Enjoy!**

The wind caused the smoke to billow around him, but Michael payed it no mind.

What the hell had happened?

The hotel was completely gone, replaced by what he assumed to be the remains of it. He couldn't see Fairy Tail's team anywhere, either.

"What the hell happened here?" He asked himself aloud. "It's like a god damn bomb went off..." Michael stepped closer to the wreckage, and paused. What was going on? Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to not only cause this without anyone else hearing about it until he'd found out, but also to hide it. Had it been a spiteful fanboy? Another competitor?

Perhaps something more sinister?

"This is so fucked up..." he hissed, clenching his fists. "I don't even know what to think...Nashi?! Elise?! Anyone?!"

No one answered him. which only worried him more.

He was going to catch the bastard that did this, and he was going to make them pay. _Dearly._

"No...No, I can't do that right now." Michael rubbed his face and looked at the wreck again with refined purpose.

"I need to make sure everyone's okay. If they're even here, that is."

* * *

Natsu watched as Yuki and Grace started a fight with Taro and Nikki, wondering just where the hell there team was, because it was starting to worry him. They still had to make their appearance. Was it out of drama? Or were they in trouble?

"They're running out of comfort time." Mira said. "Cut it any closer and Sabertooth won't be reachable."

"Cutting it close, indeed." Gray said.

"I'll be right back." Natsu turned to see Laxus leaving their stand. "I need to go and ask something of Ross.

"What is it?" Erza asked. Laxus sopped and looked back at them.

"I'm going to have him send over a lacrima to see if they're at their hotel. Just in case." Natsu made a face.

"Why not just go and check yourself?" He asked. Laxus frowned.

"Why do you think we were moved to a different hotel last night?" The Guild Master asked. "Or why no one is in the city right now? Partially for safety, and also to prevent any last minute dirty tactics. Going out there myself might not be the best idea." Natsu understood the intent of the Games committee, but there was really no need for such precautions. Who cared enough about the Games to cheat? After all, it was just for fun.

Turning back to the lacrima vision, Natsu watched Rina and Mami started to fight, which made him even more nervous. Sabertooth has gone an all out offensive, and it had gained them a shit ton of points thus far. They were right to worry about where their kids were, seeing as they were quickly losing their chance to come back.

_"Would you look at that!" _Natsu took notice of a different fight taking over every lacrima vision screen, the two vs two between Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus. All four wizards were lying around the destroyed street, not moving. _"It would appear that this battle has ended in a draw! Both Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale have earned two points!"_

_"It was a good showing." _Hisui added. _"I hope no one got seriously injured."_

_"Agreed, your Highness! Today is slowly winding down, but...Hm? Master Laxus?" _Ross went silent for a moment, and the crowd seemed to be curious as to what he was doing off the microphone. _"Oh..Oh, yes! Most certainly!"_

_"Attention, everyone." _Hisui announced. _"We will be diverting a lacrima to Fairy Tail's hotel to see if their team is present. Their Master, Laxus Dreyar, suspects something may be wrong." _This seemed to mp the crowd up even more, as if the prospect of the team being hurt of involved in foul play excited them. The lacrima previously broadcasting the fight between Yuki, Grace, Taro and Nikki turned to it's left and soared into the air, and towards the hotel. Everyone was waiting silently, waiting to see if anything was wrong there.

"I still feel like something wrong.." Lucy murmured next to Natsu. Natsu decided to be optimistic.

"Don't be like that." He said. "I'm sure nothing is wrong..."

Of course the lacrima decided that exact moment to pick up the smoke billowing into the sky. Natsu felt a rock settle in his stomach as the lacrima got closer, making it painfully obvious what the smoke was coming from.

"Of course..." He hissed. The lacrima made it too the hotel and hovered above it, looking down upon what was left of it. "What the hell happened?"

"The hotel..." Levy said. "What the hell happened to it?"

_"What is this?!" _Ross shouted. _"It seems we may be witnessing the aftereffect of foul play everyone!"_

_"Don't be so quick to judge, Ross." _Hisui said in a much calmer tone. _"It may have been turn to pieces during a battle we did not get to see, so don't be so hasty. Bring the lacrima down closer to the hotel, please." _The the Queen's request, the lacrima started to descend. The closer it got did not quell the storm brewing in Natsu's stomach.

A figure was standing near the former entrance. Natsu clenched his fists.

"What the hell is that kid doing there?" he demanded.

* * *

_"Hm?! What is Michael Eucliffe doing there?!...No! Could it be he...?!"_

_"I would not rule it out, Ross." _Hisui agreed. _"Although they are indeed very powerful, he might have taken them hotel out, and them with it."_ Michael was standing right next to the hotel, watching the wreckage, and this made Sting watch his son.

"No way he did that..." Rufus said quietly.

"Maybe one of them..." Rogue agreed. "But surely not all of them, and the hotel." All Sting did was watch as his son watched the wreckage. Surely enough, Michael started to move.

Towards the ruins.

Everyone present in the Domus Flau watched as Michael Eucliffe began to dig around the remains of the hotel.

"What is he doing?" Minerva asked. Sting smiled.

"He's making sure they're okay, obviously."

* * *

Michael walked in between giant chunks of rocks, looking for a sign that anyone was in the debris anywhere.

"Hello?!" he called again, walking towards the center. "Are you guys here? Guys!" He still didn't get a response. "Fuck..." Looking to his left, Michael leaned down and pulled at a piece of debris, causing it to move and reveal the bare earth behind it. He could still make out the design of the floor tiles there. Throwing it back down, Michael crossed his arms and turned around, looking around the rest of it. Were they somewhere in there?

The sound of debris being pushed caught his attention.

Looking around quickly, he spotted a large chunk of rock being pushed slightly forward, before falling back to lean on another. He rushed over to it as quickly as he could, and grabbed the edges of it. He pulled, and combined with the push of whoever was behind it, the debris fell down, revealing Drake sitting behind the debris with his leg pinned down by another chunk.

"Drake!" Michael said, revealed he'd found someone. "You okay man?! What the hell happened?" The Poison Dragon pulled at his leg in vain and cursed under his breath.

"I don't..fucking know...Fuck!" The man cursed and swatted the ground with his hand. A little help, Michael?" Michael nodded and aimed an open palm at the debris pinning him, freeing Drake. "Ugh, thanks."

"No problem." Michael offered the Poison Dragon a hand up, who took it and stood unsteadily. "Do you have any idea what the hell happened?"

"Not a fucking clue." Drake replied, nursing the leg that was pinned. "One thing we're all talking and discussing strategies and next fucking thing I know something explodes and I black out."

"Jeez...Well listen, help me find the others! They must still be down here somewhere."

"Got it. I'll check over there." Michael nodded and headed in the opposite direction, looking for anymore signs of those trapped beneath what remained of the Lunar Peaks.

* * *

Natsu watched as Michael and Drake worked together to free the others, who all looked pretty banged up, but were able to stand.

_"What an amazing display!" _Ross shouted. _"Michael Eucliffe puts the Games aside to help out team Fairy Tail! What a display of good sportsmanship!"_

_"Agreed."_ Hisui said. _"However, it is down to Fairy Tail's team to decided whether or not they'll call foul play, which will cause today to be temporarily stopped and restarted another time."_

"...You think they'll call it out?"Kinana asked. No one answered her for a moment, until Natsu chuckled.

"Not a fucking chance."

* * *

It was dark and damp, not at all to Nashi's liking. What the hell was going on? One moment she was discussing the next day with her friends, next moment she feels buried alive. Her body ached and some of her bandages from two days prior seemed singed and torn, but she couldn't place why.

A ray of light shot through the rocks above Nashi's head, making her wince as sunlight came through it. Another explosion, and more rocks were torn away. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the final burst of light tore all the debris away, exposing Nashi to the outside. The sun felt good, at the very least. Until, of course, a figure blocked the light.

"Who...?" Nashi asked weakly, shielding her eyes. The figure bent down, and she was given a closer look at them.

"Need a hand?" Michael asked with a smile, his hand outstretched towards her. Nashi watched him in confusion before she smiled and took his hand. He pulled, causing her to be freed from her tomb. She tripped and nearly landed head first in his chest _again, _but she managed to regain her footing before that happened, thank God.

"Where did you come from?" She asked, having not let go of his hand yet. Michael chuckled.

"You guys didn't show." he said. "I got worried and decided to play detective. Turns out I'm a damn good one."

"Didn't show?" Michael jabbed a thumb out to the sky, where a giant scoreboard was being displayed across the city.

"The final days started." Michael said. "And you guys have been a no show for most of it." Nashi's eyes widened in surprise. Who'd caused this? Because whoever'd done it clearly acted out of spite. With Michael's help, albeit sh refused it at first, Nashi limped over to the others, who were all sitting on a large chunk of their hotel and getting their bearings.

"Are you all alright?" She asked worriedly, and Drake gave her a thumbs up despite using the other hand to massage one leg.

"Just fine." he replied.

"So, Michael." it was Simon who spoke, who was sporting a pretty bad looking set of bruises and marks on his good sword arm. "Do you know what happened?" Michael made a face and turned away, staring up at the sky.

"Not a clue." He replied. "I was wondering why you guys hadn't cemented your win yet, so I did some digging, which ended up being figuratively and literally." Nashi slowly sat down, giving her aching body a moment to rest.

"The fucker who did this..." Damien said. "Do you know who they are?"

"..No" The seven of them were silent before Michael sighed, and turned to the lacrima surveying them from above. "Fuck, this is stupid. It's not fair. If I was you guys I'd call foul play and suspend the day from the records. There's no way you guys can fight in this condition, especially Nashi or Elise. Not to mention my guild is doing work right now."

No one spoke up to stop him, so Michael sighed.

"So I guess the days over huh? Damn, I was hoping..."

Nashi slammed a fist down into the pavement, shattering it and creating a hole. Michael looked down at her in surprise.

"Like hell it's over." She said loudly. "If we can stand and walk, we aren't calling foul play."

"Huh?" Michael asked in surprise. Elise chuckled darkly and staggered to her feet.

"All we gotta do is take down some fodder." She said. "You think we can't manage that? Get the fuck outta here." The others all staggered to their feet as well, some less easily then others.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Michael said. "You guys got attacked! Some of you can barely stand for fuck sake! Don't be idiots! Take a day or two, regather yourselves, and you can try again later!"

"Not a chance." Ultear answered, wincing as she stood up straight. "We'll be fine, we've survived worst." Michael gritted his teeth.

"You people are insane..." he hissed. Nashi limped up to Michael and got right in his face, making him back up a bit.

"If we can still stand and tell the opposition we'll fight, then we fucking fight." She declared, keeping her gaze firmly on Michael's. "That's the why it's been forever, and that's the way it stays. You want to get in our way, you'll see just how much power we still got. So, you trying to get in the way?"

* * *

Michael held Nashi's fiery gaze for a little longer than he was comfortable for, as he felt she was burning a hole in his very soul.

_These guys..._

Michael looked past Nashi, and none of the other five looked any less determined. And they were all waiting for him to say if he planned to be a problem.

_Even after they got cheapened out of fair fights, even not at full power..._

He didn't understand. Anyone else he knew would've fallen and given up. They would have rolled over and cried foul play, and gotten the Games to stop and restarted the final day at another time.

Yet here they were, waiting to see if they had to put him down.

Michael returned his gaze to Nashi, who had not stopped glaring into his very being.

The fire that burned in her eyes...

He'd already experienced it.

_"I've survived tougher"_

_"Oh yeah?"_

_"You couldn't even imagine."_

It was the same fire as then. The fire of the girl who'd survived 'worse. The fire of someone who'd gone through those very same experiences with the same philosophy.

_Of course...It's not the fire of a fucking quitter._

Michael chuckled and closed his eyes.

"I should've known." he said. "Your fire burns quite intensely, Nashi. It's hard to look at directly."

"S-Shut up." Michael wasn't sure where her defiant tone had gone, but it didn't matter.

"If you don't want to call it, then don't. But don't come crying to me if you end up near death."

"We'll write you a fucking postcard" Elise said sarcastically. Michael nodded, and then turned to look up at the lacrima. He held his arms out wide.

"Listen up Ross! I'm surrendering to Fairy Tail! You hear me?!"

"What the hell are you doing Michael?!" Nashi demanded, but Ross cleared his throat.

_"W-Well, it seems Michael Eucliffe will surrender to Fairy Tail! This gives them 94 points!"_

"What do you think you're doing?!" Nashi shouted. She sounded angry. However, it was Michael's turn to act calm and collected.

"Sorry, but I'd rather not win our fight win you're in such sad shape." he turned to look at her and winked. "Ain't that right, Nashi?" The girl's cheeks went the color of her hair, but she sighed and nodded.

"Alright, that makes sense." Michael turned to the others.

"From what I know, the biggest threat remaining is the rest of my team. A few others as well. Terra, Nami, Bella, the like. You guys sure you can handle this?" Damien nodded and crossed his arms.

"We'll be fine." He then turned to the others. "We splitting up?" Drake nodded and rolled up the sleeves of his coat.

"It'd make the most sense." He agreed. "We'd cover more ground and therefor get more points." Elise cackled and punched her open palm.

"Let's get this started." She said. The team started to walk off, and Michael smiled as they went.

_They have a certain kind of strength...The kind that let's you get up after the world has already told you to stay down...I'm almost jealous._

Michael was broken out of his trance as Nashi approached him once more.

"Nashi?" He asked. The pinkette grabbed him by the collar of his coat, and got right in his face.

"Don't think you're off the hook with me." She hissed under her breath. Michael's senses were being overloaded by her scent, which was an odd combination of burning firewood and...lavender? "We aren't done yet." Michael laughed even as he tried to organize his jumbled thoughts.

"I'll kick your ass on fair terms." He told her. "Hit me up after the Games, Nashi. We'll talk then." Nashi smiled devilishly and let him go, which gave him a sensible amount of space to collect himself. He dusted himself off as she walked away. "And hey, maybe we stay friends too." Nashi stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, a smile that made his mind freeze, which was weird given her magic.

"I'd like that."

The two watched each other quietly.

"...G-Get going." Michael said, looking away from her. Nashi jumped and looked away, the tips of her ears red.

"R-right." She said, speeding away to look for an opponent. Michael watched her go before he turned his gaze to the sky.

_Nashi Dragneel...Is a different kind of girl._

**_Now the real last day can begin! And please, if you guys skipped the author note, please go back and read it, it's important. Also, if you'd like to discuss the problem in question, feel free to PM me and we can talk. I'm always free! And as always, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!_**


	178. Fairies and Tigers

**Surprisingly**** enough, here I am! Obviously you guys don't know what I mean, but I didn't think I'd be able to post this today. Huge snowstorm blew in yesterday, and the power went out. Didn't think it'd actually come back by now cause the storm was really bad, but thankfully it did!**

**Enjoy!**

Keita's head was killing him. He stumbled through the street, clutching his temples.

"What the hell..." He hissed, leaning against a wall near him. "I can barely think straight..." The pain started to fade, at least a little, and Keita looked around. He appeared to be alone, and that was probably for the best. His headache was making it impossible to focus.

_"It seems Fairy Tail is on the move! After being attacked during the night and injured badly, they've decided to fight! What a display!" _Keita raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze upward, where the lacrima vision displayed a wounded team Fairy Tail all running in different directions.

"Attacked?" Keita asked weakly, his head throbbing. "What does that mean?"

"It means someone went after them." Keita sighed and turned in the direction of the voice, where Nami was walking in his direction, looking up at the lacrima vision as well. "Which sucks, I was looking forward to fighting Simon."

"Hm." Keita hummed, looking up at them as well. "I suppose. Maybe he'll still put up a decent fight."

"Eh, maybe." The two went quiet, before Nami looked over at him. "So, you holding up?"

"Yeah." Keita replied. "Although that girl from Blue Pegasus, Bella...something weird happened with her."

"Like what?"

"One minute we're going to fight, next I'm on a mission to find someone else to fight. I don't even know why." Nami made a face and then smiled coyly.

"Did she tell you too?" She asked.

"I don't know...Wait, why?" Keita glared at Nami, and the woman giggled innocently.

"Nothing sweetie, nothing."

"Don't call me sweetie." Keita hissed, and Nami waved him off.

"Yeah yeah, act tough all you want. So, you wanna have a go or not?"

"Against you?" Keita asked for clarification. "Yeah, no thanks. I'd rather stay in the fight."

"Alright, whatever." Nami walked towards Keita, and he tensed out of instinct. She reached him and placed a hand on his chest.

"Just be careful, sweetie. Don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"I can handle myself." Keita replied defensively. Nami rolled her eyes and lightly slapped him on the cheek.

"Yeah I know. But if anyone gets to beat the shit out of you, it's me and me alone. Right?"

"...Right..."

"There's a good boy." Nami slapped him lightly again, and walked away, waving to him over her shoulder. "I'll see you later Keita. I have other things to attend to."

"See you." Keita replied, relieved the girl was leaving. He turned and began to walk away, wonder what was going to happen now that Fairy Tail had gotten back in the fight.

"Hey!" It was Nami. Keita stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, and she was watching him. "Remember we're having dinner after the Games, okay? Don't forget this time!"

"I won't!" Keita replied. "Michael was to blame last time!" Nami rolled her eyes and made a blabbing motion with her hand.

"Just be there!" She shouted, and Keita started to ignore her. "Hey! Listen to me!" Keita growled and turned around.

"Okay! I'll be there, and on time too!" The two watched each other before Nami snickered and started laughing.

"Don't get so pissy!" She shouted. "God, you're so hard to get through too!" Keita sighed and turned around.

"Shut up, Nami!" He said, ignoring her as her laughter got louder.

_I swear to God, that girl will be the death of me..._

* * *

Rina watched as her blast of lightning threw Mami backwards, and right through a flower shop. The girl struggled to stand, so Rina clasped her hands together and aimed them at Mami.

"40mm Black Lightning Cannon!" She shouted, again striking Mami. The girl rolled through the debris and didn't raise her head anymore, making Rina smiled and wipe the sweat from her forehead.

"You put up a good fight." She said, walking towards Mami. "Now please, don't get up. It'll make things unnecessarily complicated." Mami didn't respond, and Ross cleared his throat.

_"It seems Rina Nanagear has defeated the leader of Blue Pegasus, Mami Kotobuki! She's earned Sabertooth another five points!" _Rina smiled and stretched. Taking out so many people had an amazing advantage, truthfully. Even Fairy Tail was in danger of not catching them the way things were now. Which was good, because the less chance they had the better. Rina didn't have anything against Fairy Tail, in fact they were pretty cool. She just didn't want to lose to them.

"Now, where the hell are they anyway?" Rina asked herself. "I hope Dreyar keeps his promise and gives me all he's got, because I really want to take him down." Lightning crackled around Rina at the thought alone. "Oh yeah, that'll be fun." Walking through the destroyed streets, it gave Rina some time to think. If Fairy Tail was really just hiding, why? And if so, where?

"Ugh, I just hope no one else comes at me..." Rina said. "I need to conserve my strength for Damien, or else I'll end up getting trashed."

Someone was approaching her from behind. Rina didn't move at first, accessing the situation as best she could, before she started to laugh.

"So you came to me, huh?" She asked, flexing her hands. "I guess I should thank you, Damien. After all, I would've had to search for you myself. So, shall we...?!" Rina whirled on her next opponent, wholly expecting Damien to be standing there.

Drake stopped where he was and watched her carefully, heavily leaning on his right leg. Rina stared at him in surprise.

"W...What are you doing?" Rina asked. "I don't want to fight you, Drake! Where the hell is Damien?!" Drake sighed and moved a little closer.

"You know, he was going to head your request." Drake told her, stopped and standing up straight. "He was going to seek you out and not hold back." The Poison Dragon laughed and looked up at her. "But then, a thought occurred to me, and I told him I'd take care of you."

"What...?!" A smirk crossed Drake's face as he pocketed his hands.

"I asked myself, why should I let the girl who lost at both things Damien could've done easily?" Rina felt a rock settle in her stomach. "You didn't come first in Hidden, and you lost to Nami. Both of these things Damien could've done _easily_. So why, exactly, should I let our strongest member waste his time and energy with someone who would lose in the first thirty seconds? With people like Nami and Terra out there, he's got bigger fish to fry." Rina gritted her teeth together and clenched her fists.

"Are you trying to tell me I'm not worth his time?"

"Essentially, yeah. Nothing personal Rina, it's just a matter of fact, you know?" Rina laughed, black lightning crackling around her.

"And you're telling me that instead of sending me the Demon, they send me the puny Dragon Slayer?! I hate to remind you Drake, but you have _nothing _on me! My magic is stronger, and so am I!"

"That a fact?"

"You're damn right it is!" Rina brought her hands together and shot lighting out at Drake, who remained still. As the lightning got closer, he simply side stepped it and it blasted apart the building behind him.

"And yet, Hidden taught you nothing." He said, his facial expression remaining still. "I can hear your moves, Rina. Not to mention it's so easy to let your anger control you." Rina laughed darkly as the lightning continued to crackle.

"Well, then i guess it's a good thing you're already hurt." She blasted more lightning bolts at him, and he dodged the first three, the fourth surging towards him.

And it hit him dead center in the chest, throwing him backwards. Rina laughed as he hit the dirt.

"I can tell your right leg is killing you, Drake!" She shouted as the Dragon Slayer struggled to stand. "I guess I'll just orientate my lightning to your left!" Drake growled as he got out off of the ground.

"You want to play cheap?" he asked, poison flowing out of his figure. "Then let's go. Even with this bad leg, I'll beat the shit out of you!" Rina laughed as Drake ran towards her.

"Once I'm done with you," She said, breaking into a sprint towards him as well. "I'll go after Damien!" Their fists connected, sending out an explosion of poison and lightning.

The Poison Dragon and the Lightning Goddess were butting heads.

* * *

"Lightning-White Blast!" Kyoko's attack sent Megan and Kim flying, and they landed in a heap. She brought her hands up to her temples, preparing another volley of attacks. Both girls only barely got to their feet before Kyoko sent another round of White and Lightning magic at them, which sent them flying again.

"This is bad." Kim said, struggling to stand. "We can't even get close to her."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Megan asked weakly. "I mean really, she's just one person."

"And the two of you are just two people." Kyoko replied, another magic circle appearing behind her, charging up a blast of White and Shadows. "The amount of people makes no difference. The magic is what counts." The blast went off, engulfing the girls in the powers Kyoko had memorized.

Once the power had faded, neither girl was moving. Kyoko watched them, but nothing happened.

_"Welp, Megan and Kimberley have both fallen to Kyoko Lore! Another two points for Sabertooth!"_

_"At this rate, Sabertooth won't be able to lose."_

"Well, that was the idea with a full on offensive attack om the others." Kyoko said to herself. "Take everyone out." She was about to turn and walk away when An explosion sounded next to her, whipping her hair around viciously. She looked over to find Juno standing there, watching another pair of girls from Mermaid Heel, Mai and Rachel. Both girls, like the others, weren't getting up.

"Oh, hey Kyoko." Juno said, walking over to Kyoko as the points were added t their score.

"Hey." She greeted. "You did a great job right there."

"Yeah, you too." The girls high fived, and Juno wiped sweat from her brow. "They put up a a better fight than I had anticipated, though." Kyoko realized at that moment that she was pretty tired. Taking out all of Quatro Cerberus, Megan and Kim had done a number on her. Although, she was still ready to take anyone else on.

"You seen Fairy Tail yet?" Kyoko asked, wiping her own forehead with her hand.

"Nope," Juno said. "Haven't laid eyes on them yet." Kyoko frowned.

"I wonder what..."

An explosion of light went off, throwing both girls away from each other. Kyoko got up just in time to dodge a blast of ice coming from the same direction. Making it a fair distance away, Kyoko looked up towards the blast site to see what had happened.

Simon and Ultear were standing in between her and Juno, with Ultear facing her and Simon facing Juno.

"You guys wouldn't happen to know anything about why we were attacked outside of today, would you?" Simon asked, making Kyoko frown in confusion. Attacked? What were they talking about?

"Not a clue what you mean." Juno replied, her hands glowing with Territory. But it's exciting you guys managed to show, I was starting to get bored." Kyoko, raised two fingers to her forehead, and the four squared off.

"Ultear." it was Simon who spoke, and the girl looked over her shoulder at him. "can you handle Kyoko?" Ultear grinned.

"You just make sure Juno doesn't gang up with Kyoko on me." The girl replied. Simon chuckled, and surged towards Juno, who raised her hands to defend herself. Simon grappled with her and, with the glow of Territory, both of them disappeared.

"It would appear Juno has taken Simon elsewhere." Kyoko observed, looking back at Ultear. Now that she was being given a chance to look at her, Kyoko could tell the girl was, as a matter of fact, very wounded. Her clothes were torn, she had cuts and bruises, but she still stood against her. "I hope you fair as more of a challenge then the rest of the fighters that have gone up against me." Ultear grinned as water whipped around her.

"I guess we'll have to find out, Kyoko."

* * *

Blake looked up at the lacrima vision as Drake went against Rina, Simon against Juno, and Ultear against Kyoko.

It would appear the battle between Fairies and Tigers has begun." He observed, his feet swinging off the edge he was sitting on. "Although none of those people are a concern to me." He raised his left hand to his temple. "Zeus?"

_"Report, Agent." _The Master of the Olympians replied. _"What is it?"_

"Requesting visual on target END." He didn't get a reply for a moment, and finally the Master replied.

_"Visual acquired. END is moving about a mile south of your current position."_

"Acknowledged. Moving in." Blake jumped off of the ledge he was sitting on and looked to the south of him. He walked for a moment until he paused, and raised two fingers to his temple once more. "Master?"

_"Yes?"_

"...What am I too do if I cannot draw END out?" He asked quietly. "If she suppresses the power and fights through the pain, how am I too tell if she is at the necessary power levels?" Zeus did not reply to him at first, but eventually someone spoke up.

_"Problem has been acknowledged, Agent." _It was Athena who spoke to him now. _"I am currently running diagnostics on her power levels as showcased during her fight against the New Twin Dragons."_

"..Okay, so what do I do?" Blake asked again, pocketing his other hand. Athena sighed.

_"I told you, I am running a diagnostic. I don't know yet. At best please keep her at bay until I have the information available."_

"...Okay. Just tell me as soon as you know."

_"Understood, Agent. You may proceed. Best of luck." _The connection was severed, and Blake slowly lowered the hand that had been at his temple. Sighing, he continued on his path towards Nashi.

"You know," he said to himself. "I wonder what the power of END feels like...and if I'll live through it to acknowledge just how powerful it is."

Amidst the battlefield for first place in the Grand Magic Games, Blake moved to be the second man to fight against Etherious Nashi Dragneel.

But would he?

**Yep, another cliffhanger. But hey, this arc is nearing it's completion, so, there's that right? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	179. Her Power Projection

**Well hello there! Yeah I'm back. I've got too much free time, okay? It isn't my fault, Plus we're getting into the beef of this arc, so...**

**Enjoy!**

Walking around the city made Keita realize they'd done a pretty firm sweep on the city. Practically no one remained save them, Fairy Tail, and a few other people here and there. At this rate, he wouldn't have anything to do.

"I wonder if we'll be able to maintain this lead..." Keita's ears twitched, and he instinctively turned into a shadow.

The iron club that had attacked him soared right through his chest. Following the direction of the attack, Keita found the source, Elise, standing a little ways away from him. She looked absolutely terrible, with fresh cuts and bruises all over her, not to mention the bandages already hanging off of wounds that had reopened from whatever had happened.

"Hey." he greeted. Elise growled.

"Don't hey me." She said. "We're fighting, one on one. Right now!"

"Oh yeah?" Keita turned to face her completely, pocketing his hands. "Even when you're in such a pitiful state?"

"I can still kick your ass!"

"I'm sure." Keita sighed and rubbed the side of his head. "Truth be told Elise, I'm not interested in fighting you." Elise made a face at this and loosened up visibly.

"What?" Keita knew what he meant, so he looked up at her again.

"I heard what happened." he said. "Someone attacked you guys during the night, right?" Elise nodded, so Keita turned to walk away. "I don't want to hurt you anymore then you already are. So go find someone else to hit."

"I already found someone, though!" Elise shouted, but Keita kept walking. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Keita kept walking, but a smaller hand grabbed his. He turned back and looked at Elise, who looked pretty defiant as she gripped his hand.

"Yes?" he asked. Elise watched him closely before the grip on his hand tightened.

And he was flipped high over her head and into the ground.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Elise told him as he groaned in pain. "I want to fight you!"

"Why?" Keita hissed. "You already did, and you beat me. I don't understand why we have to go at it again..."

"Because back then I had Nashi's help, it wasn't just you and me." She said, making a face as she bent down and got in his face. "I want a one on one."

"And I don't." Keita replied earnestly. "I'm not going to fight you, Elise."

"Ugh, how does anyone put up with you?!" Elise shouted, grabbing her head and flinging it around as Keita got to his feet and rolled his eyes.

"I could ask you the same thing, princess..."

"What?"

"Nothing." The two watched each other closely before Elise crossed her arms.

"What will it take?" She demanded. "For you to fight with me?" Keita inhaled deeply. This was getting stupid.

"I told you, I'm not going to." He said. "Perhaps if you were not so hurt, and the risks were someone winning something as huge as the Grand Magic Games I'd do as you wish, but I will not. Okay?" Elise uncrossed her arms and her cheeks puffed up in irritation. If she herself was not such a bother, Keita would've found it cute.

"I don't understand you." Elise said flatly. "Where your friends are loud and competitive, you're quiet. Where they get personal, you stay distant. How do you fit in with those people?" Keita shrugged.

"I grew up with them." He answered. "I don't remember a single day going by where I didn't see every single one of them. No matter if they were sick, on vacation, or whatever. They're my family, that's all their is too it."

"Hm, I guess." Elise agreed, turning her gaze to the sky. "Same here. Except I guess I fit in a lot more with my family."

"Your parents loud, annoying and abrasive too?" Keita asked without thinking. Elise swung at him, but it phased through him. "Sorry, slip of the tongue."

"Sure it was, asshole." Elise spat back, taking an offensive stance. "Now let's go. I'm tired of the small talk." Keita face palmed.

"I'm not going to."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are too!"

"Are we actually doing this right now?" Keita asked, breaking the cycle with a serious question. Elise raised an eyebrow before she chuckled offhandedly.

"Yeah, I guess." Her chuckle died along with her small smile. "Now, come at me seriously."

"No." Elise growled and swung at him once more, but it didn't have an effect. She swung again and again and again, but Keita remained still as the attacks went right through him. She turned her left arm into a sword and her right into a club, and continued her pointless assault. Keita backed up a bit as she jumped to deliver an attack from above, and stood straight once more.

"Come ooooonnn!" Elise whined, standing up as well. "You're no fun at all!"

"I see no fun in defeating an already wounded warrior. I'm not going to fight you. Perhaps I should just surrender to you, hm?" That struck a nerve, Keita could tell. Although he was unsure why.

"Don't you dare!" Elise shouted. "Michael already did and with you gone, I'll have nobody I really want to fight left!" Keita growled.

"Why do you want to fight me so much?!" He asked. "You already did, and destroyed me quite handily too!" Elise looked away.

"No reason." She said, voice growing soft. "I just want too." Keita made a face as Elise's cheeks went pink.

Wait...

What was she getting at?

She was blushing...

"W-Wait a minute..." Keita said. "Do you...?" Keita didn't get to finish his sentence before an iron club nearly clocked him right in the face, but he managed to bend his back at an odd enough angle to avoid it. He stood back up and glowered at the girl watching him irritably.

"Damn, I thought for sure the blush and look away would've worked." She said, cursing under her breath. Keita took a deep breath to prevent losing his temper.

"You're a real problem, you know that?" Keita demanded, Elise watching him innocently. "I've never..._Never _met a girl who grated on my nerves more than you."

"Aw, muffin!" Elise said sarcastically, hands on her hips as she smirked at him. "You want me to kiss it better?"

"You're as bad as Nami, jeez..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing." The two watched each other closely. The longer they held each others gaze, the more pissed off Elise looked.

"What will it take?" She asked again, making Keita raise an eyebrow. "What do I have to do to make you fight me? Huh?" Keita pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly counted to ten under his breath. This was insane.

"Look..." He said looking back up. "I don't want to..!"

It felt like a knife went through his forehead.

Keita doubled over and grabbed his head in pain as his previously gone headache reappeared with a vengeance.

"What's the matter?" Elise asked. Keita looked back up.

That was indeed his problem.

The darkness he sensed in Elise was causing his head to hurt. He'd been so close to her for so long he'd forgotten about it until it got bad. He could practically see the black aura around the girl.

He had to know.

"Alright, Elise." Keita said. "I'll fight you..."

"Yes!"

"...On one condition, and when that condition is met I will determine, got it?"

"Fine."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The anger that flared in Elise's eyes could only be described as, at least from what Keita's father had told him, Hell's fury.

"Pick your next words carefully, Cheney." the girl threatened. "They may be your last." Keita sighed.

"I didn't mean anything like that." he said. "I want to know why whenever I'm near you all I feel is darkness."

"Darkness?"

"You know, negative emotion. Anger, depression, fear, all of this radiates off of you like heat off a fire wizard. So tell me, Elise, why do you radiate such darkness?"

* * *

Even though they had been attacked during the night, Damien didn't feel like he was in that bad of a condition. Sure he ached and had a few marks to show for the attack, as well as his clothes being completely destroyed, but he'd survive.

"I'm more interested in finding the bastard that did it to us more than anything..." he muttered under his breath. "Then I'll make them pay."

"I'm sure you will Damien." Xisplate said from his side. "But right now I do believe you have to start catching up to Sabertooth."

"What do it look like I'm going to do?" Damien shot back.

"It looks like you're wandering around aimlessly."

"All I really can do now that Sabertooth already took out so many competitors." The two exchanged looks before Damien looked away. `Besides, winning doesn't mean that much to me.

"Whatever you say." Xisplate replied. "Just don't get yourself into a situation that requires myself or Vantros." Damien had almost completely forgotten about the other Demon Lord, who rarely showed himself to talk.

"Speaking of Vantros, how come he never shows up to talk to me?"

"Because I usually only show up to taunt you." Xisplate replied, smirking. "Vantros has no such interest."

"I do however have an interest in fucking with you." Another voice said. Both Damien and Xisplate turned the other way to find the Demon of Ice standing there, smirking.

"Of course you do." Xisplate said. "That's the worst part of this whole setup."

"While I do love our arrangement." Vantros said. "Need I remind you the only reason we're stuck like this is because Damien is too weak to control your takeover?" Damien knew it wasn't meant as an insult, but it still took a jab at his pride to hear. "Or Taisho would still be alive."

'I'd rather put up with you for Damien's lifespan that allow that monster to walk the earth any longer, honestly." Xisplate said. "So nice try." Damien tuned the Demon Lords out as they discussed whatever it was they were discussing, and he continued on his merry way without incident. The lack of competitors he was finding was starting to worry him. Casting his gaze up to the scoreboard being broadcast all over the city, he could see Sabertooth had 106 points. They'd taken out all of Quatro Cerberus, all of Mermaid Heel except for Nami (obviously), Mami, who was the leader of Blue Pegasus' team given the scores, Akio and Ken.

_Wait, if I do the math right quick..._

"Damien." It was Xisplate who gained his attention. "We aren't alone." Damien looked around, and finally laid his eyes on who the demon was referring to.

She had golden blonde hair, the face of an angel, and a body any woman would kill for.

Bella Realight was watching Damien with a cute smile on her face.

"Hiya, Damien!" She said, smiling. "Looks like I finally found you!"

"You were looking?" Damien asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why?" She laughed again.

"Cause I wanted to see you silly!" Part of Damien felt happy she wanted that, but it also raised a few red flags in his mind as to _why _he felt so happy.

"No you don't." he replied, tensing. "You want to fight me, don't you?" Bella giggled again and waved him off.

"No! Not at all! Well maybe a little bit actually."

"Though so." Damien said, taking an offensive stance. This just caused Bella to laugh again.

"Don't be like that! This doesn't have to get violent!" Damien made a face.

"How so?" Bella smirked and placed a hand on her hip.

"Because you want to come over here and give me a big kiss, don't you?"

* * *

"What is this girls game?" Vantros asked, but Xisplate payed him no mind. He was more focused on watching the situation before him. Damien seemed conflicted by the order to kiss Bella, and incoherently mumbled under his breath. Bella raised an arm and beckoned him forth with a seductive smile.

"Come on, big boy! Come give me a big kiss." She tilted her head to the side. "Pretty please?"

"...I-I guess..." Damien shook his head and looked away from her. "What are you trying to pull?"

"Nothing!" Xisplate clicked his teeth as Damien had an internal struggle.

"We should've seen it sooner." He hissed, Vantros looking over at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Look at the facts." Xisplate hissed, pointing at Bella. "The insanely good looks, the constant seduction of the men around her..." it took a Vantros a moment, but when he figured out what Xisplate was talking about, his eyes widened.

"No.." He said. "It couldn't be!"

"It is." Xisplate replied. "She chose her." he whirled around and narrowed his eyes. "Didn't you, _Meridia?"_

The Demon Lord Meridia smiled and tilted her head to the side as Xisplate accused her.

"Whatever do you mean?" Meridia asked innocently. "I'm not causing any trouble!" Vantros growled.

"So that's it. Bella's magic is takeover, and her takeover is the Demon Lord from the 3rd Circle of Judgment. Meridia the Succubus."

* * *

Zeus watched the six lacrima vision screens he had set up carefully. Despite what the Grand Magic Games committee liked to think, it was easy to hijack the signals of the Games and broadcast it anywhere.

Although maybe Hephaestus was just that good.

Although one thing was different. Five of those screens were official, and another was not. This sixth screen was following his true target, and the only reason he had an interest in the Games at all.

Nashi Dragneel limped along. She would encounter Blake soon enough, and he would push her to her limit to test her power level. At least that was the hope. Athena was running theoretical tests, and she wasn't hopeful they'd be able to draw the power out.

"Zeus?" Speaking of the Goddess of Strategy, Athena had entered the room. "I've finished the tests."

"And?" Athena sighed and a few dozen magic screens popped up in front of her face.

"From the multiple different scenarios and chances Blake has, I've determined that he has a thirteen percent chance of drawing out Etherious Nashi Dragneel."

"Only thirteen?"

"Sadly, yes." Zeus returned his gaze to the lacrima vision before speaking again.

"How do you get this result?" He asked.

"Well, think about it." Athena replied. "Nashi Dragneel, despite only being half Etherious, is still Etherious. The best case we have of Etherious beings is Tartarus. When they wanted to enter their Etherious forms..."

"They had to do it themselves." Zeus said, and Athena nodded. "Interesting. Where does the thirteen percent come from?"

"After I ran diagnostics on Nashi from her battle against the New Twin Dragons, I came across an instance in which her magic power was slightly replenished." Athena swiped one of the screens, and it flew over to Zeus. It was showing the battle in question, and Nashi was struggling to stand. After a moment, the diagnostics started to spike. Her magic grew, her body heat grew, and the screen showed Elise backing up from the girl as it happened.

"What does it mean?" He asked.

"I have a theory. I think that, if Nashi Dragneel is pushed to her absolute limit, the Etherious may awaken once more. If it replenished her energy so she could hold Dragon-God mode for just that little bit longer, imagine what pushing her to deaths door would do."

"Interesting." Zeus said, re-watching the footage of the boost Nashi gained. "Interesting indeed. Although it is still a slim chance.

"Very slim, yes. Although doable."

"Good work Athena. I want you to continue working on a projection for her non-Etherious power level after the awakening months ago. If this thirteen percent turns out to not be enough, we still need to know how powerful she has become."

"Understood. I shall return when it's done." Athena turned and left the room, and Zeus raised a hand to his temple.

"Agent." He said.

_"Yes Master?" _Blake asked.

"Athena's projections show you have a chance of drawing END out if you bring her to her absolute limit. Do not hold back whatsoever, and we will see what happens."

_"And my previous question? If we cannot draw her out?"_

"Being worked on. Continue as scheduled Agent. You have work to do."

_"Right." _The connection was severed, and Zeus returned his gaze to the lacrima vision.

"Even if she isn't at her projected power levels, there are always others ways."

Zeus leaned back in his seat as the Games progressed.

"Always other ways."

**You guys have no idea how much trouble I had writing this chapter. My power kept cutting out while I was typing, so I had to save every thirty seconds or it'd all be gone :P**

**Also, I'd like to ask you guys something. Although we are still a ways away from chapter 200, what do you guys want to see to celebrate? I can't do an awesome one shot like I did for chapter 100 because I'm pretty sure we'll be n the middle of an arc. So if you guys have any cool ideas, make sure to share them with me!**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	180. Who's To Blame

**I've got too much free time...**

**Enjoy!**

Drake sidestepped a blast of lightning and prepped himself as another one flew towards him. He jumped into the air away from it, high above his opponent as well. Rina was on him before he even started descending, and launched more lightning at him. He was forced to twist his body in mid air to avoid them, and the motions caused his body to protest. He was in pain from the attack and he knew it, but he couldn't lose to Rina.

"You know," Rina said with a grin. "For someone who talks so much shit, you sure don't dish out the punishment as well as you like to think!" Drake landed and felt his right leg throb. It was absolutely killing him, but he had to keep moving or else he'd get pulverized by black lightning.

"And for someone who thinks so highly of herself, your aim is that of a three year old throwing his food." Drake countered, gathering poison in his hands and shooting scaled projectiles at Rina, who blasted them too pieces with lightning.

"I don't know why you're so hurt already, but it isn't going to stop me." Rina said with a smirk. "I'm still going to take you out, and then find Damien!"

"Like hell you are." Drake replied. "You haven't even hit me since the battle really started, how do you honestly think you'd fair against Damien? I told you already, he'd thrash you."

"Shut up!" Drake winced as the magical pressure from the girl increased. The angrier she got, the more she attacked. Drake had to watch himself. "You're nothing but a Dragon Slayer! And a disgraceful one at that! You think I'm nothing? What kind of pathetic element is poison?" Drake clenched his fists as Rina watched him.

"Granted is isn't as strong as fire or god forbid your lightning." He said, holding his head high. "But you'd better hope I don't get a few decent hits in our you'll be hitting the dirt faster than you can count to three."

"Oh yeah?" Rina asked, lowering her arms and beckoning Drake. "Come and prove that, huh? Show me why you're a worthy challenge!" Drake rolled his eyes, but obliged her. He ran forward as best he could with a wounded leg and swung his poison coated fists at her, but she easily dodged all of them.

_An uppercut going right for...!_

The fist connected before Drake had time to think it through. He flew high into the air, twirling as he went. Rina jumped up and landed another blow, causing him to fly into a nearby building and into someone's bedroom.

"What the...?" Drake asked as Rina laughed.

"Knew it." She said. "You're sound magic is something else. Sure gives you quite the edge in combat." Drake managed to look back out the hole of the house and down at Rina, who was smirking up at him. "But you're nothing if the attacker is too fast for you to react." Drake's eyes widened as Rina confirmed his fears. His hearing was fast, incredibly so, but in his wounded state and Rina's ability to strike quickly, his reaction time was not fast enough. Her thoughts would only just register with him before she struck him.

He couldn't rely on it.

And that was a problem.

"Good one." Drake said, pushing the anxiety down. "I'm not sure a lot of people have actually managed to get through my sound magic. Well, except for my old man." He jumped back down onto the street and stood back up. "So I'll give you that one Rina, you're fast."

"Thanks. So, shall I end this?"

"If you think you can." Drake replied, tensing. "But just because I can't rely on my sound magic doesn't mean..." Rina struck him in the stomach, and he slid backwards clutching it. He looked up just in time to see her tackle him, body coated with black lightning. He rolled through the street and jumped away just in time to avoid her blasting him to smithereens along with the street. He had no time to recover before she tackled him again, this time throwing him high into the air. He re-positioned himself to aim downwards, and took a deep breath,

"Poison Dragon Roar!" The spiral of dark red venom flew towards Rina, who had enough time to dodge it and take a deep breath of her own.

"Lightning God's Bellow!" The torrent of black lightning came for Drake, who was still flying through the open air. He gritted his teeth as the attack grew closer.

"Looks like we're blocking this the hard way..." he hissed, gathering as much magic in his hands as he could. As the roar reached him, it connected with Drake's fists, sending off an explosion of lightning and poison. Drake felt himself getting pushed by the attack, but it hadn't broken through yet. The roar started to fade, and Drake was allowed to relax a bit.

Until he laid eyes on Rina flying towards him immediately following her attack. He brought his hands together again and tried to attack her, but the girl easily moved out of the way and swung her foot into his back, accelerating his fall into the earth. He landed hard and struggled to stand as she landed gracefully behind him.

"I'm sure you feel really good about your decision to fight me now, huh?" Rina asked, walking up behind Drake as he coughed. She drove her foot into his back. "Get up. You wanted this, right? So get the hell up and show me why." Drake took his punishment as a moment to think. What was he supposed to do? It wasn't like he had much to use. Rina's speed was the key problem. If she was so fast that Drake didn't have time to block her attacks, he had a problem. There had to be a way. Drake groaned as Rina kicked his leg, the muscles twitching from the pain.

Muscles.

Drake grinned.

Now he knew what to do. It wasn't as solid a defensive plan, but it could sure as hell work out for him.

"Come on!" Rina shouted. "Get up! This isn't...!" Rina foot didn't reach him that time before he grabbed it.

"You want to see why?" Drake asked, his hand starting to glow. "Fine, we can do just that!" The poison exploded outward, forcing Rina to back up as it did. Drake stood and looked down at his leg as it refused to work. He clicked his teeth. "Piece of shit..." He looked up at Rina as she prepared to attack him again.

"You'd better not be all show." She threatened. Drake shrugged.

"Even if you do beat me, I will manage to slow you down for..."

He heard it.

Rina's leg muscles contracted and expanded. She was about to sprint at him.

And that she did. She ran right at him.

_Her right arms moving upward at an angle of forty-five degrees...She's probably going for another uppercut._

And Drake responded accordingly. He bent his body backwards, and Rina's arm soared right in front of his face and into the open sky between them. Rina looked a little surprised.

"Huh?" She asked. Drake's ears twitched.

_Other arm rearing back by the looks of it...Probably going for my face._

Drake bought both arms up to his face and sure enough, Rina's fist struck them. He quickly grabbed her by the arm and refused to let go. Rina growled.

"What are you...?"

"You think your mind is all that I can hear?" Drake asked, smirking. "Maybe I can't react to your thoughts fast enough, but your body is the key to your speed. So if I listen to your body instead of your mind..." Poison flowed from Drake's hands, leaving burn marks on Rina's forearms. "Then the playing field is even!" Using all of the strength in is upper body, Drake lifted Rina above his head and threw her into the open sky.

"Poison Dragon Fan Thrust!" The fangs launched from Drake's hands and latched onto Rina's midsection. Drake reared back and swung the poison like a whip and the ground, which threw Rina downwards at an incredible speed. She hit the dirt and caused debris to fly everywhere, and Drake watched for her to reemerge.

* * *

_"What a strategy!" _Ross shouted. _"Drake listens to Rina's body instead of her thoughts! This could turn out to be quite the interesting battle!"_

"He's doing quite well for being so injured." Kinana heard Natsu comment. "Even against Rina."

"He trained just as hard as everyone else." Gray said, turning to Kinana. "Right?" Kinana thought about it.

She recalled the nine to nine training. The one hit challenge. She grinned and looked back up at the lacrima vision as Rina climbed out of the hole she'd been thrown into.

"He's worked really hard." She said. "And now it's paying off."

* * *

"Damn, look at him go!" Erik stopped and looked over into the bridge of the airship, spotting everyone watching what appeared to be the Grand Magic Games. Jellal looked back and smiled.

"There you are." he said. "Come here, Erik. Drake's competing."

"And?" Erik asked, coming into the room regardless. "He's getting his ass beaten, ain't he?"

"Not really." Erik looked up and watched his son throw some green haired woman for a loop, making a crater as she hit the dirt.

"Damn, that looked like it hurt." Sorano commented.

"It is the strength of love!" Richard shouted, making Macbeth groan.

"How did you even draw that conclusion?" He demanded. Erik watched the green haired girl crawl out of the hole, and engage his son in combat. He was holding his own well enough, but he still sighed.

"That kid's technique is awful." he said. "You'd think my training was for nothing."

Even though his words were harsh, it took everything Erik had to not smile as he watched the battle progress.

* * *

Simon dodged the explosion of Territory and landed on a rooftop, watching Juno as she did the same. The two of them had gone back and forth trying to land a blow, but both dodged every chance the other got.

"You're good." He told her.

"So are you." She replied, her hands glowing once more. "But I'm not going to take it easy on you." Simon prepared himself and, as soon as the explosion started, darted away from it and soared towards Juno. He requipped into his Black Wing Armor and swung his blade her, but her used Territory and the sword was transported out of Simon's hands, forcing him to back up. He sent in back to his magical inventory and brought it forth again. This left them just staring at each other, waiting.

"Not going to try again?" Juno asked.

"Give me a minute." Simon replied. He took his time and thought up some form of strategy. Juno didn't seem to interested in going on the offensive, she was just holding him off. Was her hope he'd get winded instead of beating her? That was probably it.

But with a magic like Territory, Simon's attacks could constantly get redirected somewhere else, and that was not something he needed. He was lucky Juno had redirected these attacks to hit him in the back.

"You look terrible, by the way." Simon kept his eyes on Juno, but she quickly scanned him. "Seriously, who did that to you guys?"

"Don't know." He replied. "But you can bet as soon as I find out I'm going to teach them a lesson they won't soon forget." Simon shot forward and went after Juno, but she kept backing up using Territory and causing explosions around him, which kept forcing him away too. Simon dodged another explosion and soared high into the air, which gave him his first clear shot at Juno. He soared right for her, swinging his sword preemptively to strike her. Juno reacted quickly and used Territory on it again to displace it, but Simon was prepared for her this time. As soon as the sword left his hands, he quickly slowed his attack and opened his palms, heavenly light blasting out and towards Juno. The girl had unprepared for the second barrage, and took the blast head on. She slid backwards and raised a hand, and it glowed. An explosion went off on the ground at Simon's feet, throwing rocks up in his face. He shielded his eyes from the dirt, but his lack of mobility gave Juno the chance she was looking for the cause another explosion, this one hitting him dead on.

"Shit..." Simon's sword arm was killing him. After this was over, he was going to train with a sword in his left arm. Even if it killed him, he was going to learn to use both arms. He tested the arms movement capabilities, and determined a few too many explosions and he wouldn't be able to use it for the fight. Drawing another blade from his inventory, Simon weighed it against the pain and deemed it usable, at least for the time being. He went towards Juno again, but just like before he was kept at a distant due to the Territory explosions.

Well, if she was going to play that way.

Simon backed up and went in towards her again He could see the Territory forming, and that it was, of course, directly blocking his flight course towards the girl.

And he went right through it.

The magic exploded as per usual, but Simon only just felt it as he soared right through it and kept going for Juno. The girl looked surprised and raised a few more to try and stop him, but they didn't. He felt them certainly, but he needed to stop trying to avoid them. It was only allowing Juno to increase the gap between them. He flew right through the last one, and raised his sword, preparing to bring it down.

And he brought it down all right.

The forces of the universe made it weigh a few hundred pounds.

Simon shouted in surprise, his arm immediately demanding he drop the blade, so he did.

And it created a crater.

"Um.." Juno said. "Why did it...?" Simon stared down at the sword in shock, before his eyes widened.

"Oh no.." he said, looking up. "We're not...!"

Both him and Juno collapsed to the ground, creating their own craters.

"What...?" Juno asked weakly as she tried to get up, but she was kept down. "What is this?"

"Gravity Change.." Simon hissed, managing to prop himself up on one arm. "Which means _she _found us." As if on cue, the woman in question giggled from somewhere above Simon.

"It's so kind of you to recognize me by magic, Simon." Nami Mikazuchi said. "Although I wasn't expecting to find Juno here as well, I suppose it works. Ten points instead of just five!"

* * *

Nashi felt like she was too alone for her own good. She could hear battles starting all around her, but she herself had yet to actually get in one.

"Man, where is everyone?" She asked, looking around. "I'm getting so lonely."

"Ask and you shall receive, Nashi." Nashi jumped and turned, following the sound the voice to the source. Blake was standing up on a high ledge, watching her. She tensed as she remembered his thrashing of Grace.

"Blake." She said. Blake jumped down to her level and watched her with his hands in his pockets.

"I've heard a lot about you." He said. "Probably more than you think."

"What does that mean? How much do you know?" Blake laughed, but the sound was hollow.

"Probably more than you, weirdly enough." he replied. This made Nashi feel...well, violated. "Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not a weirdo."

"Right..." Nashi said, backing up a bit. "Good idea trying to convince me of that after you said something like that."

"Think whatever you want, it makes no difference to me." He looked up and watched her. "We still have to fight." Nashi nodded and took the best offensive stance that she could given the pain she was in. Blake, like with Grace, seemed calm.

Nashi decided she was going to test the waters.

Nashi brought her hands together and shot a fireball at Blake, and watched him wait for it. The fireball exploded against him, and Nashi waited as the smoke billowed around. As soon as it faded, the effect was made obvious as Blake was still standing still, hands in his pockets, watching her. His body was outlined with bright bluish green.

"Hm, that kinda burned." Blake said, brushing himself off as the glow faded. "Good one." Nashi frowned as Blake watched her. "I suppose it's my turn to test you out?" Blake brought his hands together, and a bright blue glow came from between his fingers. He slowly raised and lowered his hands, and a sphere of plasma was floating in his palm. Blake simply reared back and tossed it lightly, as if he was doing nothing more than tossing a ball.

The effect, however, was much more devastating than a ball bouncing across the ground.

The sphere of plasma flew towards Nashi, and she jumped out of the way of it and it went right past her. Nashi grinned.

"Nice try, but you mis...!"

_BOOM!_

Nashi felt the explosion against her back, and she felt no need to finish her sentence. She slowly turned and looked at the devastation. The buildings it hit were torn apart, and debris was falling all around the ruins. Hell, Nashi could tell from the size of the debris most of building has been pulverized.

All that from lightly tossing a small sphere.

"Jeez..." Nashi said, turning back around. "What the hell is that magic?"

"Plasma magic." Blake said, forming another sphere. "Let's see how you fair." He tossed this, and it went right for Nashi's feet. There was nowhere she could go to avoid the explosion, so she took it dead on. Nashi rolled back away from it only for another one to go off right next to her, and then another. She flew back and tried to stand as best she could, but her wounded body was already having trouble getting up.

"Already down?" Blake asked. "Maybe I should've used a smaller explosive, hm?"

What?"

"W-Wait a minute..." Nashi said, sitting up a bit. "Smaller explosive?" Blake grinned darkly and raised a hand to his lips.

"Oops, did I say that out loud? My bad." he laughed. "I don't think I was supposed to tell you I'm to blame for why you guys are so hurt."

...

Nashi felt her rage building. He was at fault for that?

"..You're going to pay." Nashi hissed, slowly trying to stand. "I'm going to make you pay for that."

"Are you now?" Blake raised a hand and beckoned for her to come at him. "Then come make me."

* * *

Michael slowly slid down the wall of the building as Blake's words echoed in his head.

_He did that...He hurt them. How much do the Games mean to him?_

He looked back at the two as they began to fight, and felt his rage building up.

_How could he...Why would he..._

...

_He's not getting away with this._

**Oohh! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	181. Elise's Darkness

**Today's chapter is...**

**Prepare yourself. All I can really say.**

**Enjoy. I guess...**

Elise stared at Keita for a long time, trying to figure out what it was he was talking about. Darkness? Negative emotions? None of it made any sense.

"I don't understand." She said, "What does any of that have to do with me?" Keita seemed to think about what he was about to say before he continued.

"My usage of shadow based magic allows me to be more in tune with 'darkness', as it were. It's usually not as bad as this, but when I'm around you all I sense is bad emotions. Why are you hiding it? Are you ashamed of it or something?"

"I'm not hiding a damn thing." Elise replied. "I don't know what you're talking about." Keita raised a hand to his chin and hummed quietly.

"That doesn't make any sense. You aren't lying, are you?"

"What reason would I possibly have to lie to you?"

"Fair enough." Both went quiet for a moment, and Keita seemed to be thinking. Elise sighed and put a hand on her hip.

"Look Keita, I don't really know what it is you're getting at here, but it's not that big of a..."

"Has your memory ever been rewritten?" Keita interjected, cutting Elise off. "That could be the key we're looking for." Elise raised an eyebrow and gave it a good long thought for his sake.

"I don't know." She answered honestly. Keita chuckled.

"I suppose it's a stupid thing to ask. If it was rewritten, it'd be for a good reason. It'd wear off if you became aware of it, too..." Elise studied Keita as he thought. Why was this perplexing him so much? From the way he talked about it, it sounded like it had been bothering him for quite some time. Why though, Elise had no idea.

"Can we just..."

"Let me think." Keita said, interrupting her again. Elise fumed silently as she allowed Keita more thinking time. "Does anything weird ever happen to you?"

"Weird?"

"I don't know, anything that seems like it avoided like the plague." Elise thought about it, trying to find something that would be the answer to what Keita was referring too.

It hit her, both figuratively and literally.

Elise raised a hand to her head as she thought about it. The bathroom at her parents house. The scars on Drake's back. Apocalypse.

That man she faced during the trials.

Her head was pounding.

"H-Headaches..." She whispered, making Keita perk up.

"Headaches?" He asked. "What do you mean?"

"W-Whenever I get one...everyone avoids me and the subject..."

"Hm, interesting. Do you remember what caused your last headache, so to speak?"

"...Apocalypse."

* * *

Ultear dodged another explosion and continued to run. She didn't have a specific location in mind, just to put some distance between herself and Kyoko. The Memory Make Wizard was right on her tail, throwing out more blasts of all different varieties.

And Ultear knew exactly what she wanted to do.

She could sense another blast coming right for her, so she braced herself. She turned and faced it, creating an ice shield to protect herself from the blast of white and lightning magic.

And it instantly dispersed. Ultear smiled as the white glow from her shield disappeared and she squared off against Kyoko.

"What exactly is your magic again?" Kyoko asked. "My attacks are being dispelled when they hit your shield.

"Maybe they're just shitty spells." Ultear fired back, keeping her real magic a secret. "I'm just using Water and Ice Make. What about yours? Memory Make?" Kyoko nodded.

"Indeed." She said. "Although my style is a bit different then my fathers."

"Hm?"

"Surely as a Make wizard you know what I mean. Each Wizard has their own style. Your own legacy, for example. Lyon creates living things, while your father creates objects. While my father memorizes magic types to create his own spells, I can do that and more." Kyoko raised two fingers to her forehead and a red magic circle spawned behind her. "I also memorize specific spells and utilize them whenever I please. Not exactly as viable as my fathers style, but It hasn't let me down yet."

"Yet." Ultear agreed. "First time for everything."

"So you'd like to believe." Kyoko replied, frost starting to flow from the magic circle. "Remember, I've watched you fight too." Ultear tensed and waited, and spears made of ice came from the magic circle and flew for her. She didn't need that magic for her trap, she could make her own, so she created her own spears and the two clashed before exploding simultaneously.

_Her magic is still pretty impressive...But I just need to wait her out for right now._

"I've watched everyone in this tournament use their magic." Kyoko said as plants sprouted out of the ground around, as well as the wind starting to whip around her. "All you have is Water and Ice? How could you possibly beat me?" Ultear grinned at this.

_Just keep coming at me, Kyoko. Then we'll see who wields all that magic._

* * *

"Damien, you need to listen to me." Damien looked up through his headache to find Xisplate and Vantros looking at him.

"Focus Dreyar, this is important." Vantros said.

"W-What?"Damien demanded.

"This girl, Bella, she's a Demon Lord too." Damien's eyes widened and he looked up at them in shock.

"What?! She is?!" Vantros nodded.

"She is, and a very volatile one at that. Do you know what a succubus is, Damien?" Damien gave it some thought.

"Yeah. Isn't it...A creature that seduces people?"

"A _Demon, _boy." Vantros corrected him. "That is what Bella Realight's magic is. The takeover for the Demon Lord from the 3rd Circle of Judgment, Meridia the Succubus." Damien looked past the two demons and met Bella's gaze, who still seemed to be waiting for him.

It was so obvious now.

She was seducing him.

"W-What do I do?" Damien asked weakly, looking away from the girl as he felt his resolve weaken.

"You run." Damien looked back over at Xisplate in shock, but the demon held his position. "Meridia cannot be defeated my a man. Not even a Demon Lord man. It isn't a skill you possess."

"But what is her weakness?" Damien asked weakly. "Demon Lords have so few weaknesses! If I can't fight her and Michael is already out of the competition..." Vantros sighed.

"There is only one thing you an do, and Xissy is right." he said. "You must run." Damien growled and looked down at the ground. He wasn't in the business of running away from an opponent, but if he had no choice in the matter. Bella clicked her teeth.

"Xisplate, Vantros." All three of them looked over at the girl in question as she called the demons out. Bella's beautiful smile had turned dark. "I'd appreciate it if you could not get in my way."

"How can she see us?" Vantros asked. Xisplate growled.

"She probably can't. Meridia probably told her we're here." Bella sighed and whipped her head, getting her hair out of her eyes.

"I can't believe this. You have two Lords, and they're trying to get in my way. I guess I can't stay in my base for to defeat you, huh?"

"B-base...?" Damien got his answer as Bella smirked and raised her hand above her head, a black magic circle appearing there.

"Takeover!" She shouted. "Demon Meridia!"

The whole area went dark as magic flowed inwards towards the circle. it glowed with power as the takeover progressed, and Xisplate turned to Damien.

"Avert your eyes!" he shouted. "Don't look at her when she...!"

The takeover was over. Bella had called Meridia forward.

She still had her golden blonde hair, but the tips had dyed red. She had curled blue horns adorning her head, red and black wings spreading from her back, ad her eyes glowed red.

The most distracting part was her body. Bella was dressed in near nothing save what looked like armored underwear, which was white and blue and covered her chest and lower body. Her arms had a similar kind of armor on them, which only covered her forearm. Chains were linked from the front and back of her underwear, and she leaned to one side and put a hand on her hip.

"Now." She said, voice as smooth as silk. "Come here, Damien."

* * *

Xisplate looked back at Damien to find the man getting to his feet and walking forward.

"Damien?" he asked, but the boy paid him no mind. "Damien!"

"It's no use, Xisplate. Vantros said. "He's been mesmerized by her beauty. Where's Quinxotic when you need her?" Xisplate ignored Vantros' question about the Demon Lord of Blood and watched as Damien slowly walked forward.

"She's gorgeous." He murmured. "I've never seen such a beautiful woman in my life..." Bella giggled, her wings folding up as he got closer.

"Come on, big boy." She purred. "You know you want me. Don't you?"

"I...I do..."

"What was that?"

"I do!" Bella smiled as Damien reached her and stood there quietly. She reached forward and traced a finger down his chest, before looking back up at him.

"How about you do me a favor and surrender to me? Hm?"

"..."

"Come on, Damien. What if I _reward you?"_

"R-Reward?" Bella's facial expression softened as she leaned forward and rested her head on Damien's shoulder.

"You know what I mean." She whispered in his ear. "Surrender to me and we'll go somewhere more p_rivate"_

"Come on, Damien..." Xisplate hissed. "Don't fall for her tricks..."

"He's fallen already." Vantros said. "Meridia's magic is strong in and of itself without the full takeover, but with it...Damien stands no chance. He probably won't even get some." Damien's face was completely red, but he nodded weakly.

"O-Okay...I..."

"Hm? What do you say?" Bella asked, her face an inch from his.

"I...I surren...!"

A pillar of earth struck Damien right in the side of the head, causing him to fly away from Bella and into a nearby building. Bella watched him in shock before turning her head in the direction the pillar had come from, as did Xisplate and Vantros.

"You know Dreyar, I knew you were a guy and everything." Terra Neekis said as she approached the battlefield. "But falling for something as low as seduction magic? How was I scared of you?"

"Terra." Xisplate said, smirking. "A woman."

"And thereby unaffected by Meridia's seduction magic." Vantros finished.

* * *

"...Apocalypse." Keita tilted his head at Elise as she spoke the simple word.

"What?" he asked. "Apocalypse?" Elise's body started to shutter violently as she stuttered.

"Apocalypse...The torturer...Phantom Dove..." Keita made a face at this.

"I'm not sure what any of that means but if I had to guess, I'd say the headaches are caused by the memories of them being overwritten to save you from..."

A bloodcurdling screech escaped Elise's lips. Keita's covered his ears as she screamed, her figure becoming outlined in black magic. What was happening?

"Apocalypse...Phantom Dove...I...I was..."

"Elise?!"

"I WAS THERE!"

The magic waves around the girl intensified as she screamed.

"I WAS THERE...! I WAS...! I WAS...!"

A wave of magic rolled off of her figure and soared towards Keita, who tried to defend himself from it with shadows.

But he didn't manage it in time, and the wave overtook him, causing his vision to slowly fade as his body hit the ground.

* * *

When Keita awoke, he didn't know where he was. He sat bolt right up, but he was no longer on the streets of Crocus, he was somewhere much darker. Standing slowly, Keita looked around, unable to see anything.

"Where...?" He asked, trying to see anything of importance amidst the endless darkness.

After a moment, the darkness started to fade, and Keita could more clearly see what was going on around him. He was in a dark, dank cell. Looking around didn't warrant much, just that it looked incredibly depressing.

_"Come on, Nashi. Drink this, clear your throat." _Keita jumped at the familiar voice, and turned. There, sitting on the floor covered in nothing but revealing rags fro clothes, was Nashi and Elise. Elise seemed to be trying to make Nashi drink something, and the girl did so.

"Where am I?" Keita asked, his voice sounding distorted. "What's going on?" The girls were talking to each other, but Keita ignored them as he looked around. Finally, after a few more minutes, a door opened somewhere. Turning, Keita saw a woman with white hair dragging Drake inside, who looked wounded. She threw him inside and the cell, and looked at Elise. The Iron Dragon stood, and walked out of the cell. Keita followed, wanting to know what was going on. He followed the girls through the halls of some building, not really sure where. After walking for quite some time, the white haired woman threw Elise in some room, and slammed the door. Keita reached for the knob, but phased right through it.

Shrugging, Keita phased through the door completely and wound up on the other side with Elise. There was silence, before a green light appeared on Elise.

"Rupture circles?" Keita asked, watching as they exploded against Elise's skin. The girl cried out in pain and was thrown to the floor, a man's voice booming in the distance.

_"My name's Apocalypse." _It said._ "And I'm your interrogator."_

_Apocalypse._

It hit Keita at that moment. He knew where he was.

He was looking at the memories that had been rewritten.

"How?" Keita asked as the room and two figures started to disappear. "How am I seeing this? I don't understand..."

The wave of magic.

When Elise had started to scream, magic had exploded outwards from her. It all made sense.

"The magic was so strained trying to prevent Elise from remembering that when she finally did, it exploded outwards..." He said to himself as things started to come back into focus. "And caused me to be subjected to what was rewritten..."

Once things came back into focus, he was back in the cell with the three of them. Nashi was curled up in the corner, Drake was sitting against the wall, and Elise just playing with her fingers.

A deep voice chuckled.

_"So which one do ya want?" _It asked. Keita turned and saw a group of men standing outside the cell. Another voice chuckled.

_"I don't know, they both seem so tender."_

_What the hell do you guys want?" _Drake asked.

_Nothin' to do with you, little Fairy" _A voice snarled. _"We just wanna take one of your attractive friends here too...talk." _Keita felt a rock settle in his stomach. No, these guys surely weren't going too...

_"How about the one with pink hair?" K_eita looked up at this. That meant Nashi. But he had't sensed darkness from her...

The cell opened, and the group of men proceeded inside. Drake got in their way.

_"Stay away from her." _he said. The men just laughed and Drake got a boot to the face, and they kept walking towards Nashi.

_"And what are you doing to do, stop us?" _the men asked.

And Elise got in there way next.

_"No, take me. She needs to rest." _The cell was dead quiet, and finally one man chuckled.

_"Oh, so now you wanna protect your friend? Fine, you'll do."_

"No, no no..." Keita hissed as the men grabbed Elise and dragged her away. "Please, no..." Keita didn't want to follow them.

He didn't want to see that.

But he had no choice, these were Elise's memories, not Nashi or Drake's.

So he followed. He walked behind the men dragging Elise around, his whole body feeling like lead. The men passed some of their guildmates, but they all turned a blind eye. Keita gritted his teeth at this. How could they? From the looks the others had on their faces, they all knew what was happening.

They had reached their destination.

The men went inside a room with Elise, and Keita had no choice but to follow.

_"Now, show us a good time, little Fairy" _One said.

All the men laughed as the rags were ripped around Elise's body. What was left could no be classified as clothes.

He didn't want to watch.

He wanted to look away.

But he couldn't.

Because this was what she remembered.

So he watched. Because he had too.

Why?

Why was no one stopping this?!

Why could he not reach through the fabric of memories and stop this instead?!

"Stop..." Keita hissed, still unable to look away. "Stop..."

_"Come on girly, try a little harder!"_

"STOP TOUCHING HER!"

It lasted way too long.

But it was over.

And Elise had not uttered a single word during the whole thing.

All she did was sit on the floor, trying to keep the remnants of her rags around her as the men laughed.

_"Best get her home to her cell, before Master Jose finds out."_

_"Yeah, that'd suck big time..."_

The scenery changed. Keita went from the dark room to a humid bathroom. Looking around, he saw the shower running. And sitting in the middle of the tub as Elise. The girl was wearing nothing, obviously, and Keita watched in confusion.

_"Elise?" _It was Drake's voice, coming from the other side of the door. _"Are you in there? Elise? Come on girl don't make me break the door down."_

_"Elise please!"_ A woman shouted._ "Let us help you!" _Elise curled up into a tighter ball.

_"Are you okay?" _In was Drake's voice again. Silence, then, "_You've been in there for six hours." _There was more silence, but then the door was broken door. Drake walked in, looking like shit himself, and much less ragged than Keita knew him to be.

_"Elise?" _He asked.

_"Elise?" _The woman asked, whom Keita guessed was Elise's mother. Drake turned the water off, took off his coat and wrapped it around the girls shoulders, covering her up as best he could. he sat down next to her and silence resumed.

_"I'm going to lead everyone back to Phantom Dove"_ He told her. _"We're... gonna get all of them. You hear me?"_ Still no response._ "I'm going to make sure whoever hurt you... WON'T make it out alive, not after that" _Elise still didn't respond, and Drake sighed. he looked about ready to leave, but Elise rested her head on his shoulder, making Drake stop and look at her. He didn't say anything, but Keita could see his ears twitching.

_"Your parents were worried about you...Elise, you can't just..." E_lise got up, out of the tub, and walked away. _"You still have my coat." _Drake called, but she ignored him. The memory started to disappear as Keita did not follow Elise right away, and as he did, he could hear Drake say something.

_"You want to help her? Go see Mest and get her memory erased, as soon as possible. Tell her Nashi and I got captured, she wasn't with us, whatever you have to do. Because believe me, she'll never speak again if you don't." _

These words ringing in his head, Keita was ripped from the sequence, his vision fading once more.

* * *

The sky was blue, as per usual.

But Keita was no soothed by the sight of it.

As a matter of fact, he felt unclean. Violated.

The things he'd seen...

He slowly sat up, closing his eyes. He replayed it in his head, unable to stop thinking about it.

What they did to her...

He could hear Elise making labored panting sounds near him.

"Elise..." he started. "I'm...I'm so so sorry..."

"For what?" She asked innocently. Keita looked up in surprise and Elise was struggling to her feet, hunched over in a rather odd position. "it happened for a reason."

"Wha...?" Elise looked up, and Keita's blood ran cold.

Her eyes were pitch black. She giggled. but no innocence was in such a sound.

"I was raped." She stated. "That much happened. Why? Because I deserved it. But you know what?" Elise laughed as Keita watched her. "I sorta liked it."

What was happening?

Elise's eyes were...black.

Keita's mind started working a million miles a second, trying to figure out what had happened. His eyes widened as he figured it out.

He tried to protect himself with his magic when Elise's memory rewrite wore off.

In that moment, as the magic fled her body, Elise was left incredibly vulnerable.

And his shadows filled the void. Keita got to his feet and watched as Elise hunched over, darkness now actually leaking from her figure.

"My shadows tainted her weakened resolve...She's fallen to the darkness."

**..Yep. Fun fact, it's been 160 chapters since Elise was raped. What a coincidence, huh? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	182. The Real Reason

**So after last chapter, I did a little inventory on myself, so to speak. I don't think I can force this arc to go on much longer given how close every member of FT's team is close to falling over. But it's already the largest arc in the story, so that's pretty cool.**

_"What has happened to Elise Redfox?! It seems Keita's shadows have become one with her!"_

"What is that?" Lucy asked. "The Iron-Shadow Dragon?"

"No." It was Gajeel who spoke, his voice sounding somber and angry all at once. "This is something a lot more sinister." Everyone kept their eyes glued to the lacrima vision, which was displaying the girl in question squaring off with Keita, who seemed to be in shock. "She's been corrupted by it. Almost like Rogue was when we fought."

"So now what?" Natsu asked as the standoff continued. No one answered him for a moment, until Levy took a deep breath.

"He has to beat her."

* * *

Keita didn't know what he was supposed to do. Elise wasn't herself anymore. She'd succumbed to the darkest part of herself, and his shadows hadn't helped that whatsoever.

_What do I do?_

Keita looked up at the lacrima vision displaying everyone still left in the Games. His whole team save Michael, all of Fairy Tail, Nami, Terra, and Bella still remained. He then returned his eyes to Elise, who was still watching him lifelessly.

_She's not herself, I have to beat it out of her...But if I do that..._

He then looked up at the lacrima vision displaying the points. Sabertooth had 106 points, and Fairy Tail had 94. If he defeated Elise, he was severely limiting their chances of winning.

_But that's the least important thing happening right now..._

Elise started to giggle. Keita looked up at her, and she had a hand over her face.

"You know, you're thinking about this way too much." She stated, Keita remaining silent. "I beat you once, and I'll do it again. You got your fucking answer, so come at me!" Elise ran at him, and Keita simply dissolved. He needed to think. He needed to take a breath.

He needed a plan.

* * *

Simon blasted the debris to pieces as it flew towards him, and dodged out of the way as more soared towards him. Nami had made him to center of gravity for everything near them, so anything blown apart in the fight came at him. Ever since the girl had appeared, he and Juno had been blown every which way in their attempts to get her out of the way. She was an incredibly formidable opponent.

And probably the most insulting part of the fight was that she had yet to even draw her blade. It rested on her back as she used her hands to change gravity and fend them both off. Simon landed on a rooftop and watched as the two girls started to fight. He could feel his body begging him to stop, but he still had a lot of magic to expend. He cast a gaze up at the scoreboard. They had ninety-four points.

_Realistically, I could seal the deal if I took both of them out, but..._

Simon didn't think he could. This was more than Pandemonium's mindless monsters, this was two incredibly smart and powerful human opponents. Not to mention the others on his own team. If any of them fell, to Sabertooth anyway, they wouldn't be able to catch up. Simon had already done the math in between bursts of combat.

The best they could hope for was being a few points ahead of Sabertooth.

"Stop hiding from me, Simon!" Simon was brought back to reality as more debris flew towards him, Which Nami was broken apart from the buildings around them whilst fighting Juno. He broken them apart and remained stationary as the useless bits of dirt that was left hit him.

"You know," he said. "For a girl who wanted a spectacular fight, you sure are holding back."

"Don't be that way." Nami replied. "You're not trying as hard as you can either. I'm not falling for that." Simon saw Juno reappear out of a building behind Nami, but payed her no mind. Both of them had formed some kind of truce until Nami had been dealt with. Simon laughed a little.

"Or are you going easy on me because I'm already hurt?" He asked. "That's so kind of you."

"In your dreams." She answered immediately. "I know you're hurt, but you can still put up a fight." Simon frowned and tried to come up with a plan. Sadly, with the way the fight had been going thus far, none of his plans were going to work. Nami wasn't like anyone he'd ever gone up against before. She was too powerful.

The space around Nami started to glow, and the girl quickly turned and altered her own gravity to jump high into the air and avoid Juno's attack. She soared high into the air and quickly reversed her own gravity once more, bringing herself down on top of Juno as fast as she could without killing either of them. Simon watched as Juno used her Territory to disappear, and Nami slowed her descent as she saw this. She landed just in time to catch a Territory explosion, which forced her back a little. Nami clicked her teeth.

"Damn, that kind of hurt." She said, Juno watching her closely. "I don't mean to sound rude Juno, but I really didn't come here to fight you and you alone." Juno smirked.

"Fair enough, I don't think I can beat you anyway. But if I soften you up for Simon? Then someone might." Nami chuckled.

"That's a cute disposition. Unfortunately, _you're in my way._" Simon watched as Juno tried to raise her arms, but couldn't. They were being weighed down. Nami took her sheathed blade off of her back and walked towards Juno, who still tried to use Territory as a defense. Nami sped through the attempted explosions and drove her sheathed blade into Juno's midsection.

The resulting blast of force as gravity altered for Nami caused Juno to fly backwards and through several buildings, including the one Simon was standing on. He jumped to the ground and turned to look through the hole that had been created, just in time to watch all three buildings break apart.

And flew right for where Juno was trying to stand from. They collided with her, creating a huge pile of rubble.

Juno did not reappear from there. The sheer force had probably knocked her out.

_"I-I think that's it for Juno Orlando!" _Ross announced. _"Nami has taken her out! She's earned Mermaid Heel five points!" _Simon took a deep breath as Ross said this. That left him with Nami, alone at that. Everyone else was reoccupied with something else. Turning, Nami was watching him closely.

"I'll have to make sure I didn't hurt her too bad later." She said, planting her sheathed blade on the ground and rested her arms and head on the hilt. "I just wanted her out of my way." Simon sighed.

"This battle must mean a lot to you, huh?" he asked. Nami giggled.

"I just want to fight someone strong. Realistically my guild can't come back from this deficit we're in thanks to Sabertooth wrecking us, but no matter. I'm still standing, and I think it's fair to say I'm enough for most of the people left in this competition." She had a point. Even though she, like everyone else must have been a little bit tired at least, the power behind her attacks was more than enough for most remaining competitors.

Simon requipped into his Samurai pants and felt the wraps on his arms. His katana spawned in his left hand, the bad one sadly, and he raised it, pointing it at Nami.

"Then looks like you an I get to go at it." He told her. "And I'll beat you." Nami laughed, but her figure glowed white.

"Big talk coming from a wounded warrior." She replied. "Tell me Simon, do you really think in that state you'll be able to beat me?" Simon shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Fact of the matter is, even if you beat me, _You'll be a pushover for everyone else. _Now, stop playing around and come at me like you mean it."

Nami stood up straight, and picked up her blade.

"You're going to regret that request." She said, unbuttoning her black jacket. She shrugged it off, leaving her in her black tank top. "Because you're not going to beat me."

The wind flowed past them, blowing their hair around. No one moved, no one spoke. Both were skilled warriors, waiting for the other to make a move.

Simon did so.

Activating Meteor, he flew at Nami with everything he had, swinging at her with his left arm. Nami, obviously surprised by the speed of his attack, only had time to bring up her sheathed blade to defend. The sound of Simon's blade resounding off of Nami's sheathed one rang in his ears, but he had no time to think about a plan of attack. He swung, and she parried. He swung again, and again she parried. Despite Meteor boosting his speed, Nami was able to block his attacks. She ducked underneath another one of his swings and swung at her himself, but Simon blocked it in time. He felt his back weighing down on him, and then he slammed into the ground thanks to Nami's Gravity Change.

But he wasn't going to let her get that advantage.

Using up a lot of his magic power, Simon used his Heavenly Body Magic to push himself upwards, against Nami's magic. He made it up in time, as the spell was not as powerful as before. Nami's swing missed him and he round housed her in the midsection. She slid back and Simon was on her again, Swinging as fast as he could. Their blades locked, and Nami laughed and blew her hair out of her face.

"Where the hell was this Simon a moment ago?" She asked. Simon smirked.

"Hiding for the moment you showed yourself or Juno became too big of a problem." He replied, boosting himself forward to try and gain the upper hand with Meteor. Nami replied in kind and used gravity to force herself forward as well. Simon's blade started to groan from the force of the stalemate. It was just about to break at this rate.

So Simon let up.

He used Meteor to back himself up away from Nami, who started to fly forward from all the force she was using to push towards Simon. She stumbled forward, and this gave Simon a chance to deal damage to her. His palms glowing, he shot arcs of light at her, and several struck her due to her being unprepared. Simon landed and kept his blade up and ready, which provided useful when Nami soared through the smoke from his attack and the too started to duel once more. The blades resounded off each other repeatedly, neither letting up in the slightest.

Until Simon's katana started to groan again. The repeated force was causing the thin blade to lose it's shape quickly. Backing up, Simon requipped into a different one. Nami sighed and wiped her brow with her hand.

"This has gotten incredibly heated." She said with a grin. "Everything I could've hoped for." Simon was panting as well, but he nodded. Nami brought her hands down to her blade.

"But, I think that after that display, you've earned my full strength."

Her full strength?

Nami's hands rested on her sheath, which had been around her blade the whole fight.

And she took the sword out of the sheath, tossing it too the side.

"My mother and I specialize in Sheathed Sword Style." She said, the blade starting to glow. "So i can count on one hand the amount of times the actual blade has seen sunlight." Simon felt the magic radiating from the girl, even though he was about twenty-five feet away from her. Nami's entire figure was glowing with white magic, and she raised the now unsheathed blade, pointing it at Simon. "Ready?" She asked.

Simon wasn't sure either answer was how he felt.

Even so, he raised his own sword, preparing for her to attack.

And attack she did.

* * *

Nashi managed to dodge the entire plasma charge that time and rolled to her feet. She tried to get close to Blake, but he blew her away easily with his Plasma Magic.

"Come on Nashi, where is that legendary family spirit of yours?!" he yelled as she struggled to stand. "I was hoping for more of a challenge, not this disgrace!"

"Bastard..." Nashi hissed, managing to get on one knee. "He's so powerful...I really underestimated his magic." Nashi, albeit very powerful herself, usually required being in close range to her opponent to actually do any damage. She had other means, but her preferred style was close range. Blake's was the obvious opposite, and with her in the state she was in, it did not mesh very well at all. He was systematically devastating her as she tried to get close. And even if she did get close enough, he did have a protective lining around his body.

"Hey, come on." Blake said. "Get up and try a little bit harder. Or were the rumors really that blown out of proportion?" Nashi didn't reply to him, she felt no need. She was using all of her current processing power to try and come up with a plan of attack. However, her mind was only being plagued with one question.

"Why?" She asked, trying to get to her feet. "Why did you do it?"

"Hm?"

"You attacked us, but we've been nothing but kind to you...What did we do? Why did you do it?!" Nashi met Blake's eyes, but she saw no answer there. He simply watched her closely before he sighed.

"I want to win." He answered. "So I..."

"Don't give me that." Blake looked back up in surprise as Nashi got to her feet. "That's a pathetic reason. Had you really wanted that so badly, you'd have gone after it fairly. You've risked getting Sabertooth disqualified with what you've done. But no, even if you did a real number on us, we still could've cried foul and had today rescheduled because of what happened. You must've known all of that. So why did you do it?" Blake watched her closely before he laughed.

"You're smarter than they gave you credit for." He said. They? "I must admit you saw right through that."

"Wasn't hard. Now, what is your true intentions?" Blake did not answer her right away, he simply laughed and looked down.

"They've got it all planned out anyway..." he muttered to himself. "It doesn't matter what I do as long as they get their calculations in..."

"What are you mumbling about?" Calculations?" Blake looked up with a smile.

"I don't know what you did to anger them Nashi, but the Olympians sure have a big interest in you."

**Like I said above, I'm not trying to drag these fights on. This won't be the last arc, where most of it was baseless running around after the opponents. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	183. The Memories Mean Nothing

**Hey guys! Back again, to deliver on to you another chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi had felt a lot of emotions in her time. Sadness, anger, joy, all of the usual.

However the sense of confusion and complete disbelief that washed over her at Blake's words was unreal. Olympians? _The _Olympians? The ones behind Silverridge? And presumably in control of Devil Advocate and Phantom Dove? No, surely he couldn't be serious. But the more she studied his face and his expression did not change, she grew a little more concerned. He was serious.

"...What?" She asked. Blake chuckled.

"I know you know who I'm talking about." Blake answered., pocketing his hands. "The Olympians. Silverridge, Devil Advocate, all of that." Nashi gritted her teeth.

"So you're working for them?" She demanded. "...Why? What do they want?"

"Heh. How the hell should I know?" A sinister look grew over Blake's features. "All I know is that they are _very _interested in you, specifically." Nashi felt her head spin at these words. The biggest, baddest, and most mysterious dark guild in the country was interested in her? Why? What had she done?

"I...I don't understand." She said slowly. "I'm nothing special."

"Don't ask me. All I know is that they're watching us." Nashi felt her eyes widen. Blake chuckled. "Surprising? Look up at the lacrima vision Nashi, and give a small wave. They're watching." Nashi slowly looked up towards the floating lacrima in the sky, which was broadcasting them. Looking into the glow coming from it, a chill went down Nashi's spine. They were watching.

"...So you're, what, their puppet?" She demanded, watching him. Blake chuckled.

"I suppose I am. I was taken in as a child. But even as a young kid I knew I wasn't worth much to them." Nashi raised an eyebrow.

"So why did you join Sabertooth?" Nashi demanded. "There are easier ways to get in a confrontation with me then what you've done." Blake smirked.

"I was sent there as a young child. I was reminded regularly that I was not really a member of the guild. They're my cover for when they needed to call upon me, nothing more." Nashi clenched her fists.

"So they mean nothing to you?" Blake did not answer her. "Huh? Answer me!"

"Shut up, would you?!" Blake shouted angrily. "That doesn't matter! _They don't matter! _All Sabertooth is too me is a cover! The people there...The others...They're nothing to me!" Nashi lowered her head slightly.

"Then you're a worse piece of shit then I thought." She hissed. "Those people are your friends, at least they feel that way. Do their feelings not matter?"

"In the grand scheme of things, not at all." He answered, bringing his hands together, a greenish blue glow coming from them. "Now, let's continue this fight! I have work to do!" Nashi spread her feet out a bit and nodded.

"The Olympians want to watch another peon get destroyed? I'll oblige them."

* * *

Terra watched Bella closely, wondering what the hell was happening. She was happy to finally find someone she was able to fight, seeing as she'd been avoided for the most part. But what the hell was even happening here?

"Hm, nice one." Bella said, crossing her arms underneath her on display chest. "You might have really hurt him." Terra shrugged.

"His head is thicker than that stone, he'll be fine." She answered immediately. "So, you want a pillar to the face too?"

"God no. I'm not in the business of fighting women so, if you could leave us be, that's be appreciated."

"Fight?" Terra asked. "Is that what you call fighting? Because what I saw was you trying to make Damien surrender by offering him _private time. _Just how big of a slut are you?" Bella made a shocked face.

"Slut? I prefer the term promiscuous thank you. And even then I would never consider giving that idiot a shred of attention outside of the battlefield. And even I'm not going to sleep with him, that's just to get him out of the way." Terra raised an eyebrow at this.

"Why give it to him on the battlefield? That doesn't make any sense." Bella snickered.

"Damien honey?" She called, voice sickly sweet. "I need something of you."

"Anything." The man replied hoarsely. Bella smiled and pointed at Terra.

"Could you be a sweetie and get Terra out of our way? I am so looking forward to our _alone time." _Damien stood and looked at Terra.

"Damien?" She asked. "You okay?"

"Get out of here." He said. " I don't want to hurt you"

"Say what?" Terra narrowed her eyes at Damien. "What's up with you? Did you really not hear what she just said? She's fucking with you!"

"Not with him, no no no!" Bella said, making Terra roll her eyes. "I'm not fucking _with _him, I'm going to..."

"I get it." Terra interrupted. "You're a slut."

"Promiscuous! Learn the difference!"

"Whatever." Terra crossed her arms. "Well Damien? Did you or didn't...!"

A blast of darkness caught Terra off guard, forcing her away from Bella. She recovered and looked up to find Damien, in his demon form, watching her.

"Leave." he hissed. "You're causing trouble." Terra made a face.

"I know you're an idiot and everything, but you cannot be that deaf! She's...!"

"Terra." Terra stopped speaking and looked towards the voice as it spoke, Standing off to her left was a man wearing a black tuxedo, which was just as black as his hair and eyes. "He's not going to listen to you."

"Huh?" She asked. "Who are you? Where the hell did you come from?" The man sighed.

"I forgot you've never seen me before." he said, giving a slight bow. "I am Xisplate, the Demon Lord from the 12th Circle of Judgment, and Damien's Demon Lord takeover. One of them, technically." Terra felt a cold shiver go down her spine at this.

"Wait..." She said. "You're...?"

"Yes, I am. Whatever your sentence end was, the answer is yes." Terra stared at him in surprise before she realized there had to be a very good reason she was being spoken to.

"Why are you here, like this? Talking to me?"

"Because given the situation we find ourselves in, you are the only one who can carry out the actions necessary to end this nicely."

"...What? What are you talking about?" Xisplate pointed to Bella and Damien, and Terra followed his finger.

"Right now you are facing off against the Demon Lord from the 3rd Circle of Judgment, Meridia. Her powers make her a Succubus."

"Succubus? Those things that seduce men?"

"Essentially, yes. Right now Damien is under her spell so heavily he does not even acknowledge my presence. That is where you come in."

"What do you mean?" Xisplate lowered his head slightly, watching Terra.

"Succubus magic does not work on women, not even with the sexual orientation of the takeover wizard leans that way. In essence, you must find a way to free Damien from her spell and at the same time defeat Meridia. You following me?"

"...Yeah, totally." Terra said, struggling to process what she'd heard. Bella was a Demon Lord, Damien was (obviously) being seduced, and she was the only one around who could undo it all. But how? "Hey, quick question."

"Yes?"

"Just what are Demon Lords weak too again?"

"Holy Magic, other Lords, some other things like Devil Slayers. Why?"

"Then what am I supposed to do against her? I have none of those things." Xisplate rubbed his chin slowly.

"Hm, excellent point." He thought for a moment, before looking back up at her.

"Do you have any spells that use a ludicrous amount of magic power?" Terra nodded.

"I do. Why?" Xisplate sighed.

"Demon Lords are not, technically speaking, immune to all types of magic. We are incredibly resistant to all things other than what I just listed, which gives off the aforementioned feel of immunity. All types of magic theoretically could defeat us, but no sane person would go up against us without one of them on their side." Terra hummed in agreement.

"So you're telling me that if I use Rumbling Mt. Fuji, than it could defeat this Meridia?"

"Hm, I would think. Even we aren't that resistant to raw explosive power." Xisplate met her eyes once more. "However, we have another problem."

"Which is?" Terra's question was answered as another blast of darkness flying past her head. Damien appeared to have missed on purpose, at least she hoped he had.

"Last chance." He said, Bella still smiling behind him. "Back off."

"That." Xisplate said. "Damien would, at least in the seduced state he is in, rather die than allow you to hurt Bella. You need to put him out of commission first, or you won't be able to get to Bella."

"Just knock him out?"

"Normally yes, but the way he is now he won't just do that. Meridia's seduction is so powerful I doubt he'd fall if she asked him not too." Xisplate looked back at Damien. "There's only one way to break him out of his trance."

"Which is?" Xisplate did not reply at first, and eventually he looked over at her.

"I don't think you're going to like this." He said. Terra felt her stomach turning at these words.

"Tell me." She said. "How do I free him?"

"Succubus are very powerful. Their magic is nigh impossible to prevent. The one surefire way to break a man out, however..."

"What?! Tell me!"

"...Meridia's magic spell is broken if her victim becomes sexually attracted to another woman."

* * *

Natsu watched as many screens as he could, each battle progressing. Simon and Nami, Ultear and Kyoko, Drake and Rina, Damien, Terra and Bella, Keita and Elise, and Nashi and Blake. Each battle was gradually growing more and more vicious. Each combatant struck as hard as they could at each other, trying to cause them to fall and earn a point.

_"What an amazing final day!" _Ross shouted. _So many amazing battles going down! What do you think, your majesty?" _Hisui chuckled.

_"I think this year has been one of the best Grand Magic Games we've ever had, to be honest with you." _She said, earning a cheer from the crowd. _"It'll be hard to top this one next year."_

_"Agreed! Which battle are you the most interested in?"_

_"Hm, I can't pick one. If I tried the others would only seem even more nail-biting and interesting."_

"They're really going at each other." Erza said. "Every one." Natsu knew that was no understatement. Even Elise vs. Keita, which had gone from an innocent fight into a much more serious duel, had Elise going at him without remorse.

"It means a lot to everyone." Laxus answered. "Some have become a bit more important than others." Natsu slowly looked over in Gajeel and Levy's direction, but neither even seemed to know he was looking at them. Their eyes were glued to the screen where they corrupted little girl went after the Shadow Dragon.

_I can't even imagine how hard this is on them...Jeez._

Natsu looked back up just in time to catch a powerful Plasma explosion go off. The lacrima vision had picked it up from the air. A devastating explosion from Blake. He was not holding back whatsoever, even though Nashi was already hurt. What was his aim? The fight was completely one-sided, and he didn't like it, at all.

_Come on Nashi, you can do this...Just don't go Etherious...Or I may need to step in and stop you. Which won't end well for anyone._

* * *

Nashi tried to get up, coughing viciously as as she did. She looked up at Blake, who was watching her intently, forming another Plasma Blast on his hands.

"Get up." he said. "We're done when they say we are."

"They..." Nashi hissed. "The Olympians?"

"Of course, did you just figure that out?" He shook his head. "All I'm doing his following instructions. After all, I'm..."

"...Just carrying out orders?" She demanded angrily. "It that all you do? Follow your fucking orders?"

"How...?" Nashi giggled as she stood up.

"You're just like him. Look different, but you act the same." She hissed, thinking back.

The only man who'd ever given Nashi nightmares, and a man she feared even in death.

Apocalypse.

_"I care nothing for your guild, your family, or any of those people. I got an order, I carry it out. That's what I do."_

"Your care about as little as he did, from where I stand." She said. "You just think it differently. Instead of my guild, it's Sabertooth. instead of my family, it's the ones _who took you in and basically raised you. _Despicable. Your kind makes me sick to my stomach."

"You think you know me?" Blake demanded. "You think that you had it rough, getting bullied? How about you try having your life being in danger of being snuffed out every day by your overlords who may suddenly have no more use for you? After that, you're a fucking liability, so they off you. Do you think you know pain? Or my type? You don't know a fucking thing!_"_

"I know enough!" Nashi shouted. "I know you don't care about Sabertooth! Isn't that right?!"

"SHUT UP!" The Plasma went off in Blake's hands, and rushed towards Nashi . She braced for impact, wondering how much it was going to hurt this time.

The Plasma exploded halfway to her, leaving nothing but debris to hit her. She covered her eyes from the dust and rubble that was kicked up as a result, coughing again. Once it started to clear, Blake looked surprised.

"What?" Why did it...?"

_Tap...Tap...Tap...Tap...Tap_

Someone was approaching them. Nashi looked over just as the figure arrived in front of her, arms spread wide.

Michael stood in front of her, head facing down.

"Michael..." She said slowly, and her eyes widened.

He'd followed her.

Which meant...

He'd heard them shouting at each other.

What're you doing, Michael?" Blake asked. "She's my opponent."

"..."

"What's up man? Why so quiet?"

"...You sick bastard." Michael hissed.

"H-Huh?"

"After everything we did together...All the memories I have...They're not real." Nashi heard a strange sound, and followed it with her eyes.

There was a damp spot on the ground under Michael.

He was crying.

"You're...you're not actually my friend...You're a fucking double agent for a dark guild..." Blake looked like he was at a loss for words.

"Michael, I..."

"No...Don't speak. Don't...Just don't."

"Michael..."

"Stop!" Michael whipped his head up, revealing his eyes, which were rimmed with tears. "I don't want to hear more of your lies, Blake. Is that even your fucking name?!" Blake looked down, but Michael continued to shake violently.

"Pranking my parents...Helping Juno cheat in the eating contest...All the times you saved my life during a job...All the times we laughed or cried or did anything as a group of friends...All of it means nothing. Because those memories are just you not getting caught as a double agent. Trying to fit in. Because at the end of the day Blake, what was it you said? We're your cover?"

"I..."

"I'm not going to let you." Michael said, his arms still out, protecting Nashi. "You try and lay one more finger on her, and you and I are having our turn."

* * *

Blake felt like a hot knife had been driven into his heart and twisted.

He had those memories too.

All of them meant the world to him.

And thanks to The Olympians, they were supposed to mean nothing.

But they meant something.

But now, he might have been the only one with that sentiment. Because now he was a traitor, an outsider. Someone who had been sent to infiltrate their guild to be an asset. And he'd carried that mission out splendidly.

But along the way, he'd come to love the people residing in Sabertooth. They were his family, but the Olympians were his overlords, and they got the last say.

_"Blake."_

Fuck. Of course.

_"What is the issue here? Get him out of the way._

_"..."_

_"Hm? Silent are we? Are you trying to say you've developed a friendship with this problem standing before you? He was useful in the tag battle so Athena could test END, but now he's in your way. Finish him."_

There were so many colorful words painting Blake's mind. But he couldn't say any of them.

"...No."

_"Hm?"_

"You heard me...No. I won't do it. Michael is my friend."

_"Don't speak nonsense, boy. You have no friends. You are an agent of our will, not some petty guild member. Kill him." _Blake looked up at Michael. The boy seemed so angry and set in his ways.

Just like he'd always been.

Blake gritted his teeth.

"No. I won't hurt my friend."

_"Oh? Your friend is he? Would a friend threaten to attack you for fighting in a fighting tournament? Would a friend do what he's doing? Jumping to conclusions?"_

"All of those conclusions are right..."

_"Irrelevant. Off him, he's in the way."_

"No!" He didn't get a response ate this, and He started to shake with anger. "No...I won't do it. Michael's my friend. Even though he probably no longer considers me as such...He's my fucking friend!"

He didn't get an answer from Zeus for a moment or two, and at first Blake thought he'd messed up horribly.

_"Alright Blake, I'll play your little game. Here's what you can do. Either you attack right now with all your might and get this stupid little dragon out of the way, or you can all die from a blast from above."_

"Blast...From above..."

_"Indeed. Hephaestus developed a satellite that can shoot down concentrated blasts of Divine Flame. if you do not blast away that dragon right now, I'll order him to fire it on you and them. Is that what you want boy? For us to kill all three of you?"_

_"..."_

_"You've got five seconds or we fire anyway, boy. Make up your mind."_

This couldn't be real...

_"One."_

Were they really that heartless?

_"Two."_

But no...He couldn't do it...He didn't have the stomach...

_"Three."_

Michael...Sabertooth...He loved them damn it! Why?! Why did he have to end it this way?!

_"Four."_

There had to be a way. He couldn't...He wouldn't...

_"Fiv..."_

"Okay!" Blake shouted. "Okay...Don't shoot."

_"Good choice, boy. Now, show me the power we taught you."_

He had no choice.

He was working for The Olympians.

And his enemy stood before him.

His options were obvious.

He brought his hands together, and they started to glow. The glow grew and grew, but Michael did not move.

"Michael please..." He hissed. "Please move. They want her, not you."

"I don't care." Michael replied. "You'll have to go through me."

"Michael..."

"No." Blake gritted his teeth as tears started to drip down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry." he mumbled, the glow growing. "I'm...I'm so sorry."

"PLASMA SALVO!"

* * *

The gigantic burst of Plasma left Blake's hands and soared towards the pair.

"Michael move!" Nashi shouted. "That's not any blast! He's aiming to kill!"

"I'm not moving." he replied stoically. "I'll protect you, don't worry."

"Michael please! He's not holding back!"

The blast got closer and Michael laughed softly.

"He never did like holding back when challenged..."

"MICHAEL!"

The resulting explosion eradicated the entire block in a blast of turquoise magic.

**Hm, I really like this chapter. Like, a lot. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	184. Jupiter's Fury

**I've just got the urge to update, okay?! I don't have a problem!**

**Enjoy!**

The raw explosion of magic power exuded from Blake's attack had thrown up a huge smokescreen. The blast had also knocked Nashi flat on her ass, and she coughed viciously as buildings collapsed around her. The blast had been incredible.

Michael.

Nashi looked up ad tired to see the White Dragon through the smoke, but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Michael?" She ask tentatively, praying she got an answer. But she did not. The smoke continued to clear away, and Nashi stood up, holding her left arm. "Michael?" She called again.

She could see a figure through the smoke. Nashi's breath hitched in her throat.

Michael was still standing. He'd taken the blast head on, and was still standing between herself and Blake. But how? Was he really that powerful?

"I'm sorry..." It was Blake who spoke. "They didn't give me a choice..." Michael's body was battered beyond belief. His clothes were torn and blood seeped from various wounds that had both reopened from before and newly formed ones. But yet he stood.

"Michael... Nashi whispered. "Are you...?" The White Dragon didn't offer a response.

And then he started to fall backwards.

Nashi reacted quickly and caught him as he did so, softening the blow of landing a bit. His hair was obscuring his eyes, his breathing was ragged and slow, and his chest did not rise and fall in a normal pattern.

"Michael? Michael! Hey! Can you hear me?!" Nashi shook the body lightly, but he didn't offer her any words, or even sounds, of consolation. She gritted her teeth at this. Even though she'd grown so strong...People still got hurt because of her.

* * *

_"The boy breaths still. Kill him."_

"Please...Enough..."

_"You think you can negotiate? Shall I fire up the satellite?" _Blake lowered his head slightly at these words, his head spinning from the recent development. He had to attack them again. _"You're not finished. End it."_

He didn't want to.

But he had too.

He slowly raised his hands, preparing another round of Plasma magic in his hands.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I don't have a choice...I have to do it..." As he charged up his attack, Blake heard a strange sound.

He looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of Nashi using her momentum from sprinting forward to fly into the air, body glowing with heat.

"What the...?!"

"FUCK OFF!"

Her strike was too quick to counter. The explosive force of the Fire Dragon bore into him, throwing him backwards in a wave of flames and rubble. He tore through a building some ways away, ears ringing from the blow. When he looked up through it all, he laid eyes on the battlefield.

Both of them had disappeared.

Nashi had taken Michael away from the battlefield. Looking around slowly, Blake could see no obvious way she could've ran off, but she'd escaped him.

He'd done it.

He'd fired a Plasma Salvo on Michael. Blake gritted his teeth and punched the marble floor beneath him. He'd held back a tiny bit, but he wasn't sure that even mattered. The attack had wiped the man off his feet in a single fire.

_"What are you doing? Both your true target and that boy have escaped you. Go after them."_

"...Give me a minute, could you please?" Blake asked weakly. "I don't feel so hot."

_"An odd saying to use after being struck by a fire wizard but fine, take your break. The Salvo must've taken a lot out of you regardless, and then to get struck by her? You've earned yourself a short break. Use it wisely." _The connection cut out, and Blake remained sitting in the remnants of the building he'd been fired into.

He didn't want to get up. He wanted to roll over and give up. He didn't want this, he'd never wanted this. But he found himself in the position where neither of those things could be his reality. And that was just the way it was.

He had his mission. Find Nashi, And force her to the brink of death for the Olympians.

"Now I just need...To find her."

* * *

Ultear's shield negated another one of Kyoko's blasts, and she felt faint. She'd been chased all over the city by Kyoko, who relentlessly launched attack after attack, trying her absolute hardest to off her. And it wasn't working out very well.

But Ultear's plan was nearly perfect. Now she just needed the perfect place to execute it.

Keeping herself on two feet, Kyoko descended from the rooftops she had been on to the ground, and also seemed a little bit winded.

"What is your deal?" The blonde demanded in between breaths. "You're not attacking me at all! You're just running away." Ultear laughed and wiped her mouth with her hand.

"That's what it seems like to you, sadly." She replied. "I'm just waiting for the right moment at this rate." Kyoko made a face at this.

"The right moment? What are you planning?" Ultear chuckled and turned tail on Kyoko.

"Guess you'll have to come and find out!: She replied. Ultear managed her breathing very efficiently as she ran, doing her best to prevent getting winded while executing the plan. It was going to take a lot, probably all of the magic left in her, but she had to do it. It was a surefire way to win, at this point. Kyoko couldn't get out of it. All she needed was the location.

Ultear sensed the attack coming for her, so she jumped forward and rolled out of the way, causing it the create a crater in the ground instead. She got to her feet and kept running, still looking for the perfect spot to execute her plan.

There was an alley up ahead. Presumably a one-way alley, hopefully. That would work flawlessly. Ultear got to the area she needed and made a hard right turn, winding up in the alley as intended. A dead end at that. Ultear grinned to herself.

"Perfect." She said. She kept her back turned to the entrance until she heard Kyoko appear there, and she turned on cue.

"Now you've trapped yourself." Kyoko stated. "What do you plan to do?" Ultear slowly backed up, giving the appearance of being in trouble. "So tell me Ultear, what is it you plan to do?" Ultear smiled.

"Simple." She answered. "I'm intending to use the flow of time against you."

The words had clearly shaken Kyoko up for a moment, because the girl did not reply right away.

"What" She finally asked. "The flow of time?" Ultear nodded.

"Indeed. Just like you and I, magic flows infinitely through time. And with such a flow, there comes ways to harness it." Ultear formed an icicle in her hands, and lightly tossed it up and down. "And with that harness, comes incredible power." She tossed the icicle up in the air, and raised both her arms out.

"W-What are you...?"

"Arc of Time: Parallel Worlds!"

The Lost Magic responded to her will, white and black magic circles appearing on her open palms. The icicle glowed brightly in response to it as well.

And then another icicle appeared. And another. And another. Soon enough, a few hundred icicles were floating above Ultear's head.

"What is this?!" Kyoko shouted. "Lost Magic?!" Ultear smiled.

"Arc of Time. As used by my namesake before me."

* * *

The entire Fairy Tail guild had gone completely quiet.

Ultear was using Arc of Time.

And Natsu knew for certain he had no idea how.

As the icicles formed by the Lost Magic surged forth and struck Kyoko, the crowd started cheering.

_"Would you look at that!" _Ross shouted excitedly. _"Ultear reveals the use of another magic type! Was she hiding it all this time?!"_

_"I'd think so Ross, she'd not once showed proficiency with any other types of magic in this tournament."_

"Arc of Time..." Lucy said weakly.

"Where'd did she find a way to learn that?" Laxus asked. "I can't remember a time where she'd have found a way..." Natsu slowly looked over at Gray, who was still looking up at the lacrima vision displaying his daughter, who was now going on the heavy offensive. Although he liked to think that Gray and he were polar opposites, Natsu could tell he was shocked to his very core. Finally, after it seemed like an age or two had passed, Gray chuckled weakly.

"Figures." he said lowly. "I should've known she'd find a way. No wonder she was so exhausted during training, even with a good nights sleep."

"Juvia thinks Ultear was getting up in the middle of the night to practice." Juvia said slowly, also looking pretty stunned. "No wonder she seemed so winded some mornings." Natsu returned his eyes to the lacrima vision, watching the fights progress once more.

_...We have a good chance at coming back. Unless Nashi...If that happens, we all lose._

* * *

"Lightning God...!"

"Nice try!" Drake ducked underneath Rina's strike and delivered a blow to her stomach sending the girl into the air. He shot out another Fang Thrust, and whipped her into the earth once more. Rina got up quickly and ran at him again, but Drake listened. The way her muscles contracted, her breathing...Child's play.

He moved to the left and avoided her right hook, and ducked as she shot out a miniature Bellow. he drove a knee into her stomach and then a poison elbow to her face, which sent her careening backwards. He brought his hands together and shot out Scales, which exploded against her, which sent her into the dirt. She struggled to get up at this, and Drake pocketed his hands.

"Are you done yet?" he asked as she got to her hands and knees. "I can keep going, but I'm really starting to get sore."

"...How..." Rina hissed, slamming her fist into the ground. "How am I losing...Why won't you fall?"

"Why? Because I can't. I'm not going to lose to you, Rina. You're good, incredibly good, but I'm not going to lose." Rina was shaking a little, but Drake didn't spare a thought to wonder why. Had he gotten too many good hits in and the poison was effecting her badly now? He really couldn't tell.

"This...Is bullshit..." Rina hissed. Drake shrugged.

"Don't take it too personally. I'm just stronger. And here you thought you could take Damien on and stand a chance at..."

"FUCK!" Rina jumped to her feet, sparking with black lightning. "I'm not going to lose! Not to you! Not to a Dragon Slayer!"

"Stop it already." Drake advised. "You're not going to..."

"Shut your mouth!" Rina screamed, black lightning lashing out and striking him in the stomach. More lightning lashed out, but listening did nothing Rina's magic was responding to her anger. It was sporadic and unpredictable. "I am not going to lose to you, a second rate Dragon Slayer who decided to take me on! I'm going to annihilate you, do you understand?!"

Rina launched another burst of lightning, striking Drake again. He tried to dodge it.

And his leg flared in pain.

Gasping in surprise at the pain, Drake fell to one knee. The lightning struck him, but it didn't hurt as much as others.

It did, however, restrict his ability to move. He tried, but it didn't work. He was immobilized. Rina started laughing.

"You think you're do tough, don't you?! That you're all that! You aren't! And I'm going to prove it!" Rina took a stance. One arm was raised to the sky, and the other was aiming at Drake. Black lightning crackled around her, and she smirked.

"God Slayer Secret Art!"

* * *

Sting felt his eyes widen at these words, and he watched the screen in shock.

"No way..." he muttered.

"What are you doing Rina?!" Orga shouted. "Are you trying to kill him?!"

* * *

Drake watched as the clouds above them darkened. Whatever Rina was doing, it did not look good.

But he couldn't move, his body wouldn't respond thanks to the lightning.

The storms gathered in a storm formation, lightning surging between them. Rina was laughing.

"Not as many storm clouds as there was when I was practicing...I must not have a lot of power left."

"What the hell are you doing?!" Drake shouted. Rina smirked.

"Making sure you stay down! Then I can go fight Damien!"

"Your obsession with him is starting to get weird!"

"Shut up! You'll be out in just a moment anyway!" The lightning surged downwards, and right into Rina's arm, like a lightning rod. She looked up at it, and just as the lightning cut off, she looked back over at Drake and aimed her other fist forward.

"JUPITER'S FURY!"

Black lightning exploded forth from Rina's arms, and flew right for Drake.

"Come on, come on!" he shouted, but he was still paralyzed. The attack got closer, and the hair all over Drake's body began to stand up on end. This was bad.

His ears twitched, and he looked over in the direction of the sound. After a moment, he smiled.

"Well, maybe this'll end up being better than I thought..."

BOOM!

* * *

The attack exploded against Drake's figure, causing smoke to explode outwards. Everyone watched with baited breath for the result of the attack, and soon enough, the result was made clear.

Drake was lying face down in the dirt, his clothes tattered and body crackling with electricity.

_"Oh my!" _Ross shouted. _"Is Drake seriously injured?! Is it over for him?!"_

* * *

Rina watched, but Drake's body didn't move. She was exhausted. Expelling so magic explosive power all at once had taken most of what remained of her magic power.

But it had done the job. Drake wasn't moving.

She doubted he was dead. She didn't have near enough power remaining to off him.

_"Is Drake going to stand?!"_

He didn't. Rina could see any movement he may have made. She watched, but nothing happened. She smiled and laughed a little. It was over. She'd proven him wrong.

_"IS IT OVER?!"_

It sure seemed that way from where she stood. Rina turned and began to walk away. She was sure Drake would wake up soon enough and be just fine within a week. Now she just needed to go and find Damien. He was probably wrapped up in something else, but he was her goal at the...

_"WAIT!" _Rina froze at the word. Why was Ross saying that? No, surely he couldn't be talking about...

Rina slowly turned and looked back towards Drake.

The man was writhing on the ground. After a few moments of that, his body started to arc upwards. He was trying to get up.

All Rina could do was watch.

_...How..._

Drake started coughing as he got to his knees, entering a fit of coughing.

_He took Jupiter's Fury head on...and is brushing himself off?! How?!_

Drake got to his feet and panted, hunched over.

And Rina fell to her knees.

She didn't understand.

_Why does he keep getting up?!_

"..Because it's something I'll always do." Rina looked up in shock at this, Drake shrugged the coat off of him, revealing his upper body. It looked fine. "No matter who knocks me down. I'll stand back up."

His arms started to glow, and scales grew there. He started to walk forward as his arms grew scaly and dark red.

"You seem to be under the impression that I'm some kind of weakling." Drake laughed. "Is it my appearance? My magic? or perhaps my bloodline? is it not impressive enough for you Rina?"

"..."

"I'm more than enough for you. How about I take my turn?!" Drake darted forward, glowing with magic as he did. "I happen to agree with you on one thing Rina!

_...This fucking guy..._

"I'm not going to lose! Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Toxic Viper Strike!" Drake's speed exponentially increased as he darted forth, all magic gathered in one open hand.

* * *

The sound of flesh on flesh rang in his ears as Drake stood behind Rina now, his arm that had struck her still outstretched behind him, glowing with poison.

Rina collapsed on her side. Drake stood up and looked back to find the girl lying there, unmoving.

_"...Oh my God! It seems this may be it for Rina!" _A few more seconds passed, and Ross laughed. _"That's it, she isn't moving! Drake has earned Fairy Tail another point! They're still in this!"_

Drake sighed and jumped up and down to regain feeling in his body.

"Looks like that's the end of it." he stated. He looked over to a pile of rubble to his right, and watched it closely. He smiled. "Thanks." he said to it. Looking back up at the lacrima vision, Drake saw how many people were left.

His whole team, most of Sabertooth, Nami, Terra, and Bella.

A bad feeling settled in Drake's stomach. Nashi was still in the fight.

The being from Silverridge crater flashed before Drake's eyes, and he sighed. He needed to find her, he could't shake this feeling.

"She's probably at the source of the biggest explosions, so I'll go towards those I guess..."

* * *

Winter smiled as Drake ran off away from the defeated Rina, whom Winter intended to help in a moment.

"Dumb ass." She said to herself, leaning back against the pile of debris she was hiding behind. "Leave it to him to get himself in such a bad bind I have to go and bail him out of it..."

Winter had played risky by healing Drake's wounds after he had been struck by Jupiter's Fury, but it had worked out in the end. She laughed and looked up at the sky.

"You know..." She said, her cheeks flushing. "I figured I was through with that idiot...But it's like the world keeps putting us with each other...God, he's an asshole, making me feel this way after we broke up..."

He'd be fine.

He was in Fairy Tail, after all.

**Yep, that's the extent of that fight. It may seem a tad rushed, but let me let you guys in one something.**

**During the last arc, The End of the World, the whole arc consisted of drawn out fights and a few chapters of important plot. I don't like doing that, drawing out fights. So I don't want to do that right now, partially due to the wounded nature of everyone involved. **

**Regardless, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	185. A Disparity in Time

**Almost done with this arc! Excited to end it and jump into our next adventure!**

Terra stared at Xisplate for a moment, trying to figure out how serious he was.

"Huh?"She asked for clarification. "I-I'm sorry, my hearing must be terrible. I could've sworn I heard you say..."

"That he needs to become sexually attracted to another woman? Exactly what I said." Xisplate finished. Terra blinked a few times, sweat dripping down her forehead.

"Again, my hearing must be..."

"Terra you can try and say you misheard until the sun sets, but the facts remain. You must seduce Damien yourself." Terra looked down at the ground, her stomach churning violently.

"I...I..."

"What?" Xisplate demanded. "Surely it can't be that hard."

"Well..." Terra rubbed the back of her head. "I mean...I..."

"Speak up Terra, I need you to voice your concerns if we're getting through this.

"I've never...done anything...like that." Xisplate tilted his head to the side at this.

"Like what?" He asked. "Seduced a man?"

"Yes! I'm not a slut like Bella!"

"Promiscuous!"

"Besides," Terra said after Bella's outburst, "I don't have the first clue about how to do something like that!" Xisplate sighed.

"it's simple." he said. "Attraction is based off of the instinctual urge to mate, yes? So you must make yourself seem as irresistible as humanely possible. You may even have to make it better than that, seeing as your competing against a demon."

"...I am not the least bit surprised if Damien can't stand you." She said weakly. "This plan is insane."

"If you want a chance to go at Damien seriously, Bella needs to get out of your way. And too do that, you need Damien out of her control. And too do _that, _you need to shut up, show some skin, and seduce him. Okay?" Terra stared down at the ground, weighing her options. One on hand, she could totally disregard what Xisplate was saying, but it would make her life ten times harder. Why of all things was it seduction? She couldn't do that!

"I...I'm not sure I'm even good looking enough..."

"Oh my God, are you one of those girls who fish for compliments or something?"

"No, Bella fits that more. But look at her, and then me. It's not exactly a contest."

"Bella's takeover makes her attractive. It's Meridia's trait. It's not all magic. Granted as far as I know, her mom is pretty hot too."

"Exactly! I'm not like that! At all..."

"And?" Xisplate jabbed a thumb towards Damien. "All it takes to seduce most men is too look sexy enough. If you lose enough of those clothes and talk all seductive, it'd be more than enough."

"Do you really think that lowly of Damien?"

"Yes." They exchanged looks for a moment before Terra sighed. She really didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Okay, okay...What do I do?"

"Lose the shirt and we'll see what happens." Terra grimaced, but complied. She slowly reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt. Her face flushed. This was so stupid...

"Well, here goes nothing..." She said, slowly lifting the shirt off.

"Do it slower, it's probably sexier." Xisplate said.

"How perverted are you?!" Terra shouted angrily, more blood rushing to her face. Xisplate just shrugged.

"Trying to solve the problem at hand is all." he replied. Taking her shirt off and discarding it, This left Terra in nothing but her bra. She felt completely humiliated, but that wasn't the most important problem at hand. She looked over at Damien carefully, and she found that the man had averted his gaze.

"Damien?" She asked shyly. Damien just closed his eyes.

"Put your shirt back on." he hissed. "It's unbecoming."

_Coming from the guy who was agreeing to have sex with Bella only a few minutes ago..._

"I..." Terra stuttered. "I, uh..." Bella rolled her eyes.

"Put it on, Terry." Bella called, smirking. Terra narrowed her gaze at the girl for calling her a boys name. It was clearly a jab at her figure.

"What's the matter?" Terra called out, placing a hand on her hip. "Jealous?"

"As if. What's to be jealous of?" She then looked at Damien. "Get her out of her, honey. She's in my way." Damien didn't respond right away, and Bella blinked in confusion. "Damien? Sweetheart what's wrong?"

"...She's distracting." Damien muttered, still refusing to look.

"It's working" Xisplate said. "Lose more clothing!"

"Like what?"

"You're wearing pants aren't you?" Terra slowly looked down at her pants, and then back up at the demon.

"Uh...No thanks I'm good."

"Terra for God sake..."

"You can't be serious!"

"Do you honestly think that you only without a shirt somehow contests that?!" Terra slowly looked over at Bella, who was also in practically nothing but her underwear."

"But she's a..."

"Neekis..." Bella hissed.

"...Yeah. You know." Xisplate rolled his eyes.

"I get it. You're shy. But this isn't about whether or not Damien's the first guy to see you in your underwear." Terra took a deep breath and looked back over at Damien and Bella. Her looking made Damien avert his eyes, but Bella watched her closely, eyes glowing bright blue. Even in her demon form with black horns growing out of her head, the girl was drop dead gorgeous. It wasn't fair. Why did Terra of all people get caught up in this situation? Why couldn't it have been Winter? Or Reyna? Ultear? Anyone!

"...Okay. I'll do it."

"There's the spirit." Terra reached down and slowly undid the belt buckle on her pants. Damien's eyes widened.

"W-What are you...?"

"Nothing." Terra answered in a low tone, her pants dropping to her ground. Bella's eyes widened.

"Wait..." She said, then growled. "I see what your game is! Your trying to reverse the seduction! Don't listen to her Damien, she's ugly anyway!" Damien shook his head and then nodded.

"Of course, I'll get her out of our way." Terra crossed her arms under her chest and leaned heavily on her left leg, smirking.

"Aw come on Damien, don't be that way." She purred, or at least tried too. "You know Bell'a just using you, right?"

"...Uh, maybe?" Damien asked weakly. Bella narrowed her eyes at Terra, who just smirked back. Bella took her turn to smile.

"You want to play that game, Neekis?" She demanded, walking forward and her wings folded up to rest on her back. "We can plan that game." She had reached Damien, and wrapped her arms around the his neck and placed her mouth next to his ear. She started whispering, and Damien's eyes went wide and then he blushed.

"Seriously?" He asked weakly.

"Mm hm." Bella replied.

"...I'll do whatever it takes." he replied. Bella giggled and traced her finger across his chest.

"Go get 'em, tiger." She said. Damien started to advance, and Xisplate clicked his teeth and looked to his left.

"That is disgusting, Meridia...No I don't care what her favorite position is..."

"A little help?!" Terra hissed. "Who're you even talking to?!"

"No one." Xisplate answered. "Not important. You need to step your game up, Terra. She's doing better than you."

"Well she is a..." Terra stopped herself when a blast of shadow came past her head. She turned to find Damien being the caster, and the man lowered his gaze.

"No, she isn't." He hissed. "You are."

"You've got to be kidding me, Damien." She muttered.

"Step it up, Terra." Xisplate said. "He's not stopping his advance."

* * *

"This is disgusting to watch." Vantros said. "Mortal men are so weak minded."

"Oh don't be so high string Vantros!" Meridia said, laughing as she twirled a stand of red hair around her index finger. "This is hilarious to watch!"

"You did always like fucking around with mortal men, so I don't blame you." Vantros replied as Terra practically wrapped herself around Damien and started whispering to him. "Or was it fucking them in general? I don't recall." Meridia shrugged.

"Say whatever you think, I'm having fun with this." Xisplate turned and faced the female Demon Lord.

"I didn't know you'd chosen your takeover wizard in a legal guild, Meridia." He said. "Most of the twelve Chosen Ones ended being a sociopath." Meridia shrugged.

"Eh, Bella's always been gorgeous." She said. "Since the day she was born. I really didn't have much of a choice."

"it's a nice change of pace." Xisplate said. "usually it's a fight to the death." Meridia hummed in agreement.

"Hm. Did you know what happened to Akirelys takeover wizard? Shuichi." Xisplate lowered his head.

"He's joined the dead, hasn't he?" He asked weakly. Vantros lowered his head.

"Ten of the Twelve remain chained to their wizard." He said. "While Taisho and Shuichi have joined the afterlife."

"Indeed." Meridia agreed. "Let us hope it doesn't dip down farther." Xisplate shook his head weakly as both girls started arguing over Damien.

"It probably will. We have a habit of running into them."

* * *

_BOOM!_

Simon landed as his explosion of light landed on top of Nami. He raised his blade in preparation for the inevitable reappearance of the girl. And reappear she did, bursting through the smoke, presumably using gravity to alter her own and fly faster, Their blades connected, and they continued their sword fight. Nami backed up and tried to swing at his legs, but Simon flew away from her using Meteor and slashed at her back, but she quickly flipped her sword over her head and it met Simon's. Even in such an awkward position, Nami's strength kept him at bay. She pushed, which caused Simon to lose his balance slightly, and allowed her to turn and slash at him, which he parried. They went back and forth, no one getting a strike in for a long time until they both swung at the same time, causing a shockwave to shoot up and throw debris everywhere. Nami laughed and got in Simon's face.

"You sure are something else." She said. Simon smirked.

"Likewise." he said. "I've never met someone who was on on par with me." Simon felt his shoulders weighing down, and he backed up using Meteor. Just as he got out of that area and away from Nami, gravity created a crater where he'd been standing. Nami clicked her teeth and twirling her blade around.

"You sensed that." She said. "How?" Simon massaged his left arm, which was now sore from all the swordplay.

"Gravity weighed down on me for a brief moment before the increase would've crushed me." he said. "Pretty easy to detect." Nami's eyes brows went up slightly, and she smiled.

"This is more than I had anticipated." She said. "Pandemonium was impressive in and of itself, but holding your own against me when you're already wounded...You really are a Scarlet."

"Thanks, I seem to get that a lot." he replied. Nami pointed her sword at him, and her body glowed with white magic.

"I'm not going to go out that easily." She said. "You're going to have to earn these five points."

"Even though you won't get any closer to winning if you earn five, I'm still not going to let you." Simon quickly looked over at the scoreboard. Rina had been taken out, which was good. One less Tiger to worry about in the long run. But he was still faced with a monumental problem.

"Don't get distracted, Simon!" He turned just in time to have to block a slash from Nami, who had run in to close the jab as he looked away. "Not in your best interest, let me tell you." The two pushed at each other as hard as they could, but neither one gave. Until Nami started to move her wrist. Simon paid it little mind, but once Nami reached a certain angle with her blade, she rapidly torques it.

Simon's blade was no longer touching hers, but she wasn't done. Nami twisted her blade around Simon's and the force caused Simon to lose his grip on it. The blade slid across the ground and stopped a fair distance away. Another second later, Gravity crushed the tempered steel into dust.

"Fun fact, Simon." Nami said. "Gravity is one of the strongest natural forces on Earth. Make it bend for you, and it's even more powerful. Care to contest it?"

"Maybe it is." Simon said. "But that doesn't change how strong you are. Eventually your magic will run out, and Gravity becomes it's own master again. I think I'll help it with that process!"

"Bring it on!"

* * *

Another icicle barrage exploded against the general area where Kyoko had been standing, and Ultear waited for the outcome of the blow. Soon enough she could see Kyoko, who was on one knee trying to stand.

"This magic..." She hissed. "What is it?"

"Arc of Time." Ultear answered. "With it, I can alter the flow of time. technically speaking that one icicle has attacked a few hundred times, just from different places in time. Sometimes from the left, or the right, above, or below. It's all in an infinite amount of futures that haven't happened, so I tap into them all."

"Seriously? That's overpowered."

"You're lucky it doesn't work on humans, or else it would be." Kyoko got to her feet and chuckled as she brought her fingers up to her head.

"I guess our magic is kind of the same. You use magic drawn from different futures, and I draw on magic I've seen in the past. What to figure out which one is more powerful?" Ultear grinned as the girl summoned up another red magic circle.

"I already know my answer." Anther few of the magic circles appeared, and Kyoko aimed her hand forward.

"Shadow-Lightning Stream! White-Fire Nova! Poison-Iron Wrath!" All three attacks burst from their circles and roared towards Ultear, who stayed where she was, smiling.

"Ice Make: Shield!" The shield spawned in Ultear's hands once more, and she raised it to defend herself, and it glowed white. All three attacks struck it at once, and Ultear did her best to keep her footing. She started to slide, but she pushed back as hard as she could in an attempt to stay grounded, but she still slid backwards. Finally the attacks died away, which gave Ultear a moment to breath.

Then she started laughing.

"Sixty-eight." She said, Kyoko making a confused sound. "You've attacked me like that sixty-eight times since the battle began."

"What the hell? Have you been counting?"

"In a sense." Ultear replied, standing up straight. "But only for a sole reason." Ultear outstretched her arms, white magic circles forming there. A magic circle spawned behind Ultear's head.

And another. And another. and another. Soon enough, sixty-eight white magic circles were forming a square around Kyoko and Ultear.

"What is this?!" Kyoko asked as the last of the circles spawned in. Ultear laughed.

"Every time you attacked me, I blocked it with my shield. But I enchanted the shield with Arc of Time. Each time you attacks struck it, they redirected into another timeline." Ultear grinned. "One where they bend to my will." Kyoko's eyes widened.

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that...?"

"All of these magic circles are about to launch every single attack you've used on me." The circles started to glow. "A certain man taught me that this one works pretty damn well."

"Y-You can't be serious."

"I am. Are you ready, Kyoko? Because here they come!" Ultear clapped her hands together.

Every circle started to glow. White. Black, yellow, red, purple, all different colors from all the types of magic Kyoko had used on Ultear while she'd been running away.

"Arc of Time! Redirected Offensive!"

The attacks formed in the circles, and they all started to launch at once, all aimed at Kyoko.

And launch they did.

_BOOM!_

* * *

Ultear stopped after roughly half of the attacks had been fired, waiting to see the results of what she'd done. Sure enough, as the smoke cleared, Kyoko was lying there in the center of the crater she'd been pounded into. Ultear wiped her brow in relief.

"Thank God it's over." She said. "I thought..."

A horrible noise grated on Ultear's ears.

"Gah! W-What the hell is that horrible noise?!" she screeched. Turning around, Ultear could see the problem. The remaining magic circles were turning from white to dark red. The trend continued all the way through every circle. They started to smoke and crackle wildly, and Ultear's eyes widened at this.

"I-I don't understand..."

_BOOM!_

* * *

_"Oh my God! Ultear was able to take out Kyoko and earn Fairy Tail another point, but what happened to Ultear's magic?!" _Ross shouted.

The cloaked man perked up as his spine tingled He looked over towards the huge explosion near the center of the city.

"I feel a disparity in the flow of time." He spoke to himself, watching the area closely. "Something went wrong." He kept watching, before slowly returning his gaze to the knife he was twirling in his fingers. "It must have been nothing..."

...

_But if that was the case, why have I been feeling it the entire time I've been in Crocus?_

**Now I know what you're all thinking. Fallen Angel Codester, why are you rushing through these fights? Well, I'm really not. Drake and Ultear ha the least important or epic fight plan, so I just ended it as quickly as possible. Ultear's has some very important plot behind it as I'm sure some of you had guessed, but that remains a secret for now.**

**Anyway, i hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	186. To Rectify His Mistake

**Going as fast as I can guys! Arc will be over before you know it at this rate!**

The area itself had become a gigantic wasteland. Buildings fell apart and their remnants sat depressingly against the slowly darkening backdrop of the city. And sitting around the middle of the wasteland, was a puddle of water. After a few moments, the puddle started to glow, and Ultear morphed back into a human shape from the puddle. She managed to transfer her body into water before the explosion hit her hard, so she was pretty much unscathed.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, coughing as her body returned to normal. "I've never seen Arc of Time malfunction like that..." Ultear looked around at the devastation the explosion had caused, and whistled. "And damn is it a good thing I avoided the wrath of it." Trying to stand, Ultear gasped as her right leg throbbed. She knew she was a fool to push herself to such a degree for a plan as intense as the one she'd concocted, but she'd honestly not felt the pain until now.

"Wow," Someone said, making Ultear look up from massaging her leg to see Drake standing near the crater Kyoko was in. "You sure did some damage, Ul." She laughed weakly as she crawled towards a wall to lean against.

"I beat her though." She replied. "That's what counts, right?" Drake chuckled and nodded.

"I suppose it is." The Poison Dragon made his way over to her, and looked down. "You okay?" He asked. Ultear shrugged.

"Nothing a rest won't fix." She told him. "Leg's acting up again."

"You really ought to get that checked if it bothers you so much, Ultear." He said. "They're maybe be something seriously wrong."

"I doubt it. It's just because Zindo's blade were enchanted." Ultear shifted so she could massage said leg, and continued to speak. "What're you doing?" Drake pocketed his hands.

"I defeated Rina." He said. "But I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing. I've just got to find Nashi. Whatever it is, I have a feeling it has something to do with her."

"As usual, hm?" Ultear asked with a smile. The two went quiet. "...Hey, Drake?"

"Yeah?" He asked, looking over at her. Ultear looked down at the ground.

"Why...Why does this kind of stuff keep happening? It seems like, for the past few months before Silverridge, we've continued to get ourselves into life or death situations. First it was Phantom Dove, then Edolas and those trials, and then Devil Advocate...One after the other." Drake looked back in the direction of the other explosions, and sighed.

"I can't fathom why." he said. "But whoever is after us is going regret it when we find them."

"...Yeah. You're right." Ultear looked in the direction Drake was. "If you really think something's up, find her as fast as you can. If this is another case of someone going after us, she's probably going to be the one who gets herself into trouble knowing her."

"Yeah, I know." Drake walked off in the direction of the blasts in the distance, although Ultear wasn't sure just who was to blame for them. Shifting, Ultear looked up at the sky.

_I wonder why this shit keeps happening to us..._

* * *

"He's mine!"

"Fuck off, he's mine!"

"Ladies I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement!" Terra pulled as hard as she could on Damien's left arm, while Bella pulled on the right. "Please, I'm not capable of splitting in two!"

"Then make up your mind!" Both girls shouted angrily. "And stop acting so confused!"

"I can't!" He cried out as Bella pulled harder. "You're both pretty amazing!" Terra gritted her teeth. She was very close to completing her task, she could feel Damien's resolve weakening. Bella jerked her arm up, pulling Damien closer to her.

"Sweetheart I'll do things to you you'd think were only possible in your wildest dreams!" She said. "Just stop listening to her!"

"She's full of it!" Terra shouted back. "She may be hot, but she can't fulfill any of your fucking fantasies!"

"As if I can't and you could, Neekis!"

"At least I'm realistic!"

"Ladies, please!"

"You shut up!" They shouted. Terra needed to get Damien out of the way as fast as she could. But how was she going to do that if he was acting so confused?

"You know what, Bella?" Terra said. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Agreed, so fuck off."

"Actually, I was thinking of something else." Bella made a face, and Terra smirked. "How about we remove Damien from this equation? You and me."

"Didn't realize you were a lesbian, Terra."

"Wha...! No! That isn't what I meant!" Bella shrugged innocently, and Terra gathered her thoughts. "Make Damien go away, and wait. And you and me will finish this." Bella rolled her eyes.

"Please." She said. You don't have any effective way of defeating me, so why the hell would I waste my time?"

_It may not be effective, but it'll sure as hell do the job if that fucking demon didn't lie to me._

"Scared?" Terra asked, smirking. "Want to me keep your impromptu lapdog around because your scared?"

"Who said that? I'm not scared of you."

"Then get rid of Damien and we'll see what you are." Bella narrowed her eyes at Terra. the girls stared at each other for a long time before Bella exhaled loudly.

"Damien, sweetie." Damien looked over at her. "I want you to go and wait for me somewhere else, okay?"

"Where?"

"Ah I don't care. Make sure you're close enough to hear me beating the shit out of Terra though."

"Got it. Close enough to hear." Damien paused for a moment, and looked at Terra. She shooed him away, so he complied as they both released him, spreading his wings and disappearing. Terra watched him go before turning her eyes on Bella, who was also watching her.

"I hope you didn't come to this conclusion by thinking seduction was all I was capable of." Bella warned, her wings spreading out, giving her an incredibly menacing feel. "Just because it's my main way of attacking doesn't mean I'm useless."

"Oh is that right?" Terra asked. "Because watching you lose to those girls the other day was incredibly disappointing." Bella's wings twitched in irritation.

"Sorry I didn't want to reveal myself to a pair of useless girls, of all things." She replied. "If I'd fought any guys, then Nikki and I would have won that easily. But that doesn't matter right now." The girl tensed, as did Terra, Both waited for a moment, trying to see any openings.

And then Bella sped forward, striking Terra in the midsection.

Terra gasped in surprise as the strike knocked the air from her lungs, and she flew backwards away from the girl. She looked up just in time to see Bella become merely a blur as she sped towards her, striking her again.

_Jeez, she wasn't kidding...Her speed and strength are insane._

Terra stomped the ground and brought up earth pillars, throwing them at Bella. But the demon easily avoided every single one and and was at Terra's throat again before she had any time to realize what was happening.

"Is this all you have?" Bella asked. "And here I thought you actually had a plan." Groaning, Terra tried to stand and come up with some kind of plan. Bella's speed and strength, not to mention resistance to her magic, left Terra in a bad position, Maybe it would've been smarter to keep Damien around so that he could have helped her. Then again, he'd have been too busy getting into Bella's pants to help her.

"How goes the planning, Terra?" It was Xisplate talking to her again, and Terra sighed.

"At least I got Damien out of the way, right?" She asked. "So why don't you follow him?"

"He'll reappear soon enough. Meridia's seduction wears off after a period of time if she so chooses it too, or the victim gets to far away. He'll hear the battle and come rushing back, probably in confusion."

"Confusion?"

"The seduction magic leaves the victim with no recollection of what happened to them. So congrats, Damien won't remember you being in your underwear." Terra felt her cheeks flush, but the news was relieving anyway. Terra returned her eyes to Bella, who was casually picking at her nails.

"What should I do?" She whispered. "She can get around my attacks so easily."

"Well that's simple." He replied. "If this Rumbling Mt. Fuji spell is as strong as you say it is, it should be a one shot knock out. From what I saw during her run during the Games in the arena, Bella is not very resistant herself. And Meridia's takeover only gives her so much more. I'd say if you can get a few got hits in with stone pillars, and then hit her directly with Rumbling Mr. Fuji, it's a done deal. At the very least it'll keep her down long enough to make Ross declare her a loss." Terra nodded and turned her eyes back to Bella, who looked over at her.

"Any good ideas over there?" the girl asked innocently. Terra nodded.

"A few. Can I ask you something first though?"

"I guess."

"Can I put my pants back on?"

* * *

Keita dodged Elise's attempt to strike him and landed upright, watching the girl cackle.

"What's the matter, _Keita-chan?_" She asked. "I just want you near me!"

"That's kind of my problem..." Keita hissed under his breath.

Elise had been tainted by the darkness. As the memory magic keeping her memories at bay faded, the void had been filled by the very same darkness Keita felt from her all of the time. And now, her in this state of near insanity, Keita was left with a choice. He could run and not fight her, which was not something he wanted to do. Or he could fight and defeat Elise, and get close enough to absorb the shadows from her.

He looked over at the scoreboard and lacrima vision high above the Domus Flau in the distance. He regarded every match up currently on the board, and gritted his teeth. No other battle seemed very appealing to get involved in.

_If I just get out of her way, if I just get far enough away..._

_...No. I'm not running._

Keita looked back at Elise, who was still hunched over and cackling softly.

_It's my fault this happened...I poked and prodded her and now she's relived the one thing her family wanted to be kept a secret from her. It's my fault she's like this..._

Keita clenched his fists.

_But what do I do? I need her to let me get close enough to locate the darkness inside and purify her...But she's as strong, if not stronger, than me..._

Keita didn't know what to do. Elise was a formidable opponent outside of this state. But not, left with no remorse, she was downright deadly. What was he going to do?

But...

* * *

_Keita didn't know what he was supposed to do today to kill the time, and to boot he'd lost everyone else in the crowd._

_"Seriously, you guys could at least wait for me..." he hissed under his breath. As he walked forward, he felt someone bump into him rather hard, causing him to stumble and lose his balance slightly as they passed. No big deal, the street was rather crowded._

_Hey!" Keita heard a voice call out, presumably to him. Turning, the person who'd run into him, a short girl with black hair and piercings, was frowning at him. "You could at least apologize for hitting me. And what are you staring at?"_

* * *

_"You'd be surprised how much Nashi can shove into that small stomach of hers." Keita rolled his eyes at this statement. Elise really didn't need to say that, it was obvious from the contest that Nashi was a heavy eater. And truthfully, all afternoon, it became apparent the girl didn't know how to shut her mouth._

* * *

_"You've been a little quiet over there, Keita." Keita looked up from his food to see Elise looking at him weirdly. He hated the way she looked at him, it was like she was internally screaming "Try me bitch"_

* * *

Keita dodged another volley of iron lances, but truthfully, his mind was elsewhere.

_...I've only known this girl for about a week..._

* * *

_Keita was completely fine with taking on the Cross-Crocus Footrace, it seemed like fun. _

_That was until, of course, he viewed the other competitors and say a certain someone. He sighed as Elise got closer to him._

_"You competing I suppose?" He asked. The look in her eyes made Keita feel as if she was judging him heavily for such a simple question._

_"Of course I am, what other reason would I have for jumping into the arena?"_

* * *

_Keita's mind was still swimming from his encounter with the metal man, so hearing Elise's voice did nothing for him._

_"Took you long enough." It took a lot of his self control to not sarcastically quip back at her. _

* * *

Keita clenched his fists and stared at the ground. His body was still a shadow, so Elise's attacks were just phasing through him. He could hear her screaming obscenities.

_"I hate it when people run from me!"_

_"You don't look so hot, Keita! Please don't tell me this was so hyped up for me to kick your ass!"_

_She's easily the most irritating, insufferable, sassy, too loud for her own good, nosy, rude, touchy and sarcastic girls I know..._

_But..._

* * *

_As the crowd roared in approval of the amazing tag battle they had just witnessed, Keita was focused with keeping Elise upright. The girl had collapsed into him immediately after helping his sorry ass off the ground, and it was truthfully a little sad that the girl who talked so much shit was just as exhausted as he was. _

_"Hey, Keita." Oh boy, here came the shit talking._

_"What?" He asked, looking over in Michael and Nashi's direction._

_"Do you... not like me or something?"_

_"What?"_

_"Whenever I talk to you, I can see a flare of indignation in your eyes. Like my very existence is a blight on your own." Keita felt shame start to swim around in his head. She could tell he held a slight disdain for her._

_"That's...that's not it at all. Your just a little rasher than most people I know. And we've barely spoken outside the battlefield, so don't take it personally." Elise chuckled lightly._

_"I guess I do take some getting used too." She shifted a bit and looked up at him. "But if it helps you any, I think your alright." Keita looked anywhere but at her, before he sighed._

_"Yeah yeah, same here..." Elise laughed, and then coughed._

_"Don't lie to me."_

* * *

_She may the most annoying person I've ever met..._

Keita felt power surge through his body. Shadows leaked from his form.

_But I'm not going to let someone with such a bright future ahead of them become tainted by darkness. _

"Here's what we're going to do, Elise." Keita said, looking up. "You're going to come over here, and I'm going to absorb the darkness inside you. That way, you'll go back to your normal self." Elise cackled.

"And why the hell would I do that?" She demanded. Keita didn't back down.

"Because if you don't..." He raised a hand, and shadows formed around it. "You leave me no choice but to beat it out of you by force." Elise watched him before she started cackling even louder.

"So if I don't bow down and submit, you'll fight me like I wanted originally?! Damn, I should've become lost in my own negativity years ago!" Elise hunched over, and her body grew shiny. "Try me, Keita Cheney."

"Gladly." Keita rushed her as fast as possible, and landed a solid blow.

He wasn't fighting for the Games anymore.

He wasn't fighting for Sabertooth.

He wasn't fighting to regain some semblance of his pride that Elise had destroyed two days prior.

He wasn't fighting to vent his irritation with the girl.

He was fighting to free a girl, a friend, someone who needed him, from her darkness.

Because at the end of the day, it was his fault.

And he'd go to hell and back to somewhat rectify that mistake.

**Some more flashbacks today, and a little insight into the Keita side the Keita/Elise rivalry. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! let's try and get five!**


	187. Gravity and The Heavens

**Daily updates for all! I'm on March Break as of now, so let's get this arc done and over with! Not that I don't like it, I love it, but it's time the GMG reaches it's conclusion!**

**Enjoy!**

_"What a spectacular day so far!" _Ross shouted. _"And it isn't even over yet! What do you think, your majesty?" _Hisui hummed in thought at his question.

_"Today sure has been one twist after the other. It all basically comes down to Fairy Tail and Sabertooth now, with a few other competitors still in the mix. With so many amazing fights going on, it's so difficult to pick one to watch over the others. Although I am curious where Nashi Dragneel has disappeared too. She was fighting Blake before, but I looked away for a single moment and she disappeared and Blake was climbing out of debris. Looking away was clearly a mistake."_

Azzie, too, wondered where Nashi had gone too. The girl had been on the receiving end of a beating before she looked over to focus on Drake's fight, and she disappeared. Although once Drake survived Jupiter's Fury and Ultear unleashed Arc of Time, she'd almost forgotten about her.

"Where do you think she went?" Katsuchi asked. "Did she just try to escape her beating?"

"I don't think so." Tetsu responded. "That doesn't seem like something she would do."

"She was pretty hurt." Azzie said. "I wouldn't blame her for running away to try and regain her composure." Katsuchi shrugged.

"Still...Running?" Azzie watched Simon and Nami going at each other, both receiving vicious blows. She wasn't entirely sure what to think about Nashi's fight. The audio from the lacrima vision was downright horrid, so if Blake had said something to her to make her scared, no matter how unlikely that was, they wouldn't have a clue.

An explosion caught Azzie's attention, and she turned to look at the lacrima vision displaying the battle between Terra and Bella. Speaking of that battle, Azzie felt rather scared even looking in Bella's direction. Knowing that the girl was a Demon Lord reminded Azzie of a certain someone she usually opted not to think about, but she could only think bout him as Bella threw Terra this way and that.

"She's terrifying." Katsuchi muttered under his breath. "Not as bad as Taisho, but..." Tetsu nodded.

"Yeah. The ability to seduce any man she wants? That's so unfair." Azzie laughed offhandedly at this. She, apparently as oppose to her friends, remembered Bella using said magic to make the majority of men in the crowd lose their shit. Although from what she could tell that had been unintentional, as it wore off once she started to focus more on Damien. It was still a pretty powerful magic, to be honest.

And then, of course, there was Elise and Keita.

Azzie knew nothing about what had happened, but from what she could tell Keita had messed up severely. Elise was no longer herself, and he was fighting against her as such. She could only imagine what was going on.

_Although...Why does my stomach refuse to stop turning?_

* * *

Terra smiled as the pillars exploded against Bella, knowing that she'd landed a pretty decent hit. The demon was strong she'd admit, but that didn't mean that wasn't going to sting. Raising more pillars, Terra launched them with all her might at Bella, who flew around a few, before she was forced to swing and break one as it got a bit too close to her face for comfort. Terra jumped back as the demon got close, looking for an opening.

_If I'm going to land my attack, she needs to sit still...But how can I make her do that?_

Terra gave it some thought, and she finally came up with something. Landing and waiting, she watched as Bella landed a fair distance away from her, smirking.

"Your toothpicks don't really hurt that much, Terra." Bella taunted, but Terra ignored her. "Is that really all the strategy you've come up with?" Terra shook her head.

"Not at all. I know what I have to do, and in due time I'll do it as well." Bella rolled her eyes and prepared to fly forward.

"Whatever you say." The demon launched towards Terra, who had no time to raise any earth defense, and defended herself with her bare arms. The strikes pained her incredibly, but she held her own as Bella backed up and prepared to do it again. Terra raised walls of earth in the girls way and twisted them to prevent Bella's advance as best she could, which did give Terra some space.

Terra needed to do it now, or she wouldn't have any strength left to fight Damien when he inevitably showed himself again.

Once Bella landed, Terra brought her hands together and concentrated. Before Bella could reacted, the earth around her morphed and reached out swiftly, encasing her in stone. She struggled against it, and Terra could see the stone cracking, so she reinforced it quickly. Bella smirked, even though she was trapped.

"What are you trying to do, Terra honey?" She asked. "It'll only take me a minute or two to break out of this casing." Terra smirked.

"Unfortunately for you, Bella, a minute or two is about a minute and a half too long." Bella raised an eyebrow at this, but winced as Terra spent a few more seconds reinforcing the casing she was in. The last thing Terra needed was Bella freeing herself and escaping the blast vicinity which would leave Terra in a very awkward position. Once she was done with that, she smiled. Show time.

Terra brought her hands together, and closed her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing, Terra?" Bella asked from her case, but Terra ignored her and concentrated as hard as she could. Soon enough, the earth itself began to rumble. Terra couldn't see what Bella was doing, obviously because her eyes were closed, but she could only assume the girl was still trying to escape.

A low hum escaped Terra's mouth as the rumbling intensified. She heard her casing begin to crack as Bella used all the strength she had in an attempt to escape her prison.

"Terra!" She shouted angrily, but Terra ignored her. "Whatever the hell you're going to do, stop it!"

_Tch yeah, okay. I'll do that._

The rumbling reached near earthquake levels, and Terra could feel the magic beneath Bella reach a fever pitch.

It was time.

Terra opened her eyes, and glared directly into Bella's.

"RUMBLING .T FUJI!"

The magic erupted beneath Bella, immediately causing her to become lost in the very center of the explosion. The magic soared upwards and high into the sky, creating a hole in any cloud in went through.

The explosion must have gone on for a good twenty seconds as pure magic continued to assault the targeted area. Soon enough tough, it slowly started to die away, giving Terra a look at the ground she had decimated.

"Did I...?" Terra watched the area closely, but she didn't see Bella anywhere. had she been eradicated? No, that couldn't be possible. Bella wasn't even weak to the magic, in fact she resisted it. Even tough it had been powerful, there was no way she could've...

A hand erupted out of a pile of debris outside the hole creating by the eruption. Terra watched in disbelief as Bella, clothes tattered, body covered in wounds, and panting.

"Nice...try..." She hissed. "But it wasn't...Enough." Bella slowly started to walk forward, and Terra was frozen in place, both by fear and because she was exhausted. Hadn't Xisplate said that attack would've been enough?! But clearly Bella still stood!

"That isn't possible..." Terra hissed in between shaky breaths. Bella laughed.

"If you know Damien...How did you think it'd work on me? It wasn't even Holy magic, for God's sake..." Bella laughed weakly, and coughed up something black. Was that supposed to be blood? Bella got closer, and Terra tried to raise some pillars to defend herself, but she couldn't find the strength.

And Bella kept getting closer.

Terra closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable attack from the girl.

She heard a strange hissing noise, and opened her eyes.

Bella was back in her human form, looking just as battered as before. The girl let out a few labored pants before she slowly collapsed to the ground, and didn't make any other movements.

"H-Huh?" Terra asked in confusion.

_That's it for Bella Realight! Even though she revealed a devastating Demon form, Terra Neekis was able to overcome her! But where has Damien Dreyar fled too?!"_

Terra could hear the crowd cheering for her after Ross announced Bella's defeat, but she still didn't understand. Bella, granted fine was a long shot term, hadn't looked ready to collapse before her demon form retreated.

Well, I'm not surprised that happened." Terra looked over to find Xisplate standing there. "She was exhausted."

"I guess...What happened?"

"No matter which Lord we're talking about, it takes an incredible amount of power to keep a takeover active." Xisplate replied. "Bella had been tapping into it all day even prior to finding Damien and then you. Couple that with holding the takeover and taking a Rumbling Mt. Fuji..."

"The poor girl was ready to collapse, and she did" A different voice said. Terra and Xisplate looked over to find a woman with striking red hair, a beautiful figure, and wearing a tight black dress, which conveniently matched Xisplate's suit.

"Who...?" Terra asked. the woman laughed.

"I'd figure you'd recognize me after the fight." She said, giving an over dramatic bow. "Meridia the Succubus, at your service." Terra felt tense at this, but the Demon Lord laughed.

"I must say watching you beat Bella was interesting. Granted she was fighting another woman so I wouldn't get to big on yourself. She's only extremely effective against men."

"I could tell." Terra replied. Meridia smiled.

"Tense?" She asked.

"Well the last Lord I met tried to kill me, so..."

"Ah yes, Akirelys the Puppetmaster. Heard about that. bad business, that. But his wizard worked for The Olympians so I can't say I feel any remorse for him. Ah well, Akirelys will find another some other time. I hope you and I get to meet again, Terra. You're quite the interesting woman."

"How so?"

"Even though Xisplate told you what to do, no woman has ever successfully weakened Bella's hold on someone. So congrats." Terra was't sure whether or not she was supposed to be honored, but Meridia faded nonetheless. Xisplate sighed.

"She's not that bad, trust me."

"I think the fact that her wizard isn't a crazy person helps." Xisplate shrugged, and the two went silent.

"Well, get what little rest you can, Terra. Now that Bella's been defeated, the magic will have worn off of Damien. He'll return soon enough." The demon faded, and Terra fell backwards, staring at the sky.

"Great, two demons in one day...What did I do to deserve this?"

* * *

Keita dodged another volley of iron lances and sank into the ground, flying towards Elise. He came out of the ground and punched in the midsection, feeling his fist resound off of the iron armor adorning her skin. He didn't let up and went for another punch, which forced her back even more. This just made her cackle.

"You talk like you've got spirit, but where's the power behind the blows?!" She asked. "That barely even tickles!" Keita growled and landed a little ways away from her. Honestly he couldn't tell if Elise was messing with him or not. The punch obviously resounded off her scales, but it wasn't Dragon-God armor, and he hit pretty hard. She might have been lying to make him feel weak.

Or was she even able to feel pain?

He didn't know, but he really had no way of finding out without going all in on her. He was trying his hardest to just get close and adsorb the shadows back, but she kept him at bay. It was getting frustrating.

Elise sped towards him with both arms in the shape of clubs, ready to swing at him. He ducked under neath them and hit her with an uppercut right in the jaw, sending her into the air.

"Shadow Dragon Roar!" The torrent of darkness left his mouth and hit Elise dead on, forcing her back into a window of a building. Keita watched as she freed herself and rushed at him again, this time with a sword and a club. He made himself into a shadow as the sword swiped through his midsection, and grabbed her by the club, swinging her over his head and into the ground. Growling, she stood and tried to attack him again, but he let it fade through him easily. Letting her expend some of her energy doing this for a bit, he punched her as she grew a bit tired and left him an opening. As she stood, she wailed angrily.

"This is bullshit!" She hissed. "Why do you make it so hard to hit you?!"

"Because I need to defeat you." Keita replied. "All there is too it." Elise cackled.

"Like you did the other day? Your fucking pathetic, Keita." Keita tried to ignore her, but her cackling was almost as annoying as she was. Not to mention she kept doing it. "I honestly don't know where you get the idea that you can beat me."

"Maybe because you collapsed after our battle the other day..."

"Irrelevant! I still won! And you didn't! History has a tendency to repeat itself, Keita! And I'll prove it to you! I'll...!"

"The speed and strength in which Keita used to attack Elise send her flying backwards amidst a flurry of rubble and the shards of her scales.

Keita cracked his neck as scales formed up and down his body, his magic power growing. If he had to use Dragon Force to end this, he would.

Whether or not he was trying to free this girl...

...He still wanted her to learn to shut her mouth.

* * *

Simon landed hard after Nami's strike send him rolling. He got to his feet and surged to the left as she went after him again, trying to get some distance between them so that he could try and formulate some kind of plan. He knew what he was doing.

But he wanted to give the impression that he didn't.

Requipping into his Fire Emperor Armor, Simon used the fiery blade to send waves of heat towards the girl, all of which veered off course, leaving Simon open to Nami attacking him. Switching to his Flight Armor and speeding away, Simon made it to his next position on the battlefield, and smirked.

_Almost done..._

Both he and Nami were visibly exhausted, which was both good and bad. Nami laughed.

"This is amazing." She said. "I've never been thrown around like this."

"Thanks, I think." Simon answered. Nami lowered her sword slightly, and took a deep breath.

"I'm really glad you decided to show me how powerful you 're keeping the promise you made to me."

"As best I can, yes." Simon replied. Nami looked up with a small smile on her face.

"However, it's time I showed you the same." Simon raised an eyebrow curiously, and raised his rapier to defend himself.

Until he was pushed downwards into the earth by gravity. Flinching, he looked over at Nami, who was watching him.

"I want to beat you." She said. "I want to be the one who beats Simon Scarlet. And with this..." Nami twirled her blade and stabbed it into the earth. White magic flowed down from her arms into the blade, and it began to glow. The earth began to shake as well.

_What is this?!_

Simon couldn't move. Nami was keeping him down with other forms of her magic. Whatever this spell was, he knew for a fact he didn't want to be on the receiving end of it.

"What are you doing?" he asked weakly, and Nami chuckled.

"Using the spell that got me second in the MPF." She replied. "Graviton Strike." Simon's eyes widened in surprise. That score had gotten her near the one Jura had gotten years ago as the fifth Wizard Saint! he couldn't get hit by it or he was toast!

Nonetheless, Simon smiled as the earth rumbled even more.

"Well, got luck getting yourself stuck there." he said, making Nami raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Simon moved is body as best he could under the force of gravity trying to stop him, and brought his hands together.

Seven spots on the ground around Nami began to glow. She looked around in surprise.

"When did you have the time to do that!" She shouted in surprise. Simon laughed.

"While we threw each other all over the place." He replied, his hands in the formation for the strongest spell he had. Nami looked all over the magic circles, before she laughed.

"So an attack from below and an attack from the heavens. Which one of us will remain conscious I wonder?" Simon grinned.

"I guess we'll fine out." he replied. The ground beneath him began to open up, and Nami's eyes glowed white.

"GRAVITON STRIKE!"

"GRAND CHARIOT!"

The ground opened up and pure magic shot out of it with Simon in the center of it, while at the same time the stars above shot down thousands of arcs of light on top of Nami.

_BOOM!_

**Before anyone asks, yes, I love to leave you all hanging. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	188. A Warrior's Respect

**I honestly have nothing better to do with my time, guys...**

**Me thinks you guys will enjoy this chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

Drake hadn't the faintest idea where Nashi might have been, so his looking for her was pretty much useless. But he had to keep looking, the sinking feeling he had refused to go away.

"If I was a pink haired girl who constantly injected myself right in the center of a conflict," Drake said to himself as he stopped and looked around. "Where would I be?"

_BOOM!_

Drake jumped as the explosion caused the earth beneath him to rumble. Looking in the direction of the sound, he was a gigantic blast of white magic flying directly up into the sky, while golden arcs of light rained down from above. He watched this go on for a few more seconds until both explosions started to die away, leaving nothing but the sound of buildings collapsing and the crowd going absolutely mental. Drake watched the area closely before he laughed.

"Jeez, don't get to hurt over there, Simon..."

* * *

The area in a half mile radius of the blasts had been completely eradicated. even the debris from the explosions had been blown to far away to be counted within the blast zone.

And there, within the blast zone, were two people.

And both were lying face down in the dirt around them.

_"Oh my God!" _Ross shouted. _"The combined might of Simon and Nami have knocked both to the ground! Is this going to be a draw?!" _There was silence as the crowd waited, everyone watching with baited breath. Neither warrior moved, but Ross understandably delayed his call.

And one of them moved.

* * *

Simon could hear Nami struggling to stand and the crowd going nuts as a result, but his body was too weak to respond to his please for movement. He wanted too, he needed too, but his body wouldn't let him.

_Come on, at least move and show your still in this!_

He used all the willpower and all the strength he had, and it caused his body to move that fraction that very clearly mattered, because Ross did not say he'd lost. Perhaps the shoutcaster as simply awed they could move at all.

Moving his head slightly, he watched as Nami got to her feet, body covered in bleeding wounds and clothes ripped in hundreds of places, but she still stood before him. She walked forward slowly, towards her blade which was still embedded in the earth between them. She reached it, and slowly raised her right arm to grasp. it. She pulled weakly at it before it became dislodged from the earth. She then turned to him and began to walk towards him weakly. Seeing she was intending to knock him out cold, Simon used all the strength he head, and then some. He managed to move upwards, before finally getting himself to his knees and watching Nami approach.

"I've never...Been pushed...To the edge...Like this..." Nami hissed as she took weak steps towards him, doing her best to keep her balance. "You sure don't disappoint."

"..." Simon had no energy to offer her a reply, so he stayed quiet. Nami laughed as she slowly raised her right arm, albeit shakily and wavering, poising it to hit Simon in the temple with the hilt.

"I've got basically nothing left..." She whispered. "But you've got less, from what I can see. So, as much as it pains me, it's time for a nap, Simon!" Her arm didn't move from it's shaky position, so it gave Simon a little bit of time to try and devise a way to avoid the hit.

Nami's arm moved downwards.

And Simon collapsed.

The blade swung high over his head and didn't hit him, only succeeding in making Nami swing her arm all the way around to her other shoulder and growl.

"Come on!" She said. "Just let me win...We've go no energy left after both of us took so much damage..."

"Even so..." Simon hissed. "I'm not going to lose to you..."

"Big words for the guy who's...on his knees." Nami reached down and grabbed a handful of Simon's hair, pulling his head up and taking away the only way he had out of her next swing to hit his temple. She re-positioned her blade and got ready to try and hit him again, this time taking away Simon's ability to dodge her.

_What do I do...I'm running on empty..._

Simon slowly looked over at the scoreboard. It was displaying all current battles and ones that had recently concluded. As Simon watched the lacrima vision, he noticed something.

_No one else...Has fallen yet..._

Nashi was still standing while fighting Blake, Elise with Keita, Drake had beaten Rina and Ultear Kyoko. Damien was in a three way fight with Terra and Bella, like he'd been with Nami and Juno before the latter was taken out abruptly.

He was the only one who was going to fall.

_The others are still standing..._

He could hear the slow whistle of the blade coming closer to his head, hilt poised to knock him out as Nami planned.

_So why the hell..._

Simon slowly gritted his teeth.

_Why the hell...?!_

His body started to shudder.

_Why the hell am I falling?!_

Simon acted quickly.

Using his remaining strength, he swatted at Nami's arm holding up his head so she could hit him. Once she'd let go, surprised by the blow, Simon's left hand glowed and he swatted at the approaching blade, which thanks to the girls weak body, caused the sword to fly from her hands and skid across the ground. Nami watched him in shock as he slowly started to stand up, body shaking and shuddering.

"The others..." He whispered. "...Are still standing."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Scarlet?"

"I'm not...going to fall...if they're... still fucking standing!"

Simon socked Nami in the nose.

The girls staggered back, holding her face in surprise. Once she let go of her face, blood trickled down her face from her nose.

"What the hell...?!" She asked weakly. Simon slowly massaged the arm that had swung at her.

"If you're so confident that I'm going to fall," he said, confidence returning. "I'm sure as hell taking you with me." Nami watched him in shock before a smile formed on her lips.

"So that's how it is." She said. Simon nodded as the girl stretched her arms.

"It's come to it." he agreed. Nami laughed.

"No swords, no armor, no gravity and no light." She said, wiping the blood from her face. "Just our fists." Both watched each other closely, waiting for the other to make a move.

Simon did so.

He ran at her and went in to punch her in the face again, but she stopped his fist with her open hand and went to hit him in the gut. He backed up far enough to prevent this and locked hands with the girl, which made them butt heads as they pushed as hard as they could.

Nami raised her leg and kneed Simon in the stomach, which knocked the air from his lungs. She grabbed him by his arms and tossed him to the ground, walking over to continue attacking him. Simon tried to move, but his bodies terrible state came back to haunt him once more. Nami kicked him in the stomach and he rolled over on his back, staring at the blue sky above, which held a cloud with a suspicious looking hole in it.

Nami straddled him and raised her fist, driving it into his cheek and causing his vision to blur. She did it again with her other fists, making Simon's mouth fill up with blood. He spat it out as she stopped for a moment, panting.

"Holy hell my arm's hurt..." She said. "This is crazy."

"Agreed." Simon said, looking up. "But it's the first time I've ever been in such a fair fight, and I'm not about to spoil it by being the one who caves!" Simon dodged Nami's next fist, causing it to hit the ground next to his head. He used his own arm to punch her in the face, which caused her head to whip violently to the left. Simon raised his legs and used them to kick her off, sending her flying and hit the ground. They both slowly stood, eyeing each other.

Strangely enough, Simon felt his lips curling into a smile. Nami's did the same.

"You hit like a bitch." Nami told him through the smile, spitting her own blood out onto the ground. Simon laughed.

"So do you." he agreed. They approached each other, and Simon raised his fist, striking her. Nami went after him again, but Simon met her halfway and threw as many good punches as he could, getting a few decent ones in. Nami did the same. Nami ducked under another of his punches and swept his legs out from under him, but he rolled out of the way as she tried to use her elbow and drive him into the ground. Getting to his feet as quickly as the pain let him, he waited as she ran at him before catching the punch she threw and spinning her, making her lose balance. The punch he threw after wards into her stomach caused her to double over and Simon to rub his knuckles.

As Nami regained her bearings, She ducked under his attack and drove one into his chin, and Simon felt certain something might have cracked as a result. He would really need Wendy's help after this one. Both weren't holding back whatsoever when they hit, but it only made sense. It the absence of swords and magic, it was all they had.

Nami moved left to avoid his next blow and her elbow hit his face, making his nose bleed. He grabbed her arm as she tried to retract it, and used it as leverage to punch her three times: once in the stomach ,one in the upper body, and another to her face. She staggered back and nearly fell, but kept to her feet. Nami used this moment to wipe blood from her face and cackled.

"This is fucking insane." She said, now grinning like she was crazy. "But god damn I'f I'm not having the most fun I've ever had." Simon smirked.

"I guess you could call this fun." he agreed. "But it needs to end before we kill each other.

"Huh, yeah it does." Nami staggered forward, and Simon did as well.

The two started to senselessly trade blows, the only thing going through Simon's mind being to endure her next hit and hit her back harder. Eventually, the two started to wind up their punches even farther, trying to knock the other flat on their ass. Both struck, and both staggered.

"I'm not..." Nami hissed, rearing back her fist once more.

"...Going too..." Simon said, doing the same.

"LOSE!"

* * *

Knuckles resounded against the soft flesh of the cheek. The crowd gasped in reaction to the blow.

The simultaneous blow.

Both Simon and Nami's fist struck each other in the cheek at the same time, and the combatants had frozen in that position. Blood trickled out of Nami's mouth and nose, while Simon appeared to cough it up violently.

_"What a showing!" _Ross shouted._ "Both Simon and Nami are just wailing on each other!"_

_"It appears, though." _Hisui added. _"That they've reached an impasse in the fight." _Neither warrior moved, both fists still weakly pushing against the cheek of their respective opponents. The only sound punctuating the silence of the crowd in that moment was the slow drip drop of the blood onto the ground underneath both fighters.

And then, they started to fall.

Not Simon.

Not Nami.

_Both of them._

_"Oh my God!" _Ross shouted. _"Both of them are going to fall! Will someone stop themselves?!"_

No one did.

Because no one had the strength.

Simon and Nami hit the dirt at the same time, and neither one moved as their bodies slowly moved to a spread eagle position, both fighters still not moving.

_"IS IT A DRAW?!_

* * *

Erza watched the scene in front of her unfold quietly, heart going a few miles a minute. Was Simon going to stand?

"Jeez, they might have seriously hurt one another." Juvia said quietly.

"Yeah, someone might need to get down there ASAP." Lucy said. Erza, however, kept her eyes glued to the screen as both bodies randomly twitched from the pain. Ross was obviously suspending judgment for the sake of suspense.

There was no other way." She said, earning everyone's attention as she lowered her gaze and smiled.

They're both warriors, after all. Falling before your opponent in such a fight would've been unacceptable."

* * *

Kagura was not expecting to get so worked up over her daughter's fight, but nonetheless she watched the lacrima vision intently, looking for any sign of movement.

"Nyah, they really went after each other." Milliana said from her left. "Do you think she's okay. Kagura?" Kagura did not offer the cat woman a reply right away, partially because her attention was focused on something far more interesting.

"I wouldn't want to get in front of those two." Risley said with a small laugh. "Never underestimate the heart of a proud warrior."

"Yep." Beth said. "Not sure I'd have even been happier if Nami managed to get the drop on him." Kagura listened to the other woman talking, and slowly smiled as Ross still neglected to say if someone had fallen or not.

_Heart...of a proud warrior..._

Kagura would be the first one to admit Nami was a bit of handful, even at her age. She was childish on purpose just to piss her mother off, and often times forgot the meaning of holding back.

But...

Kagura couldn't help but feel her chest swelling with pride after watching her daughter do her absolute best against someone who rivaled her in strength.

"I'll never say it loud enough for you to hear and mock me, Nami, but I hope you know...I'm so proud of you."

_W-Well everyone, after the Queen and I have reviewed the footage a few times, we have reached our conclusion!"_

* * *

_"It would seem it cannot be accurately discerned who feel first." _Hisui said. _"Therefor we must declare Simon Scarlet vs. Nami Mikazuchi a tie. Both Fairy Tail and Mermaid heel have earned five points!"_

Simon just barely heard this announcement, but he didn't react initially. Partially from the pain, and partially because said pain was making it hard to register.

They'd tied.

Not an unacceptable outcome, in his eyes. They'd both gone all out and, even though he'd been hurt beforehand, he'd brought her down to a tie. Not bad. Not bad at all.

"Hey...Scarlet." It was Nami calling out to him.

"What?" he croaked, not moving in the slightest.

"We...tied huh?" He heard her cough and something wet hit the ground, and he hummed in confirmation. "Damn...I wanted to win."

"As did I." He replied, both going quiet for a moment. "I want you to know something though."

"Yeah?" Simon slowly raised his head and looked over at her.

"if I hadn't been the subject of foul play, I'd still be standing." Nami laughed, and then coughed up more blood. Simon did the same.

"That a fact?" She asked. "Sounds like your gloating, Simon. You think you're all that?"

"Maybe I am. Whose to say? We're both down for the count."

"Yeah." Silence came over them as a breeze rolled by. "Sounds like you want to have a go at me once we've healed up." Simon chuckled weakly.

"Would settle this a bit more evenly, I'd think. You needed a handicap to even tie with me."

"Oh yeah? We both know that if I'd seen you drawing those seals for Grand Chariot this would've ended with you face down in a pool of your own blood."

"I'm kind of already doing that." he said.

"I meant with me not joining you, but whatever." More silence, then. "Another thing."

"Yes?"

"...Your a damn good fighter." Simon smiled as he watched the clouds roll in the breeze.

"Yeah...You too."

He'd gained a lot of respect for Nami in the last few minutes, but it wasn't any kind of respect.

It was the respect one gained for someone after having their fist driven into your face repeatedly and responding in kind.

A warriors respect.

**Yep, a full chapter detailing the end of Simon and Nami's fight. I quite liked it, how about you guys? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	189. Facing It Together

**Yes, another update. We're almost done! I can't help it!**

**Enjoy!**

_"Almost all battles for the final day of the Games have been completed, and at this point it's anyone's game!"_

_"By anyone you must mean either Fairy Tail or Sabertooth, right Ross?" _Hisui asked, making the other commentator laughed. _"Because it's honestly only one of the other at this point."_

_"Fair enough, your Majesty! After all those two are extremely close!"_

Azzie knew this was not for the sake of drama. Fairy Tail and Sabertooth were mere points away from each other. Fairy Tail had 101 points, and Sabertooth had 106. The Games was anyone's to win, even though Terra was the only leader still standing.

"This is intense." Tetsu said from Azzie's left. "I hope they don't come up short."

"Even if they do..." Katsuchi said. "The strength they've displayed after being subjected to an attack outside of a fair fight...It's incredible." Azzie smiled as she thought back to the concluded fights and the ones that were currently ongoing.

"They're Fairy Tail." She said. "It's in their blood. We witnessed them do something similar when you guys blasted Crime Sociere's airship out of the sky." Katsuchi laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I suppose you got me there." he said. "But back then...I never could've imagined I'd be here cheering for them."

"That we can agree on."Tetsu said. "I wholly expected that day to end with us washing their blood off of our hands." Azzie remembered the day well. It was the day they're lives had done a complete one eighty from the dark place they were pointing.

"No point in dwelling on it." She said. "All we can do now is hope they come out on top."

* * *

Keita slashed at Elise's midsection, causing the girl to fly back and through another wall. Keita went after her without remorse, knowing he had no choice. He found the girl lying in the wreckage, so he grabbed her by the head and concentrated. He needed to just...

"Get the fuck off of me!" A club to the face prevented him from absorbing the darkness, and he staggered back in surprise. Using Dragon Force, he'd been throwing Elise all over the place in his attempt to just knock her out cold and help her. But she was making in exceedingly difficult to do so, and it was starting to get on his nerves.

"This is crazy..." he hissed. "I need to end this now, I'm not playing around." Elise just laughed darkly at this.

"Then come and end it, if you're so god damn tough! oh wait!" She cackled again. "How could you?! I beat you once, and I'm going to do it again! Then I'll go find your teammate Blake and do it to him as well! And then Terra! And, heh, fuck it, Nashi and Damien could use a throw around too! then I'll go find the others as well!" Keita stared at the ground as she ranted. "It's over, Keita! You can't best me!"

He laughed.

"You're fucking crazy." he stated calmly, watching the soulless eyes she had, which narrowed at him. "Attacking your own friends? Just how merciless have you become?"

"Enough to know I don't need no fucking friends!" Elise shouted. "What friends would lie to me?! Tell me that my past is what they say it is?! That I _wasn't _raped?!"

"They were trying to protect you!" Keita shouted back. "I heard what Drake said through your memories! He just wanted the Elise he knew back!"

"That Elise is dead!" She screamed, making Keita's eyes widen in surprise. Despite the anger and maliciousness he felt from her, tears were streaming down her face. "That girl...That bitch...She's gone! She died that day she was raped! And do you know what replaced her?!"

"I've got an idea." Keita whispered under his breath. Elise laughed and gestured to herself.

"This! This is the true Elise Redfox! The one from before is gone, and this is what replaced her! But thanks to my _friends _and that fucker Mest, I was lead to believe that I did still exist to some degree! But I don't!"

"Stop telling yourself that!" Keita shouted, now getting even angrier. "You do still exist!"

"You don't know a FUCKING THING!"

"Oh yeah?! I know enough about you, Elise Redfox!" Elise didn't sarcastically reply, so Keita raised a few fingers to count off what he knew. "You're loud, annoying, abrasive, rude, don't know when to shut your mouth, and...!"

"What the fuck are you trying to prove?!" Elise screamed, grabbing her head and looking down. "It's a good thing she's gone! That Elise was foolish enough to believe that no one would try and do what happened to her, that she was going to grow up normal, lead a normal life, and...!"

"And the Elise Redfox I was lead to believe 'existed' is one of the strongest girls I've ever met!" Elise fell silent, and Keita narrowed his eyes at her. "If the ruse this Mest put you under was who you were before, than I refuse to believe someone so strong willed and powerful could feel such a way! Your still in there, and I know it! This isn't you, Elise, and you know it!"

"SHUT UP!" Tendrils of darkness shot out from Elise's head, but Keita ignored them. He was one with them, he cared not for it. "THAT GIRL...SHE'S GONE...I AM ELISE REDFOX!"

"No." Keita said. "You're the fucked up manifestation of her own negativity powered by my shadows trying to take her place. And I refuse to allow you to fall that far!" Keita dodged the lashing tendrils of darkness and punched Elise backwards, but the girl just slid across the ground before looking up.

"You're starting to piss me off..." She hissed. "I think defeating you won't be enough. I might just kill you."

"Talk all the trash you want." Keita said, cracking his knuckles. "I'm not going to let you fall." Elise went after him, but Keita dodged the majority of her attacks and dealt her even more damage than she could even hope to dish out in her enraged random attacks. Sh tried to uppercut him, but he grabbed her fist and swung her into the dirt. Elise screamed in rage and drove her foot into his face, which hurt, and then knocked the wind out of him with a Iron Club to the stomach. He looked up just in time to be on the receiving end of an Iron Dragon Roar, which just like the other times he'd been hit by it, cut up his clothes and the skin wherever it hit.

The pain was nullified however, by the pure determination Keita felt.

He needed to save her.

It was his fault, after all.

Sprinting towards her, Keita delivered a series of punches that caused the iron scales all over her body to chip and crack, pieces falling away and revealing her bruised skin beneath. He was really giving it too her.

Maybe he was going her a bit too much.

Despite how Elise, in this state, refused to ever comment on her own state as she probably felt fine, her body would only take so much punishment before it caved on her. He needed to end this before he ended her.

"What's the matter, Keita?!" Elise yelled as he paused before delivering another punch. "You're pausing!"

"Just wondering how the girl who beat me a few days ago is sucking so bad." He said, trying to distract her so he could formulate some form of plan.

"She's right here!" Elise shouted back angrily. "And I'm going to beat you again!"

"Go ahead and try." The girl went after Keita relentlessly, but her attacks faded through him uselessly. She screamed in anger, and roared at him, but it still had no effect.

"You know what I find the funniest out of all of this?!" Elise said, cackling. "you think you understand! Just because you say what happened to me doesn't even compete with understanding! What Elise feels is...HAHAHAHAHA! It's so fucking pathetic!" Keita looked down at the ground.

"Of course I don't understand." he hissed. "I've never been raped. I've never once even come close to a situation that I could use to relate to you. But..."

_"Sorry, Keita...But you won't be seeing much of your Mom anymore."_

His fathers words from so many years before came back to him for the first time in many years, and he gritted his teeth at the memory.

"But I do what it's like to be in a family torn apart by negativity..." Shadows leaked from his figure as he clenched his teeth. "And I refuse to let you do the same to yours!"

"What in the fucking are you even talking about?!" Keita laughed, this time darkly like she often had.

"You know Elise, I don't know much about you..." He said. "Apart from how much you annoy me. But your friends, your family...I can tell even from watching at a distance how much they care about you."

"Huh?"

"And I am not going to let you fall into that pitfall." He growled. "Even if I have to walk you through the next stage of your life..."

_"Huh? Why? Did you guys have another fight?"_

_"Just...Leave it."_

"I will not let your family suffer the same consequences as mine."

His reasoning wouldn't make sense to her in the state she was in.

But Keita knew what would happen afterwards.

She'd get mad at her friends, blame the memory rewrite on them, and that distrust and anger would tear apart the people he so closely associated with family.

And he wasn't going to allow that.

Because what he'd gone through made him so angry...No one else should have to go through it.

Keita melted into the ground and soared beneath Elise. In the void between her and the ground, Keita brought his hands together.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" he shouted, shadows forming into a circle on the ground between them. Elise looked down in surprise before she laughed.

"Oh, so we're playing that way?!| She asked, her body glowing grey and black. The Scaled Armor of the Iron Dragon-God.

Elise was steeling herself for the blow, and it was exactly what Keita wanted her to do.

"Shadow Eclipse!" He shouted, allowing the attack to charge up to the point of near return, and he heard Elise laughing.

"You know this armor can't be broken, you fool!| She screamed. It's over! You'll drain what's left of your power, and I'll...!"

Keita left and ground and materialized in front of Elise, who wasn't looking at him. He grabbed her by the arms, causing her to yelp in surprise, and he acted quickly. He forced er arms out of the way of her head and touched her temples with his fingers.

He could feel it. His shadows were definitely in there, increasing the manipulative force of her negativity.

_I'm taking back what's mine, Elise. It's for your own good._

And so Keita did so. He concentrated, and felt his shadows leaving Elise and returning to the rightful body. His body.

Elise was screaming, he could hear her. But he ignored her, and focused on taking back what was his.

Slowly but surely, the darkness from inside Elise started to fade. After a moment, Keita opened his own eyes and saw that Elise's normal eyes had returned, no longer plagued with darkness.

"...K-Keita..." She whispered weakly.

Keita socked her in the mouth, throwing her flat on her back.

She didn't move again.

_...It's done. Her negativity's hold on her has been relinquished. _

_"Is this is for Elise Redfox?!" _Ross asked, and Elise didn't move for the longest time, making Keita's heart race. Would she stand? He wasn't sure he had the heart to fight her if she did.

_I think this is it for her, Ross." _Hisui said._ "Keita Cheney has earned Sabertooth another point." _This put them at 107 points. Keita took a deep breath and looked up towards the lacrima in the sky.

"Listen up, Ross!" he shouted, steeling his resolve. "I forfeit to Fairy Tail!"

* * *

Damien's head was killing him. He'd woken up in an alleyway with no idea how he;d even gotten there, but he sensed a strange urgency to return somewhere. He didn't really know exactly where, but his body was on autopilot back to the location in question.

"Jeez, what the hell happened?" he asked no one in particular. "I remember running into Bella and it all went white..."

_"What a display! Keita Cheney put don Elise Redfox, only to forfeit to Fairy Tail!" _Damien looked up at the lacrima vision to find this was true, as they and Sabertooth gained a single point.

"Damn this is close." he said. "I wonder why Keita forfeit..."

Damien furrowed his brow in confusion as he reached what appeared to be a completely devastated portion of the city. Everything looked demolished, but he had no idea what from.

"Wow, someone did a number here." he said. Looking around, he spotted someone sitting up against a partially destroyed wall, and his eyes widened. "Terra?" The girl in question turned to look at him, and their eyes met.

And Damien's flickered down, making his cheeks flush.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" He asked her weakly, making Terra slowly look down. After a few seconds of staring at herself, Terra's face went red as well and she quickly wrapped her arms around herself.

"Don't look at me, you pervert!" She shouted, making Damien avert his eyes quickly. Terra scrambled around and found her shirt, which she quickly threw on over herself. "Asshole..." She hissed, making Damien roll his eyes.

"i didn't do anything..." he muttered.

"Like hell you didn't!" Terra said, brandishing a finger at him. "You're an idiot, that's what!...Wait, no, Xisplate said you wouldn't remember anything..." This caught Damien's attention.

"Xisplate?" he asked. "Did he speak with you." Terra just watched Damien before her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red and she refused to look Damien in the eyes.

"T-That's not important." She said. "What is is that I beat Bella, and now I'm going to beat you too!" Damien looked around and , soon enough, saw the unconscious blonde resting against a piece of debris. He smirked.

"You're already winded." He told her. "There's no point."

"I have enough left you beat your ass."

"Bring it."

* * *

Keita could hear Elise already trying to get up from his punch, but he neglected to look her way.

He could hear her crying.

"I..." She croaked weakly, making Keita's heart hurt from how absolutely crushed she sounded. "I was..."

He didn't have the heart to speak.

"P-Phantom Dove..." She whispered, her cries only becoming more audible. "A-Apocalypse...I-I was...I was..."

"...Yeah." He said lowly. "I suppose you were." Her cries became sobs, and Keita turned to look over his was on her knees, head in her hands, muffled sobs coming from her.

He felt so bad.

_This was his fault._

"They...They _raped _me...The things they did...A-And Mest...Just erased it...?!"

"...Yeah..."

Elise's sobs became damn near uncontrolled.

"Who..." She whispered. "...Who even am I?!"

Keita couldn't handle this. He started to walk.

Not away.

Towards her.

"How do I even know that was the last layer of memories they implanted in my head?!" Elise asked miserably. "Am I even who they say I am?!"

Keita didn't offer her a response.

"Is Elise my real name?! Am I really an Iron Dragon Slayer?! WHO AM I?!"

Keita dropped to his knees and wrapped Elise in his embrace, pressing her head into his shoulder. This stunned her into momentary silence.

"K-Keita?" She asked shakily. Keita lowered his gaze to the ground and tightened his grip on her.

"_I'm so fucking sorry." _He whispered. "I pushed you too far. It's my fault you relived that torture, the memories...The rape." Elise's breaths were shallow as he tiny body shook in his grasp.

"Did you...See?" She asked. Keita did not respond, and she started to cry even louder. "You saw me like that...H-How fucking pathetic!"

"Stop it." he said. "You're better than this."

"N-No I'm not...You saw it yourself, knowing before destroyed me!"

"But you're still here, aren't you?"

"Only because they took the knowledge away from me!"

"Elise you are not that weak or pathetic." Keita broke away from her and met her teary gaze with a determined one. "You're strong. So strong. You can't let this own you. It doesn't constitute who you are as a person."

"...I can't just forget what happened...I won't let them do that again."

"Then don't." he said. "Carry it with you for the rest of your life. But own it, and grow stronger and more caring." Keita looked down. "When I was little...my parents fought a lot. And they split up."

"..."

"I was so mad for so long. It was my fault, after all. I was the problematic kid. They were the perfect couple while my sister grew up but when I was born, they fell apart." Keita looked down at the ground. "I got them divorced."

"T-That's not even close to the same thing, Keita."

"I wouldn't dare say it is." He replied earnestly. "But I let the thought that I was the reason describe me for years, even though I wasn't. My sister confirmed that. It made me even more quiet and reserved, it made me mad at my parents...It made me push my big sister away, and I'm still feeling the after effects of that."

"I-I don't understand what you're trying to say..."

"I'm saying I don't want you to go down the route I did." He whispered. "Because that route is a slippery slop to a really dark place. And I don't want to see you go there."

"..."

"I'll help you. I'll stand by you if you want me too. We'll face your future together, okay?" Elise was crying quietly, her body shaking.

"W-Why are you willing to do that for me?" She asked. "You don't even like me that much..."

"Not true. You're an amazing person. Also, it's my fault you remember at all. I refuse to just do that to you and walk away to leave you alone to deal with it. I'll stand by you, if you want me too. So, what do you say?"

Elise's cheeks were stained with tears that still refused to stop falling, but her eyes were wide as she stared at Keita, cheeks slightly tinged pink underneath the tears. After a few moments, she started to sob again, and pressed herself into Keita and buried her face in his shoulder.

"...S-Shut the fuck up, Keita..." Keita smiled weakly as he rubbed her back, sobs growing louder and louder.

"Can do."

**Aw, ain't that sweet? I think? Maybe? I'l leave that to you guys. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	190. To Light His Darkness

**Yeah yeah, another update...**

**Enjoy!**

Damien dodged another one of Terra's attacks and responded in kind, blasting her with darkness. The girl jumped out of the way and Damien blasted another shot at her, which she blocked by raising the earth beneath her.

"You know," Damien said. "I'm pretty impressed you're still able to put up a fight like this. It looked like you'd been thrown for a loop when I got here."

"You have no fucking idea..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, whatever." Terra cracked her back and watched Damien closely. "I wanted to have a fair fight with you during the Games, but it appears that wasn't in the cards for either of us."

"I guess not." Damien agreed, his own body not feeling so hot. "But I can still put up a halfway decent fight, thank you very much."

"Oh I'm sure." Terra said. "But if you win I'm letting if off the hook. That'd be twice now you've _beaten _me from bullshit."

"The first time was all smarts." Damien replied, smirking. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm not about to argue about this with you any more." She hissed. "You tricked me, you did not actually beat me."

"Alright well, look at it this way then." Damien said. "Had I actually used the takeover I would've won anyway, so don't feel bad for opting out." Terra rolled her eyes.

"As if you'd be stupid enough to use that around innocent people again." She taunted. it wasn't like the last time she said something like that. She wasn't doing it to make him mad, she said it to make a point. And she was right, after all.

Damien sensed a presence next to him.

"What do you want, now?" He asked. Xisplate snickered.

"Nothing, lover boy. Nothing."

"The hell did you call me?"

"Not important. How goes the fighting?"

"Eh, alright I guess. I'm hurting like a bitch but I suppose that comes with getting attacked in the middle of the night."

"Yes it does. But hey, at least the bigger problem is out of the way for now."

"The bigger problem?" Xisplate did not reply, so Damien turned to look and found the demon staring at Bella, who was still out cold.

"Yes." he said. "The bigger problem." Damien had no idea what the demon meant when he said that, but it wasn't really his concern at the moment. "ANyway Damien, it'd be in your best interest to knock Terra out. The Games are becoming agonizingly close, at least for those who give a fuck." Damien spared a moment to look over at the scoreboard. Only two battles remained, his and Nashi's.

_Wait a minute..._

Damien did the math, and his eyes widened.

_Holy fuck it is close..._

_...We need the five points, Terra._

"Alright, Terra." Damien said, returning to his human form. "I need you to get knocked out, okay?"

"That's something fair to want, I suppose." She said. "And how do you think you're going to get it from me?" Damien grinned and raised his hand above his head.

"I've got a few ideas." he said, a black magic circle appearing there. A flicker of fear went through Terra's eyes, but she had the gall to laugh.

"Yeah okay, try and scare me into submission again why don't you?" she asked sarcastically. "I'm not a dumbass Damien, I know you won't do it.

"Did you forget I have two Lord takeovers?" He asked, making Terra pale slightly. "One that I can, not to mention, control?" Terra watched him closely, her facial expression going between scared and determined.

"You know," She said. "Maybe you forgot thanks to what she did...But Bella's a Demon Lord too." Damien's eyes widened and the magic circle in his hand died away.

"W-What?!" He asked weakly. "She is?!" Xisplate sighed.

"Yes, she is." He said. "I told you that not fifteen minutes ago, but I suppose her seduction magic made that information disappear, huh?"

So Bella was Demon Lord.

"And that means I beat her." Terra said. "Without any Holy magic or another Lord. Care to test me again?"

"She's foolish" Xisplate said. "Bella was weak and her Lord was not very physically capable either. She's boasting about nothing. Vantros or I could off her in about two seconds." Damien smirked.

"From what I've been told, Bella wasn't all that to begin with." Terra narrowed her eyes and they flickered to Damien's right, where Xisplate was.

"You sure are an annoyance, you know that?" She asked. Xisplate smirked.

"Of course." He answered. Terra didn't appear to be able to see him, because she did not offer him any more words before crossing her arms and staring at Damien.

"So Dreyar?" She asked. "What'll it be?" Damien watched her quietly, before he steeled his resolve.

And raised a hand above his head.

"Takeover! Demon Vantros!"

* * *

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

Even too breath, it made him want to quit.

Michael groaned. Every inch of his body ached. Not a single muscle, molecule of skin, or limb was left out. It all hurt. Where was he? What had happened.

"Michael!" Someone was calling his name. He mumbled incoherently to answer them, but he couldn't even hear his own voice. "Michael! Michael!" They kept calling out to him. Why though? Michael would have to open his eyes and find out at this rate. Slowly but surely, he forced his eyes open and could see that he was resting against a wall in an alleyway.

There was also a concerned face directly in front of him.

"Michael!" It was Nashi, and she was shaking him lightly, holding him by the shoulders. "Michael! Are you okay?! Answer me!"

"...N-Nashi..." Michael croaked out, the one word causing him to cough. Nashi breathed a sigh of relief, leaning away from him and resting on her knees.

"Thank God!" She said, smiling brightly at him. "I was so worried you weren't going to open your eyes..." Michael tried to shift around and get a bit more comfortable, which wasn't easy both because he hurt everywhere and this in turn made it impossible to get comfortable.

"W-What...?" He asked weakly. "W-Why...?" Nashi frowned at him.

"You had to play hero, that's what." She said. Michael looked over at her, and she had quite possibly the most adorable pout on her face. Arguably more adorable than Ally's. "You're so lucky you took so much damage or I'd punch you right now."

It all came back to him as he looked at her.

_Blake._

Michael gritted his teeth at the mere thought of the boy. He was a traitor. A double agent for a dark guild. He was using Sabertooth as his cover to try and get close to Nashi if they needed him too.

Which meant he was the enemy.

"Nashi..." Michael croaked again, garnering her attention. "Do you know...What's Blake's after?" Nashi frowned and shook her head a few times.

"No. I don't know what they want from me."

"They?" Nashi looked down, conflict in her eyes.

"No one." She breathed. "It's nothing..."

"Nashi, it's clearly not nothing..."

"I don't want you involved." She said. "I don't know a damn thing about who they are or what they want, but if you're involved you might become a target. I can't...I won't allow that.

"Who are they? I don't understand..." Nashi looked away from him, contorting her face angrily.

Michael was not letting up. He reached forward and grabbed Nashi's hand, making her look at him.

"Tell me." He said. "I..I can't sit back after this. If Blake...If he wasn't..." Michael looked down. "I want to know who's telling him what to do." Silence enveloped the pair at this, but after a few moments Nashi sighed.

"The Olympians." She said. "The strongest and most mysterious dark guild in the New Balam Alliance, which is more of a puppet show for them than anything I'd wager."

"So these Olympians..." Michael said, readjusting again. "Have you encountered them before?"

"Directly? God no. I'm willing to bet they're way more powerful than anyone I've ever met...But I have encountered people who work for them. The other two Balam Alliance guilds, Apocalypse...Silverridge..." Nashi's gaze grew distance for a moment, but she shook her head and looked back at him. "One way or another it seems they're at least partially involved in everything bad that happens to me." Michael frowned and raised a hand to his chin.

"So they're after you?" He asked. Nashi shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe my guild? Someone else? I don't know. Although given we did take out the other two guilds that work for them in the Alliance, I wouldn't dare say they're not looking for revenge."

"So...What the fuck is Blake doing? What do they want now?"

"I don't know..." Nashi hissed, glaring at the ground. "Because they never work in a way I understand." Michael looked down the alley they were resting in and gave it some thought. So this guild, The Olympians, were working in the shadows. Presumably they'd encountered Nashi and the other before, but lost due to not being directly involved. And now, perhaps, they were working to kill them. Or capture maybe?

_And Blake was working for them. _

"Fuck, this is messed up." He said, Nashi nodding slowly.

"Yep..." She said. He didn't understand. Why was Blake working for them? Had it been all along since he'd joined or had it been gradual? Was he doing it because he wanted to or that he had too?

_"Michael please...Please move. They want her, not you."_

_"I'm sorry. I'm...I'm so sorry."_

He thought back to these words coming from Blake before he attacked.

Michael made up his mind.

"Well, let's..." He attempted to get to his feet, and his body screamed in protest. He gasped in pain and collapsed back to his seat on the wall, and Nashi glared at him.

"Don't be a jackass." She said. "You're way to hurt to fight. You can't even breath without pain, can you?"

"..." Michael focused on his breathing, and it did indeed hurt. "...I'm not sitting this out. I don't care what happens, I'm fighting Blake."

"In your condition, huh?" She demanded, crossing her arms. "Valiant, but it's not happening."

"Nashi, I can help! Let me!"

"You can help, huh?" She asked. "Stand up." Michael made a face and glared at her for a few seconds before he sighed.

"...Okay so maybe I'm not in the best shape possible."

"No, really?" Nashi asked sarcastically. The two went quiet, and Michael glared at the ground.

"I just want to help him..." he said. "I want to know."

"Huh?" Nashi asked.

"I...I don't think Blake wants to be helping them. Or maybe he does...Point is, I don't believe he's truly fallen to the darkness." Nashi pursed her lips together.

"Michael, that's a risky..."

"But possible, right?" he interjected, making her pause and slowly nod. "If there's anyway to save him..." Michael forced his body upwards. He tried to stand, and he made it to his feet using the wall as leverage. Once he forced his body off of the support, he cried out in pain and dropped like a rock, and Nashi grabbed him as he tried again.

"Stop it Michael!" She said. "You're too hurt to stand! Please just take a moment and rest up!" Michael growled.

_Curse this fucking body...I only took one attack!_

Michael leaned back and his head hit the wall. He wanted to beat the ever living shit out of Blake and drag him somewhere safe and force him to talk, but he couldn't like this.

_But..._

Michael looked back at Nashi, who was watching him worriedly. A smile creased his face.

_She could. _

"Nashi." He said. "You need to do it for me." She raised an eyebrow at this.

"What?" She asked, and Michael laughed.

"From what I understand, Blake wants to get you down for them. He maybe even wants to kill you...Which means this is a risky play." He looked at her seriously. "So I need you to beat him." Nashi watched him before looking down at the ground.

'I...I can't." She said quietly. "I don't have enough power left."

"Bullshit." Michael answered. "You've got more than enough. What about Dragon-God mode?" Nashi shook her head.

"Nope." She said. "I need to be in a good place to use that. It really hurts my body to use Katsuchi's God Flames, so using it now might be my death sentence."

"Ah, fuck..." Michael said. "There has to be a way, you need to beat him." Michael thought as hard as he could. What could they do to beat Blake?

Dragon-God mode.

_...Of course!_

"I've got it, Nashi." Michael said, making her look at him. "I know what we need to do. I know what _you _need to do."

"Lay it on me." She answered. And so Michael did.

He raised his right hand shakily, and called on his magic, all of it that he could.

An orb of white light appeared in his hands, and Nashi shielded her eyes from it before her eyes adjusted.

"What are you...?" Michael grabbed her arm that was shielding her eyes, lowered it, and looked right in her eyes.

"You need to take the power of the White Dragon, Nashi. use it to defeat Blake." Her eyes widened.

"W-What?! Take your light? That won't work?"

"Why not? Your own father...Gajeel...They've done it have they not?" Nashi made a face.

"Well yeah..." She answered. "But even with your light, I'm not strong enough, I'm too weak from him attacking my hotel." Nashi looked away from Michael and the light floating in his hand, and Michael tilted his head to the side.

"Why do you not believe in yourself?"

"The odds are stacked against me..."

"And?" Nashi jumped a bit and looked back at Michael. "I've heard all the stories too, Nashi. People like us...The odds shouldn't mean a damn thing."

"But..."

"No! No buts. Just do." He watched her closely. "I don't know near enough about you to make such an assumption, but I've seen it myself Nashi. Back when you all agreed to stand and fight even after getting foul played. You have a fire that lets you stand after the world tells you to stay down. Even though you were beaten down and brutalized, you stood still and went after others without a second thought. That's who you are."

"...Michael, I..."

"Nashi, I need you..." He winced from all the motion and leaned back against the wall, black spots appearing in his vision from expelling so much magic to offer it too her. "I want to save Blake, I want to make sure no one dies...Will you help me? You're the only one...With enough power...To do it..." Michael started to fade in and out, the light in his palm starting to flicker. "Please..." She did not respond, and Michael feared the worst. That she had ignored him.

Until a smaller hand firmly grasped the one holding his light. Michael looked up in surprise to find Nashi grasping it, watching him with fiery determination in her eyes.

"Give it." She said, smiling. "I've got work to do." Michael blinked a few times before he smiled.

"Thank you." He whispered, expelling even more magic into his hand. The white light flowed up Nashi's body and all around her figure, causing her to wince as she started to glow. Michael expelled more and more, until his grip on her hand slacked too much and it fell.

"There..." He whispered. "That's all..." Nashi stood and looked out of the alley.

"Don't worry." She said. "I'll figure this out. I'll save Blake."

"Please do...Nashi?" Nashi stopped and looked over her shoulder at him, and he smiled widely. "Thank you so much. I'll never forget this." Nashi blushed and looked away from him.

"Just don't die on me, i-idiot." She said. "I'm only doing this for you...And the others, of course! Don't get the wrong idea!"

"Heh, of course. Never." Nashi walked away, leaving Michael to himself. He looked up at the sky as his vision started to blur.

_Huh...I don't think a girl's ever made me feel this way..._

* * *

Blake had no idea where Nashi had disappeared to, and it was starting to make him mad.

"Ugh, come on..." he hissed. "Where did she disappear to? I just need too..."

_Tap...Tap...Tap...Tap..._

Someone was approaching him. Whirling, Blake found the source.

Nashi had found him.

Her head was down, but she kept a steady pace as she approached him.

"About time." He said as she kept walking towards him. "Where did you go? Where's Michael?" Nashi didn't respond, and Blake felt a rock settle in his stomach. Had he...?

"After all that," Nashi said, getting Blake's attention. "He still wants to help you."

"H-Huh?" Nashi looked up, and Blake gulped.

Fiery determination radiated from her like a furnace. He had a bad feeling about this...

"Even though you're a filthy traitor...even though you don't deserve it..." Fire starting to form around Nashi. "He wants to help you."

What was she talking about?

"But thanks to you, he can't even move." She narrowed her gaze. "So I'm here to help you instead!"

Blinding white light burst out from Nashi, and Blake was forced to cover his eyes due to the intense light.

This light...

It was so familiar...

* * *

_"M-My goodness! What is Nashi going?! The light is blinding everyone!"_

Not even closing his eyes and covering them made his eyes hurt any less, but Natsu smirked.

"This is about to get interesting..."

* * *

Sting was the only one not looking away from the light as everyone else did.

"Sting-sama!" It was Yukino speaking. "This light! It's...!" Sting smirked.

"I know." He said. "I feel it too."

* * *

Once the light had died away, Blake got his first glance at the girl since the eruption of light.

He gulped.

Nashi's body was enveloped in white fire. Her eyes had become nothing but white glowing sockets, and the power was damn near unbearable.

_This...This is a fusion of Michael's Holy Light and Nashi's fire!_

Now," Nashi said, lowering her head slightly. "Prepare to leave the darkness, Blake!"

_The Holy White Fire Dragon._

**Heh, yes I just did that. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	191. The Holy White Fire Dragon

**As I'm sure you guys know, I don't usually keep you waiting long for these near arc end chapters. I just shoot them out!**

**Because today, as an extra large chapter special, we're finishing the Grand Magic Games!**

**Enjoy!**

The Light.

The Heat.

Separately Blake wasn't sure he wanted to be subjected to it, but now that they had fused into one, he felt the hair all over his body standing up on end at the fear of attack.

_The Holy White Fire Dragon..._

Nashi's fire was bright white, obviously turned so by Michael's Light.

_Duel Element mode. _

He backed up a bit, but his body wanted him to completely flee the scene. But he couldn't.

"Master, are you seeing this?" He hissed under his breath. The old man hummed inside Blake's head.

_"I do. It seems that because you didn't have the stomach to finish off your friend, he gave END his light, unlocking her Duel Element mode."_

"What do I do?!"

_"The plan does not change because she's powered up. If anything Athena can just recalculate to account for it. Fight her with everything you have, whether or not you bring END out no longer matters."_

"Why?"

_"Athena has determined what her power should be outside of her Etherious form. So the outcome of the battle no longer means anything. Although it would be appreciated if you pushed her to her maximum output."_

_As if the outcome mattered to you lot anyway..._

"Alright, I'll do my best..." Blake watched as Nashi did the same. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. After all, this made it a completely different battle. If Nashi had been powered up by Michael's Light...

He still had a job to do.

So he rushed towards her.

And she responded in kind.

* * *

_"Oh my God! It seems Nashi had undertaken another form of magic!"_

"Duel Element..." Mira said under her breath. "It's Michael's light."

"But why give it to her?" Juvia asked. "It' doesn't make any sense." Natsu grinned at this.

"Who cares? She's got enough power to knock him senseless now."

* * *

Damien threw another icy attack Terra's way, and the girl just barely managed to get out of the way. She turned as she sprinted and launched pillars at him, but he blew them all apart and continued walking towards her, wondering just what she planned to do if she couldn't beat him. After all, he wasn't sure what her plan was.

"I don't have a lot of power left..." He heard her murmur. "I can't just waste it." Damien knew what she meant. Although he was relatively good on the magic side of things, using a Demon Lord takeover consumed it very quickly. Soon enough he wouldn't be very much better off than Terra. He needed to end it quickly too.

"I find it funny that you think you'll be taking out two of the Demon Lords today." Damien said.

"Three." Terra corrected. "You count for double."

"Because I have two?"

"Why else?" He looked down at his hand as ice circulated it. He still hurt from the sneak attack on them in their hotel, so if Terra repeated what she did against Bella Damien wasn't so sure he could hold up. But he had to beat her, they needed the points.

_After all..._

Damien looked back up at the scoreboard and made a face. Clicking his teeth, he looked back at Terra and launched more attacks at her, which she responded by attacking as well.

Damien spread his wings and started to fly towards Terra, swiping at her with his claws. She only dodged one of the, taking the other across the front and leaving a vicious looking mark. She backed up a bit and looked down at the fabric Damien had torn through. After a few moments she made a face that gave Damien the impression she may have been constipated before she looked as though she steeled her nerve for something.

And then she tore the rest of the fabric off of her body, leaving her in nothing but her pants and bra. This made Damien splutter and turn red.

"What the fuck?!" He asked, "What kind of strategy is this?!" Terra smirked.

"What's the matter?" She purred. "Having trouble concentrating?" Damien looked away and growled.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He demanded. Terra laughed. Terra laughed.

"Just implementing what I learned from Bella!" Damien was about to ask what that was, but he was cut short as a volley of pillars struck him all across his body and sent him flying backwards, away from the girl. He looked up as Terra made a strange motion with her hands, and he tensed, waiting for what she was trying to do.

He was not ready for the buildings around them to respond to Terra's will and fly towards him all at once, effectively burying him underneath a few shops and their contents that crashed down on him as well.

_What the hell is she doing?_

Damien started to punch at all the debris all around him, trying to find a way out. Although judging from the sounds he heard, Terra was packing even more earth on top of him. Finally he got enough crawl space to aim his hand upwards and blast his way to the surface. Crawling there, he poked his head up and glared at Terra.

"Jeez Terra, be a little more careful, could you please?!" He asked, and the girl smiled.

"Oh, my bad." She said. "Look out." Damien felt confused before he realized she was taking that advice to heart, and warning him. He didn't have time to react to it, however, before at least four huge chunks of earth came crashing down on top of him.

"Fuck!" He shouted, blasting his way out again and crawling to the top. "Terra you're gonna...!"

The earth was shaking. Damien looked around before his eyes landed on Terra, who had her eyes closed, and her hands together as if she was praying.

_Oh...Oh shit!_

Damien scrambled hard, trying his absolute best to get the hell out of the mess Terra had purposefully trapped him underneath.

He didn't make it in time.

"Rumbling Mt. Fuji!"

The magic exploded forth from the ground, engulfing Damien.

* * *

_"Gods above! Terra has used her trump card twice in one day! She has to be absolutely exhausted!"_

_"I think she is, Ross. She's struggling to keep herself on her feet."_

Terra knew they weren't lying. She was concentrating completely on attacking Damien with Rumbling Mt. Fuji, and she had, but her magic was basically fumes at this point. She just had to take him out.

Terra's nose tingled.

It was cold.

And in this situation, _That was a warning sign._

Looking up, she spotted the source of her concern.

Rumbling Mt. Fuji was freezing over.

She watched in shock as the attack completely froze and revealed Damien, who was standing near the former center of the attack, his body exuding what was obviously sub-zero temperatures. He laughed, and blood shot out and hit the ground.

"Wow, that's hurts..." He hissed, stumbling as he attempted to move a little. "You really threw me for a loop there, Terra." Terra dropped to her knees, and watched Damien assess his own condition. She had no magic left, she couldn't possibly beat him if he was still standing. Damien sighed and brought his hands together. The temperature dropped.

"Shit..."Terra hissed as she tried to move. "I...I don't have any magic left..." Damien laughed.

"That's what you get for wasting your power!" He shouted. "Now, it's my turn!"

_Fuck...I am not going to be able to dodge or block this!_

"BLIZZARD CRUSHER!"

The swirling mass of ice exploded outwards from Damien's hands and roared towards Terra, who as she expected had no strength left to move out of the way. It got closer to her, and she laughed weakly.

"Fuck this, man..."

_BOOM!_

* * *

Damien watched as his attack faded away, and revealed Terra spread eagle on the ground, unmoving.

_My God! Damien had taken out Terra Neekis! He's earned Fairy Tail five points!" _Damien laughed, but blood came out along with the noise.

Demon form fading, his body hit the dirt and he did his best to remain sitting up so that they wouldn't give Terra any points for making a tie. He didn't have to wait very long, anyway. After all, the fight was all over now.

"You did good, Damien." Damien turned and looked at Xisplate, who was watching him. "You only defeated a girl who expended most of her magic fighting a different opponent."

"Yeah, mock me all you want." Damien replied. "I don't want to hear it." Silence enveloped the pair. Damien assessed his condition and determined he wasn't going to be able to move at any point in the near future, so he decided he was staying where he was.

"Your seven months are almost up, Damien." Damien slowly looked at the ground as Xisplate spoke once more. "And the Grand Magic Games are reaching their climactic conclusion."

"Yeah...I know." He looked up at the scoreboard and regarded his friends faces, some of which had were crossed out due to them falling in combat. "And someone will die." They went quiet once more, but Damien sighed. "Is it going to be immediate?"

No one answered him.

Damien looked around, but Xisplate had disappeared. After wasting a little too much time by looking for him, Damien flopped down onto the ground and stared at the sky, which was glowing thanks to the sun starting to set.

"One of the six." He murmured, covering his eyes with his arm. "Will die..."

...

"But who? And when?"

...

"...And why?"

* * *

_"What an absolutely incredible, albeit a tad short lived, battle between Terra and Damien! Five more points for Fairy Tail!"_

_"Ross are you seeing what I'm seeing?"_

_"What ever do you mean your majesty...Oh...Oh! OH MY GOD!"_

_"Yes, it would seem it's come to this."_

_"It...It appears that..."_

_"DAMIEN'S VICTORY BRINGS FAIRY TAIL AND SABERTOOTH TO A TIE! IT'S DOWN TO NASHI DRAGNEEL AND BLAKE HUNT!"_

* * *

Nashi drove her fist home into Blake's chest, sending him flying away from her and into the ground, making a small crater.

"This is your fault!" She screamed, flying after him as he panicked and tried to dodge her. She turned, brought her hands together, and attacked him by firing streams of holy fire.

"It's your fault my friends are hurt!" He landed, and Nashi exploded at him, driving her head into his stomach. "it's your fault it's come to this! It's your fault that...!"

_"Thank you so much. I'll never forget this."_

Nashi gritted her teeth and once they had stopped flying back from her attack, she grabbed Blake by the collar of his shirt and set him alight, causing him to cry out in pain.

"It's your fault he's hurt!" She yelled, throwing him backwards. She started to stalk towards him as he landed. "But even after everything you've done, even though you revealed yourself to be lowlife scum...Michael still wants you to be saved."

Blake did not offer her a response, so she stormed towards him to continue her assault. She didn't intend to stop until the man could no longer move.

"Get the fuck up." She said, the holy fire growing in response to her words. "I'm taking you back to Michael, but that can wait until I get my licks in for you being an Olympian underling."

Blake started to laugh, which set Nashi on edge.

"You think you understand, don't you?" He asked. "That because you're so powerful you can stand up to them? That's exactly what they want..." He looked up, and Nashi tensed. He had a crazy look in his eye. "You want a fight! I'll give you a god damn fight, Nashi!"

"Plasma erupted from the man and exploded towards Nashi, who met in halfway with her own bursts of white fire. She was not backing down, her anger would not let her. Blake ran straight for her, body covered in his protective layer, and Nashi started to exchange blows with the boy. But for every strike he had, Nashi hit back twice as hard. Eventually the boy flew backwards and hit the ground, but Nashi wasn't done. She grabbed him and threw him high into the sky, and aimed her hands up.

"Brilliant Holy Flame of the Holy White Fire Dragon!" The white fireball soared upwards and exploded high in the sky, sending Blake even higher. The man used this as his chance to to rain down plasma, which Nashi burned up most of before some of it hit it's mark, and she stumbled from it. She looked up just in time to see the boy rocketing down towards her, laughing manically.

Once the two connected, fist to fist, the explosion of plasma and holy fire caused every building around them to become decimated. Blake bounced away and ran towards her again, but Nashi struck him down.

But Blake was ready for her this time.

Nashi's limps did not respond to her wishes. Looking down, Nashi saw that she was wrapped in a thin layer of plasma, a few dozen times. The thin lines lead to Blake's right hand, and he smirked.

"Up he go!" he shouted, turning and whipping the plasma. Nashi gasped as the air was knocked from her lungs and she exploded up into the open sky, away from Blake. She didn't know how high she managed to get, but she knew what she wanted to do.

Once she regained her balance, she looked down, and at least a hundred feet beneath her was Blake, waiting for her to descend.

She didn't.

She started to inhale.

* * *

Blake could tell what she was doing. The aura of white flames she had around her body was appearing only to be funneled towards the girls mouth.

What the hell was she doing?

"Holy White Fire Dragon..." Blake's eyes widened.

"Oh shi...!"

"ROAR!"

* * *

everyone in the Domus Flau shielded there eyes as the column of white fire at least ten feet high erupted from Nashi's mouth and soared downwards, striking Blake. He protected himself with a lining of plasma magic, and he could be heard even through the terrible sound on the lacrima vision to be grunting.

The roar exploded.

Not entirely, the attack wasn't even finished.

It exploded outwards.

The holy white flames exploded all around Blake, creating a circular area at least a hundred feet wide below Nashi completely engulfed in white flames.

"I-It's so bright...!" Natsu heard Lisanna shout.

"This attack...!" Erza said. "Just like when Natsu did it against Hades..."

The roar was so huge, but Natsu didn't pay attention to that.

His spine tingled as he heard an enraged roar in the distance.

A dragon's roar.

He smiled as the sound continued.

"She really is something..."

* * *

"Holy fuck..." Simon felt the same as Nami, as the girl swore about the power in the distance. "One of yours, Simon?" Simon looked over at the white column of fire in the sky, and watched it closely for a moment.

He smirked.

"I think so..." He replied. "Be careful, Nashi..."

* * *

Drake gazed up at the column of white fire for a moment, watching it in awe.

His ears rang as a dragon roared in the distance.

After watching the attack for a few more seconds, he laughed.

"Holy shit, Nashi." He said. "Way to make it obvious."

* * *

Nashi landed as gracefully as she could after her roar faded away, panting from the exertion. She watched ground zero of the attack carefully, waiting to see if she'd done Blake in.

The slow maniacal laugh she heard confirmed she had not.

As the smoke faded, Blake was revealed. His clothes were tattered and he was covered in burns all over his body, but still he stood. Nashi growled and tried to run at him, but her bodies movement was delayed. She was fatigued from all the exertion.

_Fuck! Not now body! Please not now!_

It was just like then, against Michael and Keita.

She had out.

It had been all she had.

Blake laughed even louder and brought his hands together, plasma shining from it.

"I fucking hate you..." He whispered. "You think just because your intentions are in the right place you can just save anyone you want...Well you can't! It's too late for me!"

"Michael still believes in you!" Nashi shouted angrily, but the boy ignored her. "Why the fuck won't you at least talk to him?!"

"There's nothing to talk about!" Blake screamed, the plasma glowing brighter and brighter. "They have me by the neck! If I don't listen to them they'll kill us all!"

"They don't control you, Blake!" Nashi replied. "Fight it! If we all stand together then...!"

'Shut up! You have no idea! NO FUCKING IDEA!" Blake closed the gaps between his fingers, and for a moment, the plasma disappeared.

"...Blake?" Nashi asked weakly. He laughed darkly.

"They want you at death's door? I'll HAPPILY OBLIGE!"

"BLAKE!"

"PLASMA SALVO!"

* * *

_BOOM!_

Zeus watched as the attack hit the girl dead on as it had Michael before her, and the battlefield as engulfed in smoke.

"Well," Athena said from across the room. "That looks like it hurt."

"Indeed, but he is fulfilling his duties." Zeus replied, watching the lacrima vision closely.

The smoke faded.

And there she was, lying face down in the dirt, hair blowing slightly as the wind blew past. Zeus watched her closely, but he saw no signs of life.

"Well, this is bad." He said. "I told him to bring her near death, not to actually..."

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!_

Zeus looked over at Athena, and the woman was rapidly scrolling through her screens. Finally, she swiped one, and it flew over to Zeus. It appeared to be Nashi's stat screen.

The bar showing her magical power was bursting upwards towards the top of the screen, causing the screen to beep in caution due to the danger. Looking back at his own screen, Zeus saw Nashi slowly getting to her feet. As she reached them, he smiled.

"Well, it seems history repeats itself."

* * *

Blake could not believe it.

Nashi was standing.

Why did she have to make this so difficult! he just needed to beat her and that would be that...

_"Blake." _It was Zeus. _"We have good news."_

"How so?"

_"It seems you attacking her like that has had an interesting effect. END has saved her."_

"W-What?"

_"She should be out cold right now, near death, but...I think it is safe to assume that her Etherious half has...Replenished her magic power."_

"...?!"

Blake made a series of incomprehensible noises, and Zeus sighed.

_"In any case, you're almost done. Athena almost has all the data she needs."_

"You sicken me." Blake jumped and looked over at Nashi, who was coming towards him. "Everyone is offering you their hand, and your swatting them away."

_Oh no..._

Nashi looked up, and Blake's eyes widened.

The anger...The pure power surging through her.

_This...This is why they want her. _

The white fire had formed around Nashi's head, creating horns that aimed backwards. Her sockets glowed from the pure magic coursing through her.

_She's so powerful even when the beast only replenishes her magic to a minuscule amount...This is incredible..._

Nashi rushed towards him, and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

And together, they boosted upwards into the sky.

Blake felt dizzy as they rocketed upwards into the clouds, but they stopped soon after that. Looking back at her, Nashi was glaring at him.

"Now," She said. "If you won't help be purge the darkness..."

"..."

"I'll just have to do it for you!" She chucked him downwards, leaving herself high in the air. She brought her hands together above her head.

NEW DRAGON SLAYER SECRET ART!"

_Holy fuck...This girl is something else..._

"HOLY WHITE LOTUS SUPERNOVA!"

_God have mercy on the human race...Because they'll need it once Zeus has her._

Blake's world slowly faded out, leaving nothing but white as the attack struck him and together they rushed to met the earth beneath them.

* * *

The resulting explosion leveled everything within three blocks. The power was so much several people felt sick just from looking at it.

Nashi was still floating high above the ground, and everyone was waiting for the smoke to clear.

And once it did, the outcome was made obvious.

Blake Hunt was lying spread eagle on the ground, groaning in pain.

At first, no one spoke.

At first, some even forgot to breath.

But then.

_'OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! IT'S OVER! IT'S OVER! NASHI DRAGNEEL HAS DEFEATED BLAKE HUNT! AND WITH THAT...!"_

All eye shot towards the scoreboard, which tallied up everyone's points.

In sixth place was Quatro Cerberus, with 31 points.

In fifth place was Blue Pegasus with 48 points.

In fourth was Mermaid Heel, with 51 points.

In third was Lamia Scale, with 59 points.

In second was Sabertooth, with 107 points.

And...

In first was Fairy Tail, with 108 points.

The crowd detonated much like the white fire explosion in the city as music started to blare, and confetti exploded everything as the six competitors from the winning team were displayed on the lacrima vision with the word 'Congratulations!' written underneath.

_"FAIRY TAIL HAS WON! BY ONE POINT! WHAT AN EXPLOSIVE FINISH!"_

_"Truly remarkable." _Hisui added. _"I'm honestly blown away by the power displayed here today."_

* * *

Natsu felt pride wash over him as the crowd cheered loudly.

"They won!" Mira shouted happily.

"Of course they did." Erza said, a tear in her eye. "They wouldn't have accepted a loss." Natsu watched the screen showing his daughter high in the sky, still glowing with power.

_She did it..._

And then, it happened.

"Oh fuck!" Natsu shouted. "This is bad!"

"Natsu? What are...?" Lucy was cut off as she noticed it as well. "Oh my God! Someone catch her!" Ross gasped.

_"Nashi Dragneel is falling from the sky! I repeat, she's falling out of the sky!"_

* * *

_Ah fuck...This is shitty._

Nashi knew full well she was falling, and it was going to suck when she hit the ground. As her body whistled through the open air, it gave her time to think.

At least she'd won, right?

But now, her fatigued mind was far too muddled to come up with any reasons as to why Blake was working with the Olympians, and it confused the shit out of her.

_Oh well, whatever...Hm, I think I'm going to hit the ground soon...!_

Before another thought could cross Nashi's mind, something warm enveloped her, but it wasn't fire, that was for sure. She felt her descent slow, and whatever was happening, she was very close to being grinded into dirt by the building right next to her. The descent slowed even more, and she felt her body hit something.

Something soft.

And someone chuckled. Nashi slowly managed to look up, in the direction of the sound.

"You know, Nashi." Drake said. "You really ought to stop falling out of the sky." Nashi watched him before she laughed weakly.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean for it to keep happening."

Drake had caught her as she fell and protected her with his body from the rest of the fall. Well, that was better than hitting it and dying, right?

* * *

Blake's body was killing him.

Hopefully she was done, he couldn't take anymore.

He was lucky he'd not broken anything serious, like his back.

Or maybe he did, he honestly had no fucking clue.

_"Well Agent, it seems that was the end of that."_

Was that old fuck never done?

"Yep." Blake agreed.

_"Well, no matter. We gathered more than enough data from that last attack. You did your job. Athena, how powerful is she?" _Blake waited, and he heard the woman clear her throat.

_"If I calculate in the power of the White Dragon, it should be about...What?...Oh, oh no. That isn't right."_

"What?" Blake asked, stomach sinking. Athena sighed.

_"It seems...Yes, that's it. It seems that, outside of her Etherious form, she does not meet expected power levels. From my calculations, Etherious Nashi Dragneel is at...70% capacity."_

70%

_70%_

After all that she wasn't even as strong as she was needed to be? Or as she could be?

_"Hm, this is most troubling." _Zeus said. _"However it is a good thing he prepared for this. Athena, contact him. He'll have to move in as soon as he gets the chance."_

_"Understood."_

_"And you, Blake. Return to Mt. Olympus as soon as possible. We have more use for you."_

"Fuck off."

_"Excuse me?" _Blake gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"I said fuck off. I'm done listening to you."

_"Is that so? And what will you do instead? Stay in Sabertooth? That'll work well seeing as the son of the Master knows your secret. Don't be a fool Blake. Your life is ours."_

"I don't care." he said flatly. "I'm done with you. You want me, you can come retrieve me your god damn self."

_"You'll never live a normal life again, boy. You'll be hunted until you die."_

"Good. I'd rather be hunted down like a fucking animal that listen to your voice any fucking longer." Blake severed the connection from his end, and took a deep and shaky breath.

_It's over._

He stared up at the blue sky above him, and smiled weakly.

_This fucking nightmare...It's finally over._

...

_But her's...It's just beginning._

**Hey guys! I want to take this moment to thank you all for the support throughout this arc! It's spanned a hefty forty chapters on the dot, and that's the longest chapter ever! This arc alone is so much of what's posted!**

**Now, a few things. Technically speaking, the GMG is over. But the next arc is starting _next chapter_, so don't misunderstand. The GMG is over.**

**Also, if this chapter seems like just ending the fight, please keep in mind this chapter is as long as two normal chapters. So even If I sliced this in half, you'd still see everything past the roar of the Holy White Fire Dragon tomorrow. No big deal, really.**

**Again, thank you so much for all the support! And as always, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's get ten for the end of the arc!**


	192. Calm Before The Storm

**Yes yes, another chapter! It`s my March Break, what else am I going to do?! Get a life?! Psssh...**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi actually didn't wake under a bunch of debris like she had the day before, which felt better. It was a nice comfortable bed in the hotel that the rest of their guild had been moved to two days before. Sitting up, albeit painfully, she looked out the window and into the street. The city had been magically repaired overnight, so any traces of the complete trashing the day before had vanished.

Turning, Nashi had to force herself to remember this has her room alone. The others had been given rooms for themselves, which was good, because with all of them so completely battered from the day before no one wanted to wait for someone else to finish using the washroom.

Nashi didn't feel that bad, given the fact that Wendy had dedicated her whole night to making sure they could move at all, and Nashi was in her debt for that. But even still her muscles and bones ached from the extreme lengths she'd gone to the day before.

The day before.

Nashi closed her eyes and put her head in her hands as she thought about it.

_Everything's changed._

Blake. The Olympians...

Nashi felt apprehensive about the whole thing. What did they want with them? With her? She hadn't gotten the chance to ask Blake before the boy disappeared.

Shaking it off, Nashi decided it was time to get out of bed and prepare herself for the day ahead of her. After all the closing ceremony for the Games was today, which meant she'd have to make an appearance as part of the winning team. She didn't really want too, but she wasn't about to turn it down. Getting out of bed and throwing on a clean pink shirt and jeans that had been left out for her - seeing as her normal outfit had been torn to shreds - Nashi winced as she walked slowly towards the door out of her room and into the hall, looking around for her friends. They must've still been sleeping or had already made their way downstairs. So, naturally, she followed suit and slowly made her way down the stairs.

Once she made it into the lobby, the sound of her guild could be heard from the bar, which was obviously set aside for them as per usual. Once she made it in the entrance, she scanned around for her friends, but couldn't see any of them in the sea of people who appeared to be both her own guild and people from others.

"Morning sweetheart." Nashi turned to her right to find her parents sitting at at a table near the entrance of the bar, and she smiled warmly at them.

"Good morning." She answered. Her mother smiled at her.

"Did you sleep okay?" Nashi shrugged.

"Yes, I suppose." She answered. Her father laughed.

"Your were probably out like a light after eating that Holy Light." He joked, and Nashi chuckled weakly. He had a point after all. The second Nashi hit her bed who knew how many hours ago she was out before Drake had even turned the light off and left the room.

"You got me there." She replied. "Have you guys seen the others?" her mother pointed to the near back of the bar."

"I saw Damien go back there a few minutes ago, it might be where they are." Nashi nodded and thanked her mother, before wading through the sea of people in the bar to find her friends. She soon found them at the back at her mother had told her, all quietly eating or drinking.

"Hey." She said, earning some attention.

"Morning." Ultear said, picking at her food. Nashi sat down next to Drake, and he moved back in the booth to accommodate for her.

Silence.

Nashi didn't like it.

But she knew why it was happening.

They were missing someone.

"She hasn't come out of her room, has she?" Nashi asked quietly, and Simon shook his head.

"No." He answered. "We have yet to see her." Nashi frowned and looked down at her lap, where her clenched fists sat.

Elise was still in her room.

Nashi knew why.

* * *

_"Drake...I can walk."_

_"Don't bullshit me." The man answered, still carrying Nashi princess style. "I don't mind, really." Nashi pouted and crossed her arms. _

_"Well I do. Stop."_

_"Nah."  
_

_"Drake! Put me down!"_

_"No, I'm good."_

_"Drake!" Drake laughed and shifted a bit, making Nashi's head hit his chest. _

_"What are you going to do, oh Holy White Fire Dragon?" He teased. "Burn me?" Nashi chuckled lightly._

_"You know it." She had no clue where they were walking, but she soon figured out it was the hotel their guild had been moved too to keep them away from the start of the final day. Looking up from her comfortable position, Nashi could see that the others had already appeared there, looking downright terrible._

_"Hey, there she is!" Damien said with a laugh as he massaged a vicious looking mark on his right arm. "The Holy White Fire Dragon!" Nashi blushed as her friends watched her._

_"I just did what I had too."_

_"Damn right you did." Simon said. "I saw it from lying spread eagle on the ground a few hundred feet away." They shared a laugh at this._

_"So we one, huh?" Ultear asked. "By one point too?"  
_

_"You're welcome." Nashi answered, making everyone laugh again. After the laughter stopped, Nashi took a moment to look around, and she frowned. _

_"Where's Elise?" Thankfully, Drake voiced her question before she could. Ultear shrugged. _

_"Don't know. She hasn't shown up yet." Nashi made a face at this. She hoped that didn't mean Elise was seriously hurt. _

_But then, footsteps sounded in the distance. Nashi looked up, and located their source._

_Elise and Keita were walking towards them. Elise looked awful, and Keita seemed to be guiding her down the street towards them. Once they got close enough, Nashi smiled._

_"Good, we were worried about you Elise." The girl didn't say anything, which made Nashi a bit confused. "Elise?" Again, no response. Keita looked up from the girl._

_"Don't bother." He said. _

_"Huh?" Simon asked. "Why not?" Keita looked down._

_"Well...She..."_

_"You people..." Elise hissed under her breath. "Lied to me." Nashi made a face._

_"What?" Elise didn't look up, but Nashi sensed something was horribly off about the girl. _

_"Phantom Dove." Elise whispered. "Apocalypse...I...I was..."_

_..._

_Nashi felt like she was falling out of the sky all over again. _

_Had Elise...?_

_"I'm sorry..." Keita whispered. "It's...It's my fault..."_

_"I remember everything..." Elise said. "...All of it...That I...That they...I was...!" The girl started to cry silently, and Keita rubbed her shoulder, trying to be helpful. "And you just hid it from me?! How could you?!"  
_

_No one spoke._

_No one had an answer for her. _

_"Elise," Ultear started, making her way towards the girl. "We were just trying to help you, we didn't mean for..." Ultear reached out to touch the girl, and Elise jerked back from her touch as if it was poisonous._

_"Don't come near me..." She said. "I...I need time to think..." Without another word, Elise turned and walked into the hotel, and disappeared. _

_No one had any words. _

_And then their guild came rushing out of nowhere, and Nashi was enveloped by praise and kind words, and the conversation at hand made her mind shift away from the girl._

* * *

Nashi had not seen the girl since she'd retreated to whatever room she was in, and it troubled her greatly. Obviously remembering what happened...What those men did...Had destroyed her.

"Just give her time..." Drake said under his breath, his gaze buried at the bottom of his mug. "She needs time to be alone right now."

"I know..." Nashi replied. "But...She shouldn't deal with it alone..."

"She has too." Simon said. "She won't talk to anyone else right now, and I know that for a fact. Gajeel and Levy tried to get into her room all night." The group went quiet again, because no one knew what they were supposed to say.

"So..." Damien said, coughing. "The closing ceremony is today, huh?"

"Uh huh." Ultear confirmed. "And we have to be at the Domus Flau by four o'clock, is what that committee member said." That made sense to Nashi.

"So here's where the winning guild is hiding themselves!" Nashi looked over towards the entrance to find Sabertooth standing in the lobby. Sting smirked. "Thought you'd be out singing high praises about that monstrous daughter of yours, Natsu-san."

"Didn't need too." Nashi's father quipped immediately. "The damage the city had done to it should've been bragging enough."

"Yeah yeah." Sabertooth's Master said, waving him off. "She only did that thanks to my son, so don't get too cocky" Soon enough the other guild dispersed into the bar to talk to others and, soon enough, that meant Sabertooth's team had made their way over to them too.

Well, most of it. They were conveniently missing someone.

"Morning!" Michael greeted happily, raising a hand to greet them all, everyone else standing on either side of him. "Don't shoot, we're here on good terms you know."

"Wasn't planning on it, but I'll hold my fire." Simon replied with a smile. "Sit down guys." The team heeded Simon's request and searched for chairs, but Michael had other ideas.

He just squeezed himself into the seat next to Nashi. This in turn made her cheeks light up.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked, squished between Michael and Drake. The wounded White Dragon laughed.

"Nothing." He replied. Nashi shoved him and he fell onto the floor in front of his friends, who laughed at him accordingly. Juno just threw a chair at him, which he caught and used to sit down next to the others.

"You guys put up an amazing fight." Ultear said. "Really impressive."

"That's more or less your praise to take." Juno replied, smiling. "You had been attacked outside of the Games and still went on to win, and by one point no less..."

"Where's Blake?" Damien asked, making Nashi bury her face in her mug she'd been served and Michael to look anywhere but the group. Kyoko shrugged.

"No idea." She replied. "I think he went home already, honestly." The group chatter didn't stop from it, but Nashi knew why Blake was missing. He'd probably been recalled or was on the run at this point.

"Hey," It was Michael, who had pulled his chair closer to her. "You did great the other day." Nashi smiled.

"Thanks." She replied. "Do you know where he went?" Michael nodded.

"I, uh, told my Dad he was the one who attacked you guys." He said. Sent him home with a few other guild members to make sure he doesn't pull something." Nashi nodded slowly.

"But not that he...?" She trailed off, and Michael shook his head.

"No. I didn't. But I...I wanted to better his chances he didn't get kicked out."

"Why?"

"Because...I'm worried if he's left alone and defied them, which he might have, they'll go after him...And I don't want him hurt." Nashi watched the conflict flicker through Michael's eyes.

"Hey." She said, making him look over at her. "You're a good friend. Not a lot of people would be willing to keep tat to themselves." Michael frowned.

"Yeah, I guess."

"So anyway," Keita said. "We do have to be at the Domus Flau by four, and..."

"Well well, Keita-chan, you beat me to the punch!" A pair of hands grabbed Keita's cheeks and pulled at them viciously, making Keita cry out in surprise. Looking past him, Nashi saw Nami standing their, bandaged to hell but still had a smirk on her face, as she pulled at the boys cheeks.

"Nawi!" Keita shouted, making everyone chuckle as he tried to pronounce his words with his cheeks like that "Sta it!" Nami laughed and relinquished her grasp on the boy.

"Buzzkill." She said in his ear, making him roll his eyes. Nashi saw that Mermaid Heel had also joined them, and Nami had announced their appearance. The circle around the booth changed slightly to allow the girls to sit, and Nami did so.

"And wrapped Keita into her embrace with one arm, making him growl into her side.

"And shut up and enjoy the affection." Nami told him and refused to let go. "It's not like any others girls give you any attention."

"Yeah, you're all the trouble I need in that department." Keita shot back, making himself a shadow and freeing himself. Nashi watched the pair quizzically, not sure what to think.

"So, Nami?" It was Ultear who spoke. "What's up with you and Keita?"

"Hm?" Nami asked, looking over. Keita looked frightened and starting waving his hands back and forth.

"Yeah you two got a weird thing going on." Damien said. "You used to date or something?" These words made Keita look downright terrified, and he slowly looked at Nami, who gaze had gone to the floor.

_"Keita-chan." _The tone Nami used was horrifying, and Nashi felt bad for the boy. _"Why are they making that assumption? Like everyone else?"_

"U-Uh..." Keita struggled for words as Sabertooth and Mermaid Heel started to laugh. "I_I honestly' couldn't..."

_"Maybe because you didn't tell them? Well? Did you?"_

"N-No..." Nami stood and slammed her foot against the floor, and Keita yelped as he flew upwards and hit the roof from the change in his gravity, this caused the other two guilds to laugh but Nashi just felt confused.

"Every time!" Nami shouted. "Are you embarrassed by this fact or what?!"

"N-No! Not at all!"

"Then why does everyone new we meet assume I'm your girlfriend or that I used to be?! I'm your older sister!"

"I'm sorry! It never came up! Just put me down!"

"W-Wait a minute." Simon said, Nami looking over at him. "You're Keita's _sister?"_

Well duh, Scarlet." Nami replied, snapping her fingers. Keita's gravity changed again, and he now floated next to her. She grabbed his face and brought it next to hers. "Can't you see the family resemblance?"

Now that Nashi got a good look at them, she had to agree that they looked strikingly similar. Their hair color, facial structure...They were siblings, no doubt about that. Nami growled and cut her magic off, which made Keita drop to the floor and groan in indignation.

"You deserved that." She said flatly. "Making more people have that stupid assumption..."

"Oh shut up..." Keita hissed, standing back up to sit down again. Damien laughed at this.

"We're going to need more booze for everyone." He said, shifting out of the booth. "I'll go look into that." Nashi watched Damien walk towards the bar, and then he was hit by someone tackling him.

"Aw, Damien!" A voice squealed. "It's so thoughtful of you to come and greet me!"

"Ah! What the...?!" Nashi watched as the voice laughed and backed up, revealing Bella Realight.

"I just get in the door and you're coming to see me?" She asked, raising a hand to her mouth and watching Damien with a smile. "Such a gentlemen."

"I didn't even see you until you tackled me..." Damien muttered under his breath. Bella laughed.

"Aw you're so modest! Don't worry, That's such a...!"

"Realight!" Another voice shouted. This time it was Terra, standing in the door and watching Bella angrily. "I'm giving you three seconds to explain what you meant out there before I kick your teeth in!" Bella feigned fear and backed up into Damien's chest.

"Damien, protect me!" She shouted. "Terra's after me!"

"This looks like a you problem..."

"Ah, don't be like that!"

"Stay out of this Dreyar! She has some explaining to do before I kill her!"

"Stay away, Neekis!" Nashi watched this scene unfold as the rest of Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale also joined the gigantic party forming.

"Anyone care to explain what's going on over there?" Simon asked as Nashi watched Bella using Damien as a meat shield between herself and Terra. The man seemed rather unimpressed. Winter chuckled.

"Bella was taunting Terra the whole way over here." She explained, crossing her legs as she sat. "Saying stuff about how if she wanted to fight for Damien's affection, they could have done it more civilly. I think she's just doing this to piss Terra off, honestly."

"And nothing pisses Terra off more than relationships!" Grace shouted, startling more than a few people.

"Bella's always pulling stunts like this anyway." Mami answered. "She gets a kick out of it. It's sort of sick, honestly." Just as the group's conversation started becoming a bit more relaxed, the door was kicked open once more.

"Let's get wasted, everyone!" It was Reyna and Quatro Cerberus who showed up last, and Nashi wasn't surprised to see the daughter of the heaviest drinkers she knew carrying two six packs with her. "The day is still young!"

* * *

Once all the teams had situated themselves down in a large group all consisting of different conversations, Nashi took a moment to admire it all. Everyone seemed to be having lot of fun talking with each other, which was good seeing as they'd all been at each others throats for a week.

"Say 'Ah!' Damien!"

"Bella, cut it out!" Damien shouted, pushing the fork away from his mouth. "I know your just trying to work me over again." Bella looked offended.

"I'd never!" She replied.

"Just like you didn't yesterday?" Terra asked offhandedly, making Bella look over at her with a smirk. She grabbed Damien's arm and pulled herself closer to him, making Damien's eyes shift around uncomfortably.

"Jealous, Neekis?" Bella demanded. "I'm just getting to know my fellow Demon Lord."

"That doesn't look like getting to know to me."

"Maybe because you're a romance deprived girl who doesn't know a thing about it?"

"Watch what you say, Realight..."

"Even though she's right?" Winter teased with a knowing smirk, making Terra's face go red. Nashi laughed at the small exchange. She was shocked to learn of Bella being a Demon Lord, but the girl seemed innocent enough.

Looking around, it occurred to Nashi that she'd never expected to find herself surrounded by so many friends.

_I think it's safe to say the Games worked out alright._

* * *

The man watched the Domus Flau fill up with people, who were getting ready to watch the closing ceremony.

_"Are you ready? Did you set up all the necessary items?"_

I did." He answered, steam billowing out if his mechanical arm. "I just need the ceremony to start and I'll fill her up."

_"Remember, only target her. Once you're done, escape. We don't need another agent getting defeated at their hands this week."_

"Understood. I'll make END fill to 100% capacity and escape."

"_Excellent. Do not mess this up, Our back up plan for this failing is risky, and I'm not sure I trust Hades enough to implement it effectively."_

"I'll do it. Not to worry."

_"See that you do." _The Master of the Olympians ceased communications, and the man continued watching people file in excitedly.

If only they knew what was in store.

**Technically this is the start of the arc, so I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	193. The Time Wound

**Yes yes, you know the drill...**

**But I do have a small announcement at the end of today's chapter, so stick around!**

**Enjoy!**

"It's almost four." Nashi looked up as Drake said this. "We should probably go over to the Domus Flau now, huh?" Simon nodded.

"Yeah, unless we plan to make a fashionably late entrance." Nashi had no intention of going late, so she stood with everyone else and they funneled out of the bar. Just as she was about to exit the hotel, Nashi paused and looked up the stairs.

Elise wasn't with them.

"Hold on, guys." She said, making a decent amount of the people stop. "Should we...?" Silence filled the air, and no one answered her for the longest time.

"Don't bother..." It was Levy who finally spoke, and the woman seemed extremely upset. "She won't let you in. Just tell everyone she's feeling sick..." Everyone waited another few moments, but ultimately Nashi decided to leave, and everyone followed.

After all, there was no reason to force the girl out.

* * *

Elise watched the large group leave the hotel and walk out towards the Domus Flau.

She didn't want to join them.

She didn't care about the fucking Games anymore or whatever place they'd come in.

Curling up into a tight ball, Elise stared down at her bed and...stayed like that. It was peaceful, she noted, being alone. She kind of liked it to be completely honest.

And doing so kept her away from those people.

Elise's grip on herself tightened at the thought of them. They'd acted out of consideration for her, she knew what very well after spending all night thinking about it. She'd also come to grips with the fact that they were trying to keep her away from remembering because of what had happened to her when she knew before.

But at the same time...

When Elise thought back to the few times when she'd experienced a killer headache and asked her friends if they knew why she got it, and they denied knowing, it made her blood boil. Lying for her was still lying, and after spending all night thinking and trying to calm down, she was even angrier about it. She would have rathered move past the events that transpired while caged by Phantom Dove on her own then have her family and friends make a decision she alone should've had to make.

"They're my memories..." She whispered to herself. "My experiences...Who the fuck gets to decide whether or not I get to have them except me?!"

She didn't want to be heralded by the people of Crocus next to those people.

And that my extension meant she didn't want to speak to her parents either.

While perhaps her friends went along with it, it was her parents her dragged her to see Mest and had it done in the first place without even _asking _her. Sure the months that passed after felt great, but...

"But now that I know why...That all those memories I have because I had others erased...It makes me so fucking angry!"

* * *

_"Hello and welcome everyone to the closing ceremony of the Grand Magic Games!" _Ross' announcement got everyone excited, and it made Azzie smile as she watched the crowd cheer. _"Today we'll be holding a small ceremony to celebrate the amazing feats that we've witnessed over the past week, and to give each team their shining moments from the Games! So please welcome to the arena, your six teams from the Grand Magic Games!"_

Azzie brought her hands together and clapped as the six teams walked out onto the field, all separated by a little bit of ground. They all seemed pretty wounded and wrapped up, which made sense given the sheer devastation that occurred the day before.

_"First up we have Quatro Cerberus!" _Ross shouted. _"While they did not perform the best this year, their heart and will to keep at it even though they lagged a total of seventy points behind by the end is commendable! Give them some love, people!"_

"Jeez, way to be passive-aggressive." Azzie mumbled as Quatro Cerberus received their cheering. Tetsu snickered.

"Well they did kind of suck, you know." He said. "I don't exactly blame him for trying his hardest to compliment them."

_Next we have Blue Pegasus! While they did flip flop all over the leaderboards during the Games, they did some amazing work!"_

"Sure did." Katsuchi mumbled. "Including having a Demon Lord on their squad..." Azzie shivered at the thought. Demon Lords seemed to show up fairly often.

_In fourth we have Mermaid Heel! While this group of ladies is surely very deadly, their ace in the hole Nami Mikazuchi deserves an extra round of applause!"_

"She's really the only one I'd fear on that team, not to sound rude or anything." Katsuchi said. "No one else really made an impact." Azzie agreed with him wholeheartedly. Hell, the only reason Mermaid Heel wasn't a spot below was thanks to Nami anyway.

_"In third we have Lamia Scale! This whole team was rather impressive to watch, so let's give them a big round of applause!"_

Everyone clapped accordingly, and Ross cleared his throat.

_"And in second, a team who went on a rampage yesterday in their attempt to win the whole thing, Sabertooth!" E_veryone clapped and cheered, as did Azzie, although she noticed something right off the bat.

"They're missing a guy." She said. Tetsu nodded.

"Wonder where he is." He said. Ross chuckled.

_"Also, I've been informed by Master Sting that Blake Hunt had some important issues to attend to back home, so that is where he's gone. We wish Blake the best of luck!"_

"There's your answer." Katsuchi said. "Had something to do. Not like he won anyway, this is just a formality."

* * *

Nashi clapped for everyone else, she wasn't going to be rude about it. They'd all done their best, so they deserved a hand.

_And now!" _Ross said, these two words alone making the crowd lose their shit. _"In first place by a single point, we have Fairy Tail! Throughout this entire tournament they have brought the heat to every event and every fight, making each day even more action packed and better than the last! Even after becoming the victims of foul play on the final day, they pulled through and managed to come in a commendable first! Let'd give them another well deserved round of applause!"_

It was overwhelming having everyone cheering for them once more, even the other teams on the field.

But when she remembered only five were present, she became a little more downcast.

_"Also, I've been informed by Master Laxus that Elise Redfox has come down with a rather vicious stomach virus, and is unable to join us today for the closing ceremony. From everyone in the Domus Flau and the Grand Magic Games committee, we wish you a speedy recovery!"_

"Right..." Ultear muttered. "Stomach virus."

"What were we supposed to tell them?" Damien asked. "She won't talk to anyone becuase she remembered a traumatic event from months ago? As if that'd go well." Nashi knew it was for the best no one knew what Elise was going through. The last thing the girl wanted in her current state of mind was the media crawling down her throat asking for interviews and the like.

_"And now, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce to you out Queen Hisui E. Fiore, who has agreed to present the winning team with the trophy herself!" _The crowd started to cheer again, and Nashi turned her gaze to find the Queen walked towards them, carrying a gigantic golden trophy and flanked by her royal guard. Once she got close enough, Nashi could see that the cup not only had their guild name and emblem emblazoned on it, but their names rested on a plaque screwed onto it's wooden stand. The Queen reached them, and she smiled at Nashi.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you all." She said. "You bear such a striking resemblance to your parents." Nashi smiled weakly.

"T-Thank you, your Majesty." She said. Hisui laughed.

"No need to be so formal Nashi, I don't mind if you call me Hisui." Nashi nodded, and in turn the Queen offered her the trophy. "You all did amazingly in the Games, so it's my honor to give you the trophy." Nashi slowly gripped the cup as Hisui gave it to her, and watched her warped reflection smile back at her. She handed the cup off so that the others cold hold it as well, and Hisui smiled. "One more thing."

"Yes?"

"I've started the transaction for the winning jewel." She said, keeping her graceful and calm demeanor. "which means you all should be receiving your thirty million jewel soon."

...

"E-Eh?" Nashi asked weakly. "D-Did you just say...?" Hisui smiled.

"Surprised? There's still a cash prize, you know."

"Holy shit..." Drake said. "Thirty million split six ways is...!"

"Five million each!" Simon finished, grinning madly. Could this get any better? First winning, then the money...

"Hey! You're not allowed in the arena!" Nashi's attention was taken away from the Queen as the royal guards shouted at someone. Looking over, Nashi could see it.

A cloaked man was making his way onto the field.

"Halt!" The guards shouted again. "We won't ask you again sir!" The man didn't stop, and the guards that had chased him onto the field growled. "Take him down!" The guards rushed the man, who still kept walking towards them and the Queen.

In one fluid motion, he turned and magic sprung from his fingers, causing the guards to fall over into a heap. Once they'd stopped moving, he returned his normal walking pace towards them.

"Queen Hisui E. Fiore." He said, and the voice that came from the man made Nashi's spine tingle. "It is should an honor that you should be here."

"W-Who are you?" Hisui asked, and the man chuckled. A dark, metallic sound that offered no joy.

"I am but a humble man who wishes to see the winning team from the Games." He replied. "Right, _Fairy Tail?"_Nashi made a face as the man's cloak billowed in the wind. Who was he? Why was he here?

Nashi heard Drake make an odd sound, so she turned to her friend to find him looking downright terrified.

"Drake?" She asked. "What's the matter?" He slowly turned to look at her, and his expression made her incredibly uneasy.

"Nashi..." he said. "This guy...His scent..." Nashi raised an eyebrow but assumed this was Drake's way of telling her to smell him, so Nash's focused and inhaled a few times, trying to find what Drake had.

Her eyes widened and it felt like her heart stopped.

"No..." She whispered, struggling to stay on two feet. "No no no..."

"What's the matter with you two?" Ultear asked. "Who is he?" Nashi slowly looked back at the man standing before them, and her insides turned violently.

"You..." Nashi said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I thought you...I thought we..." The man laughed loudly.

"I can see why you would make that assumption, Nashi darling." He replied. "But as you can see, I still stand. And now I'm here before you."

"What is happening?" Simon asked. "Why are you here?" The man laughed and raised a hand to his hood.

"I'm here because I've been sent here." He said. "Fir a very specific reason..." The hood flew back, and Nashi's stomach took a dive into a new dimension.

Kronos, the former Master of Devil Advocate stood before them, black cloak billowing in the wind.

At least, he sort of was.

Half of the old mans face was covered in a slick metal. It was shaped like a face, _his _face, and it was billowing steam out of a few pipes that aimed backwards.

"Kronos?!" Ultear asked. "But we defeated you!"

"You didn't finish me off, though." He said, metallic voice giving Nashi shivers. "And I've returned. But be thankful I'm not here on personal matters."

"What the hell happened to your face?" Drake asked weakly. Kronos laughed.

"This is what happens to the human body after being hit by a Unison Raid containing the elements of fire, iron, poison, and the like." The man's cloak revealed his body, and Nashi's eyes widened.

The man had a metal arm, that also billowed out steam as the pistons inside allowed it to move. His body has traces of pipes, gears, and various others pieces of metal inside his chest and body.

He was essentially half robot.

"You kids did this too me." He said. "The attack you defeated me with all those months ago...It destroyed my body's ability to function properly. Luckily my patrons had a way to save me in exchange that I do this for them."

"Patrons?" Simon asked. "What patrons?" Kronos' flesh part of his face twisted in an odd way, and it looked like a smile.

"Ever heard of the _Olympians?"_

_..._

"...No..." Nashi whispered, backing up slightly. "You're...? Working with the Olympians?"

"Of course I am, dearest." He replied calmly. "They control everything around you. And now they are why I'm here."

The Olympians.

The _fucking _Olympians.

Why? Why were they involved again? Just when she thought she was out of the woods and they'd leave her and her friends alone for a little bit they were involved only a _day _later and starting something else? Why?

What did they want this time?

"But please do not misunderstand." Kronos said. "I'm not here to hurt you, I'm only here for Nashi. And even then this'll be over before you know it."

...Her?

"Like hell!" Nashi jumped as a a body blocked Kronos from her

Michael.

"Stay away from her." He said. "I'm not going to let this happen!"

"Out of the way, boy." Kronos said. "Or your face will look like mine."

"Why don't you make me?" Michael asked. Others soon joined him in standing in the way, and soon enough everyone was between Nashi and Kronos. Kronos stayed quiet before he sighed.

"So be it." He said. "Come and stop me."

* * *

Zeus watched the fight begin, a smile on his face as Quatro Cerberus was blown away by black fire. Kronos' power had always been incredible, and it was thanks to Athena that he was so capable with so many types of magic.

"It seems to be progressing well." Zeus said aloud as more of the wizards getting in the way of Kronos. "Have you calculated our odds, Athena." Athena nodded as she tapped away at more screens surrounding her.

"I'm getting there." She said. "I'm just about..."

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!_

Zeus looked over at Athena again as her screens started to blare warnings. The woman's face lit up in surprise.

"Oh..." She said. "That's not good."

"What is it?" Zeus asked. "What's the matter?" Athena looked up.

"We may have a small..." Athena covered her mouth with her hand. "Excuse me. By small I meant _we've made a glaring mistake"_

* * *

Everyone was lying down as Kronos lowered his arms.

"Is that all?" He asked. "i was hoping such powerful young wizards would give me more of a challenge."

Nashi felt scared.

What was he doing? A strange sound echoed from the crowd, and Nashi turned to find her guild attacking a shield in their way. Kronos sighed.

"That shield won't hold up very long." he stated. "Good thing I set that up in advance."

"W-What do you want?" Nashi asked, trying to seem a bit more intimidating. Kronos smiled.

"They did say you had no idea." He said. "A shame, maybe if you used it you could beat me."

"Stay away from her!" It was Nashi's father shouting. "I sweat to God if you hurt her...!"

"My my, I see you didn't inherit your fathers temper." Kronos said, sighing and more steam billowed out of the pipes in his body. "Probably better for me in the long run."

Kronos raised his arms, and white magic circles appeared in his hand.

A white glow surrounded Nashi, and she looked around in confusion.

"What are you doing?!" She asked as a sphere of white light circled around her.

"Just calm down." Kronos replied. "It'll all be over in a moment darling." Nashi slammed her fists against the sphere surrounding her, but her fists resounded off of it. Her friends ran towards her despite the damage they'd taken from Kronos' assault.

"Nashi!" Drake shouted. "Are you okay?!"

"Sure, right now!" She replied. "Get me out of here!" Drake attacked the sphere, but nothing happened. Nashi started to feel queasy.

"This is Arc of Time..." Ultear whispered, looking at Kronos. "What is he...?!"

A horrible screeching noise grated against Nashi's ears. Covering her ears in her attempt to stay sane, Nashi looked around in confusion.

The sphere surrounded her was rippling like disturbed water, and the white mist was turning blood red. As did the sphere.

"W-What is happening?!" She asked. The sphere exploded outwards, now encircling all of Nashi's friends and herself.

"Shit, we're trapped now too!" Damien growled. "What is happening?!"

"This happened to me yesterday!" Ultear said. "His spell is malfunctioning!" Looking over, Nashi saw Kronos' face.

He looked surprised.

"What...?" He asked weakly. "What is happening?"

Nashi felt terrified.

And then, a few seconds after it started, it was over.

The sphere faded, no longer preventing Nashi and her friends from getting away.

The mist faded as well, and it was like it had never happened.

"That...was weird..." Nashi said weakly, looking over at her friends. "You guys okay?" They were all staring at her, stunned. "What?"

"Nashi, your hands..." Nashi made a face and looked down at her hands.

She gasped.

Her hands were disappearing!

"W-What the hell?!" She asked, staring at her hands as they started to become transparent. "What's happening to me?!" Looking back at her friends frightfully, her eyes widened.

They were all disappearing too. Drake looked down at himself and made a weird sound.

"We're disappearing!"

* * *

"I should've known..." Athena hissed. "How?! How could I have missed this?!"

"Athena!" Zeus shouted. "What's happening?! Why is the spell not working the right way?!" Athena looked over, an angered expression on her face.

"The Time Wound." She whispered. Zeus's eyes widened.

"Son of a bitch..."

* * *

Natsu continued to pound away at the shield preventing him from storming the arena, and he wasn't going to stop for anything.

Whatever that asshole, wanted, he wasn't going to get it.

"Natsu hurry!" Lucy shouted. Natsu growled angrily and continued to pound away at it.

He had to hurry.

Giving it one final punch, Natsu's fist broke through the shield preventing his advance, and he sprung to action. He dove down onto the field and ran as fast as he could towards his daughter who was slowly disappearing before his very eyes.

_Hurry up..._

Her friends were slowly disappearing as well.

_Hurry up...!"_

"Nashi!" He shouted, and she turned to look at him. He met her gaze,

"She looked scared and confused.

"Dad..." Natsu reached out to grab her shoulders.

His hands met open air.

His eyes widened as Nashi completely disappeared from view. He looked around, but the others were gone as well.

_...No..._

They were gone...

_No..._

His baby girl.

Pure rage coursed through Natsu.

_He did this...He caused this...!_

Natsu whirled in the direction of the man who'd caused her to disappear.

He was gone.

He'd disappeared completely from the Domus Flau. Natsu couldn't even smell him.

Silence.

No one spoke. The competitors in the arena were silent. The crowd was silent. Ross was silent. Hisui was silent.

The sound that pierced the silence was Lucy screaming her daughters name.

* * *

The sun had set, and Elise still had yet to leave her room. She watched the sun set slowly, wondering how the closing ceremony had gone. From what she could tell no one had returned to the hotel yet, because no one had tried to get into the room, which she appreciated.

"I just need to think about this..." She whispered. "And..."

Elise jumped as her door was ripped from it's hinges. She turned in surprised and found her father holding the piece of wood, and her mother walking inside.

"What are you doing?" She asked weakly. "Leave." Her mother didn't listen, and slowly sat down on the edge of Elise's bed.

"..."

"What? Leave me alone..."

"...Elise...God honey I don't know how to tell you..." Elise made a face, but her stomach turned violently.

"W-What?" Her mother clenched her hands together silently, and Elise noticed something. Her cheeks were stained with tears. "Tell me! Whats going on? Why are you...?"

"ULTEAR!" Elise jumped as she heard Juvia screaming from downstairs. "ULTEAR! NO! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO FIND HER!"

"Juvia stop!" It was Gray's voice, but he too sounded horrible. "There's nothing to look for!" Elise sprung from her bed and ran to the door to look out into the lobby. Juvia was being held down against a couch by her husband as she wailed and wailed, Gray was crying as well, but he seemed to be holding it together. Elise watched this in shock before she slowly turned to her mother.

"What happened?" She whispered. Her mother looked up, and met Elise's gaze.

"They're gone."

"W-What?"

"They're gone, Elise. The others...They're gone."

**And we're done with this chapter! Now I know most of you are like "What the fuck Fallen, where'd they go?!" But be patient, my friends. You will learn in due time. **

**Now, onto the announcement I mentioned. I'm going to be taking a small break from this story. Now don't lose your mind, it'll only be like a week. It's just to leave you guys hanging for a bit and to give me time to work on my other stories. I just love watching you guys squirm ;)**

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	194. What Comes After

**Hey guys! Back once more after my short break! So this arc will play out in a strange way, but I think it's be a lot of fun!**

**Enjoy!**

One year after the Kronos incident

It was raining.

Because of course it was.

As Elise stood in the soaked crowd of people, she spared a thought to wonder how they'd managed to get to this point.

Almost one year to the dot, five of the people she considered the closest to her heart, even after what happened with her memories, disappeared without a trace. One moment they were there, the next they disappeared into the bright blue sky.

But the world moved on.

The guild didn't give up hope for a long time. Elise could count on one hand how many times she's seen Gray or Laxus in the past year. Everyone was working overtime to try and find them.

But they couldn't.

And eventually...Everyone gave up. There was nothing to find. Nothing to reverse.

Nashi, Drake, Ultear, Simon and Damien were gone.

And as Elise stood in the cemetery overlooking the five gravestones with everyone else, only one thought ran through her head.

_I'm only here because I didn't want to be near them._

The crying voices of the parents who'd lost a child overrode her mind, and she too felt tears threatening to fall.

_I'm here..._

Elise felt her father rest his hand on her shoulder, and she appreciated the comforting warmth that attempted to spread through her, no matter how little it actually helped.

_Because I didn't go with them._

Elise wanted to feel relieved at that fact. She wanted it to be something she looked back on and thought 'Woah that was close, huh?'

But all she felt as she thought of this fact as sheer anger at herself from a year ago.

Because they'd left her behind.

She had no one left in her own guild who was her own age that she wanted to talk too. Rocky and Sammy weren't really her friends, Asuka was usually off doing her own thing, and a lot of the other kids her age she didn't really ever talk too.

Why did she get to be the lucky one?

Why was she safe and her friends were gone?

Just...

Just...

Why?

Elise looked up through her damp bangs and observed the scene around her. Everyone was doing their best to hold in the tears, and seeing as it had been a year everyone was doing fairly okay given the reason they were out in the rain in the first place. Only Mira and Juvia seemed to be horrible at holding it in.

_Mira..._

Elise realized a long time ago Mira had lost both of her children now. The woman seemed destroyed. First her daughter, and now her son. The world had a cruel sense of humor.

_Juvia..._

The woman had not stopped crying since it happened. Elise couldn't fathom how she continued to cry. Looking around, she also laid eyes on the parents of the others. Even Jellal and Erik had shown up, looking horrible.

And then there was Lucy and Natsu.

Lucy had given birth to a beautiful baby boy roughly two months after Nashi had disappeared with the others. She had named him Luke. Through all of the bullshit the guild had gone through, Luke had been their beacon of hope and return to happiness. But even he, as Elise could tell, seemed sad.

Looking over, Elise saw Kinana holding her new daughter, Kaida. Once Luke had been born the guild's attitude changed very briefly, and apparently this was around the time Kinana and Erik tried for another kid. Obviously they'd done more than try, because nine months later Luke's new playmate was born. Granted the boy was ten months older than her, but they'd still grow up together.

Incredibly reminiscent of the pair before them...

_Pregnancy..._

Erza, Juvia, or God forbid Mira, had not yet made such an announcement.

Elise doubted they would for a while.

If they ever did, anyway.

Other guilds had shown up, as well. All of their friends and their parents. But of course, none of them could even imagine the pain the others were going through.

And eventually, people started to leave. There was no point in getting sick by staying.

First it was the others guilds, who had the least obligation to stay.

Then went most of the people in there guild unrelated to the 'deceased'.

It was just Elise, her parents, and her friends families at that point.

It was longer still before anyone else left. First went Lucy and Natsu, mumbling something about not wanting to get Luke sick seeing as it was raining. A reasonable reason to leave. Then Jellal and Erza did the same, followed by Erik and Kinana, who were following Natsu and Lucy's example. Mira and Laxus stayed for a while longer, but eventually they left. Juvia didn't seem to want to leave. But finally, she got up off of the ground and they disappeared. This left Elise and her parents.

"...Elise?" It was her mother calling to her. "Are...You okay?" Elise did not respond to her mother, but it wasn't out of anger or not wanting to speak with her.

She just had nothing to say.

"Elise?" She tried again. "You'll get sick if you..."

"Leave her be, Shrimp." Her father jumped in now.

"But Gajeel..."

"Don't...She's lost just as much as everyone else. Let her be." Her mother did not reply again, and Elise listened to their figures retreat either back to the guild or back home.

This left her alone in the rain with the five rocks in the earth that supposedly marked her friends. Elise walked closer to the gravestones and looked down at each of them. Every one bore the name of one of her friends, the year in which they were born and the one in which they disappeared, and a final sendoff. They'd also been put next to Steph's gravestone.

Elise collapsed to her knees.

"Why?" She croaked out, the tears finally falling. She'd been holding it all day...Every day for a year. "Why wasn't I with you?"

The graves did not respond.

Elise put her head in her hands as she started to shake.

"Why didn't I go with you?!" She asked. "I might have been able to stop it..."

Again, the stones did not answer her.

"I should've been there...I should've disappeared too! Why was I spared?!"

The only sound she heard was the rain pelting off of the ground around her.

"Why...Why..." Elise growled and slammed her fist into the ground. "Why?! I can't...! I can't...!"

A cloak wrapped around her shoulder and head.

"You'll catch a cold out here." It was Keita. "You should get out of the rain, Elise."

"Keita..." Elise mumbled, grabbing the hem of the cloak and pulling it around her cold body. "Why are you still here?"

"For you." He replied. It would've been sweet had Elise not been spiraling out of control at the moment. "I'm worried."

"Heh..Rightfully so..."

"Exactly. Are you going to be okay?"

"No...Not ever." Keita did not answer her right away, and Elise just stared down at the ground. "I...I've never fucked up so badly before."

"Huh?"

"I should've been there...I shouldn't be here. I don't...I can't..." Elise's words failed her as more tears fell onto the ground beneath her, but she lost sight of them amidst the rain drops. "Why am I here, Keita?!"

"I don't know."

"Why was I spared?!"

"I don't know."

"Why are they gone?! What did I do to deserve this?!"

"I don't know."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T...!" Elise whipped her head around to yell at him, but stopped as she met his gaze. He didn't seem the least bit angry or irritated with her, he seemed dead calm.

"I simply don't." He replied. "I cannot answer you. I apologize." Elise stared at him for a moment before she slowly turned and grabbed the cloak tighter.

"Why are you apologizing?" She asked in a small voice. "I'm the one who yelled."

"Because you've lost so much and here I am with no way to help you." He answered. "I said I'd help you through the next stage of your life if you wanted me too and here I am, not able to help."

"You did everything you could." Elise said. "At least from what I heard, you jumped right in and tried to defend them, but he defeated you..."

"Yeah, well..." Keita did not continue talking, so silence befell them. Elise put her hands between her legs in an attempt to regain feeling in them.

"It was a year ago..." She whispered. "But the pain feels so fresh..."

"Elise..."

"I thought...I figured I wanted some time away from them to regain my composure about the whole thing...I didn't mean my whole life!"

"..."

"Did I do this?! Is it my fault they're gone?! That I'm the only one who gets to grow up?!"

"Elise, _stop" _Elise looked up to find Keita kneeling down right in front of her. "This is not your fault. Your simply the victim of the aftermath." Elise looked down at her knees as he said this.

"Whatever..." Keita did not say anything more, but Elise knew he was still right in front of her.

"I've got an idea." He said. Elise looked up. He was holding his hand out, presumably for her to take. "But you have to promise me you trust me."

"K-Keita?" He didn't say anything, but Elise could see a strange fire in the boys eyes. Slowly, Elise reached forward, and Keita grabbed her hand firmly.

"You and I? We're going to hunt down the bastard who did this." Elise felt her eyes widen. "I don't care how long it takes. We're going to find him. What do you say?"

"Keita...I don't know about this."

"You know who it is, don't you? Kronos?" Elise nodded. "Then we've already completed step one." Elise looked down at their conjoined hands, contemplating what he offered.

Revenge.

Vengeance.

_Closure._

A warmth spread through Elise's chest.

It wasn't happiness.

It wasn't anger.

It was determination.

Elise gripped his hand tightly right back and, for the first time since Luke had been born, Elise Redfox smiled.

"Let's find him. For them."

"For them."

* * *

Nashi's head hurt. Where was she?

The girl slowly opened her eyes to find that she was lying face down in an alley. How the hell had she wound up here?

"Ugh, my head..." She hissed as she sat up. She looked around, but could see nothing save the walls around her.

The Games.

Kronos.

Her body...

Nashi jumped to her feet and looked down. She seemed as solid as ever. She could see her body, and when she tried to touch herself on the hand, her other hand didn't phase through it. Even her headache was fading.

She overall felt alright.

But that set off a warning alarm in her mind.

"Where? And how?" She asked, looking around warily. Of course she was still in the alley so it didn't exactly explain anything to here. "One minute I'm fading out of existence and the next I'm n an alley face down...What the hell is going on right now?" Nashi decided it was time to come out of the alleyway, so she did. Walking out into the light made Nashi shield her eyes from it. Once they adjusted, she looked around.

Crocus.

She was in the capital city of Fiore. Just like before.

But why had she been in an alley?

Nobody payed her any mind as she walked out into the open and surveyed her surroundings, making a face.

"What the hell is happening?" She mumbled as she watched people pass her by as if nothing was wrong. How much time had passed? Had any passed?

"Nashi!" Nashi turned to find her friends running towards her, all looking a bit disoriented. "Thanks God we found you, we were worried." Ultear said with a smile.

"Well, I'm okay." She replied, crossing her arms. "What's happening?"

"No idea." Drake said, looking kind of miffed. "But everything looks totally normal."

"Well that can't be right." Damien said. "Something must be going on, because if nothing happened why are we just standing here?" Nashi knew he was right, but simply looking around did nothing to quell their disbelief at the normal things going on around them.

"Alright, let's recap." Simon said, everyone agreeing. "We were at the stadium accepting our trophy, and Kronos attacked."

"Yes." Ultear said. "And his spell malfunctioned, and we started to disappear."

"So..." Drake said, rubbing the back of his head. "That doesn't really answer our questions, does it?"

"No it doesn't." Simon agreed, looking around. "But I'm not sure what could." Nashi sighed and looked around, watching people go about their daily business."

"We should look for something." She said. "Anything."

"I'm with Nashi." Drake said. "Anything that could tell us what the hell is happening." Finally having decided on a course of action, the group started to walk through the streets of Crocus, blending in rather easily. No one had any reason, it seemed, to pay them any mind.

"I'm kinda hungry." Damien said after a few minutes of silence observance. "Can we get something to eat?"

"Anyone got any money on them?" Simon asked, and the group dug into their pockets, looking for something to pay with. Pooling what they had in their pockets, Nashi sighed.

"This is enough jewel for like five cups of coffee." She said. "Nothing to eat."

"Better than nothing." Drake said, sniffing the air. "Coffee smell is coming from this way. Let's go." The group followed the two Dragon Slayers as they sniffed out the nearest coffee shop, and eventually they found it. They walked towards the outside bar and sat themselves down, looking around curiously.

"Hi! How can I help you today?" The group looked over to find a blonde barista asking them if they needed anything."

"Yeah, hi." Nashi said, handing the girl the jewel they'd pooled. "Can we get five cups of coffee?"

"Anything special?"

"No...That'd cost us extra." She replied sheepishly. The girl nodded and took the money, returning her gaze to Nashi.

"Would you like a copy of today's paper?" She asked. "Free of charge!" Nashi didn't really find the newspaper interesting, so a negative response was about to come out of her mouth.

"Yes, please." Simon answered before she could. "That'd be lovely." The barista nodded and turned to leave, and Nashi looked over at Simon.

"Why do you want the paper?" She asked.

"It may give us a clue as too what's happening." Simon replied. "The headline could be helpful."

"That's true, good idea Simon." Drake said. Nashi looked around, still feeling as though something was off. Why was no one pointing at them or whispering? Had they fallen from the public eye already?

"Anyone else feel like we should be getting stared at?" Damien asked, voicing Nashi's inner concerns. "I mean, we won the Grand Magic Games, I'd appreciate a little recognition."

"Leave it." Ultear advised. "Until we know what's happening there's no point in asking."

"Besides." Drake said, shifting his gaze to look at the few girls there age watching him. "I get enough attention as it is." Nashi laughed and pinched his cheek.

"It's cause your so cute." She teased, making him glare at her. Ultear laughed.

"Does this happen all the time, or am I crazy?" she asked. "Drake's like bright lights and women are like bugs. They're irrationally drawn to him."

"Irrationally?" Drake asked. "I think I'm quite the catch." Simon frowned.

"You're really annoying though." He said.

"Bit of a handful." Nashi said.

"Cocky." Damien added.

"Little high maintenance." Ultear quipped. Drake's head hit the table and he groaned, making everyone chuckle.

"You guys really ought to stop that..." He hissed. "My self-esteem will take a major hit."

"What self esteem?" Nashi asked as the barista returned.

"Here you go!" She said, placing the cups down and everyone grabbed theirs. "Five cups. Oh, and here's your paper." She leaned forward and offered the paper to Simon, who thanked her and took it. "Anything else?"

"We're good thanks." Drake said, smiling at her. This made her blush.

"R-Right, your welcome." She said, turning and walking away. Drake elbowed Nashi.

"See that? He said. "Putty in my hands."

"As per usual." She said. "Try that on any girls you know like Ul or I and it'd never work."

"Well if you guys think I'm such a handful and so high maintenance then no fucking..." Drake was cut off off as Simon moaned and flipped through the paper some more.

"What?" Damien asked. "Nothing?"

"Not that I can tell." Simon said.

"Let me see." Ultear said, leaning into the boys side and placing a hand on his shoulder, making him blush. "Keep flipping, I'll skim it too."

"O-Okay..." The two browsed the newspaper, and Ultear frowned.

"Weird." She said. "I don't recall any of this being in the paper this week, but..."

"Me either." Simon agreed. He returned his eyes to the front page and sighed, Ultear sipping her coffee. "I think we should..."

Ultear choked on her drink and started coughing, placing the drink down and covering her mouth with her arm as she continued.

"Jeez, you okay Ul?" Damien asked as Simon rubbed her back, making her face red. "Swallow the coffee before you breath."

"G-co_ugh_-Give me this!" She shouted, snatching the paper from Simon's hands and staring intently at it.

"...Ul?" Drake asked warily.

"No...This can't be right... She whispered in disbelief. "I don't...H-Huh...?"

"Use your words, Ul."Damien said. "What's the problem?" Ultear slowly looked down from the paper, eyes wide and face paling.

"I...I think I found our problem."

"...Which is?" Nashi asked. Ultear slowly turned the paper around and showed the the front page. Nashi skimmed over the news but didn't see anything important until Ultear pointed to the date.

Nashi, too, paled.

The paper was dated at _eleven years ago._

"We're..." Ultear said slowly. "We're in the past."

**Oh snap! What will they do! I already know the answer to that but...Heheheh. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	195. A Risky Idea

**Don't really have anything to say today except...**

**Enjoy!**

Six years after the Kronos incident

"Run! They're here!"

_BOOM!_

"Where are they?! I can't...!"

_BOOM!_

Elise whacked another one of the peons over the head and watched him fall. Sighing, she turned and watched as more people tried to get away from her, only to be thrown to the side by shadows.

"This is so tiring..." She hissed as she heard another man run at her from behind. She turned and slammed a cub into his midsection, hearing a satisfying crack. She leaned down and got in the face of the one who'd attacked her.

"W-Why are you here?" He asked her. "What do you want?"

"Kronos." She answered. "Where is he? Do you know?"

"K-Kronos? W-Who is...?"

_CRACK!_

Elise slammed her club into the mans leg, and he cried out as it cracked and broke.

"I don't have time for your bullshit." She hissed. "I've spent the majority of five years hunting this asshole, and he's lead me here. Where. Is. He?"

"I-I don't...!"

_CRACK!_

"Man not having working limbs must suck, dude." Elise said as the man started to cry. She felt no sympathy for him, he worked for Kronos. Anyone who worked for Kronos was, by extension, responsible for her friends disappearance. "Tell me. What do you know?"

"I don't know anything! I swear to God!"

"No? Then what is the point of keeping you alive?" Elise turned her right arm into a sword and positioned it over him, making him sob even louder.

"Please lady I don't know what you want! I don't want to die!"

"Then you should've thought of that before you started to work for the bastard Kronos." She answered immediately. "I don't have time for this."

"Please! No!" Elise was about to slam her sword down through the mans chest, but someone grabbed her upper arm.

"Elise, stop it. The poor guy's already broken." Elise looked over her shoulder and saw Keita standing there in black clothes and a black cloak similar to hers. "Besides, I found what we were looking for." Elise watched him closely before she turned and looked back down at the man.

"It's your lucky day, shit stain." She told him. "My friend has a sense of morality." She slapped his cheek, laughed, and stepped over him. "Where's the office, Keita?"

"In the back. You'll see the passage." Elise walked towards the back of the building, Keita right behind her. Soon enough the cries and sobs of the man with broken bones started to die away between the stone walls of the hall, and Keita sighed.

"You didn't need to go that far." He told her.

"Fuck him." Elise replied. "I don't care about him."

"Apparently." He replied. Elise rolled her eyes and looked through another empty door.

"Why do I need to give a shit about these people?" She asked. "They work for Kronos. They're not people, they're tools."

"That's a fucked up way to look at the world." He replied. "Weren't Katsuchi, Tetsu, and Azzie 'tools' once?" Elise paused and stared at her combat boots, as Keita put a hand on her shoulder.

"They're not the same..." She answered.

"Why not?"

"..."

"Elise, I think you need a break. When was the last time you were at home? For longer than a few days to get a new job?"

"...Uh...three years ago, I think."

"See? Go home. See your family. Didn't your Mom have another daughter before you left?"

"She did..."

"I think you need a break, Elise. To stop thinking about Kronos, and all of this crap. See your sister, your Mom, your Dad."

"I don't need too." Elise replied, crossing her arms. "We're so close to finding him too."

"I don't care. Do I have to drag you there?"

"Try me."

* * *

"Keita for real I don't wanna..."

"Elise do not be like this." Keita hissed, crossing his arms. "You need to see your family. It's not that big of a deal." Elise sighed and exhaled loudly, causing her bangs to float in the air. She'd been dragged all the way to Magnolia, and now she was standing a few feet from the guild hall entrance. Now that she was here, she felt so nervous.

"Look, um, maybe this is a bad idea. I don't think..."

_BAM!_

Elise yelped as Keita kicked the front door of the guild in, and disappeared into a shadow.

"I fucking hate you..." She hissed, hearing laughter float around her as he disappeared. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, Elise walked towards the door and inside the guild hall. She stood in the entrance and regarded all the people watching her, and smiled weakly.

"Uh, I'm back." Elise stated quietly. It wasn't long before everyone perked up.

"Elise!" It was Elise's mother who rushed to see her first. "It's so good to see you! How did your job go?"

"Okay." Elise replied, hugging her mother back. "It wasn't so bad." Her mother laughed and squeezed her tighter.

"I suppose you aren't going to stay long?" She asked. Elise shook her head.

"I can stay for a bit..." She replied, and her mother laughed.

"That's good. It really is good to see you."

"Yeah, you too." Elise's mother let her go, and her father walked up to them.

"Good to see you, kid." He said, rubbing her head. No matter how much she denied it, it was a comforting feeling. "Stay and rest a bit this time okay? You've been working yourself to death these past few years."

"Yeah..." Elise looked around and winced out of instinct. But nothing happened. "Hey, I was expecting to get tackled by two little shits. Where are they?"

"Luke and Kaida?" It was Lucy who asked this, and Elise nodded. Lucy smiled. "I think they're at Kinana's place. Levy, isn't Lilly with them too?" Elise's mother nodded.

"Yep. She said she wanted to hang out with the 'big kids'. Jeez she's a handful." Natsu snickered.

"Big kids? Luke's six and Kaida's soon to be. Lilly's, what, three?"

"Big to her, I suppose." Levy rectified. "Doesn't really stop Luke and Kaida from excluding her."

"Probably best they do." Erza said from the back of the guild. "Those two are like Natsu and Gray when they were younger." Both men paled and looked away at this. "Lilly not getting involved is a good thing at her age." Elise laughed with everyone else, even though she wasn't that amused. She wasn't around enough to really get the reference.

"I think I'll go see them," Elise said, backing up towards the door. I'll talk to you guys later, okay? I know they'll want to see me..." Her mother smiled.

"Okay honey. Hurry back." Elise nodded and walked out of the guild hall, sighing as she did so. It was so painful sitting there and acting happy for those close to her.

Because she didn't want any of them to know what she was doing.

For the better half of five years, Elise had been hunting. Hunting for the man responsible for her friends disappearance. The only reason she'd returned home ever was because Keita advised her to take jobs in order to slip away. Elise always did those jobs mind you, but it was always a great cover to tell the client she was going to look out for more trouble, disappear for another few months, and report back that nothing was wrong and refuse extra pay for the 'work'. She looked like a hard worker to most, but she didn't care about the money.

Elise stopped in the center of the street and stared down at the ground.

_Why am I still here?_

It was a question that plagued her since the moment she found out about her friends disappearance. Once a year had passed and she and Keita started to hunt Kronos, she assumed she'd gotten her answer: to avenger her friends. To make it so others didn't suffer the way her family had.

But...

Sometimes that felt like an empty purpose. All the planning, all the reconnaissance, all the data, and they always came up dry. He always got away, he always barely left a trail.

_Maybe if we start going after our targets faster, he'll have less time to destroy the data in his hideouts and we'll have a better chance at..._

Elise was thrown from her thoughts as she banged a gloved fist against Kinana's door. Driving the plans from her head and replacing them with false happiness and a smile, she waited as the woman opened the door and smiled brightly.

"Elise!" She greeted, reaching out and hugging her. "How are you?! My word it's been so long since I've seen you!"

"Hey, I dropped by." Elise replied, hugging her back. "I can spare some time. Can I come in?"

"Of course, of course!" Kinana let her in, and Elise wandered into the living room, her boots thumping loudly against the hardwood floor. "Can I get you anything, honey? Coffee? Tea?"

"Coffee would be nice." Elise replied. "Thank you." She stood in the center of the living room, unsure as too what to do. The homey feeling was relatively foreign to her nowadays as she spent most of her time in a cot in a tent while the elements hammered away. This was so..._not her style._

"You seem dressed up." Kinana called from the kitchen. "You must have come right home from work this time, huh?" Elise looked down at herself and noticed that yes, she hadn't bothered to go to her apartment and get any fresh clothes. She was still in her black shirt and pants, black cloak, combat boots and gloves lined with metal studs. Truthfully it might have been a better idea to change.

"Heh, yeah." She said, slowly sitting down in a chair. "I was really feeling home sick, I guess..."

"Hm, everyone does. But you don't ever really stay home now anyway. Are we that bad to hang out with? Or our the little ones that hard to deal with?" Elise chuckled.

"No." She said. "i just do it to get my mind off of..." Elise looked up, and her brain froze mind sentence.

There was a picture of Drake on the mantelpiece.

She stared at the picture for a moment, absorbing the look of his face and the clothes he was in.

When she realized she was trying to memorize his face, her heart twanged painfully. Was she really forgetting them already?

"Elise?" Kinana had reentered the room, offering her her cup of coffee. Elise reached out and took it, still looking at the picture. "What we're you saying?" Elise did not reply, too busy indulging herself in the smirk the boy had on his face. Kinana followed her gaze, and grew silent as well.

"My mind off of...You know." She replied quietly, sipping the hot drink. Kinana sat down opposite her and sighed.

"Yeah..." She said quietly."Must be hard...Coming home." Elise hummed in agreement and looked deep into her cup as if it held answers. "I...I can only imagine how hard that was on you. The memories...and then that..."

The memories.

Phantom Dove.

It made Elise feel strange that in all the time that had passed since she'd remembered, it barely even crossed her mind. There was always something more important plaguing her mind, be it the next mission, or Kronos...Or anything honestly.

"It's fine..." Elise said, staring into her lap. "I'm not bothered by the memories of Phantom Dove anyway. It's been replaced by more...pressing issues."

"Hm." The women grew silent once more, until a loud crash resounded around the house.

"Kaida!" It was a boy yelling this. "Watch what you're doing!"

"Well maybe if you stopped being so annoying I wouldn't have to throw things at you!" Elise snickered at this.

"I see those two are up to their usual antics." She said, making Kinana laugh.

"Yep. All the time. It's an odd transition from kids who get along so well and then..." Kinana stopped speaking, and Elise's heart throbbed as well. "...A-Anyway, I think they'd love to see you, they're just down the hall." Elise nodded and put her coffee down, going down the hall towards the voices. She heard them started to bicker again, and she stopped at the door it was coming from. Taking a deep breath, Elise opened the door and peeked inside to see three kids standing inside.

The first was Luke, Natsu and Lucy's son. He was Lucy's hair color and it was starting too spike like Natsu's as well. He had his mothers eyes like Nashi did, and he currently looked rather miffed.

The second was Kaida. She was Kinana and Erik's daughter, and she had inherited her mother's purple hair and most of her facial features but, as she got angry as she was now, Elise could see so much of Erik in her it was scary.

The third was Elise's little sister, Lilly. The girl was sitting off to the side as Luke and Kaida fought over something in their hands.

"It's mine!" Luke shouted. "I'm the leader, it means it's mine!"

"You're always the leader!" Kaida shouted. "I want to be the leader this time!"

"I'm older!"

"So?! You have to share the leader!"

"I do not!"

"Do so!"

"Guys, stop...!" Lilly tried from the corner of the room. Elise watched this unfold before she decided to clear her throat and make her presence known.

"If we're deciding leader by age," She stated, making all three heads turn. "I've almost got _two decades _on you three." She watched the three kids watch her before they all lit up at once."

"Aunt Elise/Nee-chan!" Three little bodies tackled her at once and she stumbled backwards as they all laughed and hugged various parts of her bodies.

"Jeez guys, I'm still a bit sore from work...!"

"Sorry!" Luke said. "You just rarely come home!"

"Yeah!" Lilly agreed. The girl could say a lot for her age, but she was still pretty young.

"You got any stories?" Kaida asked, staring up at Elise with purple eyes full of excitement. Elise made a face.

"Stories, huh? Well how about I tell you one about the time I fought off thirty bandits with one hand tied behind my back?"

"That's a new one! Tell us tell us tell us!"

"Holy...! Get off me and I'll tell you!"

* * *

Roughly eleven years before the Kronos incident

Everyone stared at the date in shock, unsure of what to say. No one had any words.

"Uh..." Damien said slowly. "This is bad."

"You're right there..." Simon choked out. Nashi slowly looked around her in surprise. Eleven years. _Eleven. _How had this happened? Why were they here?

And how the hell were they supposed to reverse it?

"This is bad..." Drake murmured. He went to sip his coffee, and made a face. A small bug was crawling across his skin, and it seemed to be bothering him. He reached over to swat it, to end the bugs life.

"No! Drake stop!" Drake and everyone else looked up as Ultear shouted this, making his hand freeze a few millimeters from the insect. "Don't! If we're in the past...The tiniest _tiniest _detail out of place from the original play of time could have disastrous consequences!"

"Uh..." Drake said weakly. "So...Don't crush the bug?"

"No!" Drake looked down and everyone watched as the bug crawled across Drake's skin before it jumped off and continued on it's merry way. Ultear looked around shifty-eyed.

"If we're really eleven years in the past, our mere presence is risking fucking everything up. We could rip apart the fabric of space and time if something too drastic happens..."

"So, don't crush bugs." Damien said. "Good to know, I think."

"So what now?" Simon asked Ultear. "We can't stay here, it'll fuck everything up like you said, right?" Ultear nodded and made a face.

"We need to find a way back to our own time. But I have no idea how we got sent here in the first place." She placed a finger on her chin. "It had something to do with Arc of Time malfunctioning, and Kronos seemed surprised as well..."

"Kronos." Drake said. "We could find him, right?"

"Wouldn't that be another big risk?" Nashi asked. "We had no recollection of him when we first met him before, so we'd be forging the future in the past and could mess with something."

"Plus he'd be with Devil Advocate right now, right? I think..." Damien said, and everyone went silent. Nashi looked over to the street and watched people walk by. But now, she knew why she felt odd. All of these people were not the people she knew they should've been. All of them were eleven years too young. Some may even still be alive. It wasn't right.

"Another guild?" Simon asked Ultear, who gave this some thought.

"Could work." She said. "Although it could cause problems if it's a well known guild or a guild full of people we know..."

"Is there anyone who could help us and not cause some sort of rip in space and time?" Drake asked, leaning back. "Like, anyone useful anyway?" The group went silent as they thought about this, wondering if Drake was right.

"Not a lot of them." Ultear said, making a face. "We could try and figure it out ourselves, but..."

"We don't have a clue as too what happened." Simon finished for her, and she nodded. "So, we're still at square one." Nashi stared down at the cup in her hands, steam billowing out of the small opening she used to drink it. She honestly had no idea what they were supposed to do.

"Ul."

"Hm?" Ultear looked over at Simon, who was watching her.

"Couldn't you send us through time? With Arc of Time?" Ultear shook her head.

"I don't know how he did it. Plus he didn't even mean to gauging from his own surprise so..." More silence. No one had any ideas, until finally Nashi sighed.

"Well, how about we go home then?" She asked. Everyone stared at her, but she stood firm in her suggestion.

"Nashi..." Ultear started. "I don't want to insult your intelligence or anything, but do you have any idea the kind of paradoxes we could create if we went there? And encountered ourselves?"

"Not a clue." Nashi answered. "But do we have any other ideas?" No one spoke up. "We could try and conceal ourselves. Even if we are found out, we have Mest, do we not?"

"What're we gonna conceal ourselves with?" Simon asked. "We don't have any money for some kind of disguise."

"Well, my point about Mest still stands, does it not?"

"She has a point..." Damien muttered. Nashi nodded and stood.

"If we tell Mest we need the memories of meeting ourselves erased for the entire guild-and probably the whole town- we wouldn't cause that much trouble right?"

"I don't know..." Ultear said. "It's risky..."

"Ordering this coffee was risky wasn't it?" Nashi countered, making everyone else stare down at the cups sitting in front of them. "Isn't sitting at this table risky? We're not supposed to be here at all, so we're risking a lot by simply being here."

"This is so confusing..." Drake said. "Can I drink my coffee or not?"

"You already did a little." Nashi replied. "So go ahead and give it a go." Drake cautiously sipped his drink, and everyone tensed. The universe didn't rip apart in front of them, so they all relaxed somewhat.

"You make a fair point." Ultear said. "But it's a bigger risk than getting a drink or sitting here..."

"Again, I'm open to other ideas." Nashi said. "I don't want to break the universe either but damn, if we risk it anyway..."

"She's making a good point." Simon said. "Plus our guild is the best in the country, especially in this time period. If we were going to ask a guild for help..."

"Ours would be best." Damien finished. "So Ul? What're we doing?" Ultear thought about this deeply, before finally she sighed.

"Fine." She caved. "We'll see. But please keep in mind the risks. Don't do anything that could alter the future in any way." Drake sighed and stood as well.

"So go home without causing a world changing conflict of some sort?" He asked. "Seems like we can't normally anyway, so fuck it. Let's go."

Drake did have a point.

They often got into a lot of trouble simply traveling from place to place.

**And another chapter done! I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	196. The Big Lead

**Just so you guys know, we probably aren't going to do anything cool for chapter 200. The timing is all off and we're in the middle of an arc. I might just make it an extra long chapter or something, I don't know. The way things are planned right now it'll just be another chapter. the 200th one, but just another one.**

**Enjoy!**

Seven years after the Kronos incident

Elise walked through the crowded streets of Magnolia, smiling as she waved to people who wished her a good morning. It was one.

It had been a whole year since she'd been on the hunt for Kronos, and this was because after about six months of fighting with Keita, he told her to stay put and he'd do the hunting on his own. Elise tried to tell him that was unfair and she wanted to help, but Keita told her that with how much the man moved about and how he was never where they wanted him to be, the odds Keita actually got to him were slim. He just wanted Elise to stay home for a bit, longer. She, however, had been initially against this, but the man told her to relax a bit. That was all he wanted her to do.

And soon, Elise grew to appreciate the sentiment. The year she'd been home had been a great one, and it seemed everyone was finally, at least somewhat, moving past the disappearance of the five.

At least at face value.

Elise knew no one directly involved was over what happened. Not a chance. She wasn't. The parents weren't. But they put on the mask of happiness and did their best. As did she. And it usually did it's job.

Sighing, Elise entered the guild rather unnoticed. A few people looked over and acknowledged her, but she didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment.

"Elise!" Elise looked over as someone called her name and her gaze fell on Luke, who was sitting with his mother and waving to her. She smiled and waved back to him, which made him smile even wider. She walked over to them and placed a hand on Luke's head, rubbing it.

"What's new, kid?" She asked, letting him go as he looked up at her.

"You know what I just did?" He asked, a sly smile on his face.

"What?"

"I put bugs in Kaida's breakfast." Elise and Lucy both stared down at the young boy, before exchanging glances themselves.

"Luke that wasn't very nice." Lucy scolded, making the boy look over at her innocently. "Why would you do that?"

"Cause she'd do it!"

"Did she?"

"No..." The boy looked down as Lucy glared at him, making Elise chuckle. "But she would if she was smart enough to think of it..." Elise smiled weakly at the boy as he scrunched his arms together and stared down at his lap.

Nashi's visage flashed before Elise's eyes as he did so, her face buried in the scarf around her neck.

The visage disappeared, and Luke's returned. Elise stared down at the boy as a hot pain was driven through her heart. He looked so much like her.

"What?" Luke asked, staring at her. "Are you okay, Elise?"

"..." Elise stared down at the ground and clenched her fists, not answering the boy.

"Luke," Lucy said. "How about you go warn Kaida about her breakfast before I ground you? I want to speak to Elise."

"Okay..." Luke got up and went to find the girl he'd tried to prank, leaving Elise and Lucy alone.

"You okay?" Lucy asked. Elise nodded slowly.

"He..." Elise started, not sure how to word it. "Reminds me of his sister."

"Hm..."Lucy agreed quietly. "He does, doesn't he?" The two of them went silent at this, and Lucy sighed. "She's been gone for seven years..." She laughed. "For some reason I hoped this would end up like my own problems with time passing without me and she'd appear once seven years was up, but I probably shouldn't get my hopes up."

"Yeah, I guess..." The two women fell silent, and Elise was preparing to excuse herself when someone called out to her. She turned and found her mother smiling at her.

"There you are!" She said. "You've got a visitor."

"Huh?" Her mother pointed to the door, and Elise followed her gaze.

Keita was standing there, a file under his arm, watching her.

Her stomach twisted.

Elise slowly walked towards him and stood right in front of him.

"What?" She asked. "I don't hear from you for six months and then you...!"

"I'm sorry." Keita interrupted. "But this is big." Keita cleared his throat, and spoke louder. "Yeah, I could really use your assistance on this job. Can we go and discuss that?" He was covering for her so that she'd have a reason to disappear once more. She nodded curtly and he turned, leaving the guild hall. Elise turned to her mother.

"I'll see what he wants." She told her. "Be right back."

* * *

You...What?" Elise asked, leaning over the small table between them to get in Keita's face. He nodded and brought out the file from under his arm.

"I've got a big lead on Kronos." He replied. "And I mean _big. _Check it out." He slid the documents across the table and Elise picked it up and opened it. What she was was a multitude of documents and pictures, coupled with notes Keita had made and the like.

"What is this?" She asked. "I don't understand."

"It talks about a dark guild ring that's recently started up in Bosco." Keita answered her. "At first I didn't pay it too much mind, but things started to connect amazingly. And one thing connects it all."

"What is that?" She asked. Keita smiled.

"The reports state that the ring is being lead by a half metal man." Elise narrowed her eyes at Keita, but he remained unmoved.

"Kronos." She said, and Keita nodded.

"Yes indeed. He's running the ring and from what the reports say, he's been hanging around for a while." Elise looked back down at the filed between them and gave it some thought.

"So, what do you propose?" She asked. Keita crossed his arms.

"We go." He said. "No later than today. I don't know how up to date Kronos is this time but if we don't get a move on, he'll disappear again. God knows we don't need that."

"You're right there." Elise answered. "But are you sure we can get there in time? It's in Bosco."

"I know." He said. "But if we don't get a move on it won't matter. What do you say?" Elise reread the information stated in he files. It said that near the center of the country Bosco was a dark guild ring, which was reportedly lead by a man who was half machine. That was obviously Kronos, no doubt about that. But...

"I don't know." She replied, looking back at him. "I mean, I want to get this guy, but he's just going to disappear on us again..."

"Elise?" Elise looked away from Keita's gaze. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." She answered. "It's just discouraging to know that no matter what happens this time will end up exactly like the fifteen or so times we 'thought' we had him before. I just don't trust the intel."

"Okay." He said. "Don't trust the intel."

"Wha...?" Keita grabbed the file and ripped it up, tossing it aside. He returned his eyes to Elise.

"Don't trust The intel." He repeated. He leaned closer. "But you trust me, right?" Elise made a face.

"Of course I do." She said. "What's that got to do with anything?" Keita smiled.

"Well then." He said. "If you trust me, then I say we should try and get a move on this. What do you say?" Elise watched him closely.

"And what happens if he slips away from us for the umpteenth time?" She demanded. "And we're left with nothing once more?" Keita frowned.

"Then we'll reevaluate our search. We'll have to start again." He kept his gaze on hers, not backing down. "Okay?" Elise watched him closely once more, before she frowned.

"You know," She said. "Something's been bothering me for a while."

"What?" Elise got in Keita's face, surprising him.

"Why do you care so much about this?" She asked. "Kronos didn't take your friends away. You didn't go through what I and the others did. Why are you the one pushing to get this guy? Why are you continuing without me? Maybe you should go and see your family Keita." Keita looked more surprised at her question then her sudden closeness.

"Why?" He asked. "Because I want to. Because I care."

"Why?"

"Because..." Keita growled and rolled his eyes, creating distance between himself and Elise. His cheeks were pretty red for some reason. "I care about you. Okay? I've been helping you for six years now, I'm not going to stop now. I want to help you. I want this guy dead as much as you." Elise smirked at him and slapped his cheek a few times.

"Aw, aren't you cute?" She asked. Keita rolled his eyes.

"Shut up." He hissed. "Are we doing this or not?" Elise cracked her knuckles and nodded.

"You said we had to go today in order to get the drop on him? Bosco's pretty far so we'd better get a move on."

* * *

Roughly eleven years before the Kronos incident.

Being in Magnolia was a weird experience for all five involved. They knew the city like the back of their hands, but walking through it and trying to garner no attention was a little difficult.

Although Nashi had to commend herself for getting a glove to cover her guild mark up. She was the only one with the mark on display, so she had to cover it up with something to avoid people having even more license to recognize her outside of the hair, face, and scarf, which she had to take off for the very same reason.

"This was a bad idea." Ultear said. "People are already staring."

"They sure are." Drake said. "Damn near everyone is wondering who we are and why we resemble ourselves so much."

"Why are we moving through the open street?" Damien asked, jabbing a thumb at the alley beside them. "We could just sneak to the guild hall." Simon nodded.

"That's a good idea Damien. Let's go guys." Inconspicuously as possible, the five of them slid into the alley away from the stares of the residents. Once they were away from that, they proceeded as silently as possible to their guild hall, and the closer they got the tenser they got.

"So, uh, what do you say exactly?" Drake asked. "We aren't exactly in any sort of disguise, or anything..."

"Firstly, we should try and avoid ourselves if possible." Ultear said. "This was a bad idea to begin with, but if we met ourselves it could do some real damage to the timeline."

"Mest." Nashi reminded the girl. "Have the memories of us altered or erased and it's like we were never here."

"Yeah but if he does do that aren't we aware of it and it can't work on us?" Ultear countered. Nashi shrugged.

"What's the problem with that?" She asked. "We're just trying to get back to our time. Having memories of this visit can't possibly effect anything that badly."

"I guess we'll see about that then." Ultear replied, and they all grew silent. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they saw their guild hall through the alleys.

"Here we go." Damien muttered as they all came out of the alley and stood in front of the guild hall. "This does seem like a bad idea now they we're here."

"No turning back now." Simon said. He walked towards the door and slowly opened it, peeking inside the large hall, everyone following his lead.

Unsurprisingly, the hall didn't look all that different than it looked eleven years from then. it still reeked of booze and sweat, still had tables lining the opening, job board still situated on the wall near the door, and everyone was laughing and drinking.

Nashi would've felt right at home had she not been on high alert for something.

"Okay, so... Drake shrugged. "What are we doing exactly?"

"...Looking inside, I guess." Nashi answered. "We came here to look for help, so I don't think we're helping anyone by leaning in the front door and..."

"What are doing?" All five jumped and tried their hardest to back out of the hall, falling over each other as they did so. Once they recovered somewhat from the fall, they looked back outside of the hall to find someone standing there.

Levy Redfox watched them with a strange look on her face, Gajeel right behind her. Even eleven years younger, they were both easily recognizable.

"Shit..." Simon hissed. Levy tilted her head to the side.

"And why do you look so familiar?" She asked. Nashi wasn't sure what they were supposed to say here, but everyone had fallen silent. Gajeel was watching her closely, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he sniffed her out.

"W-Well, uh..." Ultear tried weakly. "W'ere, um..."

"This one." Everyone looked over at Gajeel, who nodded at Nashi. "She smells like Salamander...No, she smells like _Nashi." _Nashi laughed weakly as the two adults watched her closely.

"Might be because Nashi is my name." She said, scratching the back of her head. "This is a long story, but we need your help and..."

"Levy? Are you back?" The guild halls door opened, and everyone looked back.

Nashi's mother stood there, staring right at her. Her eyes widened.

"...N-Nashi? Is that you?" Nashi laughed weakly.

"Look, if we can just take a moment to explain..."

* * *

The five had been sat down in the dead center of the guild hall, the guild all watching them closely.

"...What do we say?" Simon hissed under his breath. "If we have to watch what we say, then..."

"I'll handle this." Ultear answered. She cleared her throat. "So before I say what's wrong, anyone want to get the obvious questions out of the way?" The guild was silent, still watching them. Ultear coughed. "Anyone...Anyone at all..."

"Who are you?" It was Erza who had spoken. Ultear nodded.

"A good start." She said. "As I'm sure you've noticed by now, we look a lot like five certain children in the guild..." Ultear gestured to the rest of them, making them all give a small wave. "And that's because we are those five kids, but from eleven years in the future."

"...What?" Laxus asked. "The future? How did you get here?" Ultear gave this some thought before she took a deep breath.

"Too keep a long story short," She said. "We were attacked by a man using Arc of Time, and his spell malfunctioned. I have no clue what his original intent was, but he sent us backwards in time instead. And now we've come home to, hopefully, get help in returning to our own time." The guild went quiet once more, and Nashi waited with baited breath as everyone absorbed this information.

"So..." It was Nashi's mother who spoke. "Ultear, Simon, Damien, Drake...Nashi?" Nashi met her mothers shocked gaze, and nodded weakly.

"You look good mom." She joked, attempting to lighten the mood. "Eleven years were not easy on you." A few people chuckled, but the mood mostly remained unchanged.

"You look good too." Her mother said, smiling. "You look so grown up as well." Nashi felt her chest swell from the compliment, but she kept that to herself. It wasn't important right now.

"So let me get this straight...Ul." It was Gray who was speaking now. "You five got thrown backwards in time and you came here to get help in returning to your own time?"

"Exactly, Dad." Ultear answered. "But in order too...!"

"Not to interrupt Ul, but where are we anyway?" Damien asked. "Younger us, I meant." Kinana smiled.

"I believe you're all out playing right now." She answered. "I assume it'd be best to keep you all apart?"

"For now, yes." Ultear said. "It could rip space and time apart if we...!"

_BAM!_

All eyes turned to the doorway as it was thrown open once more.

Six bodies were sprawled out on the floor, and most of them seemed to be laughing.

"No fair, Simon!" it was Younger Drake who seemed to be yelling. "You used that speedy spell to win that race!"

"So what if I did?" Simon asked. "I just used by magic to my advantage!" Drake seemed to be fuming, but the other four bodies all stood and looked at them.

"Totally unfair, Simon." Younger Damien said. "Play fair sometimes."

"Yeah!" Ultear said. "Not fair!" Elise crossed her arms and fumed.

"I'll totally win next time, just you wait and see!" She said.

And then there was the sixth body.

Younger Nashi had noticed the whole guild staring at them, and was slowly sliding behind Drake to hide herself from them.

"Everyone's staring..." She heard herself whisper, and Nashi couldn't help but smile weakly.

_I was a shy kid...I totally forgot._

Younger Drake had noticed her concern, and looked forward.

"Did we do something?" he asked weakly. "It wasn't me."

"We don't usually get stared at like this for doing something bad..." Damien said. As people moved to get the kids out of the way so that they avoided contact with their older selves, Nashi met her younger selves gaze, even with her peeking out from behind Drake's shoulder. She winked at the girl, and her eyes widened.

"Is that...Me?" She asked, pointing at Nashi. "She looks like me..."

"Nashi honey." Nashi's mother got in the way. "This is grown up business, okay? So I want you and your friends to go and play somewhere else, okay? You can't be here right now."

"But Mommy, she looks like me!"

"I know honey, but you can't be here right now..."

"Man this is weird..." Drake said, elbowing Nashi as their parents tried to get their younger selves out of the way. "Look at how cute you are." Nashi raised an eyebrow at him..

"Cute?" She asked. Drake nodded.

"Sure. Look how shy you are. These were the good old days, Nashi."

"That's not what I would call them..." Nashi said as she watched him, waiting for him to make the connection. He paled.

"Oh..." He said. "was this around time Rocky...?" Nashi shrugged.

"Think so." She said. "I don't recall."

"Ah come on, we wanna know!" Younger Damien shouted. "What's going on?!"

"Damien, you can't be here!" Mira scolded. "This isn't something you can get involved in right now, and...!" Mira paused, and looked around. "Wait, we're missing someone." Everyone else paused and looked around, before they too seemed to draw that conclusion.

"Where is she?" Erza asked her younger son, who seemed confused.

"She was with us, right guys?" He asked, and the others nodded. Younger Damien seemed a little mad.

"Mom I swear, she disappeared to get me in trouble again!"

"Oh course she did, Damien..."

"She did!"

"What's happening?" Simon asked. "Who are they talking about?"

"No clue." Ultear answered. Damien, however, was going pale.

"I remember this..." He whispered. "I know what they mean..."

"Damien?" Nashi asked. "You okay?" The man's face was slowly draining of color, and his eyes were glued to the door.

"I should've realized this sooner...Eleven years...The past..." Nashi stared at the boy and tried to figure out what he was talking about.

And once she had, the color drained from her face as well.

How had they not seen it sooner?

"No..." She whispered. "No...It can't be..." Before anyone could ask her what she'd figured out, an angry high pitched voice coming from outside the guild.

"Onii-chan!" The voice shouted. "Why do you always rush off without me?!" Younger Damien looked miffed.

"Ugh, here we go..." he muttered. The source of the voice reached the door, and Nashi's hear leap into her throat.

Stephanie Dreyar glared at her brother, cheeks puffed up with irritation.

"Just stop leaving me behind!"

**Well then...I just wrote that. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	197. Carelessness

**Hey guys! I gotta say, it's strange seeing so many reviews for the new chapters. Not used to so many per chapter :P**

**Enjoy!**

Seven years after the Kronos incident

Not a single person in the whole world probably found sitting atop a sand dune for a few hours at a time fun or exciting, but Elise's entire body shuddered with anticipation as she and Keita staked out of the area below. Said area was rife with suspicious activity, but she payed no mind to what the men appeared to be doing.

Keita, during his solo hunt for Kronos, had come across information that he was running a dark guild ring in the country of Bosco. The two of them had traveled there to catch him. Elise had had her doubts on the trip into the country, but seeing so much activity, seemingly unaware of there presence, was a very good sign. The cave the men were around seemed to be where they wanted to go.

"What's our angle?" Elise asked. "Going in loud?" Keita shook his head.

"No. We're doing this my way."

"What do you mean your way?" Keita shot her a look.

"I mean that when we go in loud we cause a lot of trouble and give Kronos a reason to escape even _if _him is still hanging around. So we're going in my way, which is the stealthy way." Elise sighed and scratched the back of her head.

"Fine, we'll give it a go. What did you have in mind?" Keita flexed his hands and stood up, Elise following suit.

"Quite simple, really." He answered, turning to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Those guys won't pay attention to a shadow." Elise made a face and shivered.

"Do we have to go in that way?" She asked weakly. "I hate being a shadow. It's so cold."

"Do you have a better idea?" Elise just stared at him and shook her head after a few minutes. "Thought so. Let's do this."

"..Yeah, Let's go." Keita concentrated, and together they sank into the sand below them. Elise shivered once she was in the veil of darkness. "Let's go already, I'm already freezing."

"We're going, give it a minute." The veil moved down the side of the sand dune and towards the dark guild members, but none of them payed them any mind. It was too dark for them to even see them anyway. The two quickly slid towards the cave entrance not far from the men working, where a lift was sitting, presumably to carry them downwards into where their actual base of operations was. Keita quickly reached out and made the lift carry them downwards, and the two waited as it shuddered and started to move downwards.

"Okay, so any idea how big this thing is?" Elise asked. Keita shook his head.

"Not at all." He answered. "But we should stick together. Last thing we need is for you to lose your patience and do something rash because I'm not there to reprimand you."

"Jeez, Am I nothing but a small child to you?" Keita didn't reply, which made Elise huff. "I'll take that as a yes, then." The elevator stopped moving, and they slowly moved out and Keita brought them back up to the service, allowing them a look around the area.

The cavern they'd descended into was incredibly large, and it was crawling with various amounts of other dark guild members that supposedly worked for Kronos. Tunnels lead off in at least a few dozen directions, and it definitely looked like a very new operation even with the size they'd already gotten.

"Woah." Keita said. "They've been working hard on this."

"Which mans the odds he's still here just got even better." Elise said with a smirk. She walked forward and hid behind a piece of machinery as more peons wandered about, talking and working on the tunnels. She felt Keita sidle up on next to her and look over her.

"What's our course of action?" He whispered, his breath hitting the back of Elise's neck and making her shudder.

"Don't know." She answered, shifting lightly to try and forget the feeling crawling down her back. "There's so many different tunnels we could look down." They both surveyed the tunnels, and Keita made a face.

"The middle one." She said, pointing to the largest hole dead center in the middle of the excavation.

"Why?" Elise asked, curious.

"It's the largest hole and has fancy pillars supporting it." He answered. "It matches what Kronos' offices in the previously discovered locations had." Elise snorted quietly and narrowed her eyes at the hole.

"You'd think after getting his other locations discovered he'd change the decor." She said, feeling Keita touch her shoulder and melt them into the darkness once more. They moved underneath countless workers and guild members, all who had their voices distorted by the shadowy veil they hid beneath. They entered the tunnel without incident and proceeded down it, watching for anything that might allude to Kronos.

"See anything?" Keita asked, and Elise shook her head.

"Nothing that screams Kronos, no." The two went down the long tunnel for what seemed like forever until finally, two large black steel doors laid in front of them. They came out from the shadows and eyed the doors curiously.

"This looks important." Keita said, tapping his fist against the door. Elise nodded.

"And behind it should be our man." She hissed, chest swelling with anger. Keeping it down as much as possible, she went up to the door and pushed it. It didn't move. She tried again, but again nothing happened. Eyeing it closer, Elise spotted what appeared to be a keyhole, which probably kept the entire mechanism shut. She growled and turned her arm into a blade and swung it at the door, but it resounded off uselessly. Keita melted into the floor and tried to pass the door that way, but Elise watched his shadow halt right at the door He came up rubbing his head.

"We'll need the key." Keita said. "The doors made of anti-magic steel. Someone other than Kronos must have it. Let's go back and..."

Elise placed her hands against the keyhole, and her arm slowly turned into iron and forged itself around the size of the keyhole, mimicking the key they would've needed to find perfectly. Elise felt her hand click into place, and her stomach turned with excitement. Keita seemed dumbfunded.

"How?" He asked. Elise smiled giddily.

"It's immune to magic, but the key mechanism isn't..." She whispered.

It was time.

Elise wanted to turn the key, but her brain froze. What would she do if Kronos really was behind that door? What would she say?

A hand was placed on her shoulders, and she looked back to find Keita watching her.

"Ready?" He asked. Elise watched him closely before she slowly nodded and turned back to the door, slowly tilting her wrist and in turn, her key-hand turned to the right.

"As I'll ever be." She said, taking a deep breath. The key clicked into place, and the door started to open.

The office was damn near pitch black, but Elise could see a desk silhouetted by the light shining in from a hole in the roof. It seemed dark and cold overall, but Elise proceeded inside and looked around. She looked at the desk, and growled.

"Why don't you just show your face, _Kronos?" _She asked. A dark mechanical sound came from the desk.

"Well well." The deep robotic sound said. "Elise Redfox and her shadow lapdog have finally found me." Lights flashed on, temporarily blinding Elise and Keita. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked back at the desk, and her blood ran cold.

There, sitting in a luxurious chair, was Kronos. He seemed very aged and the metal parts of his body were rusting over, but overall his flesh face still smiled.

"It's over." She hissed. "I've found you." Kronos shrugged, making steam exhale out of his mechanical arm.

"That you have." He answered. "And what an excellent job your lapdog did at finding this place too. Construction only began a few months ago." Keita stood beside Elise as the man stood, keeping his eyes on them. "And now after seven long years, The survivor of time has hunted me down in my own office. Very impressive."

"Survivor of time?" Elise asked. "What the hell did you call me?" Kronos chuckled.

"You're the only remaining member of Fairy Tail who caused me to lose everything I had. My guild, my standing, my power, my _body. _I lost all of that because of you and your foolish friends. Five of the six are out of my way. It was supposed to be six. Even after all of that."

"What are you talking about, you bastard?" Keita demanded. "What did you do?!" Kronos smirked.

"It's simple, really. All I did was erase your friends from existence."

...

...

Elise stared, wide eyed, at the half metal man she'd sent years hunting down. His facial expression didn't change.

"You...What?" She asked weakly. Kronos laughed.

"Your friend was there, Elise. He can tell you himself what happened. Or has he conveniently left that out for seven long years?"

"I told her what I saw." Keita growled. "They disappeared." Kronos grinned like the maniac he was..

"And what did you think really happened?" He asked. "that they simply disappeared? No, I erased them from the timeline."

"You..." Elise hissed, feeling the rage pile up within her. "You...You really did...!" Elise looked up, turning her arm into a sword, and it flew towards Kronos, who remained solitary as it struck him dead on in the chest. He flew back and hit the wall, making a crater. Elise jumped forward and landed right next to the crater.

Kronos still smirked.

"Fool." He said. "You simple minded fool." Elise glared at him.

"What?" She asked. Kronos just smiled.

And his form fizzled.

Elise's eyes widened as Kronos laughed.

"You're such a fucking fool!" He shouted. "Did you honestly think I'd stay here for too long?!"

"Thought Projection!" Keita shouted angrily. "Fucking hell, we should've prepared for that!" Kronos smiled at Elise.

"I'll meet you in the flesh someday, Elise Redfox. Perhaps your strikes will be harder on that day. Until then, please do enjoy wading through the men who are still here. They've been ordered to take you out." Kronos' Thought Projection faded, and Elise watched it closely as she heard men rushing towards the doorway.

"Elise!" Keita was shouting her name, but she didn't really hear him. Her blood was boiling. "Elise, we have to go _now! _There's a lot of people here and...!"

"FUCK YOU KRONOS!"

* * *

Keita watched with wide eyes. He didn't know what to do.

He'd never seen such rage exuded from one human being.

Elise had decimated _every single peon _who had rushed them. Every one. Not a single person was still standing. Only a few remained breathing. Elise was standing in the center of what remained of Kronos' office, her iron Dragon Force still all over her body.

_I need to be careful right now...She's so mad._

"...Elise?" He asked carefully. "Are...Are you okay?" She did not reply to him, just stood with her back to him. Keita stepped towards her, and did so slowly in case he angered her. "Elise...We should go...we don't need to stay here any longer..."

"I..." Keita's eyes widened as the scales faded from Elise's body. "I..." Keita took another step closer, and Elise turned to him.

She collapsed into his chest. Keita stared down at her in surprise, but soon he realized what was wrong.

She was crying.

Elise sobbing quietly into Keita's cloak, and he slowly put his arms around her as she continued.

"I..." She tried. "I actually hoped...A part of me hoped...They were okay."

"Elise..."

"That maybe they survived the attack, and had been sent somewhere...Why was I such a fool?! Kronos is right!" Keita just hugged the girl tighter as her small body shook with the rage, sadness and defeat. He'd seen her at her worst, and this certainly compared. "Why did I hold out hope?! It just makes the knowledge that their gone hurt that much more!"

"I'm sorry..." Keita whispered in her ear. "I'm so so sorry Elise. Words can't describe..." Elise shook against him for a few more minutes before she backed up a bit and looked at him, eyes wide with fear.

"How many of them did I kill?" She asked. "How many lost their lives...Because of me?" Keita didn't even take his eyes off of her.

"That's not important." He answered. "You were enraged. I would've done the same thing."

"N-No you wouldn't have..." Elise said, pushing herself closer to him. "You'd have kept your cool better than that...You always have." Keita shook his head with a weak chuckle.

"Let's get out of here, Elise. You need time away from all of this...Longer than six months. I'll stop too, stay with you. Would you like that?"

"..."

"Elise?"

"Y-Yeah..." Keita smiled.

"Let's go then. Enough of this blood, bile and gore shit. Your a lady for God sake. I should be respecting you a _bit _more."

"I am no fucking lady, Keita Cheney. I'm just a woman."

"Matter of perspective."

* * *

Roughly eleven years before the Kronos incident

All five of the teens lost in time felt like time had frozen. They all watched the little blonde girl glare at her brother as he stuck her tongue out at her.

"Oh come on..." Simon hissed. "Why of all times...It was before _that..._"

Nashi couldn't help but agree on that point. They were not only eleven years in the past.

They had returned to a period in time where Steph was alive.

Slowly but surely, Nashi and the other four looked over at Damien. The man was lowered his head, whether out of shame or reverence Nashi couldn't tell.

"This is bad..." Ultear said. "Not only for us, but...Oh man this sucks." Nashi looked back over at the girl as the adults attempted to usher them out of the guild so that they wouldn't cause some kind of paradox. She was just as Nashi remembered her. Cute and innocent.

"This isn't fair..." Drake whispered, turning away from the girl. "it's like she's haunting us."

"Too true." Nashi agreed, keeping her tears from falling. She once again looked over at Damien, but the poor guy was reacting a lot better than he had in Edolas. He just seemed to be attempting to ignore the situation as a whole.

"I told you this is grown up business, Damien!" Mira shouted, enough to garner their attention. "Just leave it there!"

"But who are those guys?" Younger Damien inquired curiously. "I just want to know."

"It's none of your business, kid." It was Laxus now. "Just go."

"Aw man, this is lame!" It was Young Drake now. "What're we supposed to do now?"

"No idea." Young Simon said. "Guess we could go to the park."

"Ugh, that's boring too!" Young Ultear complained. Nashi couldn't help but smile at the exchange.

"We were pretty cute, weren't we?"

"I guess." Drake said. "Wouldn't really call being a bunch of snot nosed brats cute though."

"Don't talk so negatively about yourself Drake." Ultear replied, making the boy hang his head. "Lots of kids were like that." Drake muttered under his breath, presumably a string of insults, which made Nashi chuckle a bit. She returned her gaze to the group of children and watched as they discussed what to do now that they weren't allowed in the guild hall. She had to admit, aside from the searing pain in her chest from Steph, this was pretty cool to experie...

Steph.

Wait.

Nashi did a headcount on the children. Herself, Drake, Ultear, Elise, Simon, Damien...

Where had Steph gone?

"Onii-chan?" Nashi head whipped around in shock, and her eyes widened.

Steph was slipped away and was standing in front of her older brother, who was staring down at her like he'd been stabbed. Which truthfully he probably felt either way.

"Is that you?" Steph asked, smiling brightly. "You're so old!"

Nobody moved.

Nashi's lungs had to be ordered by her directly thinking about it to allow to her breath.

Damien just stared down at his sister as she watched him cutely. Not even the adults seemed to know what to do. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Damien did something.

He smiled.

"Jeez Steph, careful." He said, making everyone jump in surprise. "It's risky for you to be talking to me."

"Why's that?"

"Grown up stuff, sorry."

"Aaaaawwww! Come on, Onii-chan! I won't tell, I promise."

"No means no, kiddo. Now go away." Mira appeared to drag the girl away, albeit with some resistance, and Damien took a deep breath.

"You...Handled that well." Ultear whispered. He shrugged, but his expression was pained.

"Had too." he croaked. "They can't know or we risk fucking things up." Nashi nodded somberly. He had a point after all. If anyone from this point in the timeline found out about Steph's death, that would be pretty bad. Nashi really didn't have a clue as to how bad exactly, but she imagine.

"Wait a minute." it was Young Damien speaking. "Did she call that guy Onii-chan? What's going on?!"

"He kinda looks like you, too." Young Drake said. The other kids seemed to reach this conclusion as well, before Steph smiled.

"Of course it's Onii-chan! I'd recognize that smile anywhere!" Damien just stared at the floor, and everyone smiled painfully. This was going to be a long stay.

"So...Wait." It was Young Simon now. "If that's Damien, does that mean...?" The kid pointed to his older self, who tensed up. As did the rest of them.

But nothing happened.

"...Yeah, I am." Simon agreed. Those words seemed to blow the kid away, and the others looked around at their older selves in shock. Nashi could tell her younger self was watching he from over Drake's shoulder.

"Anyway," Ultear said. "Before we rip a hole in space and time, we need to find a way out of here. Are there any books in the guild's library about Arc of Time?" Levy made a face.

"There might be. Come with me, we'll look." Ultear nodded and followed Levy towards the guild's library, which left the remaining four in an awkward position.

"So..." Drake said, scratching the back of his head. "Anyone know any good jokes?"

* * *

It didn't take long for the guild to reach the conclusion that drinking would solve the problem. Of course Nashi too felt like a drink would solve a lot. Perhaps emotionally, and not actually. She was currently sitting with the guys at a table away from everyone else so that they didn't cause any problems.

"Um...Nashi?" Nashi looked over her shoulder and saw her mother standing there with a small smile on her face. Nashi returned it.

"Hey." She said. "What's up?" The woman smiled.

"Can I talk to you? Privately?" Nashi looked over at Drake, Simon and Damien, but no one raised any objections. She got up and followed her mother to a different table away from a lot of the other guild members, leaving the two of them alone.

"What did you want to ask?" Nashi asked, waiting for whatever her mother wanted to know. Her mother took a deep breath and turned to look at her.

"I just wanted to know...What the future's like." She replied. "Vaguely, of course. Don't want to rip any holes in time like Ultear warned, right?"

"Right..." Nashi crossed her arms and gave the request some thought. On one hand she could vaguely answer her mother like she asked, or just feed her lies. She really didn't feel comfortable doing either.

"If you don't want to, that's fine, but..." Her mother shrugged and laughed. "You don't exactly get this chance all the time, you know? Besides for that one other time...But that doesn't matter." Nashi watched her mother closely as the woman stared at the floor.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." She replied. What did you want to know about?" The two sat down and her mother made a face as she thought about it.

"How about you?" She asked. "How are you? Still shy?" Nashi shrugged.

"No, not really." She leaned back and ignited her palm, tossing the fire up and down. "I'm doing pretty good but, I mean, of all the things to ask about..." Nashi looked back at her mother to find her watching her with a stunned look on her face. "What?"

"You're..That's..." Nashi raised an eyebrow before she looked around at herself for what her mother was talking about.

The fire.

Nashi quickly extinguished the fire and sat bolt right up.

"You didn't see that." She said. "That's...Uh..."

"Nashi..." Her mother whispered. "Did...Did your dad...?" Nashi felt panic starting to swell inside of her. God, she was an idiot! Was her dad returning something she was allowed to say? She shouldn't have been saying anything!

"Shhh!" Nashi hissed. "Don't even ask. It's not worth ripping time apart."

"But..." Nashi crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

"Irrelevant, okay?" She said, looking away. "Just don't bother." Silence enveloped the two, Nashi's mother looking stunned and Nashi trying her absolute hardest to ignore said look. She should've been more careful, she was such an idiot. It was probably the liquor in her system that made her careless. Her mother took a deep breath.

"Okay well, if you can't answer that..." She was about to say more, but her eyes widened. Nashi raised an eyebrow.

"What?" She asked. "What's the matter?" Her mother didn't respond, so Nashi followed her stunned gaze behind her.

And Nashi too felt stunned.

Nashi's younger self was standing behind them, watching her with wide eyes. Had they not been taken out of the guild hall earlier? Or had they snuck in?

"You..." The girl whispered. "You used magic..."

Nashi really needed to learn to be more careful.

**A strange place to leave it but hell, don't want to drown you guys in pointless words. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	198. For Six Years

**We are nearing two hundred my friends. However I now have a _very _good idea for what to have besides an extra long chapter... ;)**

**Enjoy!**

Eight years after the Kronos incident

Elise walked through the streets of the city, humming a small tune to herself. She waved to the people who did so to her, but really didn't pay it much mind, she was just being nice.

It had been a full year or so since the incident, as she referred to it. Since Keita had forced her to go home and take a break from hunting Kronos, again. But this time, she didn't argue with him. After she'd lost it and...done those things to his underlings, she realized that the pent up rage and anger from the incident was making her incredibly volatile and angry. And in that moment, after realizing they didn't have him again...It unleashed itself.

But she didn't like to think about that. Or the whole ordeal at all, really. Since it had happened, Elise had tried to be as positive as possible. She smiled, she laughed, and it was mostly genuine. She couldn't recall a time she'd acted a way to please someone in the past year. It had certainly improved her mood.

But that wasn't important. At least not at the moment. Because she had an extremely bad feeling swirling around in her stomach.

She wasn't in Magnolia, after all.

She was in the city where Sabertooth resided.

It wasn't that in itself that worried her, it was why she was there in the first place. She'd seen Keita a lot over the past year, but he'd called her to the city because he had something important to tell her. And the last time he had something important to tell her she ended up murdering Kronos' underlings in a blind rage. She just hoped it wasn't something to do with that man. She couldn't handle that shit right now.

As she reached the guild hall and looked up at it, she took a deep breath.

"Calm down, Elise." She murmured to herself. "He knows it would be a bad idea to go after Kronos so soon anyway...It'll be fine." Taking a deep breath, Elise walked inside and surveyed the hall and it's members, looking for the Shadow Dragon. She couldn't see him anywhere, so she just stood and watched.

"Elise?" Elise turned around and saw Rina and Kyoko standing there, smiling at her. "What are you doing here?" Rina asked with a big smile on her face.

"Keita wanted me to come and talk to him." She answered, smiling for them. "Have you seen him?" Rina and Kyoko exchanged glances, and they both snickered.

"Nope." Kyoko answered. "Haven't seen him since last night." Rina giggled.

"Me either." She said, refusing to look Elise in the eye. "Don't have a clue." Elise made a face as the girls laughed quietly.

"What's so funny?" She asked curiously, which only made the girls laugh even harder.

"N-Nothing, honey. Nothing." Kyoko replied. "Y-Your best bet would be to find Michael. I bet he'd know."

"D-Definitely." Rina agreed. "Just look for Michael and he'll be able to answer you..."

"...Okay..." Elise answered as the girls walked into the hall, whispering to each other and giggling still. She had no idea what the hell the two found so funny, but she really didn't care either. Shrugging, she walked inside the guild hall and looked around for Michael, but couldn't find him anywhere.

So Elise looked for the next best person. And she soon found her.

"Ally!" Elise called, causing the white haired teenager to look up. In the eight years that had passed since the incident, Ally had certainly grown up a lot. Even though she was only fourteen, the girl resembled her brother and mother a great deal. The girl smiled as Elise approached her.

"Hi Elise!" She said, smiling. "Why are you here? Can I help you?" Elise crossed her arms.

"You could say that." She agreed. "I'm looking for your brother. You seen him?" Ally raised a hand to her chin and gave it some thought.

"I saw him this morning, but..." She trailed off and shrugged. "I don't know. I could direct you to his place though. You could probably sniff him out from there."

"That'd be great, thanks." The girl got up from her seat and Elise followed her out of the guild hall into the city, walking through the streets towards her brothers house. As they walked, it gave Elise more time to think about what Keita wanted from her this time. As much as she loved his company, she hoped it had nothing to do with the promise they'd made seven years ago.

"Elise?" Elise jumped and looked ahead to find Ally staring at her. "Did you hear me?"

"No, sorry." Elise replied. "Did you ask me something?"

"I wanted to know why you're looking for my brother." Elise nodded. A reasonable request.

"I need him to help me find Keita." She said. "Rina and Kyoko said he'd be my best bet." A grin grew on Ally's face and she turned back around.

"Oh. That's why you're here."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Not my place to say anything." Elise raised an eyebrow at the girl, but didn't press the issue. What the hell did everyone find so funny, anyway? Regardless, the two arrived at Michael's house, and Ally turned to her. "Here we are." She said. "Got anything?" Elise paused and took a big inhale, searching for a reliable track on the White Dragon. Finally she got it, and she turned to her left and walked in that direction, leaving Ally at his house. She followed the scent through the streets of the city, looking for the man in question. As she tracked him and the scent got stronger, she got another scent headed the same direction.

Keita's.

They were together from what she could tell. As the smell got stronger and stronger, Elise was reaching what appeared to be a coffee shop. And sitting at one of the seats at the coffee shop, was Michael and Keita. Elise sighed, then took a deep breath, ready to approach the two of them. As she got closer, she noted Keita had his head in his hands, and Michael was watching him pitifully.

"Get it together." The White Dragon Slayer said. "You look pathetic."

"I am." Keita answered weakly. "How am I supposed to tell her?"

Elise froze. Michael snorted.

"You come out with it, you moron." He answered. "Ain't no easy way to cut it. You just tell her."

What were they talking about?

"I can't..." Keita said. "I'm...I..." The mans head hit the table, and Michael took a sip of his drink before regarding Keita again.

"Look man, we've all been behind you since we found out." He said. "I know this is hard but you won't know until you say shit, you know?"

"Yeah..."

"And I mean realistically, what are the odds she says no?"

No?

Keita laughed into his arms.

"I don't know man. I'm shy, you know that..."

"God do I ever. Six fucking years you've been this way. I know it's hard for you to express your feelings but for fucks sake man this is insane. Why do you think we forced this on you today?"

"Which I hate you for, thank you."

Forced what on him?

"You'll thank me later. Now, you need to go find her and say something. This is huge man, and you've kept it to yourself for too long."

"I can't!"

"Keita!" Michael shouted. "You can! You have to say _something_! Anything! What do you want?!"

"..." Keita mumbled something incoherent, and Michael nodded.

"Damn right you do! And how do you suppose you'll get that if you sit around moping for another eight years?! You're both twenty-five! Get with the program man, you're acting like a child!"

"Big talk coming from you!" Keita retorted, getting to his feet and slamming a hand down on the table. "You've always been good at this kind of crap! I'm not!"

"There's no way to be good at it, Keita!" Michael retaliated, standing up as well. "You learn from experience, which you have none of! Why haven't you said anything to her yet?"

"Because it'd be inappropriate!" Keita growled. "We've been hunting the man responsible for her friends disappearance man, not having tea parties! How the hell am I supposed to bring up the fact that I fell in love with her?!"

...

...What?

"You just need to come the fuck out with it!" Michael shouted. "If you love her, then...!" Michael's gaze drifted.

And it had landed on Elise. He froze. Keita looked confused.

"Michael?" He asked, Michael's eyes frozen on Elise. "You good man?" Keita followed Michael's gaze.

Elise met his eyes. He paled.

"Elise..." He whispered in surprise. "I didn't...How long were you...?"

"..." Elise's mouth moved to form words, but her voice failed her. Michael coughed.

"Well it's a good thing you're here Elise." He said, trying to break out of the awkward tone they had created. "Keita has something to tell you." Michael elbowed Keita, who looked ready to murder him. The two locked eyes again, and Keita looked terrified.

"Well, uh..." He said weakly. "I...I uh..."

"...Love?" Elise asked weakly, Keita looking damn near ready to faint. "You...Love me?"

"Elise, I..." Keita's words refused to work. Michael wasn't even looking anymore. "This wasn't how I intended to tell you, but..."

Elise didn't understand.

Love?

Keita loved her?

...Why?

Her stomach was turning like an ocean in a hurricane, and her mind was running at a mile a minute. She felt dizzy.

And finally, she came to her conclusion.

She turned and sprinted away.

"Elise!"

She heard Keita call out to her, but she didn't listen to him She just ran. She pushed people out of her way and kept her head down the whole way.

However, she only had one sentence plastered in her mind.

_Why am I running?_

* * *

Roughly eleven years before the Kronos incident

Nashi wished her words were not failing her, but as she stared at her younger self, she had nothing to say. Ultear was not present to warn her, so she'd let her actions trip her up.

"Uh..." She managed weakly. "I, uh..." Her younger self looked so stunned and at a loss for words as well, and obviously they both seemed a bit too stunned for words. Nashi just looked back at her mother for help, and the woman nodded.

"Nashi honey," She said, standing up at putting herself in between the two. "You're not supposed to be here."

"But..."

"No buts, young lady. This is dangerous, okay? You need to go somewhere away from here." The younger version of Nashi seemed confused, but seemed to understand she was causing trouble. Their guided her away, before returning to Nashi. "That was close."

"Sure..." Nashi agreed. "Unless something did happen." The two of them looked around closely, but again nothing happened. Her mother sat down again and sighed.

"This is so weird." She said. "I just don't understand..."

"I know." Nashi answered. "But I've seen some weird shit."

"Yeah?" Nashi nodded, and the two smiled at each other.

"Okay, look..." Nashi raised an eyebrow as her mother looked down. "I know we're risking a lot here, but I have to know...Blink twice of your fathers back." Nashi just stared at her mother, not risking to blink in case she decided not to answer her. She took a careful look around the guild, but no one noticed them talking. She looked back at her mother.

And blinked twice.

Her mother sighed and leaned back in her seat.

"I figured." She said. "There's no other way you'd have learned magic."

"I know, trust me." She said. Her mother looked up at her.

"How long as he been back? For you, anyway?" Nashi shrugged.

"A year, I think." she replied. "Maybe not yet." Thinking about it in that sense, Nashi realized how much had happened to her in such a short span on time. She'd gone sixteen years of her life without having much trouble in a certain sense, but the last one she'd nearly died half a dozen times.

Her life had certainly taken a turn.

"Anyway, not like we risked much by me telling you that." Nashi said. "You must've known he'd be back eventually."

"I mean, I kind of figured." She answered. "But to know he does...It's a weight off of me shoulders."

"I bet." Nashi said. Her mothers gaze suddenly grew serious.

"Has anything...weird happened to you?" Nashi made a face.

"You really have to be more specific there." She said. Her mother looked down.

"I don't know how to ask." She said, tone very serious. "But...Well, you're Dad, um..."

"Guys!" Nashi's mother was cut off by Ultear yelling. She turned to find Ultear gesturing for them to come talk to her. Excusing herself, Nashi stood and walked towards the girl with the others, wondering what she had discovered.

"What's up, Ul?" Damien asked as they all reached the girl. She sighed.

"I did a little digging." She said. "Although there wasn't much in the library, I did find this." She pulled out a huge book, and started to read from one of the pages. "As I'm sure I already said, Kronos' spell malfunctioned. It didn't do what he wanted it to."

"Right." Simon said, nodding. "What of it?"

"Well as far as I can tell, Arc of Time doing this can be...very bad." She flipped a page in the gigantic book. "The effects can range from small too...well, this, obviously."

"So what do we do?" Drake asked. "We need to get the hell out of this time period or we're gonna do something huge my accident."

"I know that." Ultear replied. "I think our best bet would be to recreate the scenario in which we were sent back in the first place."

"How do we do that?" Nashi asked. Ultear closed the book.

"We need to go back to the Domus Flau and use the very same spell in the same sense." She answered. "Only problem being is that I have no clue what spell he used and what he was trying to do when he targeted you, Nashi. It could take me months to figure that out." The group grew silent at this.

"So..." Damien raised his arms in a questioning manner. "You gonna get on that or what?" Ultear shot him a look.

"How do you propose I do that?" She asked. "The only reason I know Arc of Time would be compromised if I went to retrieve it. I am willing to bet I'd find the spell, but it's way to risky."

"How did you learn it anyway?" Drake asked, Nashi nodding. She didn't know. Ultear sighed.

"I got it from...Well, my namesake." She said, making everyone raise an eyebrow collectively. "It's hard to explain but I'm not crazy. She wrote a book with all her Arc of Time spells in it, and I have it...Well had it, it's in our hotel eleven years in the future."

"So your namesake still has it here." Nashi finished, Ultear nodding. "Great."

"Exactly." Ultear said. "And I don't know the spell he used." The group grew silent at this, no one coming up with any ideas.

"I got it." Drake said. "Just go get the book." Everyone stared at him like he was insane.

"Drake, were you not listening to a word I just said?" Ultear asked. "We can't do that!"

"And why not?" Drake asked. "Break into the house when she ain't there, read the book, find the spell, put it back. Simple." Everyone stared at Drake in surprise.

"He's got a good point." Simon said finally. "If we don't actually take the book away..."

"We aren't doing anything bad." Ultear said. "And we can get the hell out of here."

"Guess we have a plan of attack, then?" Damien asked, everyone nodding in agreement. "One thing though." Everyone looked at him. "We need to act quickly. Otherwise we might do something."

"True." Nashi said. "We'll go tomorrow, if we can."

"Sounds like a plan, then." Drake said. "You're welcome." Everyone rolled their eyes, but no one said anything. As Nashi walked away, happy they'd quickly come up with a plan, she paused.

"Guys?" She said, getting their attention again. "I just thought of something."

"What is it?" Ultear asked.

"What if..." Nashi gulped. "What if recreating the scenario doesn't send us back to our own time? What if it sends us back again? or too far forward?" Everyone stared at her, and Ultear nodded.

"A risk we need to take." She said. "We have no other way of getting home." Nashi knew she was right, but now she had an extremely bad feeling about this.

Then again they were risking a lot. Not like that was new though.

* * *

"Today sure was weird, huh?" Simon asked as the group of children sat near the edge of the building, away from their older selves.

"Sure was." Drake agreed. "That dude that looks like me is creeping me out." Nashi nodded, but she couldn't shake the memory of watching her older self form a fireball with no difficulty.

"I think older Onii-chan is cooler than you, Onii-chan!" Steph stated. Damien looked stunned.

"Eh?!" Steph grinned.

"You heard me! He's so much cooler and more handsome than you are!"

"We're the same person!"

"And?" The children laughed as Damien fumed at his younger sister.

"You want to see cool?!" Damien asked. "I'll show you cool!"

"How will you do that, hot stuff?" Elise asked with a grin. Damien crossed his arms.

"I've been working on an awesome new takeover I got!" he said proudly. "He's super powerful! I'll show you guys tomorrow!"

"Bet you won't be as cool as older you, Onii-chan."

"Shut up, Steph! I'll show you! I'm just as cool as him." Nashi smiled to herself as the siblings argued.

She had no doubt in her mind Damien's new takeover was going to be awesome.

**Yeah, I bet it will be Nashi. I bet it will...I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	199. Have to Leave

**Hey guys! I'm back. I also want to talk to you guys before we start. About a few things.**

**First, I want to talk about the speed of the story. It's come to my attention the progress in the story has slowed, so I hope you guys are alright with that. I am juggling two timelines right now so less happens in each due to my own time and attention const****raints****.**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

Eight years after the Kronos incident

Elise stared down at her mug as the liquor inside swirled around, following the motion of her wrist.

_"How the hell am I supposed to bring up the fact that I fell in love with her?!"_

Elise's head resounded off of the table with a loud thump. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she thought.

_...Love?_

Keita was in love with her. Like..._Love _love. But she became absolutely stumped when she tried to figure out how. Or why. Or _when. _

Keita had not acted very differently throughout the years they'd spent together. Sure he'd opened up more and became very friendly with her, but she just assumed that's what happened when he got close to someone. He was like that with Michael and the others after all.

But after hearing him argue with Michael the other day...Hearing those things...

"Ugh fuck..." Elise groaned angrily. "This is so dumb."

"You okay sweetheart?" Elise looked over to find her mother standing there with a small smile on her face. Elise coughed and sat up, trying to shake it off.

"Yeah, just fine." She said with very little confidence. Her mother sighed.

"God you are _exactly _like your father." She said, sitting down on the bench next to Elise and moving the mug and it's contents away from her. "Don't drink yourself into oblivion and talk to your mother. What's bothering you?" Elise looked wistfully at the mug before she met her mothers gaze. It was warm and caring, but Elise was still reluctant to say anything. She didn't want her mother involved in her problems...

"It's nothing I can't solve." She said, lying to the both of them outright. "So leave it there. Slid my drink back here too" Her mother frowned and slowly pushed the mug back to Elise, who grabbed it thankfully. She raised it to her lips and started to down the liquid.

"A job?" Her mother asked, confusing Elise. What was she getting at? "Someone rude?" Elise raised an eyebrow but continued to down the drink. "Keita?"

Elise choked on her drink and threw the mug down, covering her mouth as she coughed viciously. She turned to look at her mother as she got the booze out of her lungs and saw she was smirking.

"Got you." She said, Elise glaring at her. "Keita. What happened?" Elise looked down at the table and clenched her fists in her lap.

"N-Nothing." She replied shakily. "Seriously I'm fine."

"Okay." Her mother said innocently. "I'll just go tell Gajeel he did something to you and it's clearly upsetting you. I'm sure I'll get an answer after...!"

"Alright, sheesh!" Elise said, grabbing her mother as she stood. "I'll tell you, just keep your mouth shut!" Her mother sat back down happily and pretended to zip her mouth shut and throw away the key. Elise took a deep breath and crossed her arms leaning on the table.

"It was a few days ago." She said. "Keita wanted to talk to me about something, so I went to go see him."

"Okay? What then?"

"I had to track him down through the city, and I found him with Michael at some coffee place..." Elise put her head down and rested in on her arms. "And I overheard them arguing."

"About what?"

"Apparently..." Elise stared down at the table, steeling herself. "From what he said...He...Well, he said he loves me." Elise didn't look at her mother at first but once she did, the look on her face was more quizzical humor than it was anything else.

"Is that it?" She asked, and Elise stared at her mother in shock.

"Uh, yeah." She replied. "It's kind of messing with me mentally as of now!"

"Well what's the big deal? If it's our approval I'm all for it, Keita's a great guy. Gajeel will come around even if he doesn't like it right now. What did you say?"

"I...Ran." The two watched each other before the smile on Elise's mothers face died slightly.

"Oh honey..."

"I panicked okay?! I didn't know what to say...Or how to react..." Elise slammed her head down on the table and groaned. "And now I don't know if I can look him in the eye..."

"Well..." Elise felt a hand on her back, rubbing a small circle. "I think it'd be best for you to figure out your actual reaction instead of confusion. How do you feel about him?"

"...I don't know." Elise answered, her mind swimming with details from the last eight years. "I mean he's great and everything but..."

"Well, that's a start I suppose." Her mother shifted a bit. "You just need to figure out how you feel in return. Surely spending eight years with him helped, did it not?"

"I...Wait." Elise sat up and looked at her mother. "I never told you about what Keita and I spending time together for these last few years."

"You just did." Elise's eyes widened as her mother laughed. "You think we're idiots, don't you? Gajeel smells him hanging around whenever you came back to pick up another job. I just left well enough alone. You were in good hands after all. So? Does that change anything?"

Elise thought about it. Keita had been there since day one. For eight years whenever she needed someone, he'd been there. Her shoulder to cry on, her comfort in times of doubt, her companion when she was in trouble, her friend when she felt alone, and overall, someone she held very close to her heart.

"Elise?"

"What?" Elise looked over at her mother, who was smiling weakly.

"You're blushing." Elise gasped and covered her cheeks with her hands, feeling the intense burn as well. If there was ever a moment she was blushing, it was now.

"S-So?!" She asked. Her mother rolled her eyes.

"Look, I won't ask for a twenty page essay on what's been going on these past eight years and why it might be pivotal in your feelings for the guy." Her mother smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just saying you need to think about it instead of sitting here and wallowing about it. If anything you should be celebrating!"

"Wha...Why?" She grinned and elbowed Elise with a sly smirk on her face.

"Because a hot guy likes you!" She whispered with false giddiness, making Elise groan. As her mother walked off, it gave Elise time to think over what she'd said. Sure, Elise admitted, Keita was great.

But...

She wasn't sure that a relationship was what she needed right now. She had no idea how to be in one of those. The only even remote experience she had close to it was when the boys had been entranced to be in love with Nashi, Ultear and herself eight years ago...

Elise winced at the memory and stared down at the table as images of the five flashed through her mind.

_It's almost been a decade...And I still haven't avenged them._

Her fists clenched at the thought. That was what she had set out to do, right? So...What was she going to do? It had been her sole purpose for seven years. She'd spent so much time hunting, praying, hoping...

Was it all in vain? Could she move on?

Was she allowed to?

_I need more time to think...This is so confusing!_

* * *

Roughly Eleven years before the Kronos incident

Nashi stretched as she walked through the streets of Magnolia, yawning as her back cracked.

"Holy hell, I did not sleep well last night." She hissed, the others looking just as bad.

"Well we did kind of sleep on the street." Drake answered her. "So it's not like we didn't do it to ourselves."

"Still." Ultear said, cracking her own back. "I didn't realize sleeping like that was so painful."

"The more you know." Simon muttered. The five of them were planning on going to Crocus and retrieving the book Ultear learned Arc of Time from. This would allow them to try and get back to their own time period, with a little luck anyway. As long as, as Ultear put it, "They didn't fuck up"

Which, given their track record, would be quite the feat.

"So, what's the plan?" Damien asked. "Why are we going back to the guild hall?" Ultear crossed her arms.

"We might as well tell our parents about our plan." She replied. "They'll need to get Mest over here as soon as they can so that he can get to work on erasing the memories we've caused."

"Makes sense." Simon said. "After that we can get the hell out of their hair and stop risking making a problem for ourselves." The group had finally reached the guild hall, but they stopped at the entrance, for fear of causing a scene.

"Here's what we'll do." Damien said, looking at everyone. "I'll go and find my Dad, and tell him to get Mest over here and that we're leaving to try and return to our on time. You guys just hang out and wait for me, okay? It'll only be a minute."

"Okay." Nashi said, nodding. "Hurry." Damien nodded and walked inside. Nashi crossed her arms, leaned to her left, and waited.

Despite the fact that it was a beautiful day. her stomach refused to settle.

* * *

Drake stared down at his feet and counted the lines in the streets to pass the time. He was bored out of his mind doing so but it passed his time well enough so it worked.

Looking up, Drake saw Nashi standing to his left, looking apprehensive. He frowned.

"You alright?" He asked, making her look over at him. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah." She said. "Just...Got a weird feeling."

"What do you mean?"

"Like...I don't know. It's nothing." Drake made a face and looked over at Ultear and Simon. Although the two just seemed to be waiting for Damien to return, neither of them seemed comfortable either.

And when Drake thought about it, neither was he.

_What is this feeling? Is it just because we're risking tearing apart time and space or what?_

Drake was shaken from his thoughts as something hit him in the back. He heard a girl cry out as well. He turned, and his eyes widened.

Steph was sitting on the ground, rubbing her head from falling.

"Ow..." The girl murmured. She looked up and smiled at Drake weakly. "I didn't see you there, Drake." Drake just stared at the girl in surprise, not sure what he was supposed to say.

"Well..." He managed as the girl got to her feet. "Watch where you're going, Steph."

"Sorry!"

"What's the hurry, anyway?" Simon asked her. The girl dusted herself off and smiled.

"I told Onii-chan yesterday that I didn't think he was as cool as his older self!" She said, earning a chuckle from everyone in the group. "So he said today he'd prove to me why he was just as cool!"

"And what is he going to do to do that?" Nashi asked. "That's a tall order, being cooler then his older self." Steph looked at Nashi and smiled.

"Don't worry! He said he's got this nice takeover! It's supposed to be awesome!"

...

Drake stared down at the girl as his stomach rocketed in a downward spiral.

_No..._

He watched as she smiled and laughed.

"He said he was going to show us today! I don't want to miss it!"

_Today...Today is..._

The girl ran past them, but everybody else had all been stunned into silence.

"...What do we do?" Nashi asked. "We...We aren't just eleven years in the past..."

"It's eleven years and seven months..." Drake said weakly, feeling light headed. "It's...The day Steph died." Again, no one spoke.

"Are you guys kidding me?" Ultear asked weakly, looking just as upset. "We can't get involved! If we do...This is far to big a piece of our history. We need to leave. We need to leave _now_." Ultear stormed inside of the guild hall, and the remaining three slowly followed her inside, half in a daze.

"This can't be happening." Nashi whispered. "Why...Of all times to return to..."

"Damien!" Damien looked up from his spot at the bar talking to his mother as they approached. "We have to go! Now!"

"What's the big deal?" He asked. "I'll be there in a m...!"

"Now!" Ultear barked, making him jump. He stared at them all as they watched him fearfully.

"What's the matter with you guys?" he asked. "You look like you watched a cat get run over..."

"Damien please..." Simon said. "We have to go."

"Why?"

"_Please..." _Nashi hissed. "Can we just go?" Damien looked incredibly confused, but Drake knew it was smart to avoid the topic of their shock. If Damien knew what was happening that day...Had he any clue at all...

Drake looked over at the group of kids. All seven were together, and they were laughing about something.

He looked at the little blonde girl. He did his best to memorize her facial features so that he'd never forget.

As if he had anyway.

"Alright, jeez." Damien said, looking over at his mother. "Sorry Mom, looks like I have to go."

"Of course, of course." Mira said, waving him off. "I understand. Be safe honey, don't get into any trouble."

Drake almost wanted to laugh.

Damien jumped off of his bar stool and stretched.

"Alright then." He said, smiling. "Let's go to Crocus, find that book, and...!"

"Alright guys!" It was younger Damien yelling. "Let's go out back and I'll show you!"

"Yes! You're the best Damien!" Younger Ultear shouted.

"Is it really all that?" Younger Drake asked. Damien smiled.

"Trust me." He answered. "This new takeover is awesome."

...

The five froze in place, four heads turning simultaneously to Damien. He stood staring at the group of kids, a ghostly smile on his face.

"Damien," It was Ultear who spoke his name, but her tone was soft and full of understanding. "We have to leave. Okay?"

"..."

"Come on, man." Simon stepped forward and placed a hand on Damien's shoulder. "We can't be here...When it happens." Damien slowly lowered his head.

"It's today..." He whispered, voice full of pain. "She..."

"Yeah..." Drake said. "...We have to leave...We can't risk you trying to stop it. If anything would cause the timeline to erupt in flames..."

Damien was quiet for a minute or two. The four watched him carefully, already planning what they had to say to get him to leave just in case he wouldn't. Finally, he took a deep breath.

"You're right, we have too..."

"Takeover: Demon Xisplate!" The shout could be heard from inside the guild hall, and Drake felt his face drain of color.

"Damien..." He hissed. An explosion sounded from outside and the children cheered. Damien still didn't move.

"Come on, man...!" Simon said. "We have to leave!" Again, no movement. Another explosion. This time accompanied by people in the guild turning to look in confusion as the townsfolk cried out in surprise.

"Damien!" Nashi shouted. The sound of wings unfurling could be heard, and Drake took a listen as Damien, in his Xisplate takeover, rocketed into Magnolia. More explosions sounded.

"It's too late..." Damien whispered. Drake knew he was right.

The most terrifying ten minutes the five shared were upon them again.

**Yeah yeah yeah cliffhangers. I'll be back soon enough. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	200. Don't Intervene

**Well, we're here. Chapter 200. I actually did it. **

**Before today's chapter starts I want to take this time to talk to you guys. 200 chapters in and you guys are eating it up, and it's amazing to see. The audience may not be the biggest (in perspective, another story of mine has a bigger one) but you guys are just as passionate. Seeing so many people who have come to love the characters and setting I have created using Fairy Tail's universe is incredible. **

**I may not be the best writer, I may not check for errors thor****oughly enough, and I may not be the best as responding to you guys, but seeing so much love on an OC story is amazing. I love you guys! So today's chapter is for you guys. A little longer, with some fun stuff inside. **

**300 here we come!**

**And as always, enjoy! **

Eight years after the Kronos incident

It was a bright and sunny day. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and everyone seemed happy.

The townsfolk of Magnolia moved about their daily business, buying food, going to work, and talking to their neighbors and having a good time.

However, Elise avoided all of that. She wasn't in the mood.

She was at the graveyard. She was standing in front of the five gravestones marking her friends.

It had been eight long years since they had disappeared during the Grand Magic Games closing ceremony. Eight years Elise had carried the sense of duty to avenge them in any way she could, and seven she'd tried her hardest to do so. She'd tried as hard as she could, but the man alluded her at every turn. And at every turn, Elise's patience for the subject grew shorter and shorter. And now, faced with the decision to try and move on, Elise found herself at their graves for the first time in many years. Taking a deep breath, Elise walked closer.

"Hey guys." She greeted softly, smiling weakly. "Sorry I haven't visited in a while, but...I've been busy."

There were no bodies below her, but talking to the graves alleviated some of the loneliness in Elise's heart.

"I...I've been trying to catch Kronos." She continued. "So I've been pretty busy for the past few years doing that...I never forgot you though."

The stones just stared at her, and Elise chuckled.

"He's pretty hard to find, but I've been...I'm doing it for you guys. To make sure your disappearance wasn't in vain. To take him down for sure like we should have so long ago."

Elise took a shaky breath.

"Keita's been helping me." She said, tears threatening to fall. "He's been by my side since it started...Always there for me when I needed him. Doing a lot of the work in catching Kronos unaware, even if it's never worked."

Elise looked up at the bright blue sky above her, recollecting her thoughts as her emotions started to spiral.

"He loves me..." She whispered. "Somehow through all of this shit he found a way to fall for me...But why? Why me? What is there too love?" She looked back down at the graves. "I'm short tempered, sarcastic, hot headed, rude...What is there to love?" She just ran her eyes over the inscriptions on the stones, trying to prevent a sob from escaping her mouth. "I just don't understand..."

Elise slowly sat down and crossed her legs in front of her, taking a deep breath and smiling.

"What would you guys say at a time like this?" She asked, looking over at the grave to the far left. "Nashi would probably tell me to search my own heart...How I feel about him instead of wallowing around about it. You'd just want me to follow my own heart."

She looked at the next one.

"Drake...I have a feeling you'd try and listen to me without consent and figure it out for yourself, you bastard. But...Your advice would mean the world to me. Even though you were always so invasive and sarcastic, you were there when I needed you."

She looked over again.

"Ul would say something like Nashi, I bet. You'd just want me to be happy. Hell, maybe you'd take it as your excuse to say something to Simon."

She looked at the redheads grave.

"And then there's you...What would you say, Simon? You're hard to read when it's love we're talking about. You'd probably tell me you have no advice and to do what I feel is right... Should I have said for you to do that with Ul before you were gone? Was I reading the situation wrong? Who knows..."

She looked over once more.

"Damien. You'd probably crack a joke about how funny it is that Keita fell for me. Maybe reinforce, albeit involuntarily because you're not that mean, my own insecurity...Asshole." She chuckled a bit at this, but it faded soon. She just stared down at the graves as a breeze rolled passed. It was nice, but it by no means soothed her whatsoever.

"What do I do?" She croaked. "I'm so confused...I don't like this feeling." She lowered her head and placed a hand over her eyes to prevent the tears from falling. "I've been wandering around blindly for eight long years trying to figure out what to do. Keita guided me until now, at least somewhat..." She looked up again. "You'd know what to do, eh Nashi? You always had the knack for coming up with a plan. Like Silverridge, or using Dragon-God mode against Michael and Keita..."

Finally, tears started to fall.

"What do I do?!" She asked weakly. "Why do I have to be alone?! WHERE DID YOU GUYS GO?!" Elise shouted angrily. "Why did you leave me alone?! Why didn't I get to disappear?!" Elise sat there, shaking as tears traced lines down her cheeks. And as the wind blew past once more, Elise realized something.

She was alone.

It wasn't a new revelation, not by a long shot, but sitting in the graveyard screaming at tombstones must've knocked some sense into her.

Because for a long time, Elise had simply followed. Someone else always made the important decisions, someone else to come up with a way to solve everything.

But that had fallen to Elise now. Because only she could do it.

But at the same time, She couldn't make that decision.

Elise was caught between two courses of action. One, stop hunting Kronos and do what made her happy. Deciding what that was was an entire beast itself. Two, continue after Kronos and at all costs find him and defeat him. For the vengeance that she had longed for. The closure.

But as she sat there and stared at the tombstones, Elise couldn't make up her mind.

* * *

Elise had left the graveyard. She couldn't sit there anymore. The longer she stayed the angrier she got. The anger came from her pent up sadness, confusion, and a whole other mix of feelings Elise wasn't sure she was comfortable with.

Sighing, the woman pushed the morning from her mind and continued back to the guild hall. After all, she usually washed down these feelings with booze. It worked quite well too.

"I just need to forget it all for a moment." She whispered to herself. "That would help a lot." Elise entered the guild hall unannounced, and walked towards the bar before anyone would try and stop her for some reason.

"Elise!" Damn it. Elise looked over to find her mother standing there. Although that was not what made Elise's breath hitch in her throat.

Nami Mikazuchi stood next to Elise's mother, a small smile on her face.

"Nami was looking for you." Her mother said, beckoning for Elise to walk over to them. Doing so mechanically as her mind sped through all the possibilities of why Nami was looking for her, Elise reached the pair quietly.

"H-Hey." She greeted Nami. The woman smiled.

"Morning, Elise." She said. "Wonderful day, huh?"

"Y-Yeah..." Elise's mother smiled.

"I'll leave you two to it, then." She said. Elise had a million different insults to spew at her mother for leaving them, but she'd do so at a later date. As she walked away and left Elise with Nami, the unsettling feeling in her stomach increased. Nami, however, turned for the door.

"Walk with me, would you?" Although she said it nicely enough, Elise could tell it was more of a demand than anything else. Walking behind the older woman out of the guild, Elise continued to wonder just what it was that Nami wanted from her. Had Keita sent her? Was it something to do with Keita at all? Logic screamed yes, seeing as Elise had no actually talked to Nami in around five years.

"Hungry?" Nami asked over her shoulder for Elise.

"Huh?" Nami chuckled.

"Are you hungry?"

"...I-I guess." Nami stopped and took a left, Elise following close behind. Soon enough they made it too a restaurant, and they walked inside. Elise didn't pay much attention to Nami as she went through the procedure of finding where to sit, but soon Elise found herself in a restaurant booth away from really anyone else in the place.

Suspicious.

"So Elise, how have you been?" Nami asked. Elise made a face.

"Fine." She answered hollowly. Nami nodded.

"Good. It's been a while since I saw you, so I was wondering if you were okay or..."

"Let's get to your point, Nami." Elise interrupted. "Because as much as i love talking to you, I know very well why you're here." Nami stared right into Elise's eyes for a moment or two, and for the briefest of seconds Elise wondered if she'd miscalculated Nami. Perhaps it was nothing more than catching up. This notion was dispelled, however, when Nami chuckled.

"Excellent observation." She said. "I figured I'd dance around it at first, but if you wish to get right to the point then let us do that."Nami crossed her arms over the table and leaned on it as she smirked. "So I've caught wind of a rumor."

"Oh boy..."

"That a certain Shadow Dragon from Sabertooth got his heart broken." She tilted her head to the side. "Would you happen to know anything about that, Elise?"

"Breaking his heart is a long shot..." Elise murmured weakly as she sank into the seat. "I just ran when I heard him arguing with Michael about it."

"I figured. Outright crushing him didn't seem like your style." Nami's smile faded. "So enlighten me. What did he say?" Elise took a deep breath.

"Michael made him call me over to tell me how he felt. Keita and him were arguing about it and he just burst out that he'd fallen in love with me but didn't know how to tell me...And I ran." Nami nodded.

"How do you feel?" Elise had been asked that too many times, by her mother, Nami, and herself about every thirty seconds. She shrugged.

"I don't know." She hissed. "Part of me is happy he feels that way...And the other half wishes he'd kept his mouth shut."

"So you're conflicted." Elise didn't reply to this, so Nami continued. "Want to know what I think?"

"Sure."

"I think you love him too." Elise's face grew red hot and she looked up in shock, but Nami was deadly serious. "But your trying to tell yourself you aren't allowed to be happy."

"W-Wha...?"

"Look at it this way." Nami said, leaning back. You and Keita have been hunting Kronos, the guy responsible for the disappearance of your friends, for seven years. You don't spend seven years with someone and not feel strongly for them one way or the other."

"O-Okay?"

"And you feel the same way for Keita. However, you're blaming yourself for the disappearance of your friends and, as penance, are refusing to be happy." Elise sat there in the booth, stunned into silence as Nami's quick analogy broke down eight years of her behavior into a simple concept. "Would I be correct?"

"I..." Elise tried weakly. "I...I don't..."

"Don't want?" Nami asked. "Want to be happy? Tell me Elise, how do you feel about Keita, honestly?" Elise shoved away her shock to give this some thought.

"He's great." She said. "He's always there if I need him. Kind, understanding, patient...I love seeing him and talking to him, and how much he cares about our job and me..." Elise's eyes widened slowly as she poke the words. Nami smiled.

"Sounds like love to me." She said simply. Elise coughed as her face heated up and looked away.

"W-Whatever. Doesn't explain the penance concept."

"No?" Nami asked. "Tell me Elise, what do you think about the most when you think about your friends disappearing?" A strange question, but Elise gave it some thought.

_"I should've been there...I shouldn't be here. I don't...I can't..."_

_"Why was I spared?!"_

_"Why are they gone?! What did I do to deserve this?!"_

_"I should've been there..."_

Elise sat there as her thoughts from seven years ago ran through her mind. No, not seven years ago. She thought these things all the time. She had become so accustomed to thinking it she barely ever noticed.

"I should've been there." She whispered. "That's...That's it." Nami nodded and leaned back.

"As I thought." She said. "See? You're saying you should have been there. Whether or not you're saying you could've stopped it or you should've disappeared too is irrelevant. To you, the blame falls solely on you." Elise sat there weakly, unable to conjure up anything she could say to Nami.

"I...I guess." She finally croaked out. The two went quiet for a moment, giving Elise some time to think. She did often think that. She did feel she could've stopped him, or that she should've disappeared too.

"Elise," Elise looked up as Nami spoke. The woman looked pretty serious. "My brother really does love you." Elise's face felt hot, but Nami continued. "The way he talks about you, the gleam he gets in his eyes when he does...It's painfully obvious."

"T-Talks about me?" Elise whispered weakly. Nami nodded.

"All the time." She said. "How you're so strong-willed, how you're so confident in your abilities, and..." Nami lowered her head slightly. "How above all other things, he just wants to see you smile genuinely again. A real smile, not one you put on for yourself or others, but one caused by you feeling genuinely happy like you used to. He says your so beautiful when you smile."

"I...I..." Nami snickered.

"Course he was blackout drunk when he said those things, but it's liquid truth, Elise. The balls in your court." Elise looked up as Nami got up from the booth. "Look, I didn't come here to guilt trip you into going out with him. I came here to tell you how it is because Keita isn't able to bring himself to do it. It's all up to you Elise. Do you want to be happy? or do you want to spend an eternity blaming yourself for something out of your control?" Nami left the establishment, leaving Elise by herself.

Keita loved her.

That much she knew.

But did she love him too?

Could she be happy without her friends being avenged?

Could she move on from it and let the past be?

Elise thought back to her time in the graveyard this morning. What she'd assumed her friends would say.

"They'd want me to be happy..." She whispered to herself. After a few more minutes of silent contemplation, Elise stood.

A smile on her face.

"They'd want me to be happy."

* * *

Eleven years and seven months before the Kronos incident

The explosions were tearing Magnolia apart, and Nashi acted quickly to save those that she could.

"Just get the hell out of the city! She shouted to people fleeing the scene. "It's for the best!" No one stopped to wonder who she was or why she looked so much like the little Dragneel girl in Fairy Tail, they all bolted with a grateful look at her, which was all she needed.

Looking up, Nashi watched the black dot above the city as it blasted it's way through, and her heart sank a little lower. She knew what the end game here was. He rampaged for ten minutes, killed Steph, and ran out of power which caused him to revert back to his human form shortly after.

And she was being forced to relive it all in real time.

She hated time travel.

"Nashi!" Nashi looked over as Drake ran over to her, a frightened expression on his face. "Have you seen Damien?!" Nashi's eyes widened.

"No!" She shouted back. "Where did he go?!" Drake shrugged.

"We don't know!" He said, panicked. "He disappeared when the whole guild evacuated to save the townsfolk!" Nashi crossed her arms.

"Fuck...We need to find him in case he does something drastic!"

"Or stupid." Nashi nodded and looked around.

"In any case, I think most of the town is empty now. We just need to...!"

"Get down!" Nashi yelped in surprise as Drake grabbed her and forced her to the ground, an explosion roaring above them and debris flying overhead.

"Jeez...Thanks." Nashi said as Drake got off of her and offered her his hand. They both stood and turned to the little Damien in the sky as he caused even more destruction.

"This is just like before." He hissed.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Nashi asked.

"To be honest I wanted our presence to change this...I don't know how if we aren't getting involved, but..." Nashi looked down as he said this. Deep down, she'd wanted that too. If anything in their past could've been changed, she'd wanted it to be this.

"We can't dwell on that." She said, forcing the tears back. "We just need to get the hell out. Where are Simon and Ultear?"

"Ultear went with the guild to make sure everyone was okay. Simon should be around here somewhere." Nashi nodded.

"Good let's go find him."

* * *

Ultear walked along the side of the treeline, making sure everyone around them was okay. She'd opted to go with the guild and townsfolk to make sure no one was seriously hurt, so she was checking for just that. After discerning no one around her was too hurt, she continued on her merry way. She cast a look at the burning city in the skyline as she did so.

It looked just like her nightmares had envisioned it. Why? Why had they been sent back to right before this? Was this fate's idea of a cruel joke?

"Steph?! Steph?!" Ultear was snapped from her thoughts at this. She turned and found Laxus and Mira running around and calling for their daughter. Her eyes widened.

_No..._

"Ultear!" It was Laxus. "Have you seen Steph?!"

_No..._

Ultear!"

"...No. I haven't." She replied weakly. Mira looked so distressed and upset.

"I told him he couldn't control a full takeover at his age!" She cursed as she stormed past Ultear looking for her daughter. "I told him, and he just had to go and try! I told him!" Laxus followed after his wife, and Ultear remained where she was. Slowly, she looked over at the skyline once more, heart heavy with the knowledge of the future.

_I'm so sorry Steph...If we could stop it without damaging the timeline I'd go to hell and back to do it._

* * *

Nashi ran alongside Drake as they looked for anyone still inside the city. They hadn't seen anyone as of yet, but they had to make absolutely sure. Timeline damaging or not, Nashi was not allowing anyone to die to to her own reservations.

"Hello?!" Drake called as they reached a deserted looking area. "Anyone still here?!"

"We need to leave." Nashi told him as he turned to look at her. "Before we encounter Damien."

"I know." He said, his ears witching. "I just don't want anyone to die...No ones here, let's go." Nashi nodded, and they turned to leave.

Right as a golden blur fell to earth in front of them. As the glow died away, Simon scrambled out of his whole and ran towards them.

"Simon?" Nashi asked. "Are you...?"

"Hit the dirt!" Simon shouted, tackling her and Drake to the earth. Before she could ask what he was doing, a black blur soared an inch from Simon's head, just barely missing him.

"What the hell?" Drake asked. Simon looked frantic.

"I was flying overhead looking for people and he started to attack me...I didn't mean to lead him here but..." Nashi's stomach fell as she heard Damien land not to far from them and furl his wings up. All three of them stood and watched the boy.

"What do we do?" Drake asked. "Fight him?"

"That depends." Simon said weakly. "Has he killed Steph yet?"

"Huh?" Nashi asked. Simon looked over at her.

"Think about it. Damien kills Steph and shortly after he runs out of power. if he's killed Steph I'd wager we could attack him and subdue him. But if he hasn't..."

"We need to run." Drake finished, looking back at Damien. "Shit..."

"And we have no way to tell if he's killed Steph..." Nashi said slowly as the realization hit her. Damien slowly raised a hand, black magic swirled there.

"Run!" Simon shouted. The three turned and bolted away from the demon, diving down to the earth as the black death magic flew overhead. They all got up and sprinted as fast as they could, but the demon was on top of them quickly. Nashi looked over her shoulder to look.

That was her mistake.

She took a blast of the black magic right to the back, and she fell to the ground, dizzy. She felt so weak and pathetic after only a single hit? How powerful was Xisplate.

"Nashi!" It was Drake, and Nashi looked over slowly as he and Simon appeared above her. "Are you okay?!"

"I feel so weak..." Nashi whispered. "I don't know if I can get up..."

"It's Death Magic." Simon said. "Every hit temporarily drains the life force of the opponent. If we take too many in a row without time to recover, we're going to die. Just be lucky he doesn't use any other spells to hit us..." Nashi found Simon was right. She could feel her strength returning, but very slowly.

"Can you get up?" Drake asked.

"Probably." Nashi said. "But run? No." Drake clicked his tongue in irritation.

"Looks like were doing this the hard way." He said. Before Nashi could ask what that meant, she felt herself get picked up by Drake princess style. The man turned to Simon.

"Keep him off of us!" He said. "We have to run!" Simon nodded and stayed back as Damien advanced after them, throwing the death blasts off with heavenly light. Nashi felt her strength return bit by bit as Drake ran, Simon not to far behind. She could hear Simon fending him off, but she felt no comfort from it.

She was scared.

Nashi felt five years old again. Being in this scenario made her feel so powerless. What were they going to do?

_BOOM!"_

Nashi looked up just in time to see Simon roll across the ground in front of her and Drake, cursing to himself.

"Did he overpower you?!" Drake asked in disbelief. Simon wiped blood from his mouth.

"Like hell." He replied. "I can't actually go full on offensive or I might damage the timeline...Isn't hard for him to overpower me if I can't try my hardest." Damien landed between them and their exit. Simon was hit, Nashi was too, and Drake had his hands full.

"What do we do?!" Drake hissed. "We can't attack him, but we can't run now either!"

Damien unfurled his wings once more and flew up into the sky. He brought his hands together and aimed them at the three. There was no escaping it.

"Should we run?" Simon asked, struggling to his feet.

"Nowhere to go." Nashi said, looking around. The blast that was going to hit them grew in size, and Drake gulped.

"You think something will happen if we die in the past?" He asked.

"Might be how it was supposed to be." Simon whispered. "How our story ends." Simon had a point. This might have been their fate all along. To go back in time and die.

It was over.

No where to run.

No where to hide.

"Onii-chan!" Nashi's heart stopped. She heard Drake's breathing hitch in his throat. "You're hurting people, stop!" Drake and Simon looked over to the source. Nashi and Damien did as well.

Stephanie Dreyar stood glaring up at her brother, angry as ever.

"Stop!" She shouted. "This isn't you! You have to stop!"

"Steph..." Simon whispered. "No..."

"Run...Please..." Drake whispered. Neither moved.

Because if they did, the timeline would be destroyed.

All they could do was watch.

Nashi looked back up as Damien's hands redirected the attack in Steph's direction.

It all happened slowly.

The attack flew from Damien's hands and roared towards Steph, who stood firm in her ways. All three of them watched. They couldn't do more.

A black blur flew past Nashi's head, but she didn't know what it was

As soon as it started, it was over. The blast engulfed little Steph, and when it stopped she was gone. Turned to ashes by her brother just like before.

Nashi started to cry, just like she had eleven years ago. Simon and Drake just stared ahead as tears streamed down their faces as well.

But it wasn't over. Damien aimed at them once more, preparing another blast.

They could attack now.

Steph was gone.

But none of them had prepared to witness it.

So none of them moved.

_Crack!_

This sound drew Nashi's attention. She looked up to find Damien falling out of the sky. He hit the dirt and reverted to his human form, lying face down in the dirt.

Older Damien, their Damien, landed behind him in his base demon form, darkness magic swirling around his fist.

But he didn't cry. He looked pretty stoic as he glared down at his younger self, who he'd punched in the back of the head.

"It's done." He whispered hollowly. "We didn't intervene..."

He was right.

They hadn't.

But Nashi wished they had.

And once again, those ten minutes would haunt Nashi for a long time.

* * *

Eight years after the Kronos incident

"It could've gone worse."

"Fuck off."

"Hey man, I was just trying to help you out!"

"Help me out by making he scream it out while she was standing right there instead of letting me do it on my own?!" Keita grabbed Michael by the collar of his shirt. "Fuck you."

"Oh calm down, princess." He said. "She's probably just confused more than anything. Just go talk to her."

"After what happened a few days ago? Yeah, okay. I'll get right on that." The two continued on their way to the guild hall quietly, Michael seemed a bit irritated with him.

Irritated was an understatement after what happened a few days ago. Michael had made Keita accidentally yell out his feelings for Elise, which she heard and ran. Keita felt so horrible about the situation, but he didn't have the guts to rectify it. He'd just leave her be. That's what he was best at after all. Leaving shit alone.

"Anyway man, I think you still got a..." Michael froze mid-sentence, and Keita looked over at him.

"Michael?' He asked. Michael pointed towards the guild hall, and Keita followed his gaze in surprise. His heart stopped.

Elise was standing in front of the guild hall, looking right at him. She smiled, and Keita's heart was jump started.

"Good luck bud." Michael said. Before Keita could say anything the White Dragon Slayer had sprinted away, leaving the two of them by themselves. Keita wanted to sprint away too but given the look Elise was giving him he gauged that wasn't a good idea. Steeling himself, he gulped and walked towards her slowly, locking eyes with her. He reached her, and they went quiet.

"Hey." She greeted calmly.

"H-Hey." he replied. Silence ensued, and Keita felt like screaming just so he could break it. He had no idea if she was mad or if she wasn't. He had no idea _what _she was thinking. He cleared his throat.

"Elise, listen. About what happened a few days ago..." He paused, trying to find the right words to use. "I'm really sorry if I scared you or anything. But to be honest with you, it is How I feel...I...I..." Keita couldn't bring himself to say it to her face. Looking at her, the expression on her face had not changed.

"Nami spoke with me." She said.

"Oh fuck...What did she say?"

"A lot of stuff." Keita wanted to crawl in a hole and die. His sister had spoken with Elise? End it all. "Mainly about you."

"Look whatever she said, It probably isn't true."

"So you don't love me?" Keita went quiet, and Elise chuckled. "Not sure what your silence means, but everything she said was really flattering." Her expression softened as she smiled. "But I'd like to hear it from you too."

"...Elise, I..." Keita frowned. "I don't know what she said, so I can't..." Keita growled and clenched his fists. "God this is so stupid...I'm better than this, but I can't..." He shook his head and looked away. I'm sorry, I'm so pathetic." Silence ensued once more, and Keita didn't know what he was supposed to say. He wanted to say anything he could to convince Elise he was serious, but he couldn't find his words.

"Hm." Elise said. "Didn't think I'd have to do this."

"What do you...?"

Elise grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him.

At first, he didn't know how to react. Well, it was actually more like he had no clue what was even happening at all.

Elise broke away from him soon after, leaving him in a daze. She did not, however, move away.

"Look." She whispered. "We're both a bit fucked up. me more than you. You're shy, I'm insecure and mentally damaged in more then a few ways, but...You make me feel a little more normal. I really like you, Keita."

"...H-Huh?"

"I'm not sure I can say I love you...Yet." She smiled at him, and his heart fluttered. It was that smile. The old one that he loved to see. A genuine one. "How about you help me make up my mind?"

He didn't know what to say. He was still reeling from what she'd just done.

Somehow though, he found the brain power to wrap his arms around her, making her giggle.

"As long as you smile like that from now on." He replied. "We can make it work." She bit her lip.

"Deal."

Keita initiated the kiss this time, and he felt himself become enveloped in a warm and fuzzy feeling.

They'd been through a lot in the past eight years. From depression to anger to killing countless peons in fits of rage.

But as he held her in his embrace, Keita felt hopeful for their future.

**I haven't written a scene like that in a long time, so tell me how I did! And so chapter 200 concludes, and times moves on. Again, thank you guys so much for all of the support over the course of this story! I cannot thank you enough!**

**And as always, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get...fifteen for chapter 200!**


	201. No Tears

**So after doing some soul searching (lol not really) we have today's chapter. Maybe what happens should have been for 200 chapters instead, maybe not. We'll find out!**

**Enjoy!**

Nine years after the Kronos incident

Elise sighed as she walked through the crowded street of Magnolia towards her guild hall. She had not slept well at all, but she really had no idea why. She'd gone to bed at a decent hour and woke up as normal but she still felt tired and not at all herself.

Whatever, not important.

As she reached the guild hall, she looked up at the tall building as wind blew past her.

A smile grew on her face.

A genuine one.

Elise had gone through a lot in the last nine years. So much so that the majority of it seemed like a nonsensical blur of rage and anguish.

Because of Kronos and what he'd done.

But...

Elise looked down at the ground.

"I'm done." She whispered to herself as she stared at her feet. "I'm not going after him anymore. I want to stay here and be happy. With my mom, dad and Lilly...And Keita. I don't want to feel sad anymore."

It was a mantra she had told herself everyday for almost a year now. Ever since she and Keita had started to go out she'd sworn off hunting that man. She didn't want anything to do with him, his peons, or the Olympians anymore. It was over. It had been for a long time. She could move on and stop being so angry all of the time. And so far it had worked really well for her. She'd gone out of her way to make herself and everyone around her happier and it was working.

So, smiling once more, Elise opened the doors to the guild hall and walked inside.

"Morning Elise!" It was her mother who called out to her. "Sleep well?"

"Nah." Elise replied, walking over to her parents. "Anything interesting going on today?"

"No, just the usual." Her mother said. Elise looked over at her father, who had a rather irritated look on his face.

"What's up with you, Dad?" She asked. The man just growled and turned his head away from her, which made her raise an eyebrow. Her mother just giggled.

"Gajeel don't be that way." She scolded. "Tell her." The man didn't reply at first, but he turned and gave Elise a look.

"You _boyfriend _came looking for you." He snarled, making Elise laugh. "Go find him."

"Oh dad enough, is enough!" Elise said in between chuckles. "Keita's not a bad guy."

"Yeah I know..."

"So what's your problem?" All her father did at this was growl and get up, storming to the bar to order a drink from Mira.

"Don't mind him." Her mother said. "He can't get over the fact that his baby girl is all grown up now."

"Shut it, Shrimp!" he shouted from the bar, making a lot of people laugh. Elise smiled as a warm feeling spread from her head down her body. Knowing her dad that was the truth, but he was such a hard ass most of the time there was no way he'd ever admit it outright.

"I'm going to go find Keita." Elise told her mother, who nodded. "You go make sure dad doesn't have a hissy fit."

"Little more difficult then it sounds, honey. Have fun!" Elise thanked her mother for the sentiment and left the guild in search of the Shadow Dragon. She knew her dad didn't really have anything against Keita, he was just protective of her.

Understandable given what she'd been through.

Elise didn't even break stride thinking about Phantom Dove.

It had happened so long ago she didn't even consider it half the time. Sure she didn't like thinking or talking about what happened, no sane person would be, but it almost never crossed her mind enough for her to care.

Unless it was about her friends.

This caused Elise to stop as a breeze rolled past. Phantom Dove...What had happened to her was the reason that she had not disappeared with her friends. Because she had remembered what happened, she had stayed away from the arena and had not been attacked by Kronos, and as such she got to live. While the others...

Elise shook the thoughts from her head. All those thoughts did was get her on a slippery lope to anger and depression. None of that anymore, she'd promised herself and Keita.

"Something the matter?" Elise smiled as a voice asked her that.

"I told you to stop doing that." She said, turning her head to look at the shadows on the wall next to her. "You scare the shit out of me every time." A chuckle came from them, and a man materialized from the darkness. Elise's boyfriend Keita now stood there, a smile on his face.

"You didn't even jump that time." He said. "You're getting good at expecting it."

"Yeah well you aren't exactly full of surprises, now are you?" Elise asked, a coy smile on her face as Keita muttered under his breath. "My mom said you came looking for me. Am i that late to our breakfast date or what?"

"No..." Keita said, his face going red. "I just..."

"Just what?"

"Elise don't do this to me..."

"Just _whaaaat_?"

Just...Wanted to see you." Elise smiled widely as Keita boiled in embarrassment. The guy was so shy it was ridiculous he managed to kiss her without losing consciousness.

"Aw, you big softy." She said, getting herself close to him and trying to close the gap between their faces. Keita look unimpressed.

"I told you how I feel about public display." He warned, his hot breath hitting her right in the face. "Stop it."

"And I told you how little I care." She replied. "If I want to kiss you, I won't stop because there are people in the vicinity." Keita rolled his eyes, but he didn't create a bigger gap. They stayed right in each others business for maybe another thirty seconds until Elise laughed.

"What's so funny?" Keita asked. Elise shrugged.

"Nothing." She answered, still pressed up against him. "Just that we're being more publicly affectionate because you refuse to kiss me than if you had already." Keita seemed to notice this as well, so he growled and gave her a quick peck on the lips, which she took as him being stubborn but also caving at the same time.

"Was that so hard?" She asked.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Keita asked, taking a deep breath with a smirk on his face, making Elise look flustered. "Cause all I smell is morning breath."

"Whatever." Elise said, turning her back on him. "I forgot okay? Like you're any better."

"I'll have you know I had a piece of gum in my mouth before you got here." Elise pretended not to here him and decided to change the subject.

"Where are we going for breakfast?" She asked. "I'm hungry."

"As always, huh?" Elise stuck her tongue out at him, making him chuckle. "It's this way, come on."

* * *

Elise took another hue bite of her breakfast and looked over at Keita to find him watching her with a weak smile.

"What?" She asked, mouth full.

"Nothing." He answered. Elise narrowed her eyes at him, and his smile changed into a smirk. "You eat you weight in food and you'll get fat." Elise blushed and dropped her fork, glaring at him.

"Don't call me fat." She hissed.

"What do you mean?" Keita asked innocently. "I was just offering you advice, honey."

"Advice, he says." Elise mocked. "I didn't call you fat, he says. You're just as bad as me, Keita. The bill for this will be enormous." Keita nodded.

"I know. That's why we split it. We eat our weight so often it's a miracle we aren't obese." Elise laughed. He had a point after all. As the two continued to eat, Elise pondered what they could talk about. Silence with Keita was plentiful seeing how quiet he was, but she enjoyed talking to him.

"Hey," She said, making him look up. "What's been going on at Sabertooth? Any drama?" Keita shrugged.

"No." he answered, picking up his napkin and balling it up in his hands. "Nothing big."

"No?"

"Nah. Well there was one thing."

"Which is?" Keita stared into the distance for a bit before he looked back at Elise.

"Some kid asked Ally out." He said. "Michael nearly killed him." Elise stared at Keita before she burst out laughing.

"Seriously?!" She asked, Keita nodding.

"Poor kid probably shit his pants...And Ally gave him one stern talking to."

"How stern."

"As in she used Libra to make him float upside down as she cursed him out." Elise laughed even harder at this and rolled her head back to do so.

"Oh that idiot had it coming." She said. "She's fifteen for God's sake, let her have a chance. Now she's gonna be known as the girl with the angry Dragon for a brother." Keita nodded.

"As if she wasn't known for that already." The two went quiet and Elise just stared up at the sky as she thought.

"Hey, Keita." She said, not looking down. He hummed to signify he was listening. "What happened that all I cared about was how badly Michael messes up?"

"What do you mean?" Elise looked down.

"I just feel like I'm wasting time." She answered. "i know I swore off hunting that bastard but..." Keita looked up at the sky as well.

"Look at it this way." he said. "It's what they would've wanted." he looked back down at her. "I know your friends were...A different bunch, but they'd want you to be happy first and foremost." He reached over the table and put a hand on Elise's. "Are you happy?" Elise watched him closely before she smiled and lifted her hand to grip his tightly.

"Yeah." She said, smiling brightly. "I am."

* * *

Eleven years and seven months before the Kronos incident

It was the day after.

Despite Damien's assault on the city, he'd left the guildhall mostly untouched. And this was where Nashi was sitting, staring down at her hands as she contemplated what she'd seen the day before.

_"Onii-chan!"_

She grip on her self tightened as she thought back to that voice that cried out. Drake, Simon, and herself had been right there when it happened. So far she was only one who'd shown up to the guild.

She didn't expect to see Damien at all. Or his parents for that matter.

She had vivid memories of these days. The time that followed Steph's death was so depressing Nashi was certain it may have helped her own start. Everyone got so sad and quiet that Nashi hated it.

But now she was reliving it with a more mature outlook, and it was killing her. She was incredibly grateful Mira ad Laxus weren't at the guild hall because she wasn't sure she could handle hearing Mira's cries. Not after this.

Someone sat down next to her.

She could tell from the scent it was Drake.

"Hey." He greeted hoarsely. Nashi only nodded, not looking up at him. The two sat in silence, neither feeling like a topic of conversation was appropriate.

After a few moments, Nashi leaned into his side. His warmth did nothing to soothe her.

"...Why?" She asked weakly. "Why did this happen again?"

"Dunno." Nashi felt tears threatening to fall when she spoke, so she refrained from doing so again for a moment, until she took a deep breath.

"I just want peace." She whispered. "I just...Why does this stuff keep happening? What did we do to the Gods to deserve such torment?"

"Dunno."

"i mean...Reliving this...it isn't fair. It was bad enough the first time, but this is just unfair...Why do we always...!" An arm wrapped around Nashi's shoulders and drew her closer, causing her to be silenced.

"Shut up." Drake said, voice cracking. "You're making it worse." Nashi just stared at the ground as he said this.

"Okay." She replied quietly. As the two grew silent, another set of footsteps drew close to them.

"Hey." It was Ultear. The girl had not witnessed it, so for better or for worse she wasn't as put down. Didn't mean she wasn't. "Are you guys okay? I heard...I heard you saw."

"Yeah..." Drake croaked. "We need to get the hell out of this time period. I hate it here."

"Well we can't leave without Damien." Ultear said, looking at the floor as well. "And I think he needs some time to recuperate from this ordeal. So we'll have to be here for a while longer. We need to give him time."

"Time is something we don't have." Nashi said. "We risked a lot not laving when younger Damien attacked. The longer we stay..."

"I know." Ultear said. "But unless either of you have any idea where our resident demon went we aren't going anywhere until he comes back." Nashi knew this was true. They couldn't strand their friend in this timeline or that would be their biggest mistake out of them all. Ultear sat down next to Drake, and silence came once again. Nashi couldn't stop replaying that moment in her head, as the beam of darkness engulfed the little girl and turned her to dust that got scattered in the wind... She'd only ever had nightmares about that moment.

And now she could have nightmares about the actual moment.

The guild hall doors opened, and the three looked up to find Simon standing there.

"Morning." He said, eyes obscured by his bangs.

"Morning." Ultear said. Simon stumbled inside, and walked right past them. "Simon? Are you feeling okay?"

"Just peachy." He answered, reaching behind the counter and pulling out a bottle of vodka. "Just, you know, drowning the images." Nashi had to admire his idea, but she was too upset to drink. She'd turn into a mumbling mess. Simon pressed the bottle to his lips and drank as he walked back to them. He burped as he lowered it and looked around. "Damien?" he asked simply.

"No clue." Nashi answered. Simon cursed under his breath and offered her the bottle. She watched him and it closely before she took it and had a sip. She lowered the bottle as the liquid trickled down her throat, staring at it.

"Pass it." Drake mumbled. He freed his arm around Nashi to take the bottle, and stared at it. He raised it slightly. "To Steph." Nashi nodded simply as did the others, and Drake raised the bottle to his mouth. He lowered it and offered it to Ultear, who took it.

"...This is fucked." Simon said, sitting backwards on a chair he'd pulled up. "I..." Simon raised a hand to his eyes. "I can't get the image out of my mind."

"Join the club." Drake answered, pressing his hands together. "I hope Damien comes back soon. I don't know if I can handle looking at Mira or Laxus..." Nashi looked over at the guild hall doors. Only a few days ago had Steph walked through those doors. Only a few days ago had she been breathing, living.

And she was gone.

"Give me the bottle." She hissed. "Get another one."

No one argued.

* * *

"Look man, I know this is weird, but you need to do this for me!"

"But kid...This is insane." Damien growled as the villager just stared at him.

"There's a lot riding on this, sir." he said sternly, curbing his temper. "I need you to do this."

"Why?"

"If you don't, the world is in grave danger." The man's face paled.

"Kid I don't know what you're involved in, but I can't do this." Damien rolled his eyes.

"Please." Damien said. "Surely it isn't a big deal?"

"But _why?_" The man seemed irritated. "I don't understand why you're trying to do this."

"Because I have to do or everyone's safety is in danger."

"But..."

"Just stop! Can you do it or not?!" The man took a deep breath and seemed to be thinking about it. After a few minutes of contemplation, he sighed and nodded.

"Okay...Okay fuck man, I'll do it." Damien smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much." He said, bowing slightly. "You don't have any idea how much this means."

"You're right, I don't. Because you won't tell me." The man smiled weakly. "But if it means that much to you, everything will be fine here. We're a good bunch of people here." Damien nodded.

"I'm sure." He said. Damien turned on his heel and went to leave, his heart heavy with what he had done.

"Hey!" Damien stopped and turned to look at the man. "You ought to say goodbye, kid. She's your little sister after all!" Damien watched the man closely and he contemplated these words before nodding and turning around to walk towards the guys house, all the townsfolk watching him. He entered the home and went inside. He walked down a hallway and peeked inside one of the doors.

There, sitting up in a bed and looking out the window as the sun shone through it, was little Stephanie Dreyar.

Damien had fucked up.

He shouldn't have done it.

But he had.

He should've turned a blind eye.

But he couldn't.

And now he was trying to somewhat fix his impulsive fuck up.

When the others had run of to try and help the townsfolk a few days ago and save lives, Damien found himself at a crossroads. Not save Steph or save her.

He'd made his choice.

As soon as his younger self had gone in for the kill, Damien had used his wings to propel himself past Nashi and Drake to tackle Steph out of the way. He'd knocked her unconscious, but he'd successfully reenacted her death but saved her.

Of course now he realized she needed to go far away.

Damien had used his demon form to fly all the way across Fiore. As far as he could go away from Magnolia. He just needed to get her out of that environment. Away from the guild.

Away.

Steph looked over at him, and her confused smile made him jump back to his reality.

"Onii-chan?" She asked, making him smile weakly. "Where are we? What happened?"

"...Hey Steph." He said. He walked inside and pulled up a chair. "How do you feel?"

"Okay...What happened?" Damien looked down.

"Nothing important." He smiled down at the floor as Steph made confused sounds. He needed to have this talk with her. "Hey, uh, Steph?"

"Yeah?" Damien steeled his looks. This was serious.

"You need to listen very closely, this is important." Steph's eyes widened, but she nodded. "You need to stay here, in this village."

"Why..."

"Because...Because if you don't bad things could happen."

"What bad things?"

"Steph..." Damien stared down at his hands. "Please just do as I ask, okay?"

"What about Mommy and Daddy? And the guild?"

"You won't see them for a long time." Damien answered curtly, and Steph looked upset. "I'm sorry, but...You can't see them."

"But...But Onii-chan..." Damien frowned at his sister as she looked on the verge of tears. "I'm gonna miss you and Nashi and Drake and Elise and Ultear and Simon and Mommy and Daddy and..." Damien brought her small body close to his as she started to shake.

"Jeez Steph I'm sorry." He whispered, rubbing her back. "But you need to do this. I messed up and I'm sorry. Can you do this for me? For our family?"

"..."

"Hey, look at me." Damien let go of the girl, and she refused to meet his eye. Damien reached forward and used his hand to lift her head. He smiled at her. "You want to grow up and be a strong wizard just like Mom and Dad right?"

"...R-Right."

"That's right. And strong wizards have to push through tough times." He smiled weakly at this. "Believe me. So I want you to do one thing for me Steph. No matter how sad you get, do not cry. I don't want you to cry and lose hope, okay? Stay strong for me."

"B-But Onii-chan..." Damien shook his head.

"No tears." He reaffirmed. "I want you to be strong, okay? We'll see each other again one day. There's no need to be sad." Steph just stared down at the ground as he said this, but she nodded slowly.

"O-Okay." She said, sniffling and looking up. "I'll stay. For you, Onii-chan."

"There's a good girl." Damien said, ruffling her hair. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"If you manage to not cry until I come back, you'll be even stronger than me. I cry way too much."

"You're weak, Onii-chan?"

_Weak-minded. I can't believe I risked this..._

"Depends." He replied. "Will you grow strong while I'm away? Just like Dad?" Steph watched him closely before she nodded.

"Just like Daddy!" She confirmed. "Just you watch Onii-chan!" Damien smiled at this.

"Good girl." He brought her close to him again, enjoying the closeness as he did so. "I love you Steph, you know that right?" Steph made an affirmative sound, and Damien hugged her closer. "I love you so much...My baby sister."

"I love you too, Onii-chan..." Steph whimpered. "And Mommy and Daddy too."

"And Mom and Dad." Damien agreed. At first he didn't want to move. He wanted to stay like this forever and never leave her side.

But he had too. The others needed him. And that was more important.

So he let go of her, but he wasn't done.

He slowly kissed her forehead and then met her gaze.

"Stay strong." He said with a smile. "Okay?" Steph looked on the verge of tears, but Damien smiled as she pushed them back.

"I will." She replied. "You do it too, Onii-chan. I want to fight you when you come to find me." Damien smiled.

"We'll see." He slowly stood from the seat and turned for the door.

"Goodbye, Onii-chan." Damien froze at these words. He slowly turned and looked at his sister. She was smiling at him, but no tears fell. "Please hurry back to your own time, I'll miss you." Damien felt tears pushing at his own eyes, but after that speech he too pushed them back.

"Goodbye, Steph." He whispered. Going any louder and Steph would hear his voice cracking with emotion. He left the room, wiping his eyes as he did so. He returned to the man outside and nodded at him before leaving again.

"When will you be back?" The man asked. Damien stopped.

"...I plan to be back before twelve years pass." Damien answered. "Don't give her a definitive answer though. Just say I'll be back soon."

"But..."

"Just do it." Damien ignored the sounds the man was giving him, spread his wings, and began to fly away. As he did so, he reflected on what he had done.

He'd saved his sister.

God knows what he'd done to the timeline.

But...At the same time...

_Steph...my little sister is alive. The timeline can go to hell for all I care._

**Haha! You guys were so convinced! But I turned that one on you! Now originally I wasn't going to reveal she survived until later, but I thought of this scene and I couldn't resist writing it. I thought it went well, how about you guys? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	202. A Good Chance

**So I did a quick check and, based on what's to come with this arc, it's pretty much halfway done. It's not very long but damn it's been 50+ chapters since we've been doing fun little one shots and stuff so the return to that for a bit should be fun!**

**Enjoy!**

Nine years after the Kronos incident

As the sun set over the city of Magnolia and Elise walked back towards her guild hall with Keita, she pondered what her future held. It wasn't often she did this in a calm and orderly manner, as before when she did this it was usually to wonder where she was camping out next or what she was going to do to find Kronos.

"Man," Keita said, stretching next to her. "I am beat."

"Yeah, me too." She agreed. "Today felt like it lasted forever."

"Was that supposed to be an insult?" Elise looked over at Keita, who watched her closely before she snickered.

"No, you idiot." She replied. "I just meant that it felt like a long day."

"And you spent the whole day with me." Keita replied. "What made it so long?"

"Oh stop it." She said, patting his chest. "If I felt like it was your fault you'd have been getting an earful of it regardless."

"I...Well that's a fair point." Elise laughed at this and the two resumed paying attention to their surroundings. As they took another turn, Elise became aware of the fact the route they were taking was going to pass the cemetery for one reason or another. She tensed up a bit, and it appeared Keita noticed.

"It's nothing." Elise said as soon as he opened his mouth. "Leave it be." He smiled weakly at her, but didn't say anything more. As they got closer to the cemetery and Elise's heart got heavier and heavier, she found herself staring right at it.

Although not because she was staring at the graves.

There was a blonde boy standing in front of the graves.

"Is that Luke?" Keita asked, both of them stopping to look. Elise narrowed her eyes and identified that yes, it was Luke.

"It is." She said. "What the hell is he doing out so late?" Elise took a step towards the cemetery, Keita not far behind her. They walked inside and towards the boy, who had yet to acknowledge their presence.

"Luke?" Elise asked, causing him to turn. "What're you doing? Why are you out here so late?" Luke just regarded her closely for a minute, before turning his head back to the graves.

"Mom was crying today." He answered, making Elise raise an eyebrow. "She dug out some old photo album."

_Oh..._

"It had pictures of my sister all through it." He continued. "I realized it was the first time I'd been given a chance to really look at her face." He lowered his head slightly. "She was really pretty." Elise looked over at Keita, but the man only returned her gaze warily.

"It doesn't surprise me it was the first time you really got to look at her face." Elise said quietly. "Everyone's been trying to forget it since it happened."

"The incident?" The boy asked, and Elise hummed a positive sound. For a nine year old, Luke was astoundingly astute. "...What happened?" Elise looked down at the ground at this.

_I don't know._

That was the only thing she could think of. She didn't know what really happened because she hadn't been there. And that was the only reason she stood where she was.

_Because I didn't go with them._

Keita's hand rested on her shoulder with a comforting squeeze.

"Some guy attacked the arena." He answered for her. "He activated some spell and targeted your sister and the others. And just like that they disappeared." Luke nodded slowly, but he still stared down at the graves. It was a while before he spoke again.

"What was she like?" He asked. "My sister, I mean." Elise stared down at the ground as she gave this question some thought. What had Nashi been like?

"...She was one of my best friends." She finally answered, feeling anger well up inside her. "She was kind, understanding, thoughtful..." Elise felt her throat closing up as Nashi's smiling face became plastered in her mind. "She was kind of troubled, but..." Elise laughed weakly. "Partially my own fault."

"Elise..." Keita was going to try and stop her, but Elise wasn't stopping.

"She wasn't as quick to anger as your dad, which was a good thing in the long run." She laughed. "Although she did relate to her dad in one way. My God was she powerful. The stuff she pulled off..." Elise shook her head. "A Dragneel through and through." Luke seemed to contemplate her words before he looked back at his sisters gravestone.

"...I'm going to be strong like her." He stated, making Elise perk up. "I'm going to train and become strong for her...And for mom and dad."

"Luke?"

"I know what happened was sad..." He clenched his fists. "But I don't want to see mom and dad cry about it anymore. So I'm going to get strong. Then I can do anything."

_If only that's how it worked kid. If it did work like that I'd have saved the others..._

"That's pretty admirable kid." Keita said. "But I fought head to head with your sister years ago. You've got a lot of work to do if you want to even approach the level she was at." Luke smiled, determined.

"I'll do it." He said. "She and I have the same blood in our veins, right? So if I work hard I can...!"

"Elise! Keita!" Elise jumped and turned to find Her mother running up to them. "You have to come quick!"

"Mom?" Elise asked, confused. "What happened?" Her mother looked frightened.

"There's a pair of guys looking for you... A blonde and a black haired guy. They said...They said they want to talk about Kronos."

* * *

Elise kicked in the doors of the guild and saw them.

Katsuchi and Tetsu.

The pair were standing in the dead center of the guild, looking ragged and downright horrible, but stood tall. Elise pushed her way in and stood in front of the pair.

"There you are." Tetsu said, taking notice of her. "We were wondering what was taking so long."

"I was busy." Elise murmured. "So? What the hell are you guys doing here?" The pair exchanged looks.

"We wanted to talk to you about Kronos." Tetsu said, Katsuchi still being quiet. "We're going after him." Elise's eyes widened.

"W-What?" She asked. "D-Do you guys know where...?" Tetsu made a face.

"We have a pretty good idea." he said. "Some guys..." Tetsu looked down, and Katsuchi away. Tetsu cleared his throat. "A-Anyway, some of his peons attacked us, and we found a map on one of them. It leads back to some area. We're going to go there and find him."

"Why did he attack you guys?" She asked.

"You think you're the only one who's been going after him these past few years?" Tetsu asked. "We've been hunting too. Guess we got a little to close. And now that you've stopped going after him he's growing bored." Tetsu pulled the map out and handed it to Elise. "That map leads to somewhere. I'm willing to bet that somewhere has leads.." Elise looked down at the map, which detailed a base and how to get inside. She examined it closely before she looked up again at the pair. She cared about the two of them, even if she hadn't seem them in years, and both looked so determined.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked. Tetsu lowered his head slightly.

"We know he destroyed your family..." Tetsu said weakly. "So we wanted to offer you a spot. Come with us Elise, and let's get this bastard like we should've years ago. Are you in?"

A chance.

Elise knew this feeling. It was the same feeling she'd gotten so many times before.

Maybe he was there.

Maybe they could catch him.

There was hope.

But...

"...Guys I don't think I can go with you." She answered slowly. "I...I want to help, really, but I don't know if I can..."

"Elise," Tetsu said. "Come on, we can do this. The guy is old, and his body's half metal. Do you really think he can keep this up for much longer?"

"No, but..."

"And do you really think the three of us as we are couldn't kill him?"

"We could..."

"So come with us!" Tetsu shouted. He seemed angry, Elise couldn't fathom why. "And we'll do this together." Elise looked down and gave it more thought. If they were really so confident...If they honestly thought...

"...No." Elise said, standing tall in her decision. "I appreciate the offer guys, but I decided I was done. I'm not going to hunt him anymore." Elise felt Keita's hand grab her shoulder. "I'm trying to move past what happened. So going after a lead that may or may not even be a lead...I won't do it. I'm sorry, but I can't do..."

"Azzie's dead." Katsuchi said hoarsely, stunning Elise into silence. "They were ordered to kill her. Just like that." The Fire God Slayer looked down. "And...They kept us alive. Just to torture us until he decides we need to go too."

Azzie was dead.

Elise felt her mind drifting into a blind rage.

"We're doing this for her." Katsuchi continued. "She wanted the man brought to justice for everything he's done. And after that, those who ordered him around. But right now we need to focus on finding him and doing what needs to be done."

Again he was hurting people Elise cared about.

"We don't care what your answer is." Katsuchi said, looking down. "But he's hurt you just as much, if not more, than us. You want him dead too, I can see it in your eye. So, is it a yes or is it a no.

Elise wanted him dead, she knew that much,

She wanted to watch as his life faded away. She wanted the satisfaction of being the one to do it as well.

She slowly looked around the guild hall. Her gaze paused on the families of her friends, who had disappeared so many years before. She met their eyes, but they didn't seem to be trying to sway her one way or the other.

Then her own parents, who also didn't try to sway her.

And then to Keita. His eyes gave her an obvious clue as to what direction he swayed.

He wouldn't contest her no matter what she chose. Some part of her wished he would. Just to have another voice on the matter.

But Katsuchi and Tetsu wanted an answer.

But as she stood at the center of the whole guild's attention, Elise wasn't sure what exactly her answer was.

* * *

Eleven years and seven months before the Kronos incident

Nashi wandered through the streets of the city as people continued to rebuild, which was a good distraction to avoid anyone seeing and recognizing her. After getting drunk the night prior, and now having a vicious hangover, Nashi just wanted to leave. She wanted to get out of this time period and back to their own. It would help a great deal.

Nashi took a deep breath and she reached the guild hall. She wasn't sure what exactly she'd find behind those doors, but she had to face it to see if her friends were present.

Opening the doors, Nashi saw that only a select few people were inside the guild, including her friends who were sitting in a corner and talking quietly. Nashi began to walk towards them, but someone got in her way before she got there.

"Mom?" Nashi asked as her mother stood in front of her. "What are you doing?" Her mother looked horrible, which was appropriate, and took a deep breath.

"Ultear said you guys were leaving today if Damien comes back" She asked quietly, and Nashi shrugged.

"It would be best." She answered. She nodded slowly.

"Mest is on his way." She whispered to Nashi, who nodded. That was good. "So I need to ask you some things. I need to know."

"...O-Okay?" Nashi wasn't sure she was allowed to do that. But again, if Mest was going to erase the memories of their presence completely, what was the harm?

"Was this..." Her mother gulped. "Was Steph's death caused by your presence?"

"No." Nashi answered looking down. "I can unfortunately promise you that."

"I thought as much." Silence, then, "Is everyone happy in your future?" Nashi smiled weakly at this.

"Yeah." She replied. "Everyone is happy. Of course around this time of years no one is...But for better or for worst we're happy." Her mother nodded.

"That's good." She looked down. "One more thing."

"Shoot."

"...Does Damien ever use that thing again?" Nashi made a face at her mother. She wasn't sure that was a safe question.

Nashi remembered that. When Taisho had attacked them during the fight against Devil Advocate, Damien's hand had been forced, and the control lost once more. She herself had managed to calm him down, but remembering Damien hoist Taisho up by his neck and suck the mans soul out of his body made her shudder.

"Your lack of response is worrying me." her mother said. "He does, doesn't he?"

"...Yeah." Nashi answered. "But nothing bad happened."

"Good, good..." Nashi and her mother both went quiet again, and Nashi understood that she was going through a lot.

"Look, mom..."

The doors opened.

Nashi turned to find Damien standing there, giving her a surprised look.

"Uh, hey." He said, not sounding so bad.

"H-Hey..."Nashi replied. "You okay?" Damien entered into the guild and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm fine" He answered, still sounding normal. "We leaving?" Nashi nodded.

"Yeah, I think. The others probably want to see you too, make sure you're okay." Damien nodded and moved past Nashi and her mother toward the others, who looked up as he approached.

"I should go over there, too." Nashi said to her mother. "We may need to go over the plans we have." Her mother nodded.

"Okay. I should go and see how you are...Younger you, anyway."

"Probably should." Nashi replied, and her mother moved forward, wrapping her into a hug. Nashi reciprocated the motion, hugging her mother.

"I'm proud of you." Her mother whispered. "My little girl...Acting so grown up."

"Don't make me cry." Nashi whispered back, feeling her eyes trying to do just that. Saying her goodbyes to her mother, Nashi went over to the others, who seemed to be whispering quietly once more.

"What're you guys talking about?" She asked. Drake moved to allow her to sit, and she did so.

"Just making sure I was okay." Damien said. "Let's move on. I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Which makes sense." Simon said, rubbing his eyes. "Let's talk about getting out of here."

"Yes, let's." Ultear said, crackling her knuckles. "So, we're going with Drake's plan, which is going into the house when it's empty and reading the book for the spell, correct?"

"Yeah, that's it." Drake answered. Ultear nodded.

"It's the best we have." She said. "Seeing as I don't know the spell."

"Okay so, here's what we'll do." Damien said. "We'll find the house, and Drake will listen and see if anyone is inside. If no one is, we go in and search for Ul's book. How long do you think we'll need, Ul?" Ultear crossed her arms and gave it some thought.

"I don't know." She replied. "I mean, it depends on what spell it was. It could be on the next page from where I left off or at the back of the book. I'll need to read the descriptions of the spells, too. So maybe ten or more minutes?"

"I don't think time is the problem here." Simon said. "It may be, you know, not getting caught breaking into a house in the capital city of Crocus. If we are caught it could go south for the timeline no matter what we do." Nashi nodded. This made sense. So not only did they have to guard the house so Ultear could find the spell that Kronos had used, but they also needed to take extra precautions to not get caught by the royal guard of the city.

"So we need to break inside quickly and then stay there to not get caught." Nashi summed up. "Sounds relatively easy."

"Yeah, when you say it out loud." Drake said. "With our luck something won't work out."

"Don't be that way." Ultear scolded. "It will work. It _has _too." Ultear was right, after all. If this didn't work, if they somehow failed...

Somehow, Nashi didn't find time jumping for the rest of her life very appealing.

**Yeah not much happened but give me a break. we moving slowly. i hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	203. Finding the Notebook

**Hey guys! Back again! So today we'll hopefully start to move on from the stalemate of progression the arc has been in thus far...Maybe. Some people have pointed out that the arc isn't to the point enough, and I agree 100%. It's just the two timelines make it hard to have much progression in either without the chapter being 6000+ words, you know?**

**That being said, enjoy!**

Nine years after the Kronos incident

"Say ah!"

"Elise knock it off!"

"Aw don't be such a downer!" Keita growled and once again pushed the fork away from his face, making Elise pout. "You're no fun."

"I don't want you feeding me!" Keita hissed to her, making her snicker. "Like jeez Elise, grow up a bit!"

"Where would the fun in that be?" Keita rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

"Sometimes I honestly wonder why I fell in love with you." He said. Elise nodded.

"Same." She said with a smirk. The two sat in silence for a bit at this, Elise silently laughing at embarrassing her boyfriend and said boyfriend being a little irritated with her. After all, it was far to easy to get him riled up regardless. She looked over at him with a smile, which made him look away from her.

In the end, Elise had chosen him.

Although the offer from Katsuchi and Tetsu was awfully appealing, she stood by her decision to stay. It pained her to know Kronos my be defeated by someone other than her, but if it happened it happened.

"Stop it." he said. Elise smirked and sidled up closer.

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently, pressing herself against him. "I'm just offering you my apologies."

"This is not how you apologize, Elise!"

"Why not?" Keita was now going from embarrassed to bright red as Elise got closer. "Does my closeness bother you?"

"With your father giving my a dirty look it sure as hell does..." Elise looked up to find that her father was indeed staring at them from across the guild. She smirked in his direction and held Keita closer, causing him to gulp nervously.

"Elise you're gonna get me killed..."

"Aw stop, Daddy's a pushover."

"I somehow doubt that!"

"Trust me, he won't do anything. Why would he? Not like you're doing it."

"Still, this is getting uncomfortable." Elise sighed and moved away from him, allowing the boy to take a deep breath and gather himself.

"I hate you sometimes." He said frankly. Elise laughed.

"Good." She answered. "Spices up the relationship."

"I'm not sure what you consider spices but hatred is one of them you're a little..."

_BOOM!_

Elise and Keita both jumped as the doors to the guild hall were thrown open. Elise looked over to find quite the sight.

Katsuchi, with Tetsu slung over his back, walked inside.

"Help..." He croaked out into the dead silence of the hall. "Please...Tetsu's...Please..." Katsuchi collapsed to one knee, Tetsu dropping lifelessly to the floor next to him. Elise sprung from her seat and ran to the men, looking down at Tetsu. The man looked horrible, bloodied and bruised.

"No..." She whispered, bending down. "No...Please..." She felt Tetsu's neck, and found a very slow pulse. The Iron God Slayer was just barely clinging to life. "Wendy! WENDY!" Before long the healer of the guild ran forward, and took a quick look at Tetsu.

"My God..." Wendy whispered. "He's nearly dead..." Elise started to slowly panic.

_No...Please not Tetsu..._

"Keita!" She cried out. "Help Tetsu up to the infirmary!" Keita sprung up immediately and went to get Tetsu off of the floor, carrying him upstairs towards the infirmary with Wendy right behind him.

_Not another life lost..._

Elise looked back at Katsuchi, who looked barely any better than his friend.

_Lost because of him..._

Elise clenched her fists.

_I should've gone with them!_

* * *

Elise paced back and forth in the infirmary as Wendy worked, slowing biting off each and every one of her nails. She occasionally stopped to look at Tetsu as Wendy worked, but resumed pacing after only a few seconds.

"Elise..." Elise promptly ignored the call from Keita and continued pacing. She stopped, looked at Katsuchi, who was sitting on a seat in the corner staring down at the floor, and resumed pacing again.

Elise didn't know what had happened. Tetsu was nearly dead, Katsuchi looked horrible, and Kronos was no doubt at fault for it.

Was this her fault?

Would she have been able to stop it had she gone with them?

_I should've... I knew I should've...This is my fault..._

Elise looked up as Wendy sighed and leaned back into her chair.

"Well?" She asked nervously. Wendy wiped her brow and looked over with a small smile.

"He'll live." She reported, making Elise breath a sigh of relief. "The wounds he sustained were brutal, but he held on just long enough. He'll be just fine soon."Wendy stood, walked over to Elise, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I take it you three need a minute?" Elise nodded, and Wendy went to leave. The door opened and closed, leaving Elise with the conscious Keita and Katsuchi, and the unconscious Tetsu. silence enveloped the room, and Elise just stared out the window for a bit.

Finally, Elise found her words and turned, walking towards Katsuchi. She knelt down in front of the man, staring at his bloodshot eyes.

"Katsuchi." She spoke, her voice shaky. "...What the fuck happened?" She stared up at the Fire God Slayer for a moment or two, as he stared straight downwards. After a few minutes, Katsuchi exhaled and clenched his hands together tightly.

"We found Kronos alright." He whispered, making Elise's stomach turn. "The bastard was just on his way out when we blew our way in." The man swallowed hard. "Wave after wave of peon attacked us...They didn't stop for so long, but...Eventually it was just us and Kronos..." Tears started to drop from his eyes as his body shook. "We had no magic power left for when he faced off against us...He was too powerful."

"...Kat..." Elise whispered, bringing the God Slayer close and hugging him as he started to cry.

"Tetsu was next, he said..." Katsuchi continued shakily. "S-Said he wanted to make me watch him die...As penance for our betrayal so many years ago..." The man broke into a sob. Seeing Katsuchi like that made Elise incredibly upset. "H-He...He started to torture him with our own magic...And Azzie's...And Icas'..." The sobs grew louder, and Elise felt insurmountable anger building up inside.

Kronos had killed her friends.

He'd killed Azzie.

He'd attempted on Tetsu's life.

He'd broken countless people to a sobbing, whimpering mess.

This had to end.

Elise broke out of her angry trance as Katsuchi started to laugh.

"There's an upside though." He said, sounding more confident. Elise released him and looked at him closely to find a twinkle in his eye and a smile plastered painfully on his face.

"What do you mean?" Katsuchi laughed some more and leaned back into his seat.

"Once he was done with Tetsu, he tried to escape." The man looked up. "And he got a face full of my fire." He then laughed even harder. "Just because he knew my magic didn't make the metal parts of his body immune to it...I must've melted it up pretty bad." Elise stared at Katsuchi for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Did he...?" the question need not be answered, everyone in the room knew what she meant to ask. Katsuchi looked up again.

"No." He croaked. "Bastard escaped...Although I can guarantee with the damage I did he ain't gonna last much longer." Elise watched as Katsuchi met her gaze.

"So...?" She asked. Katsuchi nodded.

"If we track him down, it's the end for him."

* * *

It was relatively easy guessing where Elise had disappeared to. Keita had watched his girlfriend get up and disappear from the infirmary at Katsuchi's insistence the next hunt would be their last.

Keita himself felt very unsure of the ordeal, but Elise herself must've been tormented. He could only guess what she thought knowing Tetsu had gone through such pain. Probably the same things she thought initially, and even still, about her own friends disappearing.

And as Keita approached the cemetery where Elise gazed own at the five gravestones, he knew full well he was going in blind. He walked in the gate and towards her, and she remained unmoved.

"...Why?" She asked, making him pause. She looked down at her feet. "Why, Keita?"

"Why what?" He asked weakly. She turned her head over her shoulder in his direction, but her bangs obscured her eyes.

"Why won't this nightmare end?"She asked. She turned to look back at the graves. "It's always something...my friends, Kronos, Katsuchi and Tetsu...Always something."

"Elise..."

"If I'd gone with them...I could've stopped it."

"Then why didn't you?" Elise looked back at him in surprise, but Keita had had enough. "I would've gone too."

"Yeah, but..."

"No, no buts." Keita interrupted. "Answer my question. Why didn't you?"

"I-I thought that's what you wanted."

"What I want is for you to be happy." Keita replied. "And if you going would've avoided this and gotten Kronos for hood, I'd have agreed in a heartbeat." Elise looked back at the graves, and Keita moved closer. "So what stopped you?"

"...I was scared." She answered. "I still am."

"Of Kronos?"

"No...Of what came after." Elise whispered. "What if we did get him? What then, huh?"

"..."

"What was I going to do then? Just go back to normal? Just be me? I don't know. After all, he's..."

"Not this crap again." Keita hissed, making Elise turn back to him. He glared at her. "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"Letting one event define who you are as a person." he crossed his arms. "What happened when you remembered the rape and torture at Phantom Dove?"

"..."

"You tried to convince not only me, but yourself, you weren't strong enough to move past it. And look at you now! You haven't let it break you."

"That's different..."

"How?" Keita stepped closer, and held her gaze. "Something horrible happened, and you had to move past it. And you did! And then Kronos happened. And for the past nine years, you've let that experience define you. Would I be correct?"

"..."

"My sister was only partially correct in saying you being unhappy was your idea of penance." Keita continued. "You think that holding onto what happened, letting it be the deciding factor in what you do, is how you'll repent. You hunted for him because of what he did. Our relationship, our love is a byproduct of what he did. Katsuchi and Tetsu wanted your help because of what he did. Your friends disappeared because of him and Azzie's dead for the same reasons." Keita made her look up with a hand on her chin. "You can't move on because of what happened. I should've said something sooner if I'd known this would happen"

"...Keita..."

"Not only that, but you've stopped acting for yourself." Keita stood tall. "You've hunted him for your friends. You gave up the hunt because you thought your friends would want you to be happy. You chose to stay here because you thought it was what I wanted."

"..."

"Well it's time." Keita said. "You need to move on. So as I see it, you have a choice. A, you could go after Kronos with Katsuchi and I and end this nightmare once and for all. Free yourself from your past by killing the man who started it all. Or B, you can ignore all of this and continue to be haunted by what happened. What are you going to do, Elise?"

"...I don't know, Keita...I can't..."

"Elise, I know this is hard. But right now you and you alone have the deciding power. This one time, don't think about what your friends, family, or anyone else wants of you. What. Do. You. Want? Will Kronos die by your hand? Or will more people continue to suffer because of him?" Elise stared at the ground for a long time, a breeze rolling past. "Kronos...He's the last anchor of your pain, Elise. Will you sever the chain? Or hold on because it's all you know now?" Elise remained silent, before she took a shaky breath.

"I want this to end." She whispered. "I'm...I'm done with this. With him."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely." She looked up. A fire was present in her eyes, a fire Keita remembered from eight years prior when they;d promised to find Kronos in the first place. "I want his head."

"So what are we going to do?" Elise took a deep breath, gathered herself, and looked at Keita with redefined purpose.

"I'm going to end this." She said. "We're going to get Katsuchi and end this. His time is up."

"You sure." The look Keita received lit a fire in his stomach. Elise smirked.

"I'm sure. Let's do this."

* * *

Eleven years and seven months before the Kronos incident

"This it?" Nashi asked, the five standing in front of a small house.

"Yep." Ultear answered. "My namesake's house."

"Anyone inside?" Simon asked Drake, who's ears twitched.

"Nope." He answered. "Empty." Damien rubbed his hands together.

"Good. Let's do this and get the hell out of here." Ultear nodded and reached forward, placing a hand on the doorknob. As per Nashi's expectation, the door was locked. Ultear jiggled the knob, but nothing happened.

"Damn, locked." She said, turning to Drake. "Guards?" His ears twitched again.

"Nope." He answered. Ultear cracked her hands and raised one up.

"Ice Make: Lockpick." The group watched as a small icy lockpick appeared in Ultear's hand. The woman also fashioned a small knife of ice, and turned to the door. "Make sure no guards or anyone else sees us."

"Can do." Nashi said. the group did their best to avoid looking suspicious, which was pretty damn hard, as Ultear jiggled the lock and tried to pick it.

"Damn it...Shit...Where's Elise when you need her?" Ultear asked, fashioning a new pick as her other one broke. She paused. "...Sorry, wasn't thinking."

"Just hurry up." Simon muttered. Nashi did her job and made the group look as inconspicuous as possible, taking a newspaper from nearby and pretending to look through it with Drake. She pretended to be intrigued by some random article, as did he.

"Anything?" She asked him.

"No." He replied, his ears moving occasionally. "We're still okay. No one around us is suspicious either. Just don't make it obvious."

"Fairly easy." As the four covered Ultear as she cursed, Nashi wondered how long they'd have to wait for the girl to find what she needed. Or if they'd get caught.

"Got it!" Nashi turned to find the icy tools disappear, and Ultear creaked open the door. The five slid in as quietly as possible, and regarded the house quietly.

"So, now what?" Drake asked.

"Search the house." Ultear replied. "It's a small notebook with Arc of Time written on the front. I have no idea where it could be, so split up. Drake, keep an ear open in case something happens."

"Can do." The group split up to search the house for the book, and Nashi wandered down a hall into what appeared to be a bedroom, Drake close behind her.

"Think it's in here?" She asked. Drake shrugged.

"Dunno." He answered, more focused on not getting caught. "Anywhere." Nashi did a quick search of the room. She looked in the closet, under the bed, on the bed, in the drawers, the bookcase, anywhere she might find it. She sighed and lowered the two books in her arms back down.

"This is stupid.' She stated. "I can't find it."

"Must not be in here." Drake told her. "The others might find it, so let's go check somewhere el...!" Drake's eyes widened, and Nashi raised an eyebrow as she stood up.

"What's the problem?" She asked. His face drained of color and, in a whirlwind of movement, Drake grabbed Nashi by the arm, dragged her to the closet, threw her and himself inside, shut the doors, and placed a hand over her mouth. She made a confused sound, but Drake hushed her.

_"She's back." _Drake whispered to her, making her freeze. "_Ultear's namesake just walked in." _At this, Nashi made herself stand perfectly still as she too picked up on the sounds of a woman walking around outside, humming a tune to herself. Had the others heard her enter as well? Had they hidden themselves? One could only hope.

Nashi started to sweat a bit as the woman entered the room, which made her back up into Drake's body to get away from the doors of the closet.

And at that moment. Nashi realized something.

Drake was...Well, his hand was not where it should've been. And in the dark closeness of the closet, Nashi became acutely aware of it.

"_D-Drake...Your hand..."_

_"Shh! She's in the room."_

_"Y-Your hand..."_

_"Nashi it can wait!"_

_"You're squeezing my boob!" _Nashi felt Drake jump in surprise and quickly release her, his arms falling away from her.

The closet suddenly felt very crowded.

It felt like an eternity Ms. Milkovich was in the room mumbling about looking for something, before finally it appeared she was leaving. Once Nashi heard the front door of the house open and close once more, she burst the doors of the closet open and freed herself and Drake. She covered her chest and turned to look at him, finding her best friend looking profusely embarrassed and not looking her in the eye.

"I..." He started. "I'm so sorry...I was really focused on her leaving that I didn't...I didn't mean too..." Nashi was sure that she'd never seen Drake so red or at a loss for words.

"I-Its fine..." Nashi replied. "You were just nervous is all..."

Of all the times silence had come over the pair, Nashi was sure this was the worst. Neither had any clue what to say to one another, and it was a horrible feeling.

"Nashi! Drake!" Both turned as Ultear burst into the room, Simon and Damien close behind. Ultear brandished a small book at them. "Got it! You guys okay? She almost caught us!"

"Almost..." Drake replied weakly.

"Y-Yeah..." Nashi agreed.

"Why're you guys so sweaty?" Damien inquired, making them both stiffen. "You look like you ran a marathon." Nashi realized she was, as a matter of fact, sweating pretty badly.

"Nerves, obviously." Simon replied. "She walked in here, after all. They probably almost got caught."

"Exactly!" Nashi answered, laughing and looking at Drake. "Right Drake?!"

"Y-Yeah! Right on the money!" Both fake laughed for a bit before realizing they were looking right at each other and looked away.

"...W-Well, let's get on with this." Ultear said.

Nashi was sure she'd never bolted away faster.

* * *

"Are you done?" Damien asked, Nashi slouching deeper into her seat.

"No, not yet...none of the spells describe a mist..." Ultear said, flipping a page. Nashi wasn't sure how long she'd spent sitting in the study of the house waiting for Ultear to finish up, but it was too long.

Thankfully Drake had taken up a position out of the study to watch for activity outside the house with Simon.

It wasn't that big of a deal truthfully, but the moment was so awkward and out of the blue neither had reacted smoothly. Nashi had never been groped, and Drake had not meant to do it. Couple that with the fact they had to remained pressed up against one another for far to long after wards, it just felt so awkward now.

"No...No..No..." Every no that escaped Ultear made Nashi less and less hopeful. Would they even find it at all? "No...No...N-Wait!" Nashi and Damien perked up as the girl looked at the book closer. "This may be it!"

"Describe any white mist?" Nashi asked.

"Kind of...Not exactly a great confirmation but I'm near the end of the book." Ultear regarded the spell closer. "It looks like a power magnification technique." The three present in the study grew into a confused silence.

"Uh, so why was he...?" Damien asked, scratching his head.

"I...Have no idea." Ultear replied. "Why was he trying to somehow magnify Nashi's power? That makes no sense."

"So I'd have an easier time kicking his ass?" Nashi asked, lightening the mood a bit. Ultear shrugged.

"Whatever. We got what we came for so let's get the hell out of here."

"How will this work, exactly?" Damien asked. Ultear paused as she paced the book back where she found it.

"Use it and hope for the best, I guess." She answered. "I don't have much to go on as to Kronos' intentions, so..."

"True." Nashi agreed. "Let's just hope we don't end up to far back or too far forward." The three left the study, and Nashi was enveloped by her thoughts. Would they make it back? Was the time travel a two way street?

Or would they end up some time else?

Only time, funnily enough, would tell.

**So some fun times in this chapter! I'm doing my best to speed it along, trust me. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	204. Ending the Nightmare

**Yeah, here we go again.**

**Enjoy!**

Ten years after the Kronos incident

_BOOM!_

The explosion rocked the base, causing both debris and men alike to go flying. Others inside the base ran towards the explosion, and they two got thrown away by black fire and shadows.

Four figures appeared through the smokescreen.

"This is it." Katsuchi said, cracking his knuckles. "The trail ends here."

"Yep." Tetsu agreed. "Let's fucking do this." Elise watched as more of Kronos' men met them in the opening they had created, watching them angrily. She was completely ready to tear through all of these guys to find the man responsible for everything that had happened.

"Let's get this over with." Keita said. "If he is here, it's ending now." Elise smiled as the men advanced on them.

"Let's go." She said, launching herself forward. She, along with Keita and the God Slayers, carved a path through the peons following Kronos' orders. She turned left and right, attacking anyone who got to close to her and tried to attack her. She turned and drove her club into another mans stomach, causing him to fall over in pain. Elise walked over and drove her foot into his face, causing him to black out.

The roughly sixty men present had been obliterated by the four in about thirty seconds.

"Well, that was a breeze." Tetsu said flatly, kicking a spare sword across the floor. "What now?"

"Kronos." Elise answered, looking around the different halls around them. She inhaled, and her eyes narrowed. She pointed to a hallway to the left. "That one."

"You sure?" Katsuchi asked. Keita, too, inhaled and looked for the scent.

"Definitely him." He replied. "I've never smelt a smell so metal and yet human before except for him. Let's go." The four of them ran down the hall, following the senses of the Dragon Slayers. They annihilated anyone in their way to get to him, no matter if they tried to stop them or ran away. They weren't allowed to run. Soon, the group reached a split path.

"Okay, which way?" Katsuchi asked. Elise took a deep breath and smelled as hard as she could.

"Left." She answered, pointing towards the left pathway. "I think so, anyway." Keita nodded.

"That's it." He agreed. "Let's go." Elise was about to go down said pathway before she heard people running up behind them. She turned and listened more acutely, and determined they were being flanked.

"They're coming up behind us." She stated. "We'll need to deal with them." Elise raised her arms to fight, but Katsuchi and Tetsu blocked her vision.

"You guys go and find the bastard." Tetsu said. "We'll take care of any of these guys." Elise looked at the back of their heads, before she smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, guys." Katsuchi smiled and turned to look at her, revealing the Fairy Tail emblem emblazoned on his bare shoulder.

"You deserve to end him." He said. "We just came for the satisfaction of knowing."

"Let's go, Elise. They'll be fine." Elise nodded and turned to run down the left hallway with Keita. Soon enough, the sounds of iron on iron and explosions sounded, and she smiled. They'd be fine.

It had been a year they'd been searching, and Kronos had finally be tracked down. Katsuchi had been correct is assuming that his black fire had done a number on Kronos' metal body parts. The man had just barely escaped them a month prior, and he'd been carried out by his own men. Elise had watched it on the lacrima vision.

After ten years, countless lost lives, and so much suffering, Elise could end it.

When she'd decided to go it a year prior no matter what anyone else wanted, Katsuchi and Tetsu, at least once he recovered, joined their search party. They also joined Fairy Tail, which made her very happy. The two of them were good friends, and them being around was quite exciting.

She'd avenge those he'd killed. Her friends. Azzie.

"You okay?" Elise looked over at Keita as he asked this, his hazel eyes watching her closely as they ran down the hall. She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered. "I'm excited, actually." Keita chuckled.

"It'll be all over soon." He said. "Kronos won't survive the day."

"Damn right he won't." Elise replied confidently. "I won't let him." The two continued on their way, and as the explosions from their friends died into the background, they approached a door.

The scent was strong.

"Behind the door." Keita said. "He's back there." Elise stared at the door, her heart beating incredibly fast. He was there, she could tell as well.

"Y-Yeah." She answered, voice shaky. The two were quiet, and eventually, Keita sighed.

"You want to do this alone?" He asked.

"You sure?" Elise asked. "This was your quest as much as mine."

"No." He answered, smiling. "I did this because I wanted to help you. And I have for ten years, at least as best I could. So please Elise, if you need to do this alone, go ahead and go." Elise watched Keita, her cheeks heating up as she smiled.

"I love you." She whispered happily, making him blush and turn his look away from her.

"Just go, would you?" He asked. Elise looked down at the ground before she looked back at the door and took a deep breath.

She slowly pressed a hand against the cold metal door.

She looked back at Keita, who nodded.

She applied pressure to the door, which caused it to creak open and allow her entrance into the room.

Elise entered slowly, the door slowly closing behind her. She walked inside as the lights turned on.

There we was, lying down on a bed

Kronos.

Elise walked up to the side of the bed and stared down at the man, who slowly turned his head to look at her. The very look on the metal covering half of his face made her blood boil.

So, you finally made it." His metallic voice croaked out. "The Iron Dragon Slayer was made it a decade later. As I expected you would."

"Shut your fucking mouth." Elise hissed, turning her arm into a sword and raising it high into the air. "I don't want you to talk."

"Oho please." Kronos said, a laugh escaping him. "Do you honestly expect me to believe you don't want to talk a bit?" Elise gritted her teeth at this.

"Shut. Up." She growled. "I came to kill you, and I will."

"By all means, please do." Kronos said, coughing. "Katsuchi's flames have made it impossible to survive much longer. Even if you hadn't made it I wouldn't make it to the eleven years anniversary." Elise glared down at the man as he referenced Katsuchi burning the metal in his body. "And since the Olympians have gone dark, I have no more support for this body."

"What?" She asked. "The Olympians?" Elise knew very well who the Olympians were, but they'd gone dark. "What do you mean went dark?"

"And you say you didn't want to talk." Kronos snapped immediately, and Elise sighed, lowering her bladed arm slightly. "Yes, they went dark. Been a decade, it has."

"Why?"

"Simple, really." Kronos coughed again, and Elise jumped in surprise as the metal in his chest groaned in it's attempt to keep him alive. "They lost what they wanted. All they wanted was her, and they lost her because of a miscalculation."

"Explain yourself, asshole." Elise growled. "I'm losing my patience. Why did you do what you did? What did they tell you to do?"

"What did I do? Oh it's quite simple." Kronos' flesh and blood portion of his face twisted into a smile. "They wanted Nashi." Elise felt slight vertigo at this. Why of all things would they want Nashi? And to not kill them?

"Why?" Elise demanded.

"It's truly sad that you don't know." Kronos said. "Had you known what she was, and what she was capable of, it would be quite the scene. But no, you don't know. Because your parents, and Natsu Dragneel especially, have hidden it from you. Which, again, is truly..."

"Get to the fucking point!" Why did they want her?!"

"Why? As I said, it is quite simple." Kronos narrowed his one eye. "They waned her for her power."

"Power? Stop with his vague bullshit and get to your point."

"Nashi Dragneel...Heh, no, it would be more apropos to call her by her true name. END, or Etherious Nashi Dragneel, believed to be potentially the most powerful demon descended from the Books of Zeref. Or rather, the half demon. And because of this, it is, or was, believed that she could surpass her father in power."

Elise stared down at Kronos, her mind sprinting through all of this information.

END?

Etherious?

The Books of Zeref?

What the hell was he talking about?

"...Nice try, asshole." Elise said, raising her blade once more. "That sounds like a bunch of bull to me."

"Does it?" Kronos asked. "Tell me, Elise Redfox, had anything ever happened to Nashi that seemed...extraordinary? Perhaps odd? tell me, had she ever survived against the odds?"

Silverridge.

Her blackouts that followed.

Elise's eyes widened. Kronos smiled once more.

"There's that look." He whispered. "Realization. You know I'm right deep down don't you?"

"Shut up..."

"I'm right, you know. She was a monster."

"Shut up...!"

"Her very existence was a threat to all that opposes who controlled her. It's a damn good thing she's gone, at the end of the day."

Elise swung her blade down and separated Kronos legs from his torso. The man barely flinched.

"Angry?" He asked, Elise didn't respond at first. Her mind was so muddled by what he was saying she could barely think straight. "Don't blame you. So was I when the Olympians went dark. But as I said, they lost what they wanted, so they had no reason to continue using me."

"..."

"Besides, they've left you alone. So if you hadn't gone after me, you'd have been able to live happily ever after."

"Never." She replied, looking up at him. "I'd never be able to live happily ever after, because of them AND you. And that's why I'm here. to kill you."

"Then go ahead and do so." He said. "Just know one thing."

"What?" Kronos smiled wide and got a crazy look in his eye.

"No matter what I was told, I enjoyed killing your friends. If only you'd been there."

* * *

Keita had done his best to ignore the sounds of angered screams and the sound of blades cutting through flesh and metal both, but he could no longer. He slowly opened the door and stepped inside to find exactly what had happened.

Elise was on her knees next to a bed, covered in oil and blood. She was shaking and crying.

Keita looked up, and his stomach twisted. He was pretty sure that the cut up and flesh and metal on the bed was the man they'd been looking for. He walked up next to her, trying his hardest to avoid looking at the mincemeat Kronos had been turned into.

"Elise?" he asked, causing her to acknowledge his presence with a nod. "...Is it done?"

"...Y-Yeah." She said. "I...I may have gone overboard."

"..." Keita slowly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"..."

"Elise?" He asked slowly. "Are...Are you okay?"

"...Of course I am." Keita looked down to find the woman looking up at him and, although she was coated it oil and blood, she was smiling brightly. "I...I've never felt so free in my life. The nightmare...It's finally over." Keita smiled.

"Yep. You're right. It's over." Elise stood and wrapped Keita into a hug, surprising him.

"Thank you." She whispered in his ear. "I couldn't have done this without you. I can't find the words..."

"Don't." Keita replied, hugging her back. "You don't need to use your words. I know." He winced. "But can we, I don't know, find you a shower? The oil and blood is...revolting." Elise laughed as they separated.

"My my Keita, want an invitation to join?" She asked slyly. Keita rolled his eyes.

"I just said you smell revolting." He replied. He smiled down at her. "I'll go find Katsuchi and get him to burn this mess. Then we can go home. And we can stay there." Elise nodded, tears escaping her eyes once more.

"Yeah. Let's go home."

* * *

Eleven years and seven months before the Kronos incident

Nashi watched as Ultear mumbled an incantation to herself, making weird hand motions as she did so.

"I'm going to take that as her practicing." Simon said, making a weird face. "Because she freaking me out."

"Same." Damien said. "But hell if it gets us home I don't care what she does." Ultear paced back and forth as she muttered the chant to herself, so Nashi looked around. The Domus Flau didn't look any different then it did eleven years in the future, but it was just an arena. Getting inside hadn't been too hard, but watching Ultear try to remember what she had to do was just wasting time.

Nashi purposefully avoided the part of the arena were Drake was standing and looked back at Ultear as she clapped her hands.

"Alright, I think I got this." She said, walking back to them. "We just need to recreate the scene."

"Okay, what do we do?" Simon asked. Ultear looked over at Nashi.

"For one reason or another, he was targeting you. I don't know if it matters if we target you, but lets do it just in case." Nashi nodded, feeling just a little anxious. She knew now that the spell, for one reason or another, was to amplify her power. How it malfunctioned and did what it had she had absolutely no idea. The boys all backed up a bit to somewhat recreate Kronos' attack to separate her from the others, and Ultear raised her hands, once again muttering the incantation.

As it had before, a white glow and mist surrounded her, and then a sphere surrounded her and prevented her from escaping.

"Attack it like before!" Ultear shouted. Nashi did as she was told, attacking the sphere that surrounded her. Like before, her friends rushed to her and tried to free her as well.

And then, the screeching.

Nashi and the others covered their ears as the screeching started again. The white magic started to turn blood red, and the magic rippled like water.

"I think it's working!" Drake shouted as the screeching continued. "I feel like cutting my own ears off like before!"

"Let's just hope it works!" Ultear shouted.

And, it ended.

Nashi looked up to find that the mist had disappeared. The screech was over as well. So, if it was working they it had before...

Nashi looked down at her hands, and stared at them. She felt a little weird staring at her hands so intently, but soon enough, she started to fade away.

"Okay, well, it worked." Damien said, everyone else also starting to disappear. "Now, the question is: Where the hell are we gonna show up?"

"I think that isn't the right question." Simon said weakly. "The correct question would be when are we going to show up?"

Simon was right.

As they all faded away into the flow of time, Nashi wondered just when they were going to end up next.

* * *

Natsu woke up and stared into the darkness. He wasn't sure what had woken him up, but as he stared at the wall of the bedroom, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

After a few minutes of contemplating this, he decided he was thirsty.

He got up as quietly as he could as to not wake Lucy, sadly he heard her rolling over, presumably to ask him something.

"Hmmm?" She asked.

"Thirsty." Natsu whispered back. Lucy didn't respond at first, but eventually she rolled back over and ignored him. Smiling, Natsu got up and tip toed out of the room and walked towards the kitchen. He grabbed a glass and filled it with water, and stared down at it for a moment. Was he really thirsty?

Shrugging, Natsu walked over to the window and stared out of it, watching the waterway of Magnolia flowing quietly. Natsu sipped his drink and pondered things. You know, life, meaning of the universe.

Usual shit from three in the morning.

Sighing, Natsu finished the water and returned the glass to the kitchen, and then proceeded to return to the bedroom. He yawned as he did so, almost excited about doing so.

He paused as he passed a certain door.

Natsu didn't want to turn around, but he did regardless. He stared at the closed door with a neutral expression, unsure as to what he was doing.

He walked towards it regardless.

He reached the door and placed a hand on the knob, contemplating what he was doing.

He still didn't know as he opened it and walked inside.

He'd opened his daughters old room.

He walked inside the room and stood in the center of it, drinking it in. He very rarely went inside the room. Hell, it had remained closed her years. But as he stood in the center of it, Natsu couldn't help but be overwhelmed by nostalgia.

_"Goodnight."_

Natsu looked over at the bed, where he could practically see his daughter, at the beginning of her training, curling up in bed.

Goodnight sweetheart." He mumbled to himself.

_"You want me to help you pack, or...?" _He looked over at the empty drawer, where he could see his daughter packing her stuff and moving out.

Natsu thought of Nashi, like he always did. But standing in the center of her room had been a bad place to do it.

"Natsu?" Natsu turned to find Lucy standing in the doorway, watching him closely. "What are you doing?" Natsu stared at her for a moment before he turned around again.

"Nothing." he murmured. "Nothing at all."

"We swore we'd never step in here again."

"Yeah, I know." Natsu lowered his head. "I don't know what I'm doing." The pair went quiet. Natsu just stared at the ground as images of his daughter passed through his mind.

"I almost can't believe it's been so long." Lucy said. "Feels forever since I've seen her smile."

"..."

"...I know there's a good reason we haven't entered the Games in a while, but Luke is so excited...I don't want to be worried but I can't help it."

"...He'll be fine." Natsu replied, turning to Lucy. "I sealed it away when he was conceived." The married couple stared at each other before Lucy sighed.

"I know what Nashi was but..." She crossed her arms and looked away. "I feel horrible that part me is relieved she disappeared. So that she couldn't be used by whoever was after her..." Lucy growled. "I'm a horrible mother."

"Don't think like that." Natsu growled. "You're not relieved she's gone, you're relieved her powers were never used by those other than her." Lucy stared at the wall, and Natsu turned to face her fully. "And look at Luke. He's been raised great."

"I know, I know..." Lucy muttered. The two stared down at the floor, and Natsu closed his eyes as he remembered the look she'd given him as she disappeared inside the Domus Flau.

"It's a week away." Natsu said.

"Yep." Lucy agreed, "Can't believe it."

"Twenty years?"

"Uh huh." Lucy turned. "I'm going back to bed. Take your time." Lucy left the room, and Natsu looked back out the window.

It would be twenty years since the day Nashi and the others disappeared long ago in a week.

Natsu had given up on seeing her again a long time ago. Whatever had happened, no one knew how to solve it. Elise had killed the man responsible a decade ago.

Yet somehow, as Natsu left the room and slowly closed the door, his heart was heavier than it had been in fifteen years. As to why, he had no idea.

As if he could of.

**I'll just have leave it there for you. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	205. Late Homecoming

**Terribly sorry for my excursion, guys. Was pretty sick these past few days, and I was in no mood whatsoever to write.**

**Enjoy!**

Twenty years after the Kronos incident

"Luke get the hell out of the bathroom!"

"Give me a fucking minute!"

"You had ten! Open this damn door!" Luke growled and stormed towards the door in his towel and flung the door open, revealing Lilly and Kaida standing there. Kaida was wearing a black tank top and red pants, and looked unimpressed. Lilly was wearing a denim skirt with black stockings, and a red shirt. Lilly squeaked and covered her eyes at the sight of Luke's bare body, but the man kept his gaze solely on Kaida.

"Fuck. Off." he hissed. The purple haired girl seemed unamused.

"Stop taking so long, pretty boy." She snarled. "Lilly and I want to go downstairs."

"Who said you had to wait for me?!"

"We don't, I just wanted to yell at you." Kaida smirked, and Luke felt his temper about to unhinge. She reached forward and patted his chest. "Don't be too long!" She sauntered away. Lilly close behind, and Luke growled before slamming the bathroom door. He walked back to the mirror and resumed combing his hair, deep in thought.

The girls, Kaida and Lilly, were too of his close friends, and his teammates in the Grand Magic Games. Kaida was the daughter of Erik and Kinana, and used takeover magic to transform into a fifteen foot long purple serpent with wings. Luke thought it fit her really well, seeing as she had a pretty toxic and viper-like personality.

Lilly was Gajeel and Levy's second daughter. She resembled both parents quite a bit, with shorter black hair and hazel colored eyes. She often used Solid Script magic but if pushed, she wasn't half bad with Dragon Slayer magic either. She was a bit shy and reserved, and often times the voice of reason when Luke and Kaida went after each other, as they often did.

Luke grinned as his thoughts drifted to the competition they'd taken part in. They'd won it, which came as a surprise to no one. The rest of the guilds involved weren't any of the ones Fairy Tail usually butted heads with, so it wasn't exactly a big deal. Luke wanted to go head to head with Ally, but she'd informed him that Sabertooth wasn't entering.

Oh well. Some other time.

Luke finished combing his hair and got himself dressed, throwing on a pair of jeans and clipping his keys, passed down from his mother, to his belt. He threw on a plain white t-shirt and his black vest. As he left the bathroom, he mentally prepared himself for Kaida's attack on his fashion choices, but she could go to hell. He was, after all, going to receive it. He knew the girl well by now. As Luke descended the stairs of the hotel, he spotted a familiar mane of silver colored hair. The man was wearing what appeared to be white pants and jacket. He approached it slowly from behind, and eventually reached forward to surprise the man.

"Gah!" He shouted in surprise as Luke grabbed his shoulders. He turned and swatted at Luke, making him laugh. "Fuck off, Luke! I zoned out!"

"Sorry Cody." Luke replied, laughing as his friend rubbed his chest. "Don't zone out then."

"Whatever..." Although Luke could tell he'd irritated Cody, the guy would be over it soon enough. He never stayed mad.

Cody hadn't been in Fairy Tail as long as Luke (Which was pretty damn hard seeing as Luke had been born into it), but he'd been around for roughly five years. He'd joined saying he wanted to be taught by Katsuchi and Tetsu, God Slayers who had been friends with Luke's sister. At first the two had been reluctant to teach him, but they agreed and did their best. Cody was now one of their more prominent members, with two God elements to utilize whenever he wanted. He narrowed his golden eyes at Luke, who smirked.

"Calm down." He advised his friend, who rolled his eyes.

"Coming from the King of anger." Cody replied. "And we both damn well know who your Queen is." Luke narrowed his eyes as well.

"You shut up." He advised. "I am not that volatile."

"If it's about Kaida, you can go from calm to murderous in about thirty seconds."

"Whatever." Luke said, making Cody laugh as they entered the bar area. After a few seconds of scanning, Luke located Lilly and the viper in the back of the bar, talking with their other two teammates. The twins Jason and Wade Lake. The twins were exactly identical, which didn't help that they both utilized Duplication magic that allowed them to create multiples of themselves. Luke felt strange that as he approached the group, he couldn't tell which twin was which unless one identified for them, but it was like they did it on purpose at this point.

Both of them had scruffy looking brown hair. The twin on the left had a red shirt on and jeans, while the one of the right had a blue shirt. Luke poked his cheek with his tongue.

"Which one?" he asked Cody, who crossed his arms.

"Dunno." he answered. "They always switch it up." The two boys watched the twins closely before the one of the left reached for his drink.

"That's Wade. Maybe." Luke said. "He's had a bad cough lately so he drinks a lot."

"You think? They might have thought about covering that." Cody answered. "I think it's Jason."

"I'm betting Wade."

"500 jewel?"

"You know it." The men shook hands and walked the remainder of the distance between them and the table, gathering everyone's attention.

"Ah, pretty boy finished combing his precious golden locks." Kaida mocked, leaning back with a smirk. Luke did his best to ignore her, even if he did shake his head.

"At least I attempt to comb my hair, Kaida." He snapped back. Kaida narrowed her eyes.

"That fact that you would even suggest that I don't..."

"Stop." Lilly said quietly, placing a hand on Kaida's shoulder. "It's not important."

"Does he know me?" Kaida asked incredulously. "I do comb my hair!"

"Stop." Lilly repeated. Kaida huffed and crossed her arms, pouting like a small child. Luke sat down and turned his attention to the twins. He needed to identify which was which.

"So Wade," he said to neither. "Hows the cough?" The twin on the left cleared his throat.

"Alright." He answered. "Did you win?" Luke grinned as a wad of cash flew onto the table in front of him.

"I did." He said, smirking at Cody, who seemed a bit miffed.

"Let's not get salty." Jason advised. "We did win the Games after all, we should be happy!"

"Only because of Luke." Lilly said, hands in her lap. "He devastated a lot of the enemy." Luke shrugged.

"I didn't do that much."

"Damn right. I did I lot too." Kaida said.

"No you didn't." Luke replied.

"Wanna bet?"

"Two for two? Sure, let's go."

"Guys!" Lilly scolded, making both of them back off and the others to laugh.

"Have you guys always been like that?" Wade asked. "Genuinely curious."

"As long as I can remember, yeah." Kaida said. "He's impossible to get along with."

"Ditto, Viper." Luke snarled, making her growl and Lilly rub the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"Please just end my suffering." Lilly murmured, sinking into her seat a bit. Luke did feel bad for Lilly, ever since he could remember the girl was trying to prevent a fight from starting. Most of the time she failed, but she tried.

"We have to go to the stadium soon." Cody said. "Security might not let us in if we're too late."

"Which is stupid because we're the competitors." Wade muttered. "Not some dude who's gonna cast a spell and attack the Queen and..."

"Wade!" Lilly hissed, Luke staring at the table. Kaida had also gone quiet. "What have I said about your filter?!" Wade seemed to realize this mistake quickly.

"Oh, uh..." He muttered weakly, Jason and Cody looking like they couldn't believe how stupid he was. "Sorry Luke, Kaida...I-I wasn't thinking..."

"Clearly." Kaida whispered. Luke fought back the sadness buried deep within and smiled.

"I didn't know her." He said. "Kaida either. It doesn't hurt as much as you think it does." Wade smiled appreciatively at the reassurance, and Luke's eyes slid over to Lilly, who was regarding him closely. He nodded at her, and she rolled her eyes.

He knew she knew he was lying.

It hurt a great deal.

Nashi.

Luke didn't know anything past her appearance.

He had no memories of a time where the very thought of the five who had disappeared were pushed out of everyone's minds and they tried their absolute hardest to move on. It was for the best after all. But...

Luke clenched his fists as he recalled watching his mother cry as she looked at pictures of the girl he never knew.

He loathed that memory.

His mother rarely cried. Luke could count on one hand the amount of times she'd truly ever cried. Not the 'Oh that's a great Mother Day gift' cry, but a sad one. And that was one of them.

The only reason he was where we was now, as strong as he was and surrounded by his friends as a victor in the Games, was for her. And Kaida's brother. And Simon, Damien and Ultear. He'd gotten strong for them, and for his parents, and for the whole guild. At least, that had been his intention.

"Let's just go already." Cody said, standing. "It's gotten quiet thanks to Wade."

"I apologized..." Wade murmured. Luke stood anyway.

"Yeah, it's too hot in here."

"Sorry." Kaida said with a laugh. Luke stared at her as she laughed at her own joke.

"Don't apologize." Luke said. "You're icy heart and bitchy demeanor were a great counter to it."

"You are _dead, _Dragneel."

"Oh am I now?"

* * *

"Want something to eat, Lilly?"

"No, I'm good."

"How about a drink?"

"Thanks anyway."

Luke wasn't watching as he was walking ahead of them, but he could distinctly hear the Lake twins flirting with Lilly. They always did. It was no secret to anyone that they both liked her and sadly, both vied for her affection. It turned into a competition most days, and Luke was astounded that Lilly had the patience for any of it. Then again, she'd probably gotten it from constantly stepping in between Luke and Kaida. Suddenly it made a lot more sense how she handled it.

"She doesn't need to walk so close to you, Wade!"

"Me?! What about you!" Luke sighed as the twins argued over something so arbitrary and pointless.

"I can't stand them some days." Cody hissed as the arguing continued. "Can I just burn their faces off?"

"I'll help you." Kaida whispered. "I can spit poison."

"Neither of you are going to do that." Luke said. "Not until I break them off of her." The group proceeded quietly towards the Domus Flau (At least the three in front did, the back was quite rowdy) and as they got closer, the twins appeared to have run off in search of something. Lilly appeared next to Luke and sighed heavily.

"Having fun?" He asked, grinning toothily in her direction.

"Totally." She answered weakly. "They just don't ever let up."

"You can practically smell the desperation." Cody remarked.

"I mean they're great and everything, but I'm not interested." Lilly said. "I'm just not."

"Eyes on someone else/" Kaida asked. This made Lilly blush profusely.

"W-What?! No! N-Not now!"

"Aw, look how embarrassed she got!" Luke teased as Lilly hid her face. "Who is he? Or is it a she?"

"Stop it!" Lilly wailed, the others laughing.

"Calm yourself." Cody said. "We're just having fun."

"It's not fun." Lilly muttered. "I'd rather have Kaida and Luke fight." Luke was about to talk when he caught a right hook to the mouth. He looked up and glared at Kaida.

"Feel better?" The girl asked Lilly, who simply shook her head weakly before continuing to walk towards the stadium. After giving Kaida what she deserved, and the twins returned with something Lilly had apparently sent them after, they reached the entrance to the stadium, which was being guarded by royal army soldiers.

"Identification please." The squad leader said. The team formed up and gave the man the cards they'd been issued by the Games so they could be identified, and he let them pass.

"Let's just get this over with." Lilly murmured. "I just want to go home."

* * *

Elise watched as Ross announced the other teams in the order that they had come in over the past week. She was not, however, it a very good mood today.

Being back inside the Domus Flau...Was very unsettling.

The arena first off, was so heavily guarded it looked ready to stand against a dragon attack. Second off, she couldn't help but lose herself in thought as she stared down at the arena.

_The last place they ever set foot...Was right down there._

Elise frowned as she thought this, because it wasn't something she genuinely liked to think about these days. Ever since she'd lost her mind somewhat and hacked Kronos into tiny pieces she'd done her best to avoid thinking like that. But now, standing inside the stadium where her friends were last scene so long ago, it was very hard for her be in a very good mood.

"Mommy!"

Elise was brought out of her thoughts as she was tackled in the legs. She smiled and looked down as a small girl no older then five was clutching her tightly. She had black hair and red eyes, and reminded Elise very much of someone else.

"Hey Lana." Elise greeted, making the girl smile as Elise bent down and picked the girl up. "How are you?"

"I'm good!" Elise smiled.

"That's good. Where's Daddy? I didn't see him."

"Daddy should be around here somewhere..."

"Holy fuck Lana, there you are!" Elise looked over as the father of her daughter, Keita Cheney, ran over and glared at his daughter as Elise held her. "Don't run off on me!"

"I saw Mommy!"

"I don't care! I thought I lost you! Then you definitely wouldn't have wanted to see Mommy!" Elise chuckled at this as she put the girl down.

"He's a got a point Lana." She said, the girl looking up at her. "If I'd known you'd run off on him, I'd have been mad...And then Daddy's face would've given you nightmares." Keita visibly shivered, but Elise ignored that. "Don't run off in crowds, okay?"

"Okay." The girl agreed. Elise rubbed the girls head.

"Go find Grandma and Grandpa, okay? They wanted to see you."

"Okay!" Lana waded through the guild members to find her Grandparents, and Elise looked over at Keita, who winced.

"Really, I'm so sorry." He whispered. "I...I didn't realize."

"You're lucky she's okay." Elise said. "You know how much she means to me."

"Of course I do Elise, she's my daughter too..." Keita said. Elise smiled.

"So she wasn't much trouble then?"

"Not any more than usual, no." It was often Lana misbehaved, so truthfully hearing she'd run off did not surprise Elise in the slightest. No matter what it was the girl always managed to get herself into trouble, much like Elise. She didn't seem to be very shy or introverted, which Elise liked honestly. She did not want to be the only open one in this family. Keita sat down next to her and looked out over the field.

"You holding up okay?" He asked as the third place guild, Frozen something, walked out.

"Yeah." She said. "Twenty years, Keita. The wounds have healed. I have you, Lana, Lilly and the rest of the guild. I'm fine."

"I believe it." Keita replied. "I think what you did to Kronos speaks for itself." Elise looked down, but managed a chuckle.

"At least I offed him." She said. "Bastard deserved everything he got and you damn well know it."

"There's a good reason that I helped you for so long." Keita said. "I very well know he deserved that."

_"And now, for the first time in twenty long years, in first place with 97 points, Fairy Tail!"_

* * *

_"And now, for the first time in twenty long years, in first place with 97 points, Fairy Tail!"_

Luke looked up at this, as it was their cue to walk out onto the field.

"Ready?" Cody asked, and he nodded. Together the six of them walked out onto the field and were greeted my an explosive amount of applause, majority of people losing their minds.

"There's so many people man!" Wade said, waving and laughing. "All cheering for us!"

"We deserve it." Jason agreed. "We won, after all!"

"Just wish they'd stop screaming..." Kaida muttered. "I'm gonna go deaf."

"Don't." Luke told her with false worry. "You won't be able to hear me roast you then."

"Maybe they should scream louder, that way I won't have to listen to your annoying voice anymore. My my, what a fucking loss that would be" Kaida snapped.

"Guys seriously we're about to be given the trophy!" Lilly said. "Stop the fighting for like five minutes tops!"

"Fine." They both answered hollowly. The six of them reached where they were supposed to be, and old man Ross cleared his throat.

_"And now ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the beautiful Queen of Fiore, Hisui!" _Luke looked up as the people cheered. An older woman with jade colored hair approached them, flanked by heavy duty guards. The closer she got, Luke bowed a bit.

"Your Highness." he said. Hisui chuckled.

"Don't be so formal." She said. "it's not required." Luke looked back up and nodded, but frowned as Hisui stared at him. She noticed he'd caught her, and smiled weakly.

"What?" He asked.

"Your eyes." She said. "Your sister had them too." Luke stiffened a bit, and Hisui's expression darkened. "Sorry, perhaps I should not go there."

"Maybe." Luke replied weakly. Hisui smiled widely for the crowd and offered Luke the golden cup, and he took it happily, his face dancing in the metal.

"Hand it over, Dragneel. Let me see." Kaida said, but Luke ignored her. He looked down lower on the cup, where the winners names were scratched on. The cup had a huge stand so that they could put all the names on, but he was looking so for in particular. He soon found it.

_Nashi Dragneel._

_Drake._

_Elise Redfox_

_Ultear Fullbuster_

_Simon Scarlet_

_Damien Dreyar_

Sure enough, their names had been etched onto the metal years before. Luke handed the cup off to the others so they could prance around with it. He turned back to Hisui and she smiled at him.

"Also Luke, I'd like to take this chance to invite you and your whole team to the royal all we host at the palace. I'm sure you've hear of it, but I wanted to personally...!"

A horrible screeching noise cut the Queen off, and Luke covered his ears for fear of going deaf. The whole stadium vibrated as the sound continued, and Luke looked around in confusion. What was happening?

Someone tapped Luke's shoulder, and he looked over to find Cody there. The man pointed upwards, and Luke looked up. A blood red magic circle was forming across the entire stadium, and the screeching did not stop.

Were they being attacked?

This was bad.

The circle began to glow violently.

The screeching stopped at this. Luke looked up at it.

And it exploded, blinding him.

"Kyaaah!" Luke was about to ask how had screamed like that before a hard object came into contact with him, and he fell to the ground as it lay on top of him.

"Ow..." The thing muttered.

"What happened?" Another one, this one male, asked.

"When are we?" A female's asked. Luke was still pretty dizzy, but he could make that out at least.

"Uh, guys? I landed on someone!" Whatever had landed on Luke, it got off of him on it's own. So the talking falling explosive from the sky was sentient. Luke was sure he had no idea what was happening. He felt someone grab his arm and hoist him up from the dirt, and he stumbled to his feet. "Are you okay?" It asked.

"Ugh..." Luke hissed, rubbing his head where it had made first contact. "Yeah, I'm okay. What the hell...?" Luke began, opening his eyes to ask his question.

His world froze.

It was not a thing that had fallen on him.

It was a person.

A human woman.

She had bright pink hair, a bit shorter than Luke, and reminded Luke of his parents a great deal. She was incredibly pretty too.

_"Your eyes. Your sister had them too."_

Luke's mothers eyes stared back at him, a beautiful brown and laced with concern for his well being.

Nashi Dragneel made a face as she examined Luke closely.

"Why do you smell like my Mom and Dad...?" She asked weakly, and Luke couldn't believe what he was seeing. His sister... _His sister was right in front of him!_

"...Nashi Dragneel?" He asked weakly. She nodded slowly.

"Yes...?" She said.

"I'm...We're...You're my..." Nashi looked really confused, and the crowd had gone silent.

Until Ross could contain himself no longer.

_"AM I REALLY FUCKING SEEING THIS RIGHT NOW?! ARE MY EYES DECEIVING ME?! ITS NASHI DRAGNEEL AND HER TEAM FROM TWENTY YEARS AGO! OH MY GOD! NASHI DRAGNEEL HAS LANDED ON TOP OF HER OWN BROTHER?!"_

"Wait." Nashi said. "He...He just said..." Nashi looked back at Luke, who felt tears streaming down his face as he scanned hers, doing his best to figure out if this was some disgusting dream. "...Brother?"

"Nashi..." Luke whispered. "I...I'm your little brother...It's been twenty years...Welcome home."

**Yeah I'll just leave this here. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	206. The Thirty-One Year Jump

**Yes yes, we're all terribly excited...**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi understood perfectly well that the crowd was screaming their heads off, but it was all droned out by the spiraling she felt inside and her ears ringing.

31 years.

They'd jumped forward 31 years.

The future Nashi found herself in was 20 years on the dot after they had disappeared from the timeline originally. A future where they'd been missing for twenty years.

Her head spun again. This was all too much.

"This is insane..." She heard Ultear mumble behind her. "31 years ahead? How the fuck..." Nashi returned her attention to the boy in front of her, who claimed to be her little brother. Now that Nashi got a good look at him, it was extremely obvious. Not only by scent, but by how he looked it was blatantly obvious.

"So..." she said weakly, gaining his complete attention. "You are...?" He stared at her for a moment before realizing Nashi wanted an introduction.

"Luke." He said, smiling. "My name is Luke." Nashi nodded slowly.

"...Luke." She said. "Good...To see you I guess. For the first time." Luke nodded with a small laugh.

"Yeah, you to sis."

"ULTEAR!"

"Gah!" Nashi turned to find Juvia squeezing the life from her daughter. Although that could be a bit of an exaggeration usually, it was not this time. It was quite apparent Juvia was squeezing her daughters life away. The rain woman was wailing at the top of her lungs as she buried her face in Ultear's chest, who looked so stunned and out of breath she couldn't react properly.

All it took for their guild to storm the arena and find their missing children was Juvia going first. The whole guild flooded into the stadium and Nashi found herself and her friends surrounded by people elated to see her. The whole experience was throwing her off. Sure, it hadn't been long for her so she was a bit underwhelmed, but for them it had been twenty years.

"Nashi?" As if by magic, her name being spoken created a pathway between who had spoken and Nashi. Following the voice she knew so well, Nashi found a pair of people she knew very well. Her parents.

Both looked so old and worn out. Their hair was grey in areas, their faces were wrinkled, and they looked so tired. However, both her Mom and Dad were wide eyed as they stared at her. She couldn't help but smile at them.

"Hi." She said, giving a small wave. "Sorry for coming home so late...My mistake." That was all it took for her mother to surge forward and wrap her in the most meaningful hug Nashi had ever received. She squeezed her mother back as she felt the woman begin to cry. Nashi too felt tears threatening to fall.

"I can't b-believe it..." Her mother whispered. "My baby girl...My baby girl is home..." Nashi laughed weakly.

"Yeah..." As soon as her mother let go Nashi was enveloped into a hug by her father, who didn't speak a word. Nashi was willing to bet he didn't to prevent crying in front of her. She squeezed the old man back as he refused to let go of her.

"...Nashi?" Another path was created from the voice, and Nashi turned, eyes wide with surprise.

"...Elise?" Nashi regarded the thirty-something year old woman with surprise, and received the same look back. They stared at each other for a moment before Nashi smiled and giggled. You're so old. What happened to you?" Elise surged forth and hugged Nashi tightly, who happily accepted the affection.

"You're back..." The Iron Dragon whispered, voice shaky. "I can't believe it...You guys are home..."

"Yep." She said. "We're home."

* * *

"And after that we opened another portal with the malfunctioning magic and time jumped again." Drake finished, sitting between his mother and his sister Kaida, both of whom were hugging that respective side of him, the whole guild's attention on him as well. "Next thing I know we interrupted the closing ceremony. Sorry guys." This caused the guild to laugh, and Nashi smiled at this.

"We should've figured that." Laxus said, a hand on Damien's shoulder as Mira clung to him like there was no tomorrow. "Arc of Time malfunctioning and sending you all jumping through time was definitely not something we anticipated."

"Same." Damien agreed.

"Did you mess with anything in the past?" Gray asked his daughter, who could still barely move or breath. "Because that would be rather unfortunate to put it lightly." Ultear managed a shrug.

"Dunno." She croaked out past Juvia's death grip. "We might have on accident...Simply being there was a threat."

"Uh huh..." Damien muttered. "But we didn't! Right guys?! Right?!" Nashi wasn't sure why the big guy looked so dodgy and nervous, but she nodded.

"Sure didn't." She said, mind flashing back to the black blast of magic engulfing Steph. "Didn't stop anything from happening as it should've." Her father shifted, but kept his arm around her.

"Doesn't matter." He stated flatly. "What does matter if you're here now. And safely." The guild raised their mugs and cheered, making Nashi smile. Even after twenty years Fairy Tail knew the best answer for everything was liquor. Nashi got her own mug and drained it, still trying to wrap her mind around the whole situation. They were twenty years in their future.

"Nashi." Nashi looked up as her mother said her name, looking to the woman sitting on her right. "I know you fell on your brother, but did you say anything to him?"

"No, not really." She replied. "I didn't get the chance." Her mother nodded at this and turned, calling the boy over. Luke walked over to them and smiled at Nashi, who returned his smile.

"Formal introduction." Lucy said. "Luke, this is your sister Nashi. Nashi, this is your little brother, Luke." Nashi stood and hugged the boy, even though he'd been going for a handshake. He laughed and returned her gesture, making her smile.

"I don't think it's appropriate to refer to you as the younger brother." Nashi said. "You're older than me." Luke made a face, but nodded.

"I guess you're right." He said. "That means I get to be the older sibling!" Nashi wasn't sure how excited he was was a good thing, but she let it slide. She sat back down in between her parents, and Luke pulled up a chair. "So, you were jumping through time?" He asked. "That's so cool!"

"Sure, on paper maybe." Nashi said. "Kind of scarier doing it. No idea when you're going to end up, no idea how you're going to get around if it;s too far forwards or backwards...Scary man." Luke nodded and shrugged.

"Still, it's awesome that I actually got to meet you." He said. "I...I didn't think I'd get the chance." Nashi knew his tone. It was one used when they were pushing down the pain inside. Nashi had a feeling Luke often used that tone if she was the subject. "So good to meet you."

"Likewise." She said. "Last I saw you were still inconveniencing our mother by making her back and feet hurt." Their mother laughed at this, and Luke just rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"I'm not apologizing." Luke stated. "She made the choice to carry me to term. I have no responsibility for that."

"As if I'd have gotten rid of you!" Their mother said. "I'm not your father!"

"For the last time Luce, I didn't say anything like that!" Their father said angrily.

"Sure you didn't, pops." Luke retorted. "If Elise was any indication, pregnant women are a _nightmare._ I felt so bad for Keita." Nashi grew silent at this. It was quite surprising to hear that Elise and Keita were together, and even had a daughter. Nashi had yet to meet the girl, but only because Elise was going around to the others first, it seemed.

"Hey, Nashi." Nashi looked over as Luke called her name. His smile had faded, and he knew looked very serious.

"You guys can still jump around time, right?" He asked. Nashi nodded.

"I can't fathom why we couldn't." She replied. "Why?" Luke looked down at the floor, not saying anything more at first. eventually though, he looked back at and met her gaze again.

"Are you guys going to leave?" He asked. "To try and go back to your own time?" Nashi stared at her brother for a moment, unsure as to what her answer was. She hadn't actually gotten to talk to the other yet about trying to get back to their own time, so she honestly couldn't answer that question.

"Let's not think about that or anything." She said. "That's not important right now. What is important is, like dad said, we're here now. So let's enjoy it." Luke smiled.

"Good idea."

* * *

"Wow, really?!" Kaida asked, Drake nodding as he sipped his beer. "That sounds _awesome. _I wish I'd have seen that."

"it wasn't that cool." Drake replied. "All I did was stand up after a God Slayer Secret Art and beat her to a pulp."

"Yeah exactly! That's awesome!" Drake made a face at his sister, but didn't say anything more. He then turned to his mother.

"She always so excitable?" He asked. He hadn't been at all surprised to learn his parents had had another child. In fact he'd kind of expected it. His mother shook her head.

"No, usually she's calm and collected like you and your father. She's probably just excited cause you're here."

"Where is dad?" Drake asked, sipping his beer again. "Deadbeat shithead didn't show for his daughters showing in the Games?"

"He showed up for a bit." Kaida answered him. "He cheered me on and everything, but Jellal and them had to leave so he's been gone a few days." Drake stared at his sister, dumbfounded.

"He _cheered _for you?" Drake turned to their mother. "You and Dad didn't get a divorce right? We have the same Dad?" His mother rolled her eyes.

"Of course you do, Drake." She said. "Erik just...acted a lot differently with Kaida. Maybe you disappearing caused him to have some sort of epiphany, I don't know, but he was there if she needed him. Always."

"Asshole." Drake muttered, making his mother slap his arm. "What?"

"Drake and I know you and you're dad didn't have the greatest relationship but seriously, he did his best. I'm sure he'd come as soon as he could if he knew you were back."

"That a fact?"

"Yeah, I'll show you." Their mother stood, and looked at Drake with a defiant smirk on her face. "I'm going to go and talk to Erza, and we'll get a hold of Jellal."

"Yeah I'm sure Jellal will come racing back." Drake joked, making his mother roll her eyes before going to find the Scarlet haired woman. This left Drake and Kaida alone, and he turned back to her, looking right into her bright purple eyes.

"So," She said.

"So," Drake said as well. "How's life now? Good?"

"I guess." She said, head resting in Drake's lap, looking up at him. "Always good for some fun."

"Good, good." He said. "You always get into life threatening situations too?"

"No, not really."

"Must skip a generation then." This made Kaida laugh, and Drake smiled.

"I've always heard a lot about you." This made Drake look down at her as she smiled up at him. "I can't count how many times I've wished we could talk like this."

"Wish. Granted." Drake replied.

"Seriously." Kaida said, sitting up and getting closer to him. "Talking about you and the others was always off limits...So to meet you like this is like a dream come true." She hugged him, spreading warmth through Drake's upper being. "So welcome home, big brother." Kaida laughed. "Holy shit I got a buzz from saying that to an actual human being and not my mirror or anything." Drake laughed at this, making his sister laugh.

"Good to meet you to, little sister." he said, feeling a jolt go down his spine as she smiled at him. He wasn't saying a word about it, though.

"Drake?" Drake looked past his little sister to see a woman standing there. A woman that had already squeezed him half to death and cried into him, and he smiled at her.

"Elise." he replied. "It's good to see you...Even if you aren't looking good."

"Oh shut up." The woman replied, wiping her face of the tears. "I'm just so happy...Sorry I lost it."

"It's fine." Drake replied. "What's up?" Elise smiled.

"I wanted you to meet someone. Ready?" Drake nodded, and Elise brought her hand behind her back, and patted something. "Go on Lana, he doesn't bite." Drake watched, bewildered, as a small girl resembling his friend appeared there, watching him timidly.

"Hi Lana!" Kaida said. "How are you?"

"G-Good..." Lana whispered, still staring at Drake, who raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Lana just gripped her mothers pants and looked away.

"Sky man is scary." She mumbled, making Drake choke on his own saliva.

"Sky man?!" He demanded, Kaida giggling her head off and Elise rolling her eyes.

"Your appearance must've scared her." She said. "It wasn't exactly quiet."

"Quiet and falling out of the sky with a horrible screeching sound and explosions are totally the same." Drake replied bluntly.

"Whatever you say, Drake." Elise said absentmindedly. "It's okay Lana, he's your mom's friend." Lana approached slowly, and Drake stayed where he was and smiled at the girl

"Hi." He said. "I'm Drake, your moms old friend."

"H-Hi." She said. Drake too advantage of how close the girl had shuffled and scooped her up, making her freak out at first, but soon her freak out was replaced with laughter as Drake guessed exactly what she was thinking. It seemed like a game, and it certainly entertained the girl.

"What now?!" She asked. Drake listened carefully.

"You're wondering why Kaida isn't as good at this game as I am." He said, making Kaida choke on her drink.

"I can do it too!" She said, looking at Lana. "You're wondering what I'm talking about."

"Lucky guess." Lana said, shrugging her off and making Kaida fall backwards.

"Sorry Kaida," Drake said. "Guess you're just lucky."

"Guess so..."

* * *

Simon jerked awake and looked around in the near jet black darkness of the bar. He quickly assessed what he remembered, and dictated that everyone had fallen asleep in the bar celebrating their return. He smiled as he leaned back and realized his mother was using him as a pillow. He looked over in her general direction and could sort of make out her figure in the darkness, but only just. She seemed to be smiling in her sleep, which made Simon smile to himself.

_Everyone was so happy we're back...As expected._

Slowly getting up as to not disturb his mother and wake her, Simon escaped her grasp and made for the door of the bar, seeking the colder outside air to relieve the stuffy feeling he had. He moved past Damien, Drake, Ultear and Nashi, all of which were sleeping in different kinds of piles with their families as well, which made him smile even wider. Once he'd made it outside he yawned and stretched in the darkness, looking around the empty street.

Simon took time to assess the fact that they were twenty years past where they had intended to return. By no means was this what they had intended to happen, but this was their future. Their family, and the result of their actions.

And even given how their families had reacted, Simon wasn't sure they could stay. If he could stay.

"Simon?" Simon turned to find Ultear standing in the doorway o the bar, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry." He said. "Did I wake you up when I left?"

"No, I was already awake." She stood next to him, and a breeze rolled past them. "Something bothering you?"

"No." He answered immediately. "I'm okay."

"You sure?" Simon didn't answer right away, and Ultear giggled. "You can tell me, you know. I won't tell anyone else if you don't want me to."

"It's not anything like that." Simon said. "I'm just...Thinking."

"About?"

"This." He answered. "Twenty years ahead of our original target. And if we're staying here." Ultear nodded at this, making a face.

"Do you want to?" She asked. "Stay here, I mean."

"I don't know." He said. "Part of me is happy our families got to see us again, but..."

"...We could reduce the time they didn't to basically nothing if we managed to get back to our own time." Simon nodded, and Ultear looked out into the street as the lamps burned.

"It's not that big of a deal, really." Simon said. "Nothing to stay up about."

"We should just give it a few days." Ultear told him. "To gauge if we want to stay in this time or not." Simon considered this for a moment before he nodded.

"That's a good idea. Who knows, maybe we'll prefer this time over our own."

"Maybe." Ultear agreed, and another breeze rolled past them. "Man, it's so nice out."

"Yeah," Simon agreed, looking over at the girl as her hair blew around in the breeze. "Sure is." She looked over at him and smiled, which made him blush slightly.

"Whatever we do, we do it as a team." She told him. "So don't sweat it right now. Okay?"

"Okay." Ultear moved closer and hugged him, surprising him a little. He returned the gesture, and she laughed.

"Don't be so awkward, it's just a hug."

"I'm not being awkward."

"Sure you aren't."

"Am I interrupting something?" Simon looked over towards the door to find Damien standing there, looking a little confused.

"Nope." he said, releasing Ultear. "Nothing." Damien narrowed his eyes at Simon, who hoped to God the boy didn't pursue his suspicions. He'd get red and that wouldn't help anything.

"Whatever." Damien said, shrugging as he slowly shut the door to the bar.

"Needed some air?" Ultear asked. Damien shook his head.

"No. I need to go and do something."

"What?" Simon asked, but Damien ignored him as he passed them both and began to walk down the street.

"Don't worry about it." he answered, waving to them over his shoulder. "I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon. Say I'll be fine, My mom might be a bit difficult."

"Understandable, it's been twenty years for them..." Ultear muttered. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Damien!" Simon hissed, slightly louder but not to loud so that he'd wake up anyone else. "What are you doing?!"

"Don't worry about it!" Damien replied, still not stopping. "Just say I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon!" Damien's wings unfurled from his back, and he took off into the open air away from Simon and Ultear.

"Jeez that guy..." Ultear said, keeping her hair out of her face from the air Damien disturbed by taking flight. "What is he doing?"

"No idea." Simon replied. "Let's hope he knows."

* * *

Damien couldn't tell the others what he was doing, but he knew full well where he was going and what he was doing.

_"I plan to be back before twelve years pass."_

Damien's words from thirty-one years rang clear in his mind. It was the promise he'd made to the villager who had promised to take Steph in. He'd said twelve years.

Thirty-one and twelve were no where near each other.

Damien had no idea what he was going to find returning to that village, but he had to know. He had to know what had become of his sister in the twenty years that passed since his promise was overdue.

_For the love of God...Please have nothing bad have happened._

**Jinxing things as per usual, I see. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	207. Some Answers, Good and Bad

**I had an authors note about the review issue, but it's solved now...**

**Enjoy!**

"He did what?" Nashi asked, tracing a finger around the top of her mug. Simon sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"He left." He reported. "He wouldn't say why, but he's gone to go and do something."

"And he didn't even say what..." Drake mumbled, crossing his arms. "Wonder whats wrong with him."

"Hopefully nothing." Ultear said. "He got pretty defensive when we asked..." Nashi looked down at the table, wondering just what Damien had in mind. Even if she thought her absolute hardest, Nashi had absolutely no idea what he could've been doing.

Had he done something in the past?

Nashi pushed the worries from her mind as Ultear cracked her back and sighed.

"Whatever." She said. "We've got something else to talk about, and it's far more important than Damien's mystery mission."

"Care to explain?" Drake asked. Simon crossed his arms and lowered his gaze.

"The matter of whether or not we're staying here, in this timeline." His words cast a silence over the table, as no one had no idea what their answer was. Nashi herself wasn't sure what she wanted. On one hand, going back - or forward, who the hell knew - was risky because they had no clue how to control just how they were supposed to get back. Or they stay here, in a time where they didn't belong, twenty years behind in the innovation and the people they knew, which didn't seem all that great either. Overall Nashi was no a fan of their current situation.

"I suggested last night that we give it a few days." Ultear spoke up. "See if we, you know, want to even stay here at all. You never know right?"

"...I guess." Nashi agreed, taking a sip from her mug. "Plus we really have no way of getting home to our exact time period unless we're lucky as all hell."

"Uh huh." Drake said, downing his drink. "Guess we have to wait for Damien anyway so a few days it'll be." Simon nodded, and then his gaze drifted to behind Nashi.

"Shit." He mumbled. "There's Mira." Nashi looked over her shoulder and saw that Mira was standing there. She felt a rock settle in her stomach.

"So who's telling her?" Ultear asked.

"You guys should." Drake spoke up. "You guys saw him leave so it's only fair, you know?"

"I guess you have a point." Simon agreed. Looking over at Ultear and nodding, they both stood and moved to go and speak with Mira, who looked over as they approached her.

This left Nashi and Drake to their own devices. Now normally this was not a big deal. However...

_"You're squeezing my boob!"_

Nashi flushed as she recalled getting groped by her best friend. Of course he hadn't meant to do it and of course he'd released her the moment she told him, but they hadn't actually managed to speak since. The whole atmosphere since the incident had left them unable to come up with the words. Drake coughed.

"So..." He said, not even looking her way.

"Mm hm." She replied, staring down at her cup. After a few awkward seconds passed, Drake groaned.

"Ugh fuck this." He looked right at Nashi. "Look, I'm sorry for groping you. I didn't mean to, obviously, and I'd never do it again. Outside of your permission, I suppose."

"Why would I ever let you do that?"

"Not my point." Nashi grinned as he gathered himself. "So again, I'm sorry, so let's stop avoiding this like preteens who saw each other naked at summer camp. We cool?"

"Of course we are." She replied. "It's fine. Like you said, total accident. It's was more the fact that you squeezed than anything else."

"I was panicking, I'm really sorry."

"If you stop apologizing I'll forgive you." Nashi said, making him smirk and nod once before looking out the window.

"Can I be honest with you, Nashi?" He asked, and she hummed a positive response. "I'm not sure I want to go back to our timeline."

"Huh?" Nashi asked, confused. "Why?"

"Well, I don't know." He looked back at her. "I know we've got a lot back in our time we've got to do and loose ends or whatever, but I'm just not sure I want to go back." Nashi gave this viewpoint some thought. She could see why staying in the future would be an alluring option.

But...

She couldn't agree with it.

"We don't belong here." She said, making him raise an eyebrow. "I mean, I want to stay for a few days as well but we just don't belong. we should be in our mid to late thirties, Drake. We're twenty years behind here and that isn't something I want to deal with constantly."

"True." Drake agreed. "I'm jut spitballing." His eyes flickered. "Although here... We don't have to deal with any threats." Nashi lowered her own gaze.

She knew what he meant. Arguably better than he did.

_"You think you understand, don't you? That because you're so powerful you can stand up to them? That's exactly what they want..."_

Blake's words ran through Nashi's mind, and it made her apprehensive. What had the Olympians wanted when they sent Kronos after her and the others? Why had it happened? Why were they after her specifically?

And were they still waiting?

"You don't know that." Nashi said. "They're still watching for all we know. We're still in danger as long as they exist." Drake nodded in understanding.

"Yeah. Ask Elise, maybe she knows something about..."

_BAM!_

Drake and Nashi jumped as the door to the bar was swung open, and none other than Crime Sociere stormed inside lead by none other than Jellal.

"Simon?!" The blue...slightly grey haired man shouted. "Where are you?!" Nashi smiled as their intent became clear. Jellal saw Simon, and the speed in witch the old man rushed to hug his son was inhuman. Meteor was not used, but Nashi eyes still had trouble trailing him.

"Jeez!" Simon shouted. "Dad! Dad! Can't breath!" Jellal didn't reply, just hugged him tighter. Nashi wasn't exactly sure if the sounds coming from Simon were healthy. She smiled over at Drake, who looked rather indifferent. She frowned.

"What?" She asked. He looked over at her.

"If Crime Sociere if here, that means _he's _here too..." Nashi realized this as well, and smirked at her friend.

"Erik!" She shouted, making Drake choke. "Erik! He's over here! Erik!"

"Nashi!" Drake growled, clamping a hand over her mouth. "Shut up!"

"Drake?" Both looked over as Drake's father Erik came into view. He looked so much older and ragged, but the look on his face was pure shock. Nashi slithered out of Drake's grasp and stood off to the slid to watch the exchange. Drake coughed.

"Uh, hi." He said, pocketing his hands as he stood. "You look like shit, old man."

Erik did not reply.

"I see you and Mom hooked up again, huh? Good job I suppose. Also heard that you were around a lot more. Suppose fucking one child up makes it easier to spot your faults with the second. Whatever, it's good to see...!"

Drake was cut off as Erik engulfed him in a bone crushing hug, causing him to gasp in surprise. Or for air, Nashi couldn't tell.

"Thank God you're okay." Erik whispered, barely audible. "I...I can't even express how happy I am."

"Dad is this a display of affection?!"

"Of course it is you jackass." Erik broke the hug to stare at his son with a wide smile and tears trickling down his face. "You're my son. I love you for fucks sake." Drake looked downright stunned, and Nashi could assume why. He'd probably been expecting to get banter and insults thrown his way, so Erik reacting the way he had had thrown him so far off he couldn't recover.

"I...I uh..." Drake said, unable to conjure words, making Nashi laugh silently. Erik hugged him again.

"When Erza and Kinana called, said you'd all returned...God I've never seen Erigor fly the airship so fast. No one even slept...You're really home..." Drake slowly hugged his father back with a contemplative look on his face.

"Yeah...Us too." Nashi looked over at Jellal, who had finally released Simon.

"What happened. Tell us everything!"

* * *

"And then he used the malfunctioning spell to get thrown here." Simon finished, sitting to Nashi's left as they explained the situation to Jellal. Jellal hummed, hand rubbing his chin.

"Fascinating." He said. "I've never heard of Arc of Time behaving in such a way...Meredy!" Meredy looked over at Jellal from the bar as he called for her. "Did Ultear ever talk to you about possible ways for Arc of Time to malfunction?" Meredy made a face as she thought.

"I don't think so." She said. "If she did it must've not been very important because I can't remember."

"Hm." Jellal made a face. "Interesting. And you say that this man, Kronos, had no idea what had happened either?"

"Not from what I could tell." Nashi explained. "He looked pretty stunned himself, right Ul?" Ultear, who was on Simon's right, nodded.

"Yeah. But it's never happened to me either. Is there any reason you can think of Jellal?" Jellal frowned.

"No." He looked at Ultear. "Have you experienced a malfunction before?"

"Not before the Games, no."

"The Games...So before you stood inside the walls of Crocus."

"I guess so, why?" Jellal stared at Ultear for a few seconds, before he looked down.

"It would make sense...Time doesn't flow correctly here anymore...The blood red color of the magic..."

"Huh? What was that Dad?" Simon asked. Jellal ignored him for a moment, looking deep in thought. After another few seconds Jellal turned his head another way, this time towards Macbeth, who was leaned up against the corner of the bar listening to the conversation.

"Macbeth, what do you think?" He asked. "Could it be the Time Wound?"

"Definitely very likely." Macbeth answered without hesitation. "Having Arc of Time specifically malfunction within the city...It fits."

"It does. Interesting..."

"Can someone please explain what you're talking about?" Nashi said, raising her hand to garner their attention. "I'm really confused. Time Wound? Time doesn't flow correctly? I'm seriously confused." Jellal chuckled.

"I suppose this would be rather confusing without the correct knowledge." He grew serious and regarded the three of them closely. "It's rather simple. The reason you three cascaded through the annals of time is because of Ultear Milkovich."

"Huh?" Ultear asked. "What does she have to do with this?"

"Ultear was in the city during the Eclipse incident." Jellal explained. "And while she was here, she diverged the timeline from one where many lives were lost. Using the spell Last Ages, she gave all of her time to set the world clock back a single minute. In doing this, however, she caused something else to happen."

"Which is?" Nashi asked, knowing full well their answer. Jellal leaned back.

"Time within the city of Crocus flows incorrectly. And manipulating it...Has apparently disastrous effects."

* * *

Damien landed on the outskirts of the town he recalled leaving Steph at, and took a deep breath and he looked around. the thirty-one years he'd been gone had definitely had an effect, because it was much bigger than before.

"Please be here..." Damien murmured to himself. "Please...Just please be here."

He wandered inside the town and looked around, looking for anyone that might have looked like his sister. He didn't spot any blondes that reminded him of his sister, but then again all he had to go off of what she might have looked like was Edolas Steph, who was seventeen last he saw here. So he really had nothing to do go whatsoever.

That didn't matter at all. He had to find her.

After a few minutes of randomly wandering the streets, Damien decided it would be best to check at some kind of bar for her, or even information. Anything right now to quell his rapidly increasing heartbeat. Walking towards a smokestack he saw in the distance eventually led him to what was obviously the local watering hole, so he opened the doors and walked inside, making a beeline right for the counter, and the bartender.

"What'll you have, kid?" The man asked gruffly.

"Nothing." Damien replied, a few regulars watching him. "I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"Does a blonde woman by the name of Steph live here? She'd be in her thirties if it helps any." The man made a face.

"Only blonde like you're describing used to live by Devin's ranch." The man replied, setting down a clean glass. "He raised an orphan blonde by that name."

"I-I'm sorry, used to live by his ranch?" Damien asked. "As in she no longer does?"

"Not last I checked." Damien looked down at the table, a million possibilities flying through his head. "She your aunt or something?"

"...N-No, sister." he replied. The mans face softened.

"Ah, sorry. Didn't know. Could've guessed by the face, though. You remind me of her a little." Damien slowly retreated from the bar, before he sprinted out and towards the ranch, which if he recalled correctly was to the west of town. As he sprinted, he tried to push any bad possibilities from his mind.

"Just...Be okay...!"

Once he made it to the ranch, Damien stopped at the door and slammed his fists against the door. Once it was answered, a young man maybe in hid mid-twenties stood there.

"Can I help you?" The man asked, looking a little tense.

"Blonde...Woman...Steph..." Damien said through labored pants as he caught his breath. "You...Know her?"

"Steph?" The man asked. "How do you know her?"

"Do you know where she is?" Damien asked.

"Look, uh, I don't know what you're doing here but..."

"Who is it?!" An older voice shouted from inside, making the man sigh.

"No one Dad." he said. "Ignore it."

"Let them in! I own this property so Ill talk to them." The man rubbed his eyes and growled before stepping aside and allowing Damien inside. Damien proceeded towards the voice, which led him to the living room, where an older man was waiting.

Wait...

Oh.

The mans eyes widened as he looked over at Damien. Damien managed to grin lightly.

"Sorry I'm late." he told Devin, who couldn't speak. "Still know where my sister is?"

"...It's...Oh my God son...You haven't aged a day!"

"My God you have no idea how right you are." Damien said. "Sister. Where is she?" The man watched Damien for a moment or two longer before he sighed.

"Right, right. Sorry kid, your sister...ain't here." A rock settled in Damien's stomach.

"Where is she?"

"No idea."

"What?! How could you not know?!" The man began to walk out of the room.

"Gimme a sec, kid. I got to go find something." Damien waited what seemed like an eternity before Devin returned, gingerly holding a piece of paper in his hands.

"What is that?" He demanded. Devin handed it to Damien.

"You're sister left this for me about twenty years ago." he said. "The Grand Magic Games were being broadcast and she saw you and your friends disappear...She ran off. Here, read it." Damien took the paper carefully, and regarded it slowly. The ink was smudged and barely legible, but he would manage.

_Devin,_

_I can't describe how I've loved acting as your daughter all these years. The people in this town are like family to me and I wouldn't have had it any other way. But, times change, and I cannot, and I will not, sit here and be your precious little farm girl any longer. My brother, the others, they're out there somewhere. i don't know what I'm looking for or how I'm supposed to find it, but I'm going to bring them home. And then we can all go home together. That's what Onii-chan would've wanted. I know the only reason I'm here today is because he disappeared...But I'm going to be the reason he comes home. I swear to God I'll find him... I'll save my brother. I owe him that much for saving my life. I swear on my life I'm going to return the favor. I don't know if I'll ever return, or if you'll be mad, but please understand this is what I want. And that's what you always wanted for me, right Devin? What I wanted? Make sure the townsfolk stay happy for me. I'd be upset if Carol or Richard were upset cause I'm gone. _

_I'll give you a piece of wisdom my very own brother told me. Sometimes you have to fight through hard times, but don't lose hope and cry. Be happy and and stay strong. Maybe one day I'll come home. If I don't...I'm so very sorry. But no tears, not for me. If I could do it, you can too!_

_And don't worry, I'll write you!_

_~Steph_

Damien stared down at the paper, brought out of his stupor as a teardrop fell from his eye and hit the paper. Devin looked out the window.

"Few years back...Got a letter that said she was sick over in Stella...Never got another letter." Damien looked over at Devin with wide and hurt eyes, and the man placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Y-You mean...?"

"I'm sorry kid. I don't think she survived to see her older brother again."

* * *

They had only returned to the guild hall in Magnolia a few hours a few hours ago, and Nashi already felt overwhelmed. So many things about her home had changed, and she wasn't sure she was comfortable with it. The town layout was different in a few places, the waterway had been drained in an area and rerouted, and the market had changed it's layout too.

That and Damien had not come back yet.

Maybe he hadn't known they'd gone back to Magnolia, but he'd be back soon, at least they hoped as much.

"So what did your Dad say again?" Drake asked, making Simon sigh.

"After he figured out what caused us to get sent backwards and then forwards, he talked to Macbeth about figuring something out and they disappeared back to the airship...Haven't seem him since."

"Wonder what they're doing." Nashi said, doing exactly as she thought. Jellal had seemed incredibly interested in figuring whatever out, and he'd gone to do exactly that. After he'd explained why they'd gone back in time, at least his theory, it made a lot more sense to Nashi. If only that helped them get around.

"So, now what?" Drake asked as their previous conversation died away.

"Dunno." Ultear replied. "We still have to wait for Damien before we really do anything concrete."

"Man this is just so strange." Simon said. "Like, everything's so different."

"Yep..." Nashi agreed. "I just feel like staying here would be weird..."

"Luke I'm telling you it's a bad idea!"

"I don't need your god damn advice Kaida!" Nashi looked over as the bickering pair approached them, yet glared at each other. "Like seriously let me do me!"

"If I let you do you you'd have died several hundred times by now! You're a god damn idiot!"

"Oh man how are you still single?! How many guys could turn down a girl who constantly attacks their choices?!"

"Maybe other guys who have half a fucking brain would appreciate someone to knock some fucking sense into them!"

"I don't need your sense!"

"Fuck you!"

"No fuck you!" Nashi watched with a bemused smile as the two butted heads, only for Lilly to flick them both in the head.

"Stop it." She said.

"He/She started it." They both muttered under their breath. Nashi shook her head at this.

"Watching them do that is pretty funny." She said.

"Although they sometimes do it for some petty shit..." Drake muttered under his breath. The group laughed at this before Luke made his way over to them.

"Hey guys!" he greeted with a smile. "Enjoy being back home?"

"It's pretty jarring." Nashi said. "What's up with you?" Luke smiled even wider.

"I came to talk to you, actually." He said, making Nashi raise an eyebrow.

"Okay. What is it?" Luke just watched her before he looked down chuckled.

"I never thought I'd get to say this, but..."

"...?" Nashi waited, and Luke looked back at her.

"Nashi, I want to fight you!"

**So this chapter was a roller-coaster, huh? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review!**


	208. Nashi vs Luke

**With this chapter, we'll hit 2000 reviews! That's insane!**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi stared at her brother, blinking a few times in confusion.

"Huh?" She asked. Luke grinned even wider.

"I want to fight you!" He repeated. "I've always wanted to go toe to toe with you, and this is my chance! What do you say?" Nashi wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't really in the mood to fight, and she wasn't really interested overall.

"Eh, I don't know." She said. "I don't really want to." Watching Luke deflate so quickly made her feel pretty bad.

"Aw, come on!" He said. "Let's have a quick fight! Don't be serious if you don't want to, that's also fine! Please?"

"Luke, I really don't think it's going to happen."

"Why not? Not in the mood or something?"

"Well..."

"I'm sure it's not that." Drake spoke up, making everyone look at him as he smirked. "She's probably afraid of hurting you to bad." Nashi narrowed her eyes at Drake, who just winked at her. What was he getting at?

"She won't hurt me that bad." Luke replied.

"She's a pretty devastating combatant." Ultear said. "She might go overboard."

"I don't care!" Luke shouted, now getting agitated. "I just want the chance! I honestly don't care if she puts me in the infirmary!" Nashi stared at her brother for a moment or two, but he refused to back down. They continued their staring contest before Nashi sighed and looked down at her lap.

"If you really want to." she said.

"I do!"

"I'm not planning on holding back."

"Good."

"If I hurt you to bad it's not my fault."

"Fine by me!" Nashi smiled at her brother. She knew very well all the answers to her statements before he said them. The answers ran in the family.

"Alright then. I suppose I could use a workout."

"That's the spirit! Let's do this!" Nashi stood and cracked her back.

"Give me a few minutes to limber up." She said. "Then we'll get this started."

* * *

"Ready?" Luke asked. The two of them were standing on opposite ends of the field behind the guild hall, which was usually used for stuff like this. Nashi shrugged.

"When you are." She said. "One question though."

"Hm?" Nashi turned and made a face.

"Was bringing along the whole guild really necessary?" The entirety of the guild was settling down to watch the siblings duke it out, and the hype was making Nashi uncomfortable.

"I didn't tell them to do this, you know." Luke said. "They heard us arguing and came all by themselves."

* * *

"Is there a reason you're so miffed?" Drake asked his sister, who was practically leaking with anger. "Cause it's throwing me off." Kaida growled.

"Luke is such a fucking jackass." She hissed. "I kept telling him this was a bad idea, and he wouldn't listen to me."

"What's the big problem?" Drake asked. "I mean surely he's not that big of a pushover, is he?"

"No, I just don't think it's a good idea." Drake frowned at the girl, but she refused to elaborate. Sighing, he leaned away from her and returned listening to Ultear and Simon's conversation.

"You think we need to set up barricades or something?" Ultear asked warily. "Knowing this family it might be a good idea to avoid collateral."

"Also knowing this family I don't know how much good any barriers would actually do." Simon replied with a small chuckle, which sounded more like it was alleviating his own worries then showing he had none. "Besides, I think it's fair to say Nashi has got this in the bag."

"I'm not sure I can agree with that." All heads turned to find Elise standing there, smiling. "Luke's grown pretty strong in his pursuit to be just like his sister. Saying he has no chance isn't true."

"Fair enough." Drake said as the older woman sat next to him, Lana close behind. "But we've never seen him fight." Elise laughed.

"He devastated the Games." She said. "Anyone who went up against him didn't last over five minutes. One of the only reasons they even won the Games at all was because he was so good."

"I know it's been twenty years Elise, but Nashi ain't no pushover either." Ultear reminded her, making the woman chuckle as Lana climbed on her lap.

"Guess we'll just have to find out."

* * *

"So, we ready to start?" Luke asked. Nashi nodded, finishing er stretches by jumping up and down a bit.

"I'll give you the first go." She said. "Test the waters a bit, little bro." Luke smirked

"Fine by me." He said. He reached for his waist, where Nashi had already noticed their mothers golden keys. Question was, what spirit was he going to have to go at?

Nashi was baffled, however, when Luke simply waved the key above his head.

"Star Suit: Leo!" A golden light enveloped Luke's body, causing Nashi to shield her eyes as it attempted to blind her. Once the light died, Nashi lowered her arm and looked back at her brother.

Luke was now wearing a tuxedo with a bright red tie, which he adjusted slightly with a smirk.

"What the hell is that?" Nashi asked.

"Advanced Celestial Spirit techniques." He answered with a grin. "I prefer to up and close and personal approach." Before Nashi could reply, Luke catapulted forwards, his hand glowing with light. He slammed into Nashi, and she soared backwards before she flipped in mid-air and landed, watching as Luke shot forward again and with another blast of light, blinded her. She covered her eyes, which gave Luke all the openings he needed. She received a punch to the gut and the face, which sent her careening away once more. Coating her body in fire, Nashi waited as Luke advanced again, and timed herself carefully.

As Luke got close, her body erupted in flames, causing him to back up as the heat intensified.

"Up close and personal?" Nashi asked, cracking her neck as Luke held his ground. "Unless your fearless of the flames, you'll want to fix your approach." Luke laughed.

"You think your fire scares me?" he demanded. "Have you forgotten who our father is? I'm not stranger to fire."

"Then I'll aquatint you with mine!" Nashi attacked him back, swinging her fists and kicking Luke any chance she got. Nashi dodged all of his attacks and dealt her own back in kind, which forced him into a corner of defense as she hammered away at him.

"Back off!" He shouted, landing a decent hit to her upper body, which forced her backwards. She brought her hands together and threw a fireball at him, which he dodged by jumping into the air and looking down at her. Luke shot like a rocket down on top of Nashi, the golden light exploding outwards from the hit. Nashi grabbed him by the arm and flung him away from her, but he wasn't having it. He stayed right up in her business, now forcing her on the defensive.

_Jeez, he's got a lot of force behind that swing! _

Nashi snapped back to the fight as Luke grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her back, and she cried out in pain as he did so.

"What now?" He asked in her ear as he kept her arms in a very painful position. "You're not doing so hot, big sis." Nashi grinned through the sharp pain.

"What did I tell you?" She asked, twisting her palms. Luke noticed too late, and jets of fire flew from Nashi's hands directly into his face. "Change up your approach!" Luke backed up as the fire forced him to do so, and grinned.

"You want me to change my approach?" He asked. "Alright, let's see how you handle this!" He quickly lowered his hands to the key ring again, and raised it into the air. "Open! Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!" Nashi watched as the man who cosplayed as a horse appeared from the gate, saluting just as he knew he did. The spirit opened his mouth to greet Luke, but his eyes fell on Nashi, and he grew dead silent in shock.

"N-Nashi...?" Nashi smiled and waved.

"Looking good Sagittarius!" She said with a wave. Sagittarius looked back at Luke in shock, who chuckled at the spirit's expression.

"I'll explain it to you later." He told the man. "Right now I need you to help me fight her. Can you do that, or will nostalgia get in your way?" Sagittarius shook his head.

"No, I'll be able to cover you. You are my current Master after all." Luke smirked.

"Good on you. Let's get her." Nashi raised her hands and defended herself from Luke as he rushed her again, and they traded blows of golden light and fire. Luke backed up a bit, and Nashi took this as a chance to rush in for a pretty decent blow.

Something whistled through the air, and Nashi realized she had to move, and she had to do it _Now._

Bending at an angle she rarely did, Nashi back-flipped away from the arrows that Sagittarius sent her way, but the arrows followed her as the wind current changed. Unless she wanted to be impaled by them, she had to burn them. Nashi activated her fire and intensified the heat, burning away the arrows as they got close. Luke came after her again, and coupled with the arrows flying her way, Nashi found herself getting hit by both as she attempted to dodge one or the other. As the hits she felt piled up, Nashi felt her temper beginning to rise.

"One of you needs to go!" Nashi shouted. She uppercut Luke out of her way, and turned to Sagittarius with fire leaking from her mouth. "Fire Dragon Roar!" The torrent of flame flew towards the spirit, who had no way of moving out of it's blast. He took it head on and disappeared. Nashi sighed and turned back to Luke as the boy recovered from her vicious hit.

"Alright, you hit pretty hard." He said, spitting out blood. Nashi coughed and nodded.

"Yeah, so do you." Luke stood, and reached for his keys once more.

"Alright, let's try something else out." The boy reverted back to his normal outfit, and raised a different key. "Star Suit: Taurus!" Another flash of golden light animated from him, and when it died away he was dressed like come sort of cowboy, complete with the hate and boots. Nashi stifled a giggle.

"What the hell are you wearing?" She asked, trying her best not to burst out laughing. Luke rolled his eyes.

"Laugh all you want, you won't be soon enough." He said, flipping another key around his fingers as it started to glow. "Open! Gate of the Lion! Loke!" Nashi watched as the gate opened and the leader of the Zodiacs showed up, wearing the same kind of suit Luke had only a moment ago. Same as Sagittarius, Loke saw Nashi and grew stunned.

"No way." He said. "It can't be..."

"Hiya Loke!" Nashi said. "Good to see you too!"

"Loke, I'm fighting with her right now. You and I need to go after her together. You with me?" It took Loke a minute to regather himself, but once he did he pushed his glasses back up and smirked.

"Of course I am." he said. "Sorry Nashi, Luke and I are going to have to hit you now. You can call me later though, anytime." Nashi rolled her eyes.

"You never change, Loke." She said. After a few moments of preparation from both sides, Loke and Luke both soared at Nashi, both attacked her with speed and power she hadn't been prepared for. Loke brought an insane amount of power and speed all on his own, but the Taurus gear Luke had on had increased his power by some bit, which made ever punch and every strike of his whip hurt like hell. She needed a plan.

And suddenly, as a combined blast of Regulus from Loke and a whup from Luke sent her flying backwards, Nashi found her plan.

* * *

"Jeez, Luke's really giving it to her." Ultear said as Nashi did her best to block the blows from both sides. "I didn't think she'd be having this much trouble."

"Neither did I." Simon agreed.

"I told you guys," Elise said, as Lana cheered indiscriminately. "Luke is no pushover." Drake watched as Nashi was delivered a vicious blast of Regulus and a swing of Luke's whip, and she landed upright clutching her wounds with a grimace on her face.

Or was it a smile?

Drake, out of curiosity, took a listen. After only a few seconds, he smirked.

"It's about to go down." he said, chuckling.

"What do you...?" Ultear started, before Nashi started to laugh as she stood. She was covered in red marks from the whip and wounds from the light, but a wide smile was on her face.

"You really did want a good fight, didn't you?" She asked. "Alright Luke, you've gotten me _f__ired up_."

The magical pressure from Nashi's body started to fluctuate wildly. And Drake watched with a big smirk on his face as fire started to circulate Nashi's body.

Accompanied by a bright white light.

"This battles just getting started." He said with a grin.

* * *

Natsu groaned a he followed Lucy through the market, still having no clue why he had been brought along in the first place. He had absolutely no interest in shopping, even if it was with her.

"Can we place go back to the guild now?" he asked, rubbing his head. "I'm really bored." Lucy sighed and looked at him with a pained expression on her face.

"Almost in his sixties and still can feign interest for me." She joked, making him roll his eyes. "I'm almost done, just give me a minute okay?"

"You said give me a minute twenty minutes ago."

"And how many times during those twenty minutes did I say give me a minute?" Natsu growled and mumbled under his breath, making Lucy laugh.

"Can't we just walk around Natsu? It's been a while since I've been in such a good mood." This made Natsu smile.

"At least I can concur with that." He said. "I'm in a pretty good mood myself." Lucy laughed, and then looked down at the ground.

"I just..." The woman tried. "I can't believe they're really home... After all of that..." Natsu nodded.

"But they're here now." He said. " And if they try and jump backwards, they'll never have been gone."

"I know." She said. "I just...Want to enjoy it while I can." She looked over at him. "Also, I wanted to ask you if..."

_BOOM!_

Natsu looked over his shoulder towards the explosion, which had come from the guild hall. He watched it alertly for a moment, before the explosion he saw were fiery and golden bright. His eyes widened and a smile broke over his face.

"Are Nashi and Luke...?" He asked. The fiery explosions were also accompanied by white light. _Holy _Light. Natsu looked back at Lucy, who almost looked unimpressed. "What's wrong with you?" he asked. Lucy sighed.

"That boy has so much of you in him it's criminal." She said flatly. "Nashi would never have come up with the idea to fight him."

"I want to go and see! Come on!" Natsu happily proceeded back towards the guild hall, a huge smile on his face.

Natsu's heart stopped, before it jump started again with an all to familiar feeling.

Natsu collapsed to one knee and started to pant, sweat coming from his pores.

_No..._

"Natsu? You okay?" Lucy asked from behind him. He slowly looked at her from over his shoulder, and just held her gaze, hoping she got the message as the cold sweat continued. After a few seconds, Lucy's eyes widened.

"Oh no..." She whispered, looking up at the explosions at the guild. Natsu looked back at it as well as an incredibly unsettling feeling came over him.

"We need to go there. Now!"

* * *

Luke hit the dirt and rolled, looking up as Nashi, enveloped in white fire, looked at him. He knew this well, it was Nashi's Holy White Fire Dragon mode.

"This is getting insane... Who could I use to stop her?" Luke ran a hand over the keys, and did an inventory. He unfortunately had almost no spirit he trusted to take her on effectively. Taurus was a perv, Scorpio was probably busy, Ares would panic, Loke and Sagittarius were down...

Luke ran a hand over a specific key, and he grinned. That could work.

"Alright Nashi, I'm seriously impressed." he said. "You're something else." Nashi did not reply, and Luke grinned as he brandished the key at her. "But, let's see how you deal with this! Open! Gate of the Twins! Gemini!" The key glowed, and the twins of the Zodiac showed up with a puff of smoke. The two looked over at Luke.

"What's up?" They asked together. "Why're we here?" Luke smiled at them and pointed at Nashi.

"I need you to copy her!" He said. "Let's see how she goes about fighting herself!" Gemini floating there for a few seconds before they made a strange sound.

"No good! No good!" Gemini said. "Can't copy her." Luke faltered and glared at the twins.

"Why not?!" He demanded.

"Too strong! Too strong!" They replied. "Can't copy her, she's stronger than you!"

...

Luke stared at the twins as they apologized and disappeared just as they appeared. He slowly looked at Nashi, who started to advance on him. A wolfish look was on her face as the fire and light circulated him.

And a very unsettling feeling came over him. It felt like cold sweat, and his heart beat started to increase the closer she got to him. Luke watched as she got right up to him, and they kept their eyes on each other. What was happening?

"Nashi!" Luke slowly turned his head, and found their parents standing by the edge of the field, both looking downright frightened. "Stop it! That's enough!" Luke wasn't sure what his father was talking about, but when he looked back at Nashi, her fire was dissipating as she stumbled backwards, holding her head.

"Wha...What happened?" She asked.

"...You okay?" Luke asked weakly, his heart beat slowing considerably. Nashi blinked weakly and rubbed her eyes.

"I...I think so." She replied. "That...Was weird."

"What?" Nashi looked down at her hand, almost as if she was glaring at it.

"I...I heard a voice." She whispered. "...My own voice, but deeper and angrier...Telling me to finish you." She looked back up at him, making him make a face. "I don't know what it was."

"Me either." Luke replied. "But...You wanna keep fighting?"

"...No, no...I'm good."

"...Okay." Nashi just stared at her hand, and Luke pocketed his hands in disappointment. He'd really wanted to have a fair fight with her, but now she was completely uninterested. He looked over at their parents, who were whispering to each other frantically.

Over what, Luke could not fathom.

* * *

The silence was as usual, as nothing was to be reported. The waves crashed against the side of the mountain, but that was the only sound to be heard.

Until it was shattered.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!_

The alerts that blared wildly alerted the woman watching them on the floating screens. As she watched them, her eyes widened. She stood from her seat and left the room, speeding down the hall towards the office of the man she answered to.

"Master." She said, entering the room. Her master turned and regarded her closely. "It's happened. The END censors...They've picked her up. She's back."

"Are you certain?"

"Positive." A moment of silence passed.

Zeus leaned back in his chair and laughed.

"Excellent work Athena. Keep an eye on her."

"Will do." Athena left the room, and Zeus smiled brazenly.

"She's finally returned...After all this time, you've finally reared your head once more."

**Probably not what you guys were expecting, but it's definitely what's going down. So, i hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five! That'll get us over 2000!**


	209. Effects of the Future

**We did it! 2000 reviews! I can't thank you guys enough. I say it all the time, but seeing so much support for an OC story is beyond anything I'd have ever imagined! Some good progression for you guys today!**

**Enjoy!**

_Weak...He's weak. We're strong. Finish him!_

Nashi's grip on her head tightened as the voice's words echoed. It had been a few hours since Nashi had declined in Luke's request to continue fighting, but her brother respected her wishes to stop. Nashi had no idea what had happened. One minute, she recalled activating Holy White Fire Dragon Mode, and the next she was stumbling backwards as her father called out to her in panic. The only thing she did recall in between those events was the voice speaking to her.

Nashi had no doubt in her mind that the voice was her own. It may have been deeper and angrier than hers, but it was hers. So why did she feel so uneasy? None of it made any sense to Nashi at all, and she hated it.

* * *

"She's been sitting in the corner for a while." Ultear commented as they all watched Nashi sitting in the corner of the guild with her head in her hands. "Do you think she's okay?"

"Something happened." Simon said. "She's being incredibly despondent, which isn't her style at all." Drake kept his eyes on Nashi for a moment, a rock in his stomach. During the fight, Nashi had started to grow...strange. Her attacks had grown more vicious and full of raw power, more than usual. At first Drake thought nothing of it, but then it happened.

His blood had run cold when he saw Nashi's eyes.

They had been empty, soulless. As he watched her advance on her brother, it seemed as if she'd no longer cared for anything other than destroying Luke.

The same look she'd had in her eyes during the Silverridge incident.

_"I got him." _Drake closed his eyes as the memories of the event flew through his mind. Nashi, surviving a point blank Etherion explosion, had said those words and then collapsed. But the feeling of his blood going cold and the soulless glare of the beast Nashi had been in that moment...was eerily similar to now.

"Someone should go and see if she's okay." Simon continued. "She's not looking so hot." Drake stood without even thinking, making them look at him.

"I'll talk to her." he said, turning on his heel and making for Nashi. As he approached her, he saw her head move up and bit and see his approach, and she lifted her head fully to look at him.

"Hey." She said, sounding upset. Drake nodded.

"Hey." He said, sitting down next to her. Drake looked other out of the corner of his eyes and examined her as she stared down at the floor. Her eyes had returned to normal, and she seemed perfectly okay physically. She turned and caught him staring, but he held her gaze instead of looking away.

"What is it?" She asked. Drake kept an eye on her as he sighed.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Nashi watched him closely before she shrugged and looked back at the floor.

"I don't know." She said. "I mean, I'm fine. But..."

"But...?" Drake asked, hoping she'd continue. Eventually she looked back at him and met his gaze.

"I...Heard a voice." She explained. "My...My own voice."

"That's quite normal, Nashi."

"Not..." Drake's attempt at a joke seemed to frustrate her more than anything else. "Not _my _my voice, you idiot. It was deeper and angrier. It...It told me that Luke was weak and that we... _We _were strong."

We.

As in more then just Nashi.

Drake was unsure as to what he was supposed to say to soothe her worries. He himself felt worried for her, which was abnormal, but hearing a voice saying such things wasn't a good sign.

"Well, then what?"

"Nothing." Nashi answered. "It stopped talking and my memories draw a blank until my Dad yelled at me." Nashi met Drake's gaze again, looking frightened. "What the hell is happening?"

"I...I don't know, Nashi. I really don't." Nashi looked crestfallen at his answer, which made him feel bad. "Is this the first time it's happened? Do you regularly hear it?"

"No, this was the first time" She replied. "But I can't fathom why it happened."

Neither could he.

_"I got him." _

Drake shook his head and tried to forget about that. He had no explanation for why Nashi had experienced what she had, and he hoped she never did again for more than just her own sake.

"Hey, look at the bright side." He said. "You had Luke pinned in the corner." This caused a smile to crease Nashi's face.

"I guess so..." She said.

"Kid looked about done. Hell, who cares what the voice said if they were right?" Nashi snorted at this, making Drake smile. "So don't worry about it. We'll get some answers soon enough. Until then, ease up. I hate seeing you look so down."

"Yeah yeah..." Nashi said, sitting up a bit. "You're right. I'm dwelling on this a bit too much."

"Exactly." Drake said, before he put on a concerned face. "Like whether or not we'll have to sleep at our parents house. Cause somehow i doubt our dorms are still ours, twenty years behind on rent." This made Nashi laugh. It was a single laugh, but it eased the tension in their conversation.

"You have a point." She said, standing up. "Last thing I want is that. God forbid."

"Me either." He stood as well, and Nashi sighed.

"No biggie...Right?"

"Absolutely." He agreed. Nashi smiled at him.

"...Thanks." She said. "For cheering me up."

"I'm used to it." Nashi punched him in the shoulder, making him feign injury.

"Anyway, what were you guys talking about over there?" She asked. Drake shrugged.

"Nothing much." He answered. "Just sitting around." Drake neglected to say they'd been talking about her. No reason to remind her already. Nashi nodded.

"Alright, well, let's find something to do. I'm done sulking."

"Good."

"You want another punch?"

"If you hit like the first punch, sure."

* * *

Natsu watched Nashi and Drake walk back over to Ultear and Simon, his eyes glued to his daughter. He kept a very close eye on her since the fight had ended, which was good seeing as he was downright terrified he'd been too late. But so far, all seemed normal.

"Natsu." Natsu hard Lucy speak his name from across the table, but he neglected to look at her right away. "Natsu." Again he heard her, but did not acknowledge it. "Natsu!" Natsu finally turned his head slightly to regard his wife carefully. The look on her face was apprehensive at best. "Please talk to me." She said. "Tell me what's happening." Natsu stared at her for a moment before he returned his eyes to Nashi as she talked to the others.

"...She nearly turned." he said. "During the fight. I...I felt it happen. That's why I collapsed. The last time I collapsed like that was when she was at Silverridge." Lucy did not respond to him immediately, and Natsu sighed. "I feared this was a possibility."

"What's a possibility?" Natsu turned back to her.

"Nashi isn't powerful enough to control the beast inside." He told her. "If combat gets to heated..." Natsu forced out a laugh. "I guess you could say the beast gets fired up."

"Is it a separate entity?" Lucy asked, also watching Nashi now. Natsu looked back at his daughter, not answering. Truthfully Natsu had no idea if the beast Nashi had was a separate entity or not. Because she was half human it was entirely possible that his genes, the ones tainted with Etherious, had formed a separate identity within his daughter. One that vied for control of the body.

Or, it wasn't. Due to the nature of Etherious, Natsu wasn't sure what Nashi's form was like. Seeing as it had only been truly released once, and the man who had been on the receiving end no longer lived, he had no idea of knowing.

"I just pray she gets more powerful." Natsu whispered. "The longer she goes in this state, the less control she's going to have over that thing in combat."

"Jut combat?"

"Don't know. Remember the Games years ago? It protected her from harm when she fought Michael and Blake, replenished her magic. If it continues, it'll get to the point where it'll seize control from her whenever it feels justified in doing so."

"Mom, Dad." Natsu's attention was divided as he turned to find Luke walking up to them.

"Hi Luke." Lucy greeted warmly, Natsu merely grunting. "What is it?" Luke rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

"What happened out there?" He asked. "Calling out to Nashi like that...I'm just confused." Natsu slowly looked over at Lucy, who merely returned his look.

Luke was not Etherious.

Natsu was confident he could say that truthfully. Luke, unlike Nashi, had not been conceived before Natsu sealed away his own powers. Because of this, Natsu was certain there was no way the Etherious gene had been passed to him.

"That being said, it was still the families, the guilds, biggest secret. Natsu wasn't sure speaking a word would be good until it was absolutely needed. Much like Lumen Histiore, knowing of Natsu's power and subsequently Nashi's was currently not priority.

"Not sure what you mean." Natsu said finally. "Just wanted to tell you guys that you needed to restart. So not fair you started a sibling brawl without me there." Natsu wasn't sure his bluff had worked at first, but he sighed internally when Luke laughed.

"So true." he said. "Sorry pops, I was just to excited to wait. Plus you know how Mom gets during shopping trips."

"Boy do I ever..." Natsu muttered, earning himself a glare from Lucy. Lucy then turned to Luke.

"Anyways sweetheart, why don't you go and talk with your sister? I'm sure you still have a lot of catching up to do." Luke nodded slowly, thinking about it.

"I suppose you're right." He said. "I'll go ask them if they want to go hang out or whatever." Natsu watched Luke wander over to Nashi and the others. A conversation started, which was interrupted as Kaida and Luke's other friends joined them. After another few minutes, the group of ten left the guild, laughing about something.

"So." Lucy said. "What do we do?" Natsu watched as his daughter smiled at Luke, before he looked down at the ground, clenching his hands together.

"I...I don't know."

* * *

Nashi sighed as she leaned back on the bench, the others all around her. They'd spend the remainder of the day hanging out around the city with Luke, Kaida and their friends, just trying to have fun. And overall, it was pretty fun.

"It's getting dark." Ultear noted, as they watched the sun staring to set in the distance. "We going to sleep outside again tonight guys?"

"Don't see a point." Cody answered. "Go to the guild hall."

"Better than out here." Simon agreed. Kaida looked over at Drake.

"You're going to go home, right?" She asked, making Drake shrug.

"I suppose I can." He said. "The couch sure as hell looks comfy." This made everyone chuckle. Lilly yawned.

"I'm going on home." She said. "Mom wanted me home for something, so I got to go."

"I'll go with you!" Jason shouted.

"No, I will!" Nashi watched with a pained expression as the twins fought over Lilly. It had been happening all afternoon and showed no signs of stopping. Lilly just stood there smiling before she turned on her hell and left. The twins soon realized she'd started to walk away, and clambered after her.

"Does that always happen?" Ultear asked. Kaida sighed.

"You have _no _idea." She replied.

"They reek of desperation regardless." Drake said. "It's sad really." Simon snorted.

"Right." he said. "Because the guy who has women throw themselves at him gets to talk about desperation." Drake rolled his eyes as the group collectively chuckled. Cody then started to walk away.

"I've got stuff to do as well. I'll see you all later."

"Bye." Luke said, waving to him. Kaida stood as well.

"I'm going." She said. "I've got to get some stuff ready for Drake to sleep on the couch."

"Just give him your bed, Kaida." Luke said. "Oh, my mistake. Your coffin standing in the corner of your dark torture chamber is what I meant to say" Kaida glared venomously at Luke.

"At least I'd keep my torture chamber organized, Luke." She shot back. "Your apartment is so unorganized you could have the One Magic hiding under a pair of pants and never know it."

"At least my room looks like a human being lives there, you clean freak."

"Guys, enough." Nashi said. "This is nothing to bicker about."

"You know," Kaida said. "It's sad Luke. Your sister is such an amazing person. Which genes did she get that you didn't?"

"Hm, yeah. Your brother seems like a pretty chill guy, whereas you're a fickle bitch."

"Guys." Drake said. "That's enough." Kaida shrugged and turned to walk off, leaving Luke looked pretty pissed off.

"That girl, I swear." He said. "Anyways, now what are we going to do?" Nashi shrugged.

"If everyone's preparing for bed, I should go and see if Mom and Dad will let me stay with them." She said. "I don't want to sleep on concrete again." Luke nodded before he smiled widely.

"No need! You can stay with me!" Nashi perked up at this and stared at her brother.

"For real?" She asked. Luke nodded.

"I've got a spare room you can have, if you want. What do you say?" Nashi didn't have to give it much thought before she smiled.

"Okay, sounds great!"

"Awesome!" Luke then slowly started to back up. "And uh...Despite what I say, Kaida's right...My place is a mess. So..." Nashi chuckled and waved him off.

"You've got forty-five minutes." She said. He nodded quickly and took off to clean his apartment, leaving Nashi with her friends from the past.

"Well," Simon said. "That was an eventful evening."

"Yeah." Ultear agreed. "They're pretty cool, all things considered."

"You think the twins hit on Lilly as much as Kaida and Luke fight?" Drake asked, making Nashi laugh.

"Nothing can top that." Nashi said. "They started an argument over ice cream that turned into a screaming fight." The group started to move through the city, discussing their night in deeper detail. As they reached the main street, however, Nashi saw two familiar faces moving towards them.

"Uh..." She said, catching the men's attention, and their eyes widened. "Katsuchi? Tetsu?" The names caught their attention, and Katsuchi broke into a grin.

"Holy shit!" he said. "The reports were right! You guys did show up at the Games!"

"Wish we could've been there." Tetsu said as they walked up to them. "Would've been quite the sight."

"It was." Simon said. "What are you guys doing here?" Katsuchi frowned quizzically.

"Were you not told?" Both men flashed their shoulders, and Nashi smiled when she saw the Fairy Tail insignia emblazoned there.

"You guys joined the guild?" She asked. "That's awesome! What about Azzie?" Both men's smiles turned into frowns.

Silence came over everyone, and Nashi made a face.

"What?" She asked. "What's the matter?" Katsuchi sighed.

"Well..."

* * *

The group was sitting around the park near the huge Sola tree, silence clinging to them like a blanket.

_"Azzie's dead. Kronos ordered her killed and...They followed through."_

Nashi reran those words through her head a few more times, getting more sad every time she did. Azzie was dead. Kronos had done it.

"...This sucks." Ultear said. "She's gone."

"Yep." Drake replied hollowly from the corner of the park. He'd placed himself there a while ago. Nashi didn't want to disturb him.

"Well, what can we really do about it?" Simon asked. "It happened ten years ago." Nashi didn't know what to say. She really didn't.

"I'll tell you what we can do."

Nashi had not heard that voice for a few days. Looking up, Nashi saw Damien walking down the steps of the park, hanging his head so that his bangs obscured his eyes.

"Damien?" Ultear asked. "Where wee you? You've been gone for days now."

"I know." He said. "I'm sorry I got...distracted." He sounded so hollow, yet determined. "So, you guys want to know what we're going to do?"

"Enlighten us." Nashi said. Damien looked up a bit, his determined look growing even more apparent.

"We're going to go home." He said. "To our own time, when he disappeared twenty years ago." The silence that followed was full of uncertainty, and Nashi knew full well why. Damien's proposal was all good, but the problem was _how._

"Damien." Ultear said. "I told you already. There's no science to this time jumping crap. It's all random."

"So?" Damien said. " We must get there at some point, right?"

"That's not the point."

"That is the point!" Damien shouted, startling them. "That's the _whole _point! Why shouldn't we try?"

"Spending the rest of our lives time jumping?" Simon asked. "No thanks."

"It can't possibly take that long." He replied. "We'll get there eventually if Ul keeps changing how much she tries to magnify Nashi's power."

"I mean sure, but..." Ultear said. "This is a big if, Damien."

"...Can't you guys sense it?" He asked weakly. "All the pain and suffering us disappearing caused? our families? Our friends? All of them? Or am I the only one that saw it?"

"We all saw it." Nashi defended. "So?" At this, Nashi saw it.

In his right hand, Damien was clutching a piece of paper. She had no idea what was on it or why he had it, but his grip on it was rather tight.

"All of this." Damien said. "The pain...The sorrow...Azzie...Elise's hunt for Kronos and the pain it caused her and others...We can reset all of it if we go back. We change history for the better if we do this! Is that not worth the effort?!"

"Of course it is, but..." Drake shrugged. "It's all at random Damien, what if we go to far backwards and mess up one of our births or something? Like really..."

"...Nashi." Damien said, making her look up. "You could be there for Luke when he's born. You could be the big sister you were supposed to be. Drake, same goes for you and Kaida." Both Nashi and Drake looked down at this. "Ultear, you could prevent your mother from so much pain. And we all know everyone suffers when Juvia's sad. Simon, same goes for you. How do you think Jellal and Erza felt these past twenty years?" Both of them too looked down. Damien sighed.

"And me...My mom already lost her daughter, and then her son for so long. I w_ill not _force my mother to have those memories. If I can rewrite that, I'll go to hell and back to do it. Who else?"

Silence greeted Damien's question.

Until Simon stood.

"Let's do this." He said. "We're going to change things." After a few more seconds, Drake and Nashi stood.

"We got this." Drake said, smirking. "We've done near impossible things before."

"We'll do fine." Nashi agreed. "Lady Luck seems to like us." The four who had stood looked over at Ultear, who still stared at the ground. After another few seconds, she sighed and stood.

"I feel bad for forcing everyone to sit through twenty years of my mother being sad." She said, getting laughs. "So yeah, fuck it." Ultear grinned. I'll never say this again guys, but let's change history."

* * *

Jellal watched Macbeth work on the airship's Super Archive, as he had been for the last few days nonstop. They'd inputted practically millions of variable into the calculations, and they still had not gotten the results they sought.

"What time did they disappear again?" Macbeth asked.

"Must have been around five o'clock." Jellal replied. "Bring it back a few seconds though." Macbeth worked silently, and Jellal watched the calculations work tirelessly. They'd been at it for so long, he just wanted this to work. If it could, they could effectively.

_BEEP BEEP!_

"Jellal..." Macbeth said, backing up. "We...We did it." Jellal ran his eyes over the calculations, triple checked it, and then smiled.

"Erigor!" He shouted. "Make way for Fairy Tail. We've done it.

"On it." Erigor said from the airships control dashboard. Jellal looked back at the calculations and smiled.

"We did it. If Ultear magnifies Nashi's power by that variable...They'll return to the time they disappeared, with only a few seconds having passed."

* * *

Nashi yawned as the sun hit her in the face. She'd gone to bed in Luke's apartment the night before after agreeing to try and travel back to their own time period. Her back was killing her.

Must have been the bed.

Getting up, Nashi made for where Luke had told her the bathroom was. Once she was done making herself look presentable, she'd sit Luke down and tell him they were leaving. It was for the best.

Finding the bathroom and finding it closed, Nashi knocked on it.

"Out in a sec." Luke called, so Nashi decided to wait. She played with her fingers until the door opened, revealing Luke dressed for the day. He smiled at her. Mornin' sis..."

His smile turned into a look of shock.

"What?" Nashi asked, confused at his look. Then again, her voice sounded weird too. Was she sick?

"...Nashi?"

"Yeah?"

"Please look in the mirror and tell me nothing's wrong." Nashi walked past him into the bathroom and looked at the mirror confused.

Nashi's well developed young adult features stared back at her.

Her scream must have woken the entire neighborhood.

**Oh shit, what have I done now? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	210. For the Better

**We're back! I'm sure you all wanted me back as quickly as I could be, and here I am!**

**Enjoy!**

"What the hell is happening?!"

"Don't ask me!"

"Why am I older?!"

"I don't know!"

"Look at my face! My body! Why the hell...?!"

"Nashi I can't answer your questions!" Nashi stared at her self in the mirror, and then whipped her head down to stare at herself in surprise.

As far as she could tell, she had aged overnight.

Her hair was longer, her features were more defined, her voice was a bit lower, her body was definitely developed in a few predictable areas, but she was definitely still herself.

"This is so weird." She hissed, turning to Luke, her long hair whipping around as she did so. "What do I do?"

"Don't look at me." He responded. "I have no idea what's happening either." Nashi slowly looked back at the mirror and regarded herself carefully. Despite the panic Nashi felt underneath the look on her face, she had to admit.

Older her was _beautiful. _

Nashi wasn't one to pine over her own appearance, but even she could admit she looked good. She couldn't tell how many years she'd aged, but it had done her many favors. She wasn't a late bloomer by any means anyway, but over the course of the few years she'd aged she certainly grew to resemble her mother a bit more.

"We should get to the guild." Luke said. "Figure out what the hell's happening."

"Good point." Nashi agreed. "Let's get the hell out of here." Nashi turned and left the bathroom, walking towards the door to leave. Giving Luke a minute, he soon joined her with a smile.

"Hey, you want your hair like that?" Nashi looked over at him before she looked over at the pink strands that were in the corner of her vision. Her hair had grown quite a bit, so much so that it ended around the small of her back. She'd almost forgotten.

"Uh, not really." She replied, twirling it around her finger. "It's pretty long." Luke nodded.

"I got you." He said, raising his hand, which held a golden key. "Open! Gate of the Giant Crab! Cancer!" Nashi watched as golden light came from the key before the zodiac spirit Cancer, in all his...might, appeared before them.

"Ah, Nashi." The spirit said, snipping his scissors. "I heard you'd returned. Do you want a new style?" Nashi smiled weakly.

"Yeah, just put me back to my old style." She said. "It's really long."

"Can do."

* * *

"Feel better?" Luke asked, his head partially turned so he could look at Nashi. She nodded as she played with the ends of her hair.

"Definitely." She said. "I've always preferred my hair around this length."

"Cancer was pretty miffed that you wanted a twenty year old style." Luke said with a chuckle. "Jeez, that guy..." Nashi nodded, but stared at her feet as they continued on their way. Miraculously her clothes still fit her pretty well, which was good because she didn't want to waste time by buying anything that fit. She wondered if the others had experienced the same, and she really doubted she was the only one. Nashi looked up as they reached the guild hall, Luke slightly ahead.

"Ready?" He asked.

"As I'll ever be." She replied. Luke opened the door, and they walked inside the guild.

And they were treated to quite the sight.

It didn't take Nashi long to realize that her friends had been subjected to the same treatment of age. All of them were standing around with longer hair and panicked faces when they turned to look at Nashi and Luke.

"So we were right." Luke mumbled as Ultear turned to face Nashi fully.

"Thank God you're finally here!" She said. "Do you know what's happening?!"

"I think it's fairly obvious isn't it?" Nashi asked, still not accustomed to her deeper voice. "We've aged."

"Jeez..." Drake hissed, voice much deeper than before. "Why the hell did this happen? What are we supposed to do?"

"No idea." Damien responded. "But I think we should just go on as planned."

"Firstly." Luke said, once again raising Cancer's key. "You guys want a hair cut?"

* * *

After the rest of the group had had their hair cut, they all sat down with the rest of their guild watching them.

"So," Damien said, addressing everyone. "We've decided on what we're doing." The guild remained quiet, watching them carefully. Nashi wasn't sure why Damien had paused, was he trying to create suspense? Because she certainly felt it.

"We're going to try and jump back to our own time." Ultear said, lifting only some of the tension the guild's aura was giving off. "To see if we can change this future for the better." No one spoke at first, probably because no one really had anything to say. Finally, Gray sighed.

"Do you know how to get back in one jump?" He asked.

"Not a clue." Ultear answered. "But we're going to try anyway. We firmly believe that we can change everything if we go back."

"If you make it back." Luke spoke up. When Nashi looked over at him, he seemed to have a certain fire i his eyes. "What if you can't?"

"We will." Simon told him. "We'll find a way. We must end up back their eventually." This answer seemed to piss Luke ff more than it did anything else, and Nashi sighed.

"We're just doing what we think is best." She said. "I'm sorry if some of you are sad, but don't be." She looked right at Luke as she said this. "Because if we do make it back, it's like we were never gone. Isn't that better than trying to fit into the wrong timeline?"

"I guess..." He muttered. Ultear sighed.

"I know it sounds like a fairly unsound plan...Fact is there really is no plan other than keep trying different variables of magnification and hope for the best."

"Makes sense." It was Nashi's father who spoke up now. "Suppose that means you guys have to go back to Crocus?"

"Yep." Drake replied. "And if we really are aging, I'd rather do it sooner." Nashi's father nodded, and looked down with a strange look on his face.

"So we'll be leaving soon." Nashi said. "Anything you want to say, better say it now..."

_BOOM!_

Everyone visibly jumped and looked towards the door, where Jellal and Crime Sociere were standing, all looking out of breath but excited.

"Where are the kids?" Jellal asked Nashi's father, who pointed to them. Once Jellal looked at them, the excited look on his face turned into a quizzical frown. "What the hell happened to you guys?"

"No idea." Simon answered. "Do you know?" Jellal looked over at Macbeth and had a silent conversation with him, before Macbeth sighed and stepped forward.

"From the looks of it, and I bet your own assumptions, you're all aging." He said. "But from what is the question. I personally think it's because of the time jump you used to get here."

"Please explain." Damien said.

"Put simply, you five jumped here, into this timeline. This timeline is twenty years past the last time you were all seen. Once you reappeared, the timeline noticed something odd: You should all be in your late thirties, but you aren't. So it's decided to rectify that." Nashi's eyes widened.

"So, we're aging because we're here?" Nashi asked Macbeth nodded.

"Hold up." Drake said. "We traveled backwards too but we didn't turn into little kids. Explain that."

"You existed in that timeline." Macbeth answered swiftly. "There was nothing wrong with that other than your mere presence. Because you were also kids in that part of the flow of time, you were not turned into kids. See what I mean?"

"Makes sense, I guess." Damien said. "So what do we do?"This was where Jellal stepped back in.

"You see, Macbeth and I have been busy for the past few days since you last saw us." He looked at Ultear. "When Ultear told me the method in which they were sent backwards, I became curious. Using the airships new Super Archive upgrade, we ran simulations. Millions and millions of simulations. Eventually, we came up with one conclusion. Macbeth?" Macbeth opened his own normal Archive and pressed a few buttons, causing a long decimal to come up on the screen. So long in fact that we widened the screen to see it all. He then swiped the screen, and it flew over to Ultear.

"If you magnify Nashi's power by that exact variable," Macbeth told them. "You should travel back to your own time, with only a few seconds having past from the time in which you disappeared." Nashi stared at the variable, her headache getting more intense the more numbers she tried to make sense of. What amazed her was when she looked at Ultear, the girl seemed to be absorbing the decimal rather well.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "This will be quite the feat. I'm not sure I can even attempt to magnify down to this."

"You can do it." Jellal said. "We also had to calculate in your power parameters and the spells abilities. Given your power has probably increased with the age, you shouldn't have any difficulty." Ultear nodded before Macbeth typed a few keys, and a downloading bar appeared above Ultear's head. Once the bar filled, Ultear's head popped up with a smile.

"Thanks." She said. "Memorized it." Jellal nodded and smiled.

"Using that, as I said, you should reappear back in your timeline, within the arena grounds. Which also gives you the chance to take out Kronos as he attempts to escape."

"Plus," Macbeth added. "Going back to that time should undo the aging process, as your age won't match up with how old you should be. Just as it tried to adjust for now, it'll adjust to then."

"Thanks, Dad." Simon said. "Couldn't have done it without you." Jellal waved his son off.

"Thank me by going back to where you belong." He said. "Then I won't have t help you at all." Nashi smiled at her friends. They could do it after all! If Ultear had the number down and Jellal had taken into account if the spell could do it, than they'd be home before the day was over. Nashi could already feel herself getting hyped up to deliver another few punches to Kronos' ugly mug.

"Well guys," Ultear said, standing. "Say your final goodbyes. We leave when we're all done."

* * *

"So you're really leaving?" Kaida asked, looking upset. Drake nodded.

"Yeah." he said. "Sorry sis, we don't belong here." Although Kaida looked crestfallen, she nodded.

"I know... I was hoping you'd stay a bit longer." She then looked up with a weak smile. "But I'd rather you not turn into a middle aged man."

"Uh, thanks?" He asked, unsure as to whether or not his sister was complimenting him. "Don't worry, it's not like we're leaving for real anyway. If we make it back it'll alter this timeline so we exist here. Unless for some reason we disappear again."

"Yeah, true." She said. She reached forward and hugged Drake, a gesture which he returned to comfort her. The second he let go of his sister, his mother came forward.

"I want a hug to." She said, opening her arms. Drake rolled his eyes and hugged his mother as well, making her laugh.

"Be safe, you big dummy." She said in his ear, making him laugh as well.

"As if we've ever done anything but." He said.

"Whatever you say." She replied, releasing him. Drake pocketed his hands with a smile.

"Well, I guess my goodbyes are..."

"Drake." Drake looked over his shoulder, seeing his father standing behind him with a smile on his face. Drake immediately felt unsure as to what he was supposed to say.

"Uh, hey Dad." Drake looked back at mother and sister to find that they had vacated the premises. Great, now he was alone with his father. He turned to look at his father, and made an uncomfortable face.

"So you're going back."

"Yep."

"Going to kick that old mans ass again?"

"Going to try." Silence came over the pair, neither seemed very sure as to what they were supposed to say. After a few seconds of silence, Drake sighed.

"Good talk." He said. He turned to walk towards the door and wait for the others, hoping his father wouldn't stop him.

"Drake, wait." Damn it. Drake stopped and looked over his shoulder, finding his father standing there with a pained expression in his face. "You need to know something."

"What?" His father took a deep breath.

"I know, back in your timeline, we aren't exactly the best of friends. Or really friends at all."

"Yeah, so?"

"I...When Kaida was born, it became painfully obvious to me that I did a horrible job raising you. For the time that I did, anyway." Drake just stared at his father, impressed the usually unemotional man he knew told him this. "So, I just want you to know I'm proud of you."

"..."

"I...I really am. Odds are if you go back we'll be back to our old ways of banter and the usual, so I just want you to know no matter what I say, I am proud of you, and I do love you. You're my son after all. Don't forget that."

Drake stared at the old man as he said this, before he laughed and turned back towards the door.

"Thanks." He said. "I appreciate it."

Drake neglected to mention that his chest was swelling.

* * *

"Mom seriously let me go!" Ultear shouted as her mother hugged the life from her as per usual. "Seriously!"

"Juvia." her father advised. "Let the poor girl go." Juvia nodded and slowly released Ultear, who breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." She said. "I already know you're going to do it again once we make it back, so I better prepare myself now." This made her mother laugh.

"I'm sorry I get so emotional." She said. "I can't help it."

"Oh boy do I know that very well." Ultear said, making her parents laugh. Her father hugged her as well, and she appreciated that one of her parents was normal.

"Good luck against Kronos." he said. "Elise took ten years to find the guy, don't do the same." Ultear nodded, growing serious.

"If the bastard escapes the city, he's lucky."

* * *

"Thanks again Dad." Simon said. "You were a great help." Jellal nodded.

"No problem." He said. "Glad to be of service." Simon turned to his mother, who as with them as well.

"You want a goodbye hug or something?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No need." She said. "If any version of me needs a hug it'll be the one you return to. Give her my regards."

"Give you your regards?" Simon asked, a joking smile on his face, making his mother roll her eyes.

"Yes." She said. "i know she'll need the reassurance more than me. I'll forget the hug as soon as you make it back anyway." Simon nodded, and looked over as he saw Drake and Ultear waiting near the door, conversing in a low tone.

"We'd better get a move on." He said. "And go home already. We have a trophy waiting for us to."

* * *

"You sure you're going back?" Damien's mother asked, and he nodded firmly.

"Yeah." He said. "Don't worry, you won't have to spend twenty years thinking you lost both kids." His mother smiled painfully.

"Just get going, kid." His father said. "The faster you go, the faster you change the future." Damien nodded.

"Yeah, I know." Damien turned to walk towards the door, and paused as he did so. He reached into hi pocket and took out the piece of paper, staring at it.

His sisters note, left with Devin.

Damien knew full well why he'd campaigned so hard for them to go back. He had a promise to keep god damn it, and he was going to keep it.

_I'm going to save her...I don't care what happens after that. I just need to save her._

* * *

"Come on Luke, don't look so down." Nashi said. "You shouldn't spend the last few hours of this timeline upset."

"Yeah, yeah." He said. Nashi turned to her parents and shrugged, as did her mother. Her father seemed to be absorbed in thought.

"Just be careful, sweetheart." Her mother said, before she laughed. "Saying that has never helped before, but I suppose it makes me feel a bit better about the whole situation." This made Nashi laugh, before she looked over at her father. Her gaze made him look up.

"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked. Nashi frowned.

"Nothing." She said. She knew twenty years had passed, but it wasn't like her father to get wrapped up in his thoughts. After a few more seconds of silence, her father sighed and looked over to her.

He then wrapped her into a tight hug.

"Dad?" Nashi asked weakly, unsure as to why he was hugging her so tightly.

"Please be careful." He whispered. "There's so much you don't know...That you don't understand, both now and then. Please be careful. What will come to pass...You must be ready."

"W-What...?" He just hugged her tighter.

"Just be ready." He said. "I don't know when, or why...But..."

"Natsu." Her mother warned, making her father release her. Nashi felt incredibly confused, but her father didn't elaborate any more.

"Uh, will do." She said, unsure as to what she was supposed to say. She turned and walked towards the remained of her friends, who were waiting for her.

"Ready?" Drake asked her. She nodded.

"Definitely. Let's go home."

"I just hope Macbeth and Jellal were right." Ultear said. "If they were wrong at any point...We might be in trouble."

"We'll be fine." Simon reassured her. "He did it right."

"Let's go." Damien said, already most of the way out the door. "We're wasting time." The others followed him out the door, and they started on the trek back to Crocus.

What could possibly happen?

* * *

"And if you see Nashi Dragneel, you bring her to one of the commanders." Zeus said. "She is to be detained and brought to me, understood? Do what you will with the others. It makes no difference to me."

"Yes sir!" The army shouted.

"On with you all!" Ares shouted. "We have to beat them to Crocus to stand a chance at stopping them!" Zeus watched as Ares ordered the army around, before they all got out and started their own trek to Crocus.

Nashi and the others were trying to go back.

Truthfully Zeus knew if they did manage to go back their old plan would resume, but they now had a chance to have it happen now. And they would take it.

"They're on their way." Ares said. "They'll reach the capital in a few hours."

"Good. Who are you sending to command them?"

"I figured Eris and Nemesis could get the job done." Ares answered. "No need to send one of the twelve after them." Zeus nodded.

"Yes, no need at all." He agreed. He turned and watched the army leaving, Ares doing so as well.

"It'll be chaotic soon enough." He said. "The city of Crocus will once again turn into a battleground."

**Damn right it will be. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	211. The Goddess of Chaos

**We're almost through with this arc, not to worry!**

**Enjoy!**

"Please just end the suffering."

"Nashi, calm down. It isn't that bad."

"I beg to differ!" Nashi clutched her stomach in pain as the carriage hit a bump in the road. Her motion sickness had not calmed down with the accelerated age. If anything it was worse than before. Drake was suffering as well.

"Are we almost there?" He asked weakly. "Please tell me yes."

"Yes." Damien replied. "The city is in sight. We'll only be a few more minutes."

"Thank God." Nashi hissed as she forced vomit down. "I can't take much more."

"Well, what do we do when we get back to our time?" Ultear asked.

"Kick Kronos' ass, that's what." Simon said. "Even if he attempts to flee the city, we're going to catch him. He's the reason all of this happened in the first place."

"And then we de-age, hopefully." Damien said. "I don't want to be this age back then."

"We'll probably be okay." Simon said. "Just like Macbeth said."

"...Are we there yet?" Nashi asked weakly. She knew the others were probably tired of hearing her and Drake complain, but there was no way they understood and struggle. Probably why they made both of them sit on the same side of the carriage.

"I'll walk." Drake said. "Stop the carriage." Nashi wholeheartedly agreed with him, and was ready to order the man driving them to stop the carriage. That was, of course, until it stopped anyway.

"There a problem?" Simon asked, obviously talking to the man driving. He made a confused sound.

"I'm not sure, but..." he started. "The city doesn't look quite right." Nashi, now able to move as they had stopped moving, stuck her head out of the window and took a look herself. Sure, at base value, the city looked pretty normal. The wall stood, with Mercurius in the background.

However, as Nashi stared at it, the more uneasy she felt. The guy driving was right, something wasn't right. She leaned back inside and made a face.

"I can't place it, but he's right." She said. "What should we do?"

"Keep going." Drake said. "We need to get back to our own time, so...!" Drake paused mid-sentence, his ears twitching.

"Drake?" Ultear asked. "Are you okay?" Drake's ears twitched a few more times, and his eyes widened.

"Hit the dirt!" He shouted. Before Nashi could ask, Drake grabbed her and threw her and himself through the side of the carriage, causing them to roll down the side of the road and into the ditch.

"Drake what the...?!"

_BOOM!_

Nashi jumped and watched as the carriage exploded into a bright blue ball of magic. It exploded outwards as bits of wood flew everywhere, and Drake clicked his teeth.

"Something ain't right is for sure." He said. "We're in danger."

"Where did that come from?!" She asked, shocked. Nashi had no idea what had happened. Where the others okay? Was their driver? Drake's ears started to twitch again, and he looked back at Nashi.

"The others are fine." He said. "Simon heard me in time and jumped out, taking Ultear with him. Damien used his demon form to fly out of the roof and out of the way." As if on cue, Damien landed next to them as Simon and Ultear slid down the side of the road towards them.

"You guys okay?" Simon asked, his face had a dirt smear on it. Nashi nodded.

"Just fine." She said. "Did you guys see the guy driving?" All eyes returned to the flaming carriage. Nashi felt a rock settle in her stomach.

"No way he survived that." Damien said quietly. No one spoke for a moment, before Ultear looked at the city.

"What was that?" Damien looked back at the city.

"Looked like an attack from the city walls." He said. "Why though, I have no idea."

"Did we do something wrong?" Simon asked. "I don't think so unless more security we forgot about was implemented."

"No." Drake said. "If we didn't go through the proper security we would've gotten a warning. That was aiming to hurt or kill us." Nashi looked back at the city and watched the walls warily, but no more balls of magic came after them.

"Now what do we do?" She asked. Damien made a face.

"If they're going to try to kill us, I say we blow in the front door." He said. "Show them the error of their ways, so to speak."

"I like that idea." Simon said, also looking pretty pissed. "We'll just fly right up the wall and inside. Although first we have to get right up to it without getting killed." Nashi turned towards the city, and frowned at it. Why had they attacked them? The uneasy feeling in her stomach had no gone away.

"Let's do this." She said. "We've got a time to return to."

* * *

Elise stared down at the mug in front of her, watching the contents swirling around as she played with it halfheartedly.

The others had left to return to their own time, and Elise hadn't really seen them off. She'd been to consumed by her own thoughts.

They were going back and, once they reached the time they'd disappeared from, the timeline Elise was currently it would be so drastically altered she doubted she'd be sitting where she was in the situation she was in. All of it, everything around her would change.

_And that includes..._

Elise looked up at the sound of a child laughing. She found Lana playing with her Grandmother. Elise smiled as she watched her daughter laughing. How she wished to be so fearless in this situation. Then again, Lana wasn't even close to being able to comprehend what was happening. Elise's smile faded as she returned her gaze to the mug.

If her friends really succeeded in changing the future be returning to the past...

Lana might not exist.

Elise knew that if the timeline changed she wouldn't remember any of what she knew now, including her daughter and husband. However, the mere thought of losing either of them almost made her want to stop her friends from doing what they were planning to.

"You okay?" As if on cue, Elise knew Keita was behind her. She didn't say anything at first, and he sat down next to her. "I know you're upset, Elise. What's up?" Elise refused to look up at first, but she did once she found her words.

"If they do make it back to their time." She said. "You and I...Lana...It might never happen." Keita's face flickered ever so slightly to show he knew this, but his expression remained stoic.

"I know." He said. "I figured that was obvious."

"Doesn't it bother you?" She asked. "That you and I might never fall in love? Lana might never be born?" Keita sighed and leaned on the table, obviously thinking over what Elise had said.

"Of course it bothers me." he said quietly. "I don't want it to happen more than you would ever understand. The time I've spent with you and Lana...I'd never give it up for anything." he looked back at her. "But, at the same time, our whole situation is a byproduct of a timeline interrupted. Our love, Lana, it only exists as it does because your friends disappeared twenty years ago and disrupted the timeline."

"Yeah, but..." Elise didn't even know what she was trying to say, so she made a frustrated sound and put her head in her hands. "I don't know how to feel about this." Keita remained silent at this, before he chuckled.

"Well, look at it this way." Elise looked up, and he smiled at her. "In a few minutes, hours, whatever, this timeline will no longer exist as it does. And until then you should spend it being happy with those you love, not sitting around moping about what you may or may not lose." She stared at him, before finally she laughed as well.

"You're right. No point is being down about it. Soon enough it won't matter anyway."

"Exactly, so let's..."

"Everyone!" Elise and Keita turned towards the door, where a frantic Lilly stood trying to get everyone's attention. She seemed to be holding a lacrima in her hand. "Everyone! There's a big problem!"

"What's the matter, Lilly?" Luke asked. "Surely it's nothing we can't..."

"Crocus has been taken over by some militia!" The guild went dead silent at this, no one speaking a word. Elise herself was also stunned. A militia in the capital? How had they managed to take it. Lilly ran inside the guild and played with the lacrima in her hand, before it sprang to life and a lacrima vision screen showing a reporter came to life as well.

_"...At the moment we are unsure as the the whereabouts of Queen Hisui, but it is assumed she is okay as the militia has no made any claims to have captured or killed her. Going by the name "Olympians", the group is rumored to only be in the city for a short time but as of now, any residents still within the walls are in hiding. We'll bring you more on this story as it develops..."_

...

Olympians.

Elise stared at the screen as it began to replay what had just been said, but Lilly shut it off, and the guild remained quiet.

Olympians.

"Why are they at Crocus?" Natsu asked. "What could they want?"

Olympians.

_"And since the Olympians have gone dark, I have no more support for this body."_

Elise recalled very much what Olympians meant. The third dark guild of the New Balam Alliance, and the strongest. They controlled Phantom Dove, Devil Advocate, sent Apocalypse after the Etherion Cannon in Silverridge, and had sent Kronos after her friends at the end of the Games twenty years ago.

And...

_"They lost what they wanted. All they wanted was her, and they lost her because of a miscalculation."_

No...

It couldn't be they knew only after a few days!

As Elise listened to the guild drone on about what they should do and if they should do anything, Elise's stomach turned as Kronos' dying words came back to her.

_"They wanted Nashi..."_

_"They wanted her for her power..."_

_The only thing they could be after...The only reason they'd resurface now after twenty years..._

_"Nashi Dragneel...Heh, no, it would be more apropos to call her by her true name. END, or Etherious Nashi Dragneel, believed to be potentially the most powerful demon descended from the Books of Zeref. Or rather, the half demon. And because of this, it is, or was, believed that she could surpass her father in power."_

Nashi's face flew through Elise's mind.

She knew why they were back.

She knew what they wanted.

Nashi had returned after twenty years, and they weren't prepared to lose her again.

Elise stood.

"Elise?" Keita asked. Elise looked up as the rest of the guild watched her.

"Sorry." She said. "I just need a minute."

* * *

_BOOM!_

Nashi watched the men fly backwards away from her explosion and grinned.

"Man, the years we aged are certainly helpful in combat!" She shouted, another explosion caused by her sending more men flying. "This is so much easier then I expected!"

"Guess Jellal was right when he said our power increased with the age." Ultear replied, using her water and ice magic to send another group of guys flying. Soon enough the group had no more men rushing them, and they regrouped.

"Unless they changed uniforms, this is definitely not the royal army." Damien said, looking around at the men lying around them. Something must've happened."

"And now we have to fight to the arena." Drake said, stretching his arms.

"The Domus Flau would be a twenty minute walk from here." Simon said, referring to the arena in the distance. "Whether or not we fight our way there would make it longer or shorter."

"So sneak or fight." Nashi concluded. "If we do fight our way there, Ultear has to conserve her strength."

"The spell doesn't take that much out of me." Ultear said. "I can fight too."

"Even so, save it." Simon agreed. "Just in case."

"Let's get going either way." Drake said. "Before anyone else shows up." The group decided on a direction and started to sneak their way around, avoiding the man streets so that they weren't spotted by anymore of the soldiers. Nashi had no idea what sort of army was doing invading the capital, but it wouldn't matter once they returned to their own timeline. At least not for around twenty years. Drake checked a corner and everyone followed him as they snuck across the street, before Drake stopped everyone.

"They know we're somewhere in the city." He said. "They're looking for us."

"No shit." Nashi hissed to him. They continued on their way towards the Domus Flau before Drake's ears twitched.

"Get down!" He shouted. Nashi ducked just in time before the building making up their left side of cover exploded into nothing, debris flying all around them.

"Well well well, lookie what I've found. Five invaders in our city." Nashi looked up at the sound of the voice, feminine in nature. Standing with a group of soldiers in the center of the street was a woman. Her hair was multiple different colors, and her eyes as well. She was wearing a black dress with a matching colored cape, and she smiled widely at them. "Nice to see I got to you first."

"Got to us first?" Damien asked as they all climbed to their feet. "What does that mean?" The woman laughed.

"It means a friend of mine was looking for you as well, but didn't find you. Nemesis so owes me jewel now!"

"So I assume you'd be the one behind the invasion of Crocus." Drake said. "What do you think you're doing? Are we going to have to stomp you?"

"Stomp me?" She asked. "Oh you silly boy, I'm not after you." Nashi made a face. After? What was she after?

"Then what are you doing?" Ultear demanded. The woman laughed again.

"First things first, allow me to introduce myself." She said. The woman did an extravagant bow. "My name is Eris. The Goddess of Chaos."

"Goddess?" Nashi asked. "You're a Goddess?" Eris laughed again.

"No, you silly girl. That's just the title I've been given by Master Zeus."

Oh no.

"Zeus?" Simon asked. Eris smirked.

"Of course. I'm an Olympian after all."

* * *

"You sure this thing can get me to Crocus in an hour?"

"Absolutely, with your power it could."

"You install those stablizers like I asked? I can't get sick on the way."

"Naturally." Elise looked down at the magic motorbike and smiled.

"Thanks, man. I really appreciate this."

"No problem Elise. You've done more than enough for me I can do you this favor." The man walked away, and Elise looked back down at the bike.

She was going to Crocus.

Once she heard that the Olympians were in Crocus, she knew they were after Nashi. She had no idea what the extent of her power was, but they were after her specifically.

And she was going to help.

She didn't really know how, or what she was going to do ,but she had to help.

"Elise!" Elise jumped and turned, seeing Luke and Kaida standing there.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked, confused. Luke walked closer to her.

"You going to Crocus?" He asked, staring her right in the eye, and Elise met him halfway. Neither backed down for a moment before she laughed.

"So what if I am?" She demanded.

"We're coming." Kaida replied. "If Nashi and Drake are in any danger...We want to help."

"And you two..._agreed _on this?"

"Miraculously." Luke answered, nodding. "So what now? You going to try and stop us? Or are we all going?" Elise watched the two teens stare at her, before she looked back at the bike.

"These guys are serious, they won't hold back."

"That's fine." Luke said.

"They'll try to kill you."

"And?" Kaida asked. Elise smiled and closed her eyes.

_They're as bad as Nashi and Drake..._

She looked back at the pair, who still maintained their position. She smiled again.

"Well, get on. We've got a city to help save."

**Slightly shorter, but I wanted to leave it here for today. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	212. The Goddess of Revenge

**Hey guys! Back once again with another chapter. Amazing right?**

**Enjoy!**

_"I'm an Olympian after all."_

Because of course she was.

As Nashi watched Eris smile at them, she felt her stomach turning. Again, the Olympians were involved. Nashi wasn't sure she was allowed to be surprised at this point. It just kept happening.

"What's the matter?" Eris asked, as none of them had spoken yet. "Did I surprise you? Sorry, but it's true. I'm an Olympian through and through."

"Okay, so it seems you are." Simon said, gaining his footing back. "What do you want? You mentioned you weren't after Drake. Is it something within the city?"

"It's in the city, yes." Eris replied. "Of course the only reason Crocus got involved was to intercept it before we lost it."

"Stop dancing around the question." Damien said. "Why are you here?" Eris laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. More of a haunting one than anything else.

"Please." She said. "As if you don't already know." This confused Nashi. They knew what they were after? Nashi couldn't think of anything that it could've been. She had no knowledge of any item or artifact she'd learned about recently...

Eris was staring right at her, smirking.

_"I'm not here to hurt you, I'm only here for Nashi."_

Kronos' words from twenty years before rang in her ears, and Nashi realized in that moment what was happening.

They'd invaded Crocus to prevent her from travelling back in time.

"They're...They're after me." Nashi croaked out, surprising the others. "Just like Kronos...They're after me." Eris laughed again, and clapped her hands together.

"There we go! What a smart girl you are. Now, come quietly before I have to use force. Believe me, you don't want that."

"Like hell we're doing that!" Drake shouted. "Go to hell!" Eris' smile turned into a frown.

"What did I tell you?" She asked Drake, sounding irritated. "I'm not here for you!" Eris raised her hands and, before anyone could react, aimed it at Drake.

_BOOM!_

An explosion rang out that sent Drake flying backwards away from them, causing him to impact a wall and disappear into the pile of debris. Eris sighed and dusted herself off.

"Foolish boy." She said. "Seriously, no manners at all." The Goddess' gaze once again fell to Nashi. "So? What'll it be Nashi? Will you come quietly or do I have to force you?"

"Nashi, think this through." Simon warned next to her. "I have no idea what they want with you, but it can't be anything even remotely good."

"Yeah, don't listen to a word she says." Ultear agreed. "With the five of us, we can totally take her." Nashi listened to her friends say these things as she stared at the ground, before she looked up and glared at Eris.

"Alright fine, you win." She said, stunning her friends. "You want me? You got me." Eris clapped her hands together with a smile.

"See, I knew we could be diplomatic about this." She said. "Come here, girl. We've got quite a ways..."

"Oh? I'm afraid you misunderstood me." Eris raised a multicolored eyebrow, and Nashi took a step forward away from the others to square off with the Goddess of Chaos.

"What?" Eris asked. Nashi took her own turn to chuckle darkly.

"I didn't mean I as going to go with you." Nashi's body erupted in fire as she glared at Eris. "I meant that I was going to pulverize you. I have _had it_ with the Olympians causing so much destruction. I'm going to make quick work of you, and then my friends and I are going back in time." Eris stared at Nashi before she chuckled.

"Zeus did mention a temper given the situation." She said, her own body starting to glow. Nashi tensed as the magical energy increased around the woman. "I'm giving you one more chance, Nashi Dragneel. Come with me and I will spare you your dignity."

"Not a chance in hell." She said. "You want me? Over my dead body."

"Nashi, are you sure about this?" Damien asked weakly. "She's an Olympian. She won't play around." Nashi nodded.

"I'm sure." She replied, turning to them. "Get Drake out of his hole and get Ultear to the Domus Flau. Tear through as many people as you have to. We're going home." Simon stared at her before he finally chuckled.

"Don't make this a repeat of Silverridge." He advised her, and she nodded and she turned back around to face Eris. "Alright guys, let's get the hell out of here!" Nashi listened to them run off to get Drake, and Eris hummed in irritation.

"And here I was hoping to not dirty my dress today." She said wistfully. "Oh well, work is work."

* * *

The impact had given Drake a serious headache, even as the others pulled him out.

"W-Where is that bitch?" He asked, dizzy as all hell. "I'm going to kill her..."

"Over there." Ultear replied, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder. Drake followed this to find Nashi and Eris squaring off, the magical tension increasing with every second.

"What's happening?" He asked.

"Nashi's giving us time." Damien explained. "We shouldn't waste it hanging around." Drake looked back at Nashi as fire whipped around her, at the same time multicolored flashes surrounded Eris. "We have to go."

"And Nashi?" Drake asked weakly. Simon frowned.

"She's never let us down before." He replied. "Not even in the face of an Etherion explosion. Let's go!" The others took off towards the Domus Flau, and Drake took an extra moment to watch Nashi's figure as he slowly retreated.

"Please be careful..." He whispered to himself. "She isn't Katsuchi or even Apocalypse...She's worse. I can tell from here."

* * *

Nashi heard the others retreat, and she now had the entire block to themselves. Eris sighed and looked back at the militia men who had accompanied her.

"Back up." She advised. "This is going to get ugly." The men did as they were told, slowly backing up away from the pair. Eris returned her eyes to Nashi, and cracked her neck.

Nashi wasn't ready for the cracking in Eris' neck to set off explosion all around her, blocking her vision of the girl.

_She must use some form of explosive magic, these blasts are huge!_

Nashi looked around the smokescreen Eris had thrown up before she heard another rumbling sound. She jumped just in time to avoid the building next to her collapsing on top of her. She sent fire in that direction, but it disappeared into the smoke. Soon enough the ground below Nashi feet erupted and left nothing but a thirty foot crater right below her. She scrambled and made it away, only to be on the receiving end of another explosion. She slid backwards out of the smoke, and spotted Eris.

The Goddess had not moved.

"Oho?" She said, sounding sarcastic. "I would've expected you to fall in that hole I made."

"I'm not that unaware."

"If you actually took the time to challenge me instead of coming quietly, I am politely begging to differ." Nashi raised an eyebrow as Eris yawned. "This is nothing but a workout for me. Are we done?"

"Like hell we are." Nashi replied. "You and whoever you answer to have hurt my friends, my family, one to many times. It's time for some revenge." Eris smirked.

"You want to talk about revenge, do you?" She asked. "Be glad my associate isn't here. She'd know a whole lot about revenge." Nashi raised an eyebrow at this, and Eris raised a hand to her forehead. "Nemesis? Are you there?...Really? Its not like Ares to re-task you so suddenly...Well, good luck! I'n securing our package as we speak, so it's all fine regardless...Yes, I did find her, you dummy!...You're so mean, Nemesis. Bye." Eris sighed as she cut off the connection.

Nashi really had no idea how to react to what she just witnessed. Eris had sounded so..._innocent._

"What just happened?" She asked, genuinely confused. Eris smiled

"The aforementioned associate will not be joining us. It appears Ares contacted her about another problem to deal with."

* * *

The road leading to Crocus would've been suspiciously empty had it not been obvious why. With the capital city of Fiore occupied my the forces of the Olympians, no one was very interested in going to the city.

And standing in the center of the road, looking up at the sky, was a woman.

Her entire biker outfit was jet black, including her curly hair. Her eyes were blood red, but they showed nothing but vague interest as they stared up at the sky.

"It's still pretty blue." She said. "Kind of nice. Although with Eris worked up, I doubt it'll stay that way."

"The woman in question was Nemesis, The Goddess of Revenge.

As instructed by the Olympians, she'd been sent to Crocus with an army to intercept Nashi Dragneel and capture her. However, twenty minutes prior, Ares had contacted her and said she needed to be on the road towards the city, as he and Zeus had learned that a single vehicle traveled the road towards the capital.

It had originated in the city of Magnolia, which was under watch just in case.

So obviously whoever was coming was backup, and Nemesis was to stop them.

Nemesis looked back at the road as she heard an engine roaring in the distance. From the sound of it, it was some sort of magical vehicle being pushed way to hard and was about to die. For it to be pushed that hard, the driver had to be some kind of strong. Nemesis sighed.

"Show time."

* * *

"Elise for God sake slow down!" Elise just barely heard Luke over the sound of the wind whipping around them.

"We need to get there fast!" She reported. "It's not that big of a deal!"

"That guy said it'd take an hour! It's been like twenty minutes and we're nearly there!"

"This thing sounds ready to blow too!" Kaida said from the back, clinging into Luke's midsection for dear life. "Even if it's just a bit, please slow down!" Elise rolled her eyes and pushed the bike even harder, knowing that Kaida was right. The thing did sound ready to give. She only needed it to go for a few more minutes.

_Come on you piece of shit, don't give on me now._

"Elise!" Elise came out of her thoughts as Luke shouted her name. He freed one hand and pointed ahead of them, and Elise followed this to find him to be pointing at a figure in the distance. The figure seemed to be standing in the dead center of the empty road, and as they got closer Elise felt apprehensive. This wasn't right, she felt it. She slowly stopped the bike and the machine seemed to appreciate the stop.

"What's the matter?" Kaida asked. Elise regarded the figure in the distance silently, which still hadn't moved from the stop in the center of the road.

"Listen closely." She said. "We have a problem."

"That person?" Luke asked, and Elise nodded. "What if they just need our help?"

"That is not the stance of someone who needs help." Elise said, narrowing her eyes. Whoever was there, they were waiting, and not for help. If they needed our help, they'd be screaming or waving...Anything to make it more obvious."

"Okay, so what do we do?" Kaida asked. Elise paused as she gave this some thought. She looked down and regarded the bike they were on, and smiled.

"Here's what we'll do. Kaida, transform into your flying snake thing and take Luke to Crocus."

"Huh?" She asked. "What about you?" Elise lowered her head slightly.

"I'll take care of our roadblock." The two young adults seemed unsure if they were going to object, but slowly the weight on the bike lessened as both got off and Kaida transformed. Elise held her hair out of her eyes as Kaida, in her snake form, flew through the air with Luke standing on her back. She watched the two fly ahead and then returned her eyes to her roadblock.

"Showtime." She said.

Elise revved the engine of the bike and took off as fast as she could. Without the added weight of two other people, the bike far exceeded what it had been able to hit before, and at some point Elise realized she could barely breath.

But she didn't stop.

Elise quickly covered her body in her iron scales, and watched as the figure she was aiming for didn't even flinch as she reached them.

"Knew you were trouble."

_BOOM!_

* * *

Luke turned back and regarded the explosion as it sounded in the distance. Somehow he wasn't surprised Elise had crashed the bike into their enemy, but he was still worried about her regardless.

"Jeez." He said, keeping his balance as Kaida flew towards the city, where more explosions could be heard. "Stay safe, Elise. Even if the timeline changes, you shouldn't be so brash."

* * *

Elise watched the burning wreckage of the bike smoldering around her target, ashes still falling from her as well. Rolling out of the way hadn't been so difficult, but she'd hit her target directly.

"Well, that was an interesting tactic." Elise watched as the smoldering wreckage was kicked aside, and a woman stood there watching her. "Didn't really work very well."

"And you are?" Elise demanded.

"Most call me Nemesis, the Goddess of Revenge."

"Goddess? So you're an Olympian."

"Obviously. And you are Elise Redfox, if the file serves me correct." Elise raised an eyebrow at this.

"File?"

"Of course. Did you think just because our main objective disappeared meant we weren't going to watch you? You were a pretty big problem back in the day before you finally exacted your revenge."

"..."

"What? Did you think we weren't watching you? Foolish woman. We watched you for the entirety of the time you were after Kronos. And of course, we saw you kill him."

"If you really are some Goddess of Revenge, you'd know I went after him for a good reason."

"Oh most definitely. It was a good kill too. The screaming you were doing...Poetic." Elise felt a shiver go down her spine as Nemesis curled her lips menacingly. "No matter, it was years ago. I assume you know what we're after?"

"Yep. And I know what I have to do."

"Which is?" Elise took her own turn to grin.

"Two factors were behind my mission for revenge. Kronos, and those who ordered his hit on my friends." Nemesis slowly looked down, acknowledging what Elise was saying. "Funny how the Goddess of Revenge is the one I'm exacting revenge upon."

"Indeed. Let us see what how your mission will end." The wind blew between them, and neither moved. The only sound was the crackling of the bike as the fire died away.

Even if the timeline would change,

Even if Elise as she was now would not exist given time,

She as she was wanted to vent some pent up frustration.

**And I want to leave you guys here because I'm that kind of person. I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	213. No Playing Around

**So...488 happened. **

**Hey guys, Angel here. And if you guys saw chapter 488, you will know why I am writing this authors note. And if you haven't seen it yet, please just skip ahead to the chapter. You won't want to read this.**

**Gajeel's dead.**

**...If you didn't skip I'm sorry, it ain't my fault. I warned you. Regardless, with this, we face my biggest retcon ever. I cannot have this story continue with the notion that Gajeel has met his end. It's not possible. He's in the story, His daughter is one of the main six characters. It simply is not possible. It just isn't. **

**Now I'm not totally convinced he's dead as of now, but again, he is as of right now. What am I to do if I don't retcon it? Acknowledging Gajeel's death means Elise no longer exists either, and that would require me to go back through 212 chapters to erase her from existence. She's one of the more prominent main characters for God sake! Erasing her would completely change characters. It'd actually force me to completely take some out like Tetsu. I can't. I won't. So, yeah. There's that. **

**Enjoy, I suppose.**

Drake ducked as an Olympian grunt flew over his head, and he turned in irritation.

"Watch where you toss those guys." He said, asking Damien chuckle.

"Sorry man, just getting us there quickly." He replied. Drake returned his eyes towards the arena in the distance. They were making good time all things considered. Because, you know, they were being swarmed at every intersection by the Olympian grunts. It was kind of difficult to get their quickly. Still, they were making good time.

"Let's get moving." Simon said, walking over to them with Ultear close behind. "We need to get there."

"We do when we do." Damien said. "Not like these guys are hard to deal with." Drake nodded in agreement.

"Besides, The bigger problem is Eris." The group went silent at this, unsure as to what to say.

"Nashi will be fine." it was Ultear who said this. "It's Nashi we're talking about." She smiled at this. "If anything I feel bad for Eris." This lightened the mood of the group considerably, and Drake nodded despite the doubt he felt inside.

"Let's just hurry up and go home." he said. "I want to kick Kronos' ass more and more the longer I think about it." The group continued on their way towards the Domus Flau, and Drake had his hands full with listening for anymore ambushes. At this point, he just wanted to go home. He was so tired from both the Games and time jumping everywhere. He just wanted to go back to his apartment and fall into his bed and never get out.

"More guys coming from the left." he said. Simon aimed both hands towards the street and, as soon as the group rounded the corner, he opened fire with heavenly light. The guys got completely blown away, and Simon sighed.

"I'm almost bored." He said. "They stay down so easily."

"Good." Ultear said. "It's less work for us." Drake's ears twitched, and he looked ahead of them.

"They're trying to ambush us in the square up ahead." He said. "We need to go around and stop wasting time."

"Lead on." Damien replied. Drake quickly found an alternate route towards the arena, and his friends followed close behind him. As he trekked on, he could hear explosions in the distance. Every so often his hearing picked up Nashi crying out in pain. He grimaced and shrugged it off as another cry came through.

_Be careful Nashi...Please._

* * *

Elise turned both her arms into iron clubs and went after Nemesis, who gracefully dodged both of her strikes and back-flipped away. The woman laughed as Elise looked back at her.

"It seems you have no rhyme or reason to your actions." She said. "In accordance to your intent, obviously. Revenge doesn't really give much time for the those bent on it to think."

"Why don't you shut up and fight me?" Elise demanded. Nemesis smirked.

"Twenty years and you've barely changed, Elise Redfox." She said. "No time for talk, just battle. But again, why should we waste our breath? The timeline may very soon change drastically." Elise raised an eyebrow at this.

"You're after Nashi." She said. "That means you cannot allow her to escape. Why are you talking like you won't get her?" Nemesis took her sweet time coming up with a reply, before she sighed and looked down.

"I will not lie to you, Elise Redfox." She said, looking up at Elise, eyes darkening. "I have no faith in Eris at all. If END awakens in the city, she does not stand a chance. None of us do, not in the state she is in." Elise felt her stomach turn at this, but she was curious.

"Why do you say that?" She asked. "Nashi wouldn't do that much damage. She'd defeat Eris and that'd be that."

"You're a fool.'" Elise furrowed her brow in confusion, but Nemesis continued. "Nashi is not able to control the beast inside, at least not as she is. If she cannot keep it contained, she will destroy all she loves in a manic state. I am unsure if the process of rapid aging has had any effect on her ability to contain herself, but if it hasn't, we will soon find out."

Elise looked down as images of the girl flashed through her mind. Elise knew nothing of the state Nashi had deep within, but then again she wasn't sure just how many people had an idea. Natsu probably had some idea, but who could say for sure?

Elise took a moment to look at the city in the distance, which was outlined in the skyline as the day progressed. Nothing seemed all too wrong with it, but Elise could tell from the smoke stacks and various buildings with holes that 'nothing wrong' was the last way she could describe Crocus at the moment.

'Tell me one thing." She said, looking back towards Nemesis. "If this state is so uncontrollable, what exactly do you want with it? And her?" Nemesis stared at Elise for a moment, and shifted uncomfortably.

"It is not my place to say." She said. "Zeus has been...very cryptic in why he wants Nashi for himself. I do not, however, plan on asking him unless I must know." Elise knew very well getting an answer was unlikely, and she obviously hadn't gotten one.

"You know, I just realized something." Nemesis looked intrigued, so Elise continued. "You're the Goddess of Revenge, yes? Surely you can understand that with all of the pain you and your kind are causing Nashi...She's not going to take it sitting down. She's going to go after you eventually. And when she does, She'll be out for blood."

"I am well aware." Nemesis said. "However given the defeat Kronos suffered at your hands and his inability to magnify her power to the necessary levels, I believe that her going after us is exactly what Zeus wants." Elise's eyes widened at this.

"W-What?"

"I myself don't know." Nemesis looked down. "Zeus was never found of the plan Hades concocted, but if you do successfully return to your time...I doubt they have much option." Nemesis chuckled. "But that isn't important. What is important right now is defeating you and preventing both END's awakening within the walls and her capture." Nemesis took a much more offensive stance. "So, Elise Redfox, show me what your revenge consists of." Elise growled and advanced swiftly, swinging her iron swords at the woman. She dodged the majority of them, before she actually caught her right arm on the flat end of the blade.

"The blades that ended Kronos' life." She said, smirking evilly. "They're beautiful."

"Got off of me!" Elise said, shaking her arm. Nemesis refused to let go. The woman started to glow a dark red color, and she narrowed her eyes.

"The blades that ended the life of a comrade." She whispered. Elise's eyes widened as the magic power from the woman amplified beyond it's previous levels, and Nemesis threw a punch.

The fist struck Elise in the collarbone, but a minor explosion hit her as the knuckles did and sent her flying backwards with a cry of pain. Elise clambered upwards and stared down at the mark forming on her neck.

"What the hell was that?" She demanded. Nemesis chuckled darkly.

"I am the Goddess of Revenge." She replied. "What did you think I was going to do?" Elise analyzed what had happened for a moment.

_"The blades that ended the life of a comrade."_

Elise slowly realized what Nemesis was talking about. It made sense to her now.

"I see your game." She said. "Your magic power was amplified when you spoke of my blades ending Kronos' life." Nemesis smirked.

"Astute observation." She said. "My magic power, among many things, becomes amplified when seeking revenge." Elise made a face at this. What sort of magic allowed for such an affect? Had she somehow created a magic solely for her title as Goddess of Revenge?

"So it's come to this." She said. "Revenge for my friends or revenge for Kronos. I wonder who's passion will win out." Nemesis laughed.

"I doubt, in the end, passion will make a difference."

* * *

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

Nashi dodged multiple explosions as Eris laughed her head off.

"Where are you running, Nashi honey?!" She shouted from somewhere through the smokescreen. "I know you're here somewhere!" Nashi gritted her teeth as another building feel from the explosions.

"She's insane." She muttered, dodging another blast as it tore through the smoke. Nashi jumped high into the air and fire formed in her hands. Throwing a decent sized fireball in the direction of the blasts, Nashi watched Eris tear a hole in the dead center of her attack and smirk at her.

"Is this the power Zeus craves?" She asked. "Pathetic."

"Why the hell would Zeus crave my power?" Eris laughed and crossed her arms.

"Not your power, silly girl. The power that resides deep within your very genes. There, Nashi, is the power he seeks." Nashi raised an eyebrow at this.

"Genes? What the hell does my genetics have to do with anything?" This just caused Eris to laugh once more.

"Oh man, you really don't know do you?" She asked. "That's rich. Leave it to Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel to lie to their own daughter." Nashi really had no idea what the hell Eris was going o about, but all the vague statements and talking about her parents was starting to tick her off.

"Are you just going to rant all day?" Nashi demanded. "Or are we going to fight?" Eris shrugged.

"Depends. Changed your mind yet?"

"Not a fucking chance." Eris frowned.

"Then I suppose I have no choice." Eris raised both arms, and then ground beneath Nashi rumbled angrily. She jumped just in time to avoid the biggest portion of the blast a magic exploded outwards, but she got clipped by it and flew into the remains of a tall building. Before she could recover, however, the building exploded and this sent her tumbling down with the whole thing on top of her. Nashi groaned as she did her best to free herself, which got easier as random explosions Eris set off freed most of her lower body, which allowed her to wiggle out.

Nashi jumped to her feet and blasted fire at Eris, who again shot multicolored busts of magic right through it and towards more buildings and the like to explode. The woman was crazy, obviously.

"What the hell is this magic?" She demanded. "It's destroying everything." Eris giggled.

"I'm the Goddess of Chaos, remember?" She asked. "I specialize in destroying anything I so choose. It's fun."

"You're insane."

"Matter of perspective, hun." Eris smiled. "One more chance, come with me quietly and we'll withdraw from Crocus." Nashi gritted her teeth.

"What the hell did I tell you?" She demanded. "I am _not _going with you. Go to hell." Eris smiled darkly.

"Then prepare to experience the true meaning of destruction." Eris brought her hands together, and the ground began to rumble once more. Nashi had a feeling that she could've probably said it nicer.

* * *

Luke had a pretty difficult time balancing on Kaida's back, but he didn't really know what the hell he expected. She was a snake after all, not a horse.

"Look for the others." He said, knowing Kaida could understand him."They're probably the ones causing so much destruction." Kaida stopped and hovered in place, which forced Luke to grab onto her to avoid falling to the ground below. He observed the ground zero that had become the city of Crocus, looking for any sign of the others. Other than the occasional explosion, he couldn't really see anything.

_"We should just head to the Domus Flau." _Luke heard Kaida say this in his head. She had long ago mastered the ability to use telepathy in her snake form. _"If they're anywhere, it's there."_

"Yeah, you make a good point." He agreed, yelling over the wind. "Just be careful, I'd prefer to not fall a hundred feet to my death."

_"Yeah, what a fucking shame that'd be." _Luke ignored Kaida's stab and continued to look out for anyone he recognized. He really doubted that Nashi or any of the others were having trouble with the grunts. It was, however, the higher ups he was worried about. The way Elise spoke about them, however briefly, worried him. And that woman that had blocked their path on the road. Whoever she had been, she had radiated power like he'd almost never fault.

_BOOM!_

Luke turned in the sound of the explosion, which had sounded somewhere below them. He watched for a moment, and a woman with multicolored hair could be seen through the smoke she'd thrown up. After the smoke cleared, Luke's eyes widened.

Nashi was down there as well, on her hands and knees. From what Luke could tell, she didn't look very hot.

Luke was jumping off of Kaida before he new what he was doing. He felt Kaida's tail wrap around his midsection as he stated to fall.

_"What the hell are you doing?!_" She demanded. _"I was kidding when I said it wouldn't be a shame if you fell before."_

"Nashi's down there!" He shouted. "I've got to help her!" Luke looked back down as Nashi jumped away from the woman's explosions "Let me go! I'm going to help her!" Luke squirmed against the grasp of Kaida's tail, but she didn't let go. "Kaida fuck off! I want to help her!"

_"Luke, that isn't some grunt." _Luke looked over at Kaida, and her viper eyes watched him closely. _"She's giving Nashi a hard time, so she would destroy you." _Luke watched his snake friend before he looked back down as Nashi got thrown around by more explosions.

"You think I give a damn?" He demanded. "My sister needs my help. I want to help her. Who the hell are you to tell me I can't?"

_"Sorry for giving a shit, then." _Luke could tell from her tone she was pissed off now. He sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry for getting mad. I just..." He didn't really know what he was supposed to say.

_"This isn't some petty fight, Luke." _She said. _"Like Elise said, that woman will aim to kill." _ Luke watched the woman below him, unsure as to what he could say to convince her. _"And as much as I despise you...I really don't want you to die." _

"That must be the nicest thing you've ever said to me." He joked, making her growl. "Sorry, Kaida."

_"What does that...oh you asshole!" _Luke grinned like a maniac as he caught her in her moment of weakness and pulled her tail away from his midsection.

This caused him to free-fall towards the battlefield below.

_Just hold on, Nashi. I've got your back._

**This feels like a lackluster chapter, but please understand...I need time to recover from what I saw this morning. Plus I'm winding down on content for this arc so there isn't much left anyway. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	214. Nashi and Luke vs Eris

**Been a while since I updated the day after a chapter, but we`re really close to the end of this arc! A few chapters at best!**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi tried her best to catch her breath as Eris watched her from the spot she had still not moved from. The woman had caused so much destruction Nashi wasn't even sure you could recognize the area as a city without the background.

"You know, it's funny." Eris said, making her look up as she panted. "I keep giving you chances to end the pain, and you keep making him hurt you instead."

"I'd rather go through all this pain than go with you." She hissed, anger rising into her chest. "You and your people have already caused me so much...Sitting through this isn't so hard."

"Please do not put on that attempt at bravery." Eris said. "You're not fooling anyone." Nashi gritted her teeth. She wasn't scared, she knew this very much. What she was, was uncertain. Eris had still not moved from her position, and Nashi had been tossed all around the vicinity. How was she supposed to stop this chick? Or was she just going to run?

No. No running.

Nashi got to her feet and took a deep, albeit shaky, breath.

"Oh? Want to go again?" Eris asked. Nashi looked up and examined her opponent for a moment, watching as she raised her hands to attack her again. Nashi tensed as the woman prepared the blast, one that would certainly do a fair amount of damage to anything in it's way.

"What am I supposed to do?" Nashi asked herself as the attack grew in size. "This bitch is intense..." Eris laughed at this.

"I've given you enough outs!" She shouted. "I'm done! I'll just knock you out and...!" Eris was cut off as a golden light shone down on the battlefield. This blinded both women, and Eris' attack died away. "What is this?! What have you done, Dragneel?!"

"I didn't do anything!" Nashi replied. "I'm just as lost as you!" Eris growled, but the light faded away slowly. The woman looked up, and her eyes widened.

Luke dropped right on top of her and Regulus exploded outwards.

Nashi covered her eyes as debris and light flew everywhere from the eruption of magic power. Once it died away, Nashi got a clear look as to what had happened.

"Luke?!" She asked, shocked as her brother turned and straightened the tie of the Leo Star Suit.

"Hey sis." He said. "Figured you could use some backup."

"What are you doing here?" Nashi demanded, running to him. "You should've stayed back at Magnolia, it's dangerous here." Luke rolled his eyes.

"I know that, sis." he said. He then looked back towards Eris, and Nashi followed his eyes to see Eris. The woman had been blown back from Regulus, but stood still. "But i heard what happened. Elise Kaida and I got here as fast as possible."

"Elise and Kaida too? Where are they?" Luke shrugged as Eris dusted herself off.

"Kaida probably went towards the Domus Flau looking for Drake and the others. They okay?" Nashi nodded. "Elise stayed out of the city to deal with another enemy blocking the road. I hope she's okay." Nashi had faith. Elise, after all, was older than her. If she had grown so powerful over the few years she'd rapidly aged, Elise would've been even more powerful.

"So you were the enemies Ares re-tasked Nemesis to deal with." She said, not looking very hurt from the Regulus explosion Luke caused on impact. "Looks like she did a stellar job. if the timeline doesn't change, this will be rich to hold over her head." Luke lowered his gaze slightly.

"And you are?" He asked. Eris smiled at him.

"Eris." She said. "And judging from that brash and very explosive entrance with the light of Regulus no less, you must be Luke Dragneel. The normal kid." Luke made a confused sound.

"Normal?" he asked. "What the hell does that mean?" Eris shrugged.

"If you don't know, there's no point in telling you. I'm not your mother. It's her job to tell you these things." Luke looked over at Nashi, looking lost. Nashi simply shrugged. Luke frowned but looked back at Eris.

"Well listen Eris, you caught me in a good mood." He said. "Back the fuck off and I'll leave you be."

"Oh so now I'm the one who's being negotiated with?" Eris asked. "Sorry Luke hun, I have no interest in you. You're nothing but a nuisance." Luke sighed.

"Well, I tried." He looked back at Nashi. "Well sis, this will be the first and last time I say this, but..." Luke grinned. "Wanna kick some ass with me?" Nashi watched her brother for a moment before she too grinned.

"With pleasure." She said. They both looked back towards Eris and, together, catapulted off of the ground and soared towards Eris.

Regulus and Fire struck together.

The combined impact of the fire and light caused Eris to slid back, but she quickly recovered and launched multicolored beams towards the siblings. Nashi dodged hers and continued to sprint right for the Goddess, while Luke fell back and grabbed for his keys.

"Open! Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" Scorpio appeared on the battlefield with the usual posing, and Luke rolled his eyes. "Enough of that! Attack Eris!"

"You got it, Luke!" Scorpio bent down and aimed his tail towards where Nashi and Eris traded blows, launching a torrent of sand towards them. Nashi ducked it, but Eris got a face full and backed up a little. Nashi took her opportunity and gathered fire around her feet, kicking the woman in the midsection. Eris growled as she slid backwards again.

"Enough of this backup bullshit!" She shouted, aiming a glowing hand towards Luke and Scorpio. Both had enough sense to try and move, but Luke quickly closed his gate and dodged it alone. Nashi fell back and took a deep breath.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" She shouted, the flames flying right for Eris, who simply swatted it away. Luke rushed past Nashi and delivered a few consecutive blows to Eris, who blocked all of them and swatted him away as well. Nashi caught her brother and together they went after Eris, Regulus and fire trading blows on the woman as she backed up to protect herself. Nashi stopped advancing and lit herself on fire, swinging her feet at Eris, who blocked them and created a small explosion that forced Nashi back. Luke caught her and she used his arms as a launch pad back towards the woman. Soon arrows started to fly from Luke behind Nashi, and they curved around her perfectly to strike Eris in multiple places and irritate her further. Eris exploded the ground beneath Luke, but he moved out of the way and shot more arrows at her before he used his Taurus Star Suit to stomp the ground and send a wave towards Eris. The woman caused it to explode, and Nashi rushed through the debris and delivered an iron fist to the woman's stomach. Eris slid back, stood up tall and took a deep breath.

"I can't believe this." She said, walking forwards. "It's just one irritant after another. Nashi won't come with me, I can't convince her, she gets backup, I start to _lose._"

"Uh oh." Luke said beside Nashi. She shared this feeling. Eris slowly reached for her shoulder, and Nashi watched as she undid her cape and tossed it to the side. Once the fabric had left Eris' hand, she started to glow with power. Her eyes glowed bright red, then blue, then green, and purple.

"Get ready, Luke." Nashi warned. "She's just getting started." Eris smiled hollowly.

"Congratulations, Dragneel's. You managed to piss off a _Goddess." _With this, Eris ran forwards in a flash and truck Nashi in the stomach.

_BOOM!_

Nashi felt the explosion tear the skin slightly as she flew straight up into the air. She recovered as best she could and looked down to see Eris fly right up to her and grabbed her. The second she made contact an explosion tore through Nashi again, this time sending her flying downwards back into the ground. She did her best to slow the fall to prevent hurting herself, which did work pretty well despite the pain it did cause her. She looked up as Eris went towards Luke, causing similar explosions that sent Luke flying away from her. Luke recovered quickly and blasted at the woman with Regulus, who used her own magic to match it and hit him instead. Luke hit the dirt near Nashi and coughed as he recovered.

"I knew this wasn't going to be easy," He said. "But this is a little insane. The explosions hurt so much."

"They do." Nashi said. "you going to be okay?" Luke nodded.

"Never really had a deathly serious fight before, but I'l manage." These words made Nashi realize something. Deathly serious fights was the norm for her. It seemed like she was always in a fight with some guy or girl who wanted something and she was in their way and her life was in danger.

"You'll be okay." Nashi said, standing up tall. "We've got work to do." Luke grunted in acknowledgement and stood up.

"Yeah. Let's get this bitch."

* * *

_BOOM!_

'Well, let's the last guy." Drake said, watching the guys head loll as he fell unconscious. They were standing right outside the Domus Flau, where another group, at least three times larger than others they'd seen, had been waiting. Drake didn't know if any other Gods or Goddess' were present, but if they were he hadn't seen any.

"Alright well, we're here." Simon said. "That didn't take very long."

"Not at all." Damien said, another explosion sounding in the distance. "Now let's hope there's no one inside."

"Doubt it." Ultear said. "They'd have played it stupid and come out at the sign of combat." Drake nodded and looked up at the arena. The Domus Flau towered over him as it used to, but it now stood against the backdrop of Crocus as a battlefield. Drake had to wonder how many times that had happened.

"Well, let's get going then." He said, looking towards the arena entrance. "Before more of those guys...!" Drake's ears twitched, and he looked up in surprise.

"What is it? More enemies?" Damien asked. Drake watched the sky for a moment before he chuckled.

"No." He said, pointing up. "Snake." The others followed his finger as Kaida in her snake for descended from the sky, morphing back to a human maybe five feet from the ground and stumbling as she did.

"Thank God I found you guys!" She said, smiling widely. "I was getting worried."

"What are you doing here?" Drake asked her.

"Elise, Luke and I came to help once we heard the city got overrun." She replied. "Elise had to deal with someone else outside the city, and Luke..." Her gaze darkened. "That bastard dropped a hundred feet on top of his sister to help her out, the piece of shit."

"Well, I'm sure he's okay." Simon offered her. "He's with Nashi, after all."

"That's not the point!" Kaida shouted. "I told him it was a life threatening situation and he still ignored me! It's like my opinion or thoughts don't mean a damn thing to him! Like for fuck sake Luke use your...!"

"Kaida I hate to break it to you, but you sounds like a worried girlfriend right now." Drake said flatly. This caused Kaida to scoff.

"Not even a girlfriend could snap Luke Dragneel out of his confidence based delusions! He's a lost cause through and through." Drake sighed in defeat. "Anyway, I assume you guys already dealt with all the underlings around here?"

"Look for yourself." Damien replied. Kaida took a moment and indeed noticed the area littered with unconscious Olympian soldiers.

"Damn, you tore them a new one alright." She said, whistling. "Looks like we really didn't need to come and help anyway."

_BOOM!_

The sound of a vicious explosion made everyone look towards it, where several building disappeared from the skyline. Drake frowned.

"We came from that general direction." He reminded the others. The explosions were accompanied by an explosion of light, and a torrent of flame going upwards before more explosions silenced it. "So that'd be Nashi and Luke over there."

"Yeah." Ultear said. "Don't worry about that though. Nashi can handle herself just fine." Drake knew this, but his gaze went to Kaida, who was watching the explosions with an apprehensive look on her face.

"Worried?" He asked her. After a few more seconds of staring, Kaida laughed weakly.

"...No." She said, turning to follow the others inside the arena. "Not at all. Bastard can die for all I care." Drake watched her go before he sighed and activated his magic. He smiled as he followed her in. "What?" She demanded, seeing his smirk.

"Nothing." He replied. Kaida ignored this, but Drake grinned even wider as her thoughts replayed in his mind.

_"Please be safe Luke...Please. Don't be stupid."_

Drake returned his gaze ahead of them as they went towards the arena.

"You know sis, you can say that out loud."

"I fucking knew it!"

* * *

Nashi's body hurt a great deal, even more than Apocalypse attacking her during Silverridge. The only thing keeping her standing was the accelerated age. She felt just a bit more durable.

Luke was in a bad way. Eris losing her temper had caused her to unleash way more power than before, and it really didn't bode well for them.

"What do we do?" Nashi asked, watching Eris glow with power. "She's so strong, even with the two of us working at it."

"I don't know." Luke replied, wiping blood from a mark on his stomach. "But we'd better come up with something, and quick." Nashi watched as Eris kicked aside a piece of rubble near her foot and smirked at them.

"Please don't tell me that's all you can muster." She said. "Because I got all worked up for nothing if so. See Nashi, was defying me worth all of this?" Nashi neglected to answer, assessing herself. Despite the pain she was in, movement was barely hindered. Overall, she felt fine, for now. Which was kind of the problem. Now. If this continued, she'd end up like she had at Silverridge when...

Nashi's head spun as she thought of the city. It happened every time, from blackouts to a head spin.

"Nashi, I have a plan." Nashi heard Luke say this, so she looked over at him.

"What is it?" She asked. Luke narrowed his eyes.

"Leave." He said. Nashi stared at her brother for a moment, unsure if she heard him right.

"W-What?" She asked. He looked back at her.

"Run." He clarified. "Go to the Domus Flau and return to your own time. I'll hold her off until it changes." Nashi's eyes widened as Luke stepped forward to take charge.

"What?! Are you insane?! She'll kill you!" Luke laughed.

"Does it matter?" He asked. "If you guys change the timeline, this won't ever happen. So hurry, get out of here."

"Luke...!"

"I'm not taking no for an answer!" Luke shouted. "You need to go! This in't a fight you need to fight! Go and change this for the better." Nashi made a face as Luke, no matter how bad he looked, stood between her and Eris.

_He has a point...If we change things for the better, this won't ever happen._

"...Alright, Luke." She said, nodding slowly. "I'll change the future. I promise." Luke nodded.

"You're damn right you will." He reassured. Nashi turned, but paused as she did.

"Luke?" She asked, and he hummed acknowledgement. "Please don't do anything stupid. Even if the future will change...I don't want you to get hurt." Luke didn't reply at first, but eventually he laughed and reached for his keys.

"Get yourself to the arena, sis." He said. "She's all mine." Nashi nodded, turning and fleeing the area.

"Not a chance!" Nashi stopped at this as an explosion rang out. She turned to see Eris catapulting herself towards her. "I'm not letting you escape! Zeus was crystal clear with his orders and I intent to...!"

_BOOM!_

Nashi winced as Eris received the full force of Taurus' axe, which sent her right into the dirt between Nashi, Luke and Taurus.

"Go!" Luke shouted. "We've got it!"

"Get moooving!" Taurus shouted as well. "We'll hold off the babe!" Nashi nodded and turned, returning to running away from the scene. She could obviously see the Domus Flau in the distance, and she went for it.

_Good luck little brother. You're going to need it._

* * *

Luke watched Nashi run away, Taurus by his side. After a few seconds he heard the tiles of the ground shift as Eris lifted herself up from the hole Taurus had created for her.

"Do you have _any _idea how foolish you are?" Eris hissed, blood trickling from her nose. "I'm going to kill you, little boy." Luke lowered his gaze with a chuckle.

"Are you now?" he asked. A glow surrounded his body. Taurus prepared himself. "Good. Because I'm not letting you out of my sight unless it's over my own damn body." He turned back to the woman and squared off with her. Eris growled.

"You seem abhorrently courageous." She stated. "Or perhaps you are just the foolhardy little brother trying to prove his worth to his better older sister. Is that it Luke Dragneel? Are you trying to make something of yourself?" Luke laughed, his Leo Star Suit returning to his body and covering up most of his wounds. Regulus shone brightly.

"No." he replied. "But you're damn sure I'm the little brother hellbent on protecting the older sister he loves dearly. Ready Taurus?"

"When you are." Taurus replied. "No matter how hot this babe is, we will udderly destroy her!" Luke couldn't help but crack a smile at this. Always the pervert.

"Then let's do it. For a better future!" Luke launched himself forward with Taurus, and both swung at the Goddess of Chaos at the same time.

Luke realized Drake was wrong.

The life or death battles didn't skip generations at all.

**Maybe not the tag team you were expecting, but it makes sense right? I hoe you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	215. For a Better Future

**So we're close to the end! I'm sure you guys are looking forward to a break as well. **

**Enjoy!**

"Foolish boy!" Luke gritted his teeth as another explosion tore him from the ground and tossed him around like a rag doll. "Just who the hell do you think you are?! I am the Goddess of Chaos! You're nothing!"

Luke felt she was right the more he hit the ground.

He struggled to his knees, but his body threatened to stop him. Although his attempts had been valiant, Eris was wasting her time at this point. Not that Luke cared, though. As long as he could stop her long enough for the others to alter the future, he didn't care. He heard Eris approaching him, and he looked up to find her staring down at him.

"Answer me, maggot." She hissed. "Who do you think you are?" Luke watched her before he chuckled.

"I'm just a guy." he replied. "Nothing special."

"Well you've got that right, you dumbass. Not like your sister, you aren't." Luke stared up at Eris as the woman glared at him. "A shame, too. The plan could've been reworked on the fly had you been the same as her."

"What are you on about?" Luke asked, spitting out blood. "Why are you after my sister?" Eris laughed coldly.

"I am getting so sick and tired of you asking questions your own father should've answered." She spat. "You want to know, boy?" Allow me to inform you." Eris bent down and got right in Luke's face. "Your sister is an Etherious. The last awoken one of earth."

"...What?" Luke asked, confused. Etherious? Awoken?

"Your sister inherited a very special ability from your father. A power he spent almost seventeen years looking for a way to seal away forever. Unfortunately, he impregnated your mother before he left and thus, your sister was given the Etherious gene." Luke stared at Eris as the woman explained this to him, his stomach churning violently.

He was brought back to his fight with Nashi as she glared at him like an animal descending on it's wounded prey.

His eyes widened. Had that...?

"And We, the Olympians, spent years making a plan for her so we could utilize her strength..." Eris gritted her teeth and grabbed Luke by the throat. "We waited seventeen years for her to awaken! Seventeen! And then Kronos fucked up and he had to wait another twenty! I'm done waiting! She's OURS!" The woman's hand caused an explosion that sent Luke flying. He landed hard and groaned in pain, struggling to stand. Eris stormed over in anger.

"Not even the Oracle could find that bitch..." She hissed, seething with rage. "We risked so much with Kronos and he nearly ended us! We should've just gone with Hades' plan from the start!"

"What are you talking about?" Luke demanded. "Start making some sense!" Eris kicked his stomach, and a small explosion sent him back to the ground.

"Don't speak to me." She growled. "You're in the way. We've waited thirty seven years for Nashi to become strong enough, and I'm not waiting another fucking second! We don't have the time!" Eris kicked him again, and Luke was sent flying. He rolled through the debris, but he didn't bother trying to stand. It hurt to much. All he did was reach for his keys weakly.

"Open...Gate of the...Ram...Aries." The spell was said weakly, but soon the fluffy spirit appeared and looked around in confusion.

"Luke?" She asked timidly, before spotting him lying in a heap next to her. "Luke?! What happened?!"

"Aries..." He hissed. "We ain't doing so hot."

"Are you okay?! Do you need help?!"

"You are the help." He said weakly, making Aries gulp and look over her shoulder towards Eris, who regarded them coldly. "She's the enemy. I don't expect you to beat her..." Luke groaned and gripped his throat as pain seared across him. "Just...Hold her off. Please." Aries looked terrified, but she nodded and slowly stood.

"I'll do my best, Luke." She whispered. "I'm sorry but, please don't expect much." Luke watched painfully as the spirit and Eris squared off, and the woman rolled her eyes.

"The amount of foolhardiness astonishes me. Come, goat. Let me see what your made of."

* * *

Nashi sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her towards the Domus Flau. She could tell from the amount of unconscious or dead soldiers her friends had torn a path through the area, but she payed none of them any mind. She was focused solely on regulating her breathing and making sure she got to the arena as quickly as possible. Rounding another corner, Nashi spotted a patrol of Olympian soldiers.

"Ares said she went this way! Find her!"

"Fuck..." Nashi hissed as she overheard this. She didn't have time to deal with these idiots! She had to make it to the Domus Flau. Looking around quickly, Nashi ducked into the destroyed remains of a house and hoped for the best. She heard the men approaching her, and she held her breath as they got closer and closer. She could see them walking right past her without a care in the world, and soon enough they were gone. Nashi slowly got up from her hiding spot and checked the area, before laughing weakly.

"Idiots...All of them." She said, before running in the direction of the Domus Flau once more. The explosions she heard in the distance only spurred her to run even faster.

It disturbed her gravely that the explosions seemed solely one sided.

* * *

Elise could barely move at this point. Nemesis power was something she'd never expected to experience on this scale. How was it that the woman was so powerful.

"I should've expected as much." She heard Nemesis say. "You've lost your touch over the years. Where's the woman that hacked Kronos to pieces in a blind rage?"

Elise, too, would like to know where that woman had gone. But she knew very well the answer. She'd died.

Elise had spent the majority of the years since she'd killed Kronos not really doing much work with her magic. She took the occasional job, but for the most part she really didn't do anything too strenuous like in her youth. She knew she might not be able to keep up with Nemesis, but for it to be _this _bad, she knew she had to step it up.

But at the same time, she knew it barely mattered what happened to her. As long as the others made it to the Domus Flau. Elise struggled to her feet and laughed.

"Had I known you and your kind were this powerful...I might have gone after you sooner." Nemesis shook her head.

"I'm not even one of the Twelve." She said. "The Twelve big players in the Olympians...Are like nothing you've ever seen before." Elise had a sneaking suspicion this was the case. If the Olympians were as big of a threat as she'd always assumed they were, Nemesis being a major players would be disappointing to say the least.

"Not like that matters now." Elise said. Nemesis raised an eyebrow.

"No?" She asked. "Tell me, Elise Redfox, what was life like for you twenty years ago?" Elise didn't have a hard time coming up with that, she remembered that day vividly.

"The others left for the arena without because I locked myself in my room." She stated flatly. The Phantom Dove incident no longer bothered her very much. "And that was the last time I saw them until now."

"Hm, yes. And why did you lock yourself away again?"

"I was raped by members of Phantom Dove."

"Hm. And who controlled that guild?"

"The..." Elise's eyes widened at this. She'd finally realized what Nemesis was on about. How had she not realized? Nemesis nodded.

"Exactly. The Olympians caused you and your friends a lot of pain twenty years ago if I recall. So what do you think is going to happen when your friends return to then? Did you think things would change? Did you think they'd stop because of a single mishap? No. We'll keep coming no matter what timeline it is." Elise stared down at the ground as she contemplated this. She knew Nemesis was right. They wouldn't stop coming, they wouldn't stop trying.

They wanted one thing and one thing only. And they'd get it no matter what time they were in.

"Well, you've made your point." Elise said, standing up. "But I think we should finish things up here, no?" Nemesis glowed with dark red energy, and Elise tensed up as the woman cracked her neck.

"Yes, we do." The woman struck Elise, and another vicious looking mark formed on her stomach as she slid backwards, trying to hold in the cry of pain she felt in her throat.

"This is crazy." She murmured as Nemesis reached her again and delivered a strike so powerful Elise was thrown to her back, spread eagle on the road. Nemesis walked up to her and regarded her like one would an insect.

"I really should finish up here." She stated flatly. "Eris hasn't contacted me to brag, so I assume she'd fucking up. I really should go and deal with that." The woman bent down ,grabbed Elise by her collar, and reared a fist back that was coated in the same dark red magic as before. Elise stared at the fist, waiting for it strike.

So you could imagine her surprise when Nemesis dropped Elise, stumbling forward before falling into the ditch near them with a grunt of pain. Elise sat up painfully and looked over the side of the road down at the Goddess, who was rubbing her head. Elise turned and looked down the road, and her eyes widened.

"K-Keita?" She asked weakly, staring at her husband. The Shadow Dragon walked towards her with a small smile on his face.

"Looking good, honey." He said, bending down and offering her a hand up. She took it and stood weakly, shaking a bit. "You okay?" He asked. Elise shrugged.

"Been better." She replied. "How did you get here?"

"Remember the Cross-Crocus footrace?" He asked. "Shadows can move pretty fast. Plus the second the news reports said they saw a snake caring a blonde man towards the city while another woman squared off with someone on the road, Lucy and Levy wouldn't let me hear the end of it until I came." Elise had the sneaking suspicion Lucy nor her mother really had to do that much convincing.

"Good thing you got here." She said. "The others should be almost there, honestly." Keita nodded, and both turned as Nemesis crawled out of the ditch and dusted herself off, narrowing her eyes at Keita.

"Ah, Keita Cheney." She said. "Saving his useless wife. How poetic."

"I suppose." Keita reply. "And you are?"

"Does it matter?" Nemesis asked. "I think that it will not matter soon enough." Keita nodded.

"True enough." He then looked over at Elise. "What do you say, honey? One last time?" Elise smiled at him, nodding.

"One last time." Together, the two of them turned and launched themselves at Nemesis, who glowed dark red.

* * *

Once Nashi had finally reached the Domus Flau and stepped inside, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. She'd made it. She ran inside and navigated it as best she could, looking for her way up into the arena itself. She soon found it, and ran up it.

"Guys!" She shouted, catching her friends attention. "I'm here!" They smiled as she approached.

"Done with Eris already?" Damien asked. Nashi shook her head.

"Luke is holding her off." She said.

"Huh?" Nashi looked past her friends to find Kaida looking up at her from her seat on the ground. "He's fighting her alone?" Nashi nodded weakly.

"He wouldn't take no for an answer." She whispered. "But he'll be okay, I'm sure of it." Kaida didn't look very sure, but Nashi had no time to wonder. She turned to Ultear, who seemed to be rattling off numbers under her breath. "You ready Ul?"

"...Yeah." The woman replied. "Take your positions, everyone. Let's get the hell out of here." Everyone nodded and moved into the positions they'd had when Kronos sent them back, and waited as Ultear continued to rattle of the numbers.

"You good?" Simon asked her, but she looked unsure.

"It's a really long decimal." She replied. "But I've got it. Ready Nashi?"

"When you are." She replied. Ultear outstretched her hands, and sure enough the mist and sphere formed around her once again. Her friends recreated trying to free her, and then the magic turned red as it started to screech. Nashi covered her ears and waited for it to be over, and soon, it ended.

And they started to fade away.

"Well, let's pray Macbeth got it right." Drake said. Nashi nodded, and looked over at the others, but formed in confusion.

"Guys?" She asked, everyone looking over at her. "Where did Kaida go?" Everyone followed her finger, but the takeover wizard had disappeared. Probably for the best, just in case she got caught up n the attack.

"Well," Drake said as they all faded away. "Here we go." Nashi nodded.

As she lost sight of her friends, a blinded white flash appeared.

* * *

Luke watched as Scorpio, took, got torn through. He'd run out of spirits, and out of magic.

"Done?" Eris asked, but Luke didn't reply. He didn't really have the strength after trying every gate. "Fool. You used up so much magic doing that." Luke looked up to find Eris aiming an open palm at him, the multicolored magic ready to tear him apart. He couldn't do anything to stop her, so he closed his eyes and waited.

Luke nearly through up as he was jerked from his position on the ground and into the air. He looked up in confusion, and turned to find a purple snake carrying him through the sky.

"Kai...da?" He asked weakly. Her voice chuckled inside his head.

_"You idiot."_ She said._ "Taking her on by yourself." _Luke managed a weak chuckle at this.

"I'm sorry." He said. "Did the others...?"

Luke was stunned as a blinding white light made him cover his eyes. Kaida groaned and did her best to look away.

_There's your answer" _Luke looked up and as he did so, the blinding white light moved away from the Domus Flau and towards them. It was a blinding white wave of pure magic power. He chuckled as it engulfed them.

"Good luck sis...You'll need it."

* * *

Elise covered her eyes as a white light threatened to burn her eyesight away. She could hear Nemesis chuckle.

"Looks like we failed." She said, also covering her eyes. "Oh well. Not like we won't get her anyway." Elise looked over towards Keita, and he looked at her.

"Looks like this is it." He said. "See you in the next timeline, Elise." Elise nodded as tears escaped her eyes.

"Yeah..." She replied. "I love you, Keita." Keita nodded as the wave engulfed them.

"I love you too."

* * *

Zeus watched as the white wave of magic, originating from the Domus Flau, encompassed the entirety of the city and continued to explode outwards.

"They've done it." He said. "The future is changed." The other man in the room laughed.

"Appears so." Hades replied. "I assume that means that my old plan will be used?" Zeus grew apprehensive at this, but nodded.

"If it comes down to it." He said.

"You know it will." Zeus looked out the window as the wave of magic soared towards them.

"I wish you the best, Nashi Dragneel. For soon, it will all come to an end. For better or for worse."

And with that, the entirety of Earthland was covered by the white glow, and the future altered.

But was it truly for the better?

**One more chapter, guys! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	216. A Future Altered

**Here we go! Last chapter for this arc!**

**Enjoy!**

Natsu continued to pound away at the shield preventing him from storming the arena, and he wasn't going to stop for anything.

Whatever that asshole, wanted, he wasn't going to get it.

"Natsu hurry!" Lucy shouted. Natsu growled angrily and continued to pound away at it.

He had to hurry.

Giving it one final punch, Natsu's fist broke through the shield preventing his advance, and he sprung to action. He dove down onto the field and ran as fast as he could towards his daughter who was slowly disappearing before his very eyes.

_Hurry up..._

Her friends were slowly disappearing as well.

_Hurry up...!"_

"Nashi!" He shouted, and she turned to look at him. He met her gaze,

"She looked scared and confused.

"Dad..." Natsu reached out to grab her shoulders.

His hands met open air.

His eyes widened as Nashi completely disappeared from view. He looked around, but the others were gone as well.

_...No..._

They were gone...

_No..._

His baby girl.

Pure rage coursed through Natsu.

_He did this...He caused this...!_

Natsu whirled in the direction of the man who'd caused her to disappear.

He was gone.

He'd disappeared completely from the Domus Flau. Natsu couldn't even smell him.

Silence.

No one spoke. The competitors in the arena were silent. The crowd was silent. Ross was silent. Hisui was silent.

The sound that pierced the silence was Lucy screaming her daughters name. Natsu had very rarely heard the woman he loved sound so devastated.

"What the hell?" He heard Michael ask. "They're gone!"

"What was that?" Terra asked, but Natsu dropped to his knees as he growled in anger. This was his fault. If he'd broken through the shield faster, maybe he could've...

_BOOM!_

Natsu looked up as the Domus Flau rocked from the explosion. What had that been?

_BOOM! BOOM!_

Natsu looked around as the arena suffered from more explosions, and soon the competitors got to their feet and looked around as well. Was that asshole who'd caused them to disappeared behind this?

_BOOM!_

The opposite entrance to the arena exploded, bits of rock flying everywhere.

The man, Kronos, rolled out of the blast and climbed to his feet quickly, eyeing the blast.

"How was this possible?" He asked the smokescreen. "What happened?" Natsu watched the smokescreen created by the explosion, and heard a laugh. A woman's laugh.

"Explaining it would take all day Kronos." It said. "Let's skip to the ass kicking." Soon enough, the figure walked into the arena.

All five did.

Natsu's eyes widened as the whole group walked back into the Domus Flau.

Well at least, we assumed it was his daughter and the others. However they seemed...different. Older, almost. Nashi glowered at Kronos.

"You caused a lot of pain, asshole." She told him. "Good thing we made it back." Kronos looked confused.

"Back? Where did you go?!" Drake chuckled.

"Not important." He said, cracking his knuckles. "What is though, is how I've wanted another go at you for the past..." Drake made a face. "Well...However long we were gone."

"Looks like a few seconds for them." Ultear answered him. "So a few seconds. For us it'd be maybe a week. I guess." Drake shrugged.

"Whatever. So, Kronos, you ready to receive your second ass kicking?" Drake glowed dark red. Nashi's body erupted in flames. Simon's katanas appeared in his hands. Damien took over into his demon form, and Ultear discarded her shirt to the side. Kronos stared at them before he laughed.

"So the dynamic group survives another attack. Come, let me see what the past few months have wrought!"

* * *

Nashi knew this was going to be an interesting battle. Kronos was very strong, so much so it took Erik and all of them combined plus Katsuchi. Tetsu and Azzie to beat him before.

_Speaking of..._

Nashi looked over towards the crowd and scanned it as fast as she could. Soon enough, her eyes fell on the trio from Devil Advocate, all three looking stunned.

_Azzie's alive...The future's changed._

Nashi returned her eyes to Kronos as black fire whipped around him.

"Well then, Fairy Tail, let us see how...!" Kronos was cut off as a blast of poison struck him in the stomach, and they all looked at Drake.

"I'm tired of him doing a monologue" He hissed. "Let's get him!" Nashi smiled and launched herself forward towards the man, who tried to prepare himself with black fire. Nashi laughed as the flames barely even stung.

"Sorry Kronos, but your fuck up made it even easier to fight you!" She shouted, driving a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist into his chest. He had, after all, forced them to time jump and their aging from the future had not gone away yet. As Kronos slid away from her, he had no time to recover before Drake was behind him. He turned and tried to strike him, but Drake dodged every strike and grinned.

"I heard you." he said, round-housing Kronos in the face with poison. The man stumbled back and Ultear and Simon ran towards him.

"Ice Make: Sword!" Ultear shouted, the sword in her hand forming just in time to cleave right through the metal that Kronos had connecting his metal arm to his body. The old man looked stunned at this, and Simon drove his katana into his face, which appeared to damage his metal half as it started to spark as Simon backed up.

"You foolish children!" He roared, Hellenization magic flying at them as he tried to save himself. "I need this metal to survive! Stop attacking it!"

"Oho?" Kronos paused, and Nashi watched with a grin as Damien landed behind him. "You want to survive, do you?" Damien stood up straight and unfurled his wing as Kronos stared at him. "Funny how the tables turned since last time we crossed paths, hm?" Damien grabbed the man by his collar, and threw him straight upwards. He brought his hands together, and darkness formed there. "Soul Extinction!" The blast struck Kronos directly, and the man fell like a rock back onto the battlefield.

He attempted to stand, but Nashi rushed to his side and held him down, Her fist coated in flames right next to his face.

"One move." She threatened. "And your fleshy bits get charred too." Kronos looked defiant, but in time his expression calmed and he nodded.

"Whatever you say." He said. Nashi raised an eyebrow.

"Giving up so easily? No like you, old man." Nashi held the man down as she heard royal army men rushing the battlefield, and soon enough Kronos was in anti-magic handcuffs.

And, of course, Ross realized he'd been quiet for almost five minutes.

_"WHAT A SHOW OF POWER! After disappearing, Nashi and her team reappeared, and devastated their attacker!_ _This year has truly been one of the best the Grand Magic Games has ever seen!" N_ashi watched as the men restrained Kronos.

"Make sure he rots for whats left of his life." She said, glaring at the old man. The men, not in any mood to argue with her, simply nodded and began to escort Kronos out as the crowd booed him and cheered for Nashi and the others. The men began to walk Kronos past her and her friends, but Kronos held them up for a moment.

"Nashi...Dragneel." Nashi narrowed her eyes as Kronos said her name, his sinister robotic voice sounding weak and damaged. "You...Have made many errors." Kronos stared at her with his good eye. "You have no idea what's in store for you. And the others."

"We'll handle it." She replied. "Trust me."

"Can you really? With the Gods themselves angry with you?" Nashi licked her teeth in irritation at this.

"Oh right, you reminded me of something important I had to do." Kronos raised his eyebrow, and Nashi turned to look up at the sky. Her eyes honed in on the lacrima floating their broadcasting the events, and she pointed up at it.

"Listen up, you Olympians bastards!" She shouted, voice silencing everyone in the crowd as she shouted at he magical device. "If you _ever _try to hurt me or my friends ever again, there will be no holding back! Do you hear me Zeus?! It's fucking go time next time our paths cross!" Nobody in the crowd must've had a clue what Nashi was talking about, but she felt pretty empowered as the lacrima vision just stared down at her.

_I know you're watching. I know you heard me._

The men forced Kronos to continue walking, and soon enough he was out of the arena.

"Nashi?" Nashi jumped a bit and turned to find her father standing there, looking confused. "Are you...Okay?" Nashi smiled at him.

"Yep! We're okay. You're looking better too."

"What?" He asked, confused. Nashi chuckled and looked down at the ground.

"Nothing...Nothing at all." It made no difference whether or not her dad knew about the future. It was changed, after all. Nashi watched as her friends were swarmed by the others in the arena, asking them questions and telling them how awesome the fight had been. She did notice, however, that Damien seemed to be rather fidgety.

"You okay?" She asked him, making him look at her. "We won, you know. It's over." Damien nodded.

"Yeah, for now." He said. "I just hope everything the way it's supposed to be..." Damien looked pretty worried, but he didn't say anything more. Nashi's thoughts were thrust elsewhere as her mother wrapped her in a surprise hug from which she couldn't escape.

* * *

"Jeez, you see that man?! Crazy shit!"

"Yep! Those kids from Fairy Tail sure are something else." The men all around the bar laughed, and the bartender turned towards the waitress watching the lacrima vision with relief in her eyes.

"Get moving, Steph!" He shouted. "The crisis is over and we have people to serve!" The waitress, Steph, laughed and covered her eyes so her boss would not see her tears trying to escape her eyes.

"I'll get on that... She whispered weakly, trying to hold the tears back as best she could.

After all, no crying.

* * *

"So," Zeus said. "The Time Wound." Athena nodded as Fairy Tail celebrated on the lacrima vision.

"Yes. Ultear Milkovich's use of Last Ages many years ago caused this rift within the city." Zeus nodded.

"Well, it seems any major crisis has been somewhat averted. END is still present." Athena nodded.

"Shall I gather Hades, Master?" She asked. "See if he is ready to start his plan B?" Zeus sighed, but eventually nodded.

"Yes, if you would." He said. Athena left the room, and Zeus looked down at the lacrima vision as the guilds continued to celebrate. He watched Queen Hisui give the cup back to team Fairy Tail, and then whisper something to them. Presumably their invitation to the Royal Ball. Zeus frowned.

_"It's fucking go time next time our paths cross!"_

"Unfortunately, Nashi darling, the next time our paths cross may very well be the last. For if Hades succeeds, we can move on to phase two..."

"Master!" Zeus looked up as a man with bright golden hair ran into the room, looking panicked.

"Apollo." He said. "What is it?" The God of the Sun gulped.

"It's happened again." he said. Zeus nodded curtly and stood from his seat, following Apollo out of the room and down the hall. They soon reached their destination, and Zeus stepped inside the room.

Inside, sitting up on a bed staring out the window, was a woman with silvery hair and golden eyes. She seemed to be in a fair away place, But looked over as Zeus cleared his throat.

"Ah, Master Zeus." She said, speaking softly. "I see Apollo summoned you."

"He did." Zeus replied. "He says you've seen more of this future." The woman nodded and returned her eyes to the window.

"It was only bits and pieces." She replied. "But I saw it...A sky darkened by the smoke of the world as it falls. The armies of the damned walking the earth to please the King." Zeus nodded at this. He'd heard all of this before.

"Was there anything else, Oracle?" He asked. The woman nodded. She remained silent for a moment, before she turned to Zeus.

"I heard a phrase spoken to me." Zeus pressed his lips together in anticipation.

"What was it?" He asked. The Oracle looked down at her lap, before she looked out the window once more.

"When the King rises, Humanity will find salvation in the end."

* * *

Elise stared out her window as the sun set around the city of Crocus. She'd heard the guild come back only a little bit ago, talking about the Royal Ball Hisui had invited them too and what they were supposed to wear to it. Not like she gave a damn, they wasn't going.

Elise didn't like feeling so angry with her friends, but she couldn't help it. She was still fuming about the lies. How could she face them knowing what happened to her.

Elise jumped as something hit the ground behind her. She turned to find the doorknob rolling across the ground. The other side of it had been melted away.

Melted.

Elise quickly looked away as the door opened, revealing Nashi and the others standing there.

"Hey." Nashi greeted softly. Her voice seemed different for some reason. "Elise?"

"Go away." Elise replied. They didn't. As a matter of fact they walked inside. "I don't want to talk to you." No one spoke, but Elise felt Nashi sit on the edge of the bed and she put a hand on her shoulder. Elise would've shrugged it away, but it was nice to have someone try to comfort her.

"I'm sorry." Nashi whispered. "I...We're so sorry we kept this from you."

Elise remained silent.

"I can't begin to imagine what you're going through." She continued. "But after what's happened today...I realized something."

"What?"

"...When my Dad came home, I was pretty distraught over everything that happened." She said. "But that day someone sought me out and told me everything was going to be okay. You remember who that was, Elise?"

"..."

"Because I remember who it was. It was you. You went out of your way to find me and make sure I knew that everything was going to work out. And oh boy were you right. Look at us now."

"..."

"I know you're mad, and you have every right to be. But as your friends, we want to help you. But you have to let us." Nashi laughed weakly. "Let us tell you everything's going to be okay. We'd never lie to you." Elise laughed coldly.

"Really, Nashi?" She asked.

"You know what I meant." She retorted. "You can't lock yourself away and dwell on this. Let us help you." Elise didn't reply, mostly because she wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to like this, but...

"Look at it this way." It was Drake who spoke up. "Long story short, we've seen the future." Elise didn't look back at this. "I know you probably don't believe me, but listen to us. Sound different?" They did. They sounded...older. Elise's eyes widened.

"And in the future we saw..." Ultear said. "The Elise we saw...She wasn't this Elise. She was happy, she had a family, she had everything." A family? Happy? Elise wasn't sure if it sounded like bullshit or not.

"You can get through this." Simon said. "Let us help you." Elise still didn't reply, and Nashi sighed.

"Just let us know if you're ready, okay?" She said. "And we'll do our best." She felt Nashi get off of the bed, and the group turned to leave.

Elise lashed out and grabbed the pinkette's hand.

"...You guys make it so damn hard to be mad at you." She said loudly. She turned to look at them and surely, they looked older. "But I'll take you up on that offer, Nashi." Nashi smiled.

"Thanks." She said, moving back and hugging the girl. "Trust me, it'll get better." Elise shrugged as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"I damn well hope so."

**And this concludes the Kronos arc! I know that this chapter probably wasn't what you guys were expecting, but it's setup! Trust me, big things are afoot. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get ten for the end of the arc!**


	217. The Royal Ball

**And thus, the filler begins! Trust me though, you guys will enjoy this!**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi had an idea as to what fancy parties were like, and the one she was currently attended really reinforced the stereotype. The food was clearly expensive, the people there looked about as snotty as you could get, and Nashi felt extremely out of place.

Nashi didn't consider herself that bad, but standing in Mercurius in a fancy dress she'd bought the morning before reminded her she'd grown up in a booze soaked guild hall. She didn't know how to act in a situation like this.

"Ugh, this thing is so tight..." Nashi hissed, standing up a bit straighter as the dress squeezed her. "Really wasn't that bad when I bought it...Or I probably assumed the de-aging was farther along..." Nashi looked down, which made it obvious that she hadn't reverted back to the proper age yet. She and the others were on their way, but it wasn't done yet. Thank God they were at all, honestly. Being stuck at the age she'd gone too wouldn't have been very fun.

"Nashi?" Nashi made a face as she turned to find Ultear standing there. "You okay?" Nashi shrugged.

"Yeah." She said. "Really should have given this dress more thought..."

"You too then?" She asked, also shifting uncomfortably. "Looks like we forgot." This made them both laugh. "But really, this place is so not our style."

"I know." Nashi replied. "I'm more accustomed to people flipping tables and fighting over stupid shit."

"Yep." Ultear looked around the ball room with a smile. "At least everyone else is having fun." Nashi had to admit that as she looked around herself, the others guilds seemed to be having a lot of fun too. Which was good given the events that transpired at the end of the Games. Unwinding would be a good thing. For them especially.

"Well, let's stop complaining about it and...!" Nashi was cut off as an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her away. The same body did it to Ultear as well. Looking up, Nashi recognized the maroon colored hair.

"What are you doing, Drake?" She asked as her friend pulled herself and Ultear along. Drake looked panicked.

"Shut up and look happy." he hissed. Neither girl had any idea what he was talking about, but they listened and did as asked. Drake steered them towards the tables with food, and they held that position for a few seconds.

"Drake, what are we..." Drake hushed Ultear and grimaced.

"Wait for it." He said. Nashi looked around in confusion, but she soon saw it. A literal wave of women were wandering around the dance floor, and they all seemed to be looking for someone. Nashi put the clues together fairly well after that.

"Aw, you poor bastard." Nashi teased, smirking at Drake as the girls moved on. "Getting hit on too much, boo?"

"Don't call me that." Drake said, releasing her and Ultear. "They won't leave me alone or take no for an answer. It's hell."

"I bet it is, you sap." Ultear said, investigating the table for food. "But hey, you brought me right to my favorite place so I won't complain." Nashi took a moment to look at the food, but decided the dress was tight enough as it was. She looked back at Drake and smiled as he looked around for his wave of admirers.

"I don't understand." She stated flatly. Drake laughed coldly.

"You think I do?" He demanded. "If I could prevent this from happening I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"I bet." Nashi looked around. "Why don't you find someone who'll act as your date?"

"That an offer?" He asked.

"Like hell I'm putting myself in that position." Nashi said, snorting. "Good luck." Drake sighed, but seemed to understand it was his problem alone. He walked off, albeit nervously, before sprinting towards Simon for cover. Nashi rolled her eyes as she turned back to Ultear to find the girl eating a slice of cheesecake.

"That any good?" She asked. Ultear nodded and put a bit on her fork for Nashi. Nashi accepted the bite happily, and hummed in satisfaction.

"Holy shit." She said as she swallowed. Ultear nodded.

"Right?" She asked. 'I may need to stop stripping publicly if they have food like this here. I'll be a sphere before the night ends." Nashi knew this went for her as well. She avoided looking at the cake for too long and looked back out towards the crowd. She could see her parents and the others competitors parents discussing thing all around as well, and they too seemed happy. Nashi was glad a fight hadn't erupted yet.

"You sure you don't want a slice, Nashi?"

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"You really need to calm down, man." Simon said. Drake scoffed.

"Please tell me that when you get hunted by fangirls who want things ranging from your autograph to your children." The Poison Dragon's ears twitched again, and he relaxed a bit. "Anyway, why exactly did we come here?"

"Because Queen Hisui invited us." Simon replied, crossing his arms and looking around. "Saying no would be a little bit rude."

"Still, this is so not our style." Simon had to agree. He really didn't like the whole atmosphere they were in but regardless, they had to sit through it. Besides, the music was good, food even better, and company not so bad. They'd be fine.

"Scarlet!" Simon and Drake turned to find Nami standing there.

"Nami." Simon greeted as the girl walked up to them. "What's up?"

"You sure did a number on that guy the other day." She said. "Really impressive."

"Thanks." Simon replied. "He had it coming."

"Sure did." Nami observed their surroundings. "Have you seen my antisocial jackass of a brother? He said he'd show but I haven't seen him."

"He's probably with Michael." Drake said. "You barely have one without the other." Nami sighed.

"Too true." She agreed. "Well, I'd better go and make sure I bless his night with my presence. See ya!" Nami walked off to terrorize her brother, and Simon sighed.

"I can't help but feel a bit bad for Keita."

"I know right?"

* * *

Damien knew he was exuding a rather angry aura, but he was doing it on purpose. He really didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. He'd been dragged to the castle for this royal ball against his will. He;d wanted to go straight to the village he'd left Steph at and make sure he'd changed history, but his father was having none of his vague excuses.

_She'd better be okay..._

Damien reached into his picket and felt his hand graze the note. It was the note his sister had left with her caregiver twenty years into an alternate timeline. The fact that the paper had not disappeared yet made him nervous. Had he been to late? He couldn't have been, if she'd watched him and the others disappear during the Games, she'd have seen them reappear in the altered timeline. And subsequently, stay where she was and wait for him. Whatever, he could leave at the end of the night. No big deal.

"Damien!" Who the hell was actually bothering him?

"What?" Damien asked, looking up. "I don't want...!" He froze.

Bella stood in front of him, looking drop dead gorgeous as usual. Her hair was up in a bun, and her sparkly blue dress covered every curve of her perfect body perfectly. Damien couldn't help but stare at her as...

Wait.

Damien growled and grabbed is head.

"Fuck off with that seduction shit, woman." He snapped. "I'm not in the mood." Bella's smiled faltered.

"Sorry." She murmured. "I...I didn't realize you were in a bad mood." Damien looked up to find Bella looking slightly hurt by his outburst, and he sighed. He knew she didn't mean him any harm, but he really didn't want to take any of her shit.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry." he said. "I shouldn't have been so rude." Bella's smile bounced right back and she clapped her hands together.

"There's the Damien I know! Such a gentlemen."

"Right..."

"Anyway, now that you're not under my spell, how do I look?" Damien made a face at this.

"Is it even a question?" He asked, making Bella raise an eyebrow. "You can't possibly look anything short of perfect." At first his response seemed to stun her, but she smiled coyly.

"My my Damien. Here now _I'm _the one being seduced." Damien rolled his eyes, but her appreciated her attempt at humor. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"No?" Damien asked, looking down at the suit Simon and Drake had thrust on him. "I don't really give a shit regardless, so..."

"REALIGHT!" The shout startled Damien, apparently Bella as well give her reaction. She jumped _into _Damien's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing herself right up against him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Damien demanded. Bella snorted.

"Wait for it." She said. Sure enough, Terra stormed through the crowd towards them, and now Damien saw what the crafty demon had in store. He tried to free himself, but it was to no avail. Bella's grip was iron. When Terra got close enough to see them, her angry gaze turned icy cold.

"What am I walking into?" She asked.

"It's nothing like you're thinking." Damien reassured, glaring at the side of Bella's head. "She's trying to fuck with you." Terra sighed.

"I should have known that." She said Bella turned stuck her tongue out at Damien.

"Poor sport." She said flatly. "What do you want Terra?" She asked, looking back at Terra. Terra crossed her arms.

"I want you to stop saying all that shit to me." She said. "I don't care."

"Now if that were true, you would not have stormed over here to tell me that." Bella quipped, making Terra's face light up. Now Damien had to wonder what it was the girls had been talking about. "So I think I know you better than yourself."

"No you don't."

"Yeah I think I do."

"No, you don't.

"Mm hm."

"Realight..."

"Yes, sweet cakes?" Terra made a series of livid hand motions before she growled under her breath and stormed off. Damien watched before he looked at Bella.

"What was that?" He asked. Bella laughed.

"Nothing, sweetie."

"Now that a lie." Bella laughed as she got off of Damien's lap and stood in front of him. she turned and winked at him before she walked away. Damien watched her go- as he loved to because she was...Fucking Bella.

"Your ass is not that great." He called out, and Bella cackled loudly as she continued to walk away.

"Keep telling yourself that, hun."

* * *

"How did you talk me into that?" Nashi demanded. Ultear shrugged weakly.

"You didn't try to stop after a few." She shot back.

Both girls had devoured the entire cake. It was pretty big. They just couldn't stop.

Nashi felt like she weighed a million pounds. Now all she wanted to do was fall asleep.

"You okay, Nashi?" A voice asked. Nashi mumbled her response, but she looked up to see how had called out to her.

Michael and Keita were both giving her a bemused look. She shot up in her seat and wiped her mouth to make sure any excess frosting was gone.

"H-Hey guys!" She said weakly. "What's up?"

"Besides your weight?" Michael asked teasingly. "Not much. Looking good Ultear."

"Fuck off Michael." Ultear replied. Michael looked back at Nashi.

"Anyway, just wanted to see if you'd survived the cake." Nashi laughed weakly at this.

"It was good, but I think I got it." She said.

"How's Elise?" Keita asked. Nashi slowly looked over at the Shadow Dragon, unsure as to what to say. Elise was okay, of course, but had neglected to come. That, however, was not what Nashi was thinking about.

She knew about Lana.

Nashi wasn't sure as to the exact circumstances that had led to most of what happened twenty years later, but she knew that Elise and Keita had a very serious thing going on. So much so they'd had a daughter.

"Why are you staring at me?" Nashi jumped back to reality as Keita asked this, and she looked down.

"She's good." She answered. "Talked to us, so that's good. We'll try to move past it as best we can, but..." She trailed off, but Keita nodded.

"That's good." He replied. The four grew silent, before Michael sighed.

"Let's stay in our good spirits, how about?" He asked. "None of this depressing shit. That's for later." Nashi nodded and did her best to perk up.

"You've got a point." She said. Michael then smiled at her.

"I wanted to ask you something, Nashi." Nashi didn't really know why her heart jumped.

"Yes?"

"I've seen you eat, but how well can you hold your liquor?" Nashi raised an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to challenge me?" She demanded. Michael shrugged.

"Maybe I am, maybe I ain't." Nashi smirked as she stood.

"This'l be the second time you've lost to me, Eucliffe."

"And the second you to me, Dragneel."

* * *

Drake had successfully avoided the fangirls, and he was doing his best to relax. He had found himself a nice corner where he didn't have to worry about them, or anyone really, and he had a source of liquor right near by. All was right in the world.

"Drake-sama?" Drake flinched at this and shielded his face, but nothing happened. He looked up to find Azzie standing there in front of him, looking confused at his reaction.

"Oh thank god." He said, breathing a sigh of relief. "It's just you, Azzie."

"Who else is looking for you?" She asked.

"No one I want to see." he replied, before growing confused. "How'd you get in here? I thought you had to be some higher up in the city of a member of a competing guild to get in here."

"Terra-sama and Winter-sama snuck us in." She replied. "One look from them and the guards let us in." Drake smiled at this and leaned back.

"Nice." He said. Azzie nodded before growing serious.

"Drake-sama, about the other day..."

"Hm?"

"What exactly happened?" Drake made a face but maintained eye contact.

"With Kronos?"

"Yeah." Drake looked down at the floor and did his best to assemble a decent train of thought.

"If I told you all the details you'd never believe me, but..." Drake looked back up at her and frowned.

_"Azzie's dead. Kronos ordered her killed and...They followed through."_

These words returned to haunt Drake's mind once more. Now that Kronos was behind bars, presumably for the rest of his life, Azzie's death had been averted. At least, he hoped so.

"The most I can say is that it doesn't matter anymore." He said. "Kronos is defeated, and behind bars. We're good." Azzie nodded at this.

"Very true." Just then, the tone of the music changed. It became a very slow tone, and people began to couple up. Drake got a sense of nausea as a fangirl from across the room spotted him. He jumped to his feet and grabbed Azzie's hand, dragging her towards the dance floor.

"D-Drake-sama...?"

"Shut up and dance, please." He said. Azzie did as she was told, albeit red faced and shaking, but Drake kept his eyes on the fangirls who were fuming in the background. As long as he was safe.

Azzie at least kept her composure.

* * *

Damien heard the beat of the song change, and he sighed.

"Three, two, one..." he said.

"Damien!"

"Knew it." Damien looked up to find Bella standing there. "I suppose you want to dance?"

"Aw, you want to as well?" She asked. Damien rolled his eyes, but stood.

"Let's get this over with." He said, taking Bella in his arm and walking towards the dance floor.

* * *

Nashi slammed the shot glass down, and Michael did the same.

"Damn, you're good." he said.

"You too." Nashi said. Just before Michael refilled the glass, Nami appeared out of nowhere and put Keita in a headlock.

"What's up, little bro?" She asked as Keita tried to free himself.

"Let me go, Nami!" He said irritably. Nami laughed and released him, making Keita jerk back in surprise and fall on his ass. The girl laughed at her brothers expense, before she looked over to Nashi, Michael and Ultear.

"Drinking contest?" She asked, and Nashi nodded. "Cool. Not surprised Keita's just watching."

"Shut up." Keita hissed. Just as Nashi went to take her glass and down it, the beat of the music changed. It became slower, and Mia smirked.

"Wanna dance, Keita?" She asked him, and Keita scoffed.

"No." He answered.

Apprently his opinion didn't matter, because Nami dragged him to the dance floor. Michael laughed at this.

"Poor guy." He said. "Nami gives him such a hard time."

"I can see that." Nashi said. After a few seconds of silence, Michael looked over at Nashi and outstretched a hand.

"Wanna dance?" He asked. Nashi stared at him as her cheeks heated up.

"I-I guess." She said. She reached out and took Michael's hand. They got up and he led her to the dance floor, where they danced with everyone else. Michael seemed a little more comfortable, but Nashi couldn't place why she felt so excited.

"Hey." It was Michael, and Nashi looked up at him. "I wanted you to know something."

"What?" He smiled down at her.

"If some shit like yesterday ever happens again, don't hesitate to ask the others and I for help. We won't even hesitate." Nashi stared at him in surprise.

"Michael..."

"I know you'll say some shit about how it's dangerous and stuff, but I don't care. And I guarantee no one else does. You need us, you call for us. We'll come running." He winked at her. "'Kay?" Nashi stared at him for a while before she smiled widely and nodded.

"Of course..." She said, voice cracking with emotion. She didn't know why she felt so happy. "I'll remember that next time we're in trouble."

"And don't you lie to me. Next time you're in danger I want in. We all do. Why do you think we all jumped in to protect you?" Nashi nodded and looked down as they continued to waltz around.

"I know. Next time we end up with our lives in danger, I'll make sure to involve you and the others."

"Damn right you will."

* * *

"Oh stop Natsu, it's cute!"

"He's getting way to handsy."

"As if you've never gotten handsy."

"Like when?"

"Do I really need to name a specific instance?" Natsu rolled his eyes as Lucy proved her point. He just didn't like Michael so close to his daughter. Nothing wrong with that, right? He was her dad, after all.

"Still..."

"It's the first time she's gotten to do that, let her be." Natsu gave up at this and sat back like an angry child, crossing his arms and sinking into his seat.

"That's not a very becoming look for you, Natsu." Natsu perked up at this, turning to find Hisui standing behind him with a smile on her face. He smiled for her.

"Hey." he said. "It's good to see you."

"You as well." She said, before looking at Lucy." You're looking good too, Lucy. How far along are you?"

"Seven months, just about." Lucy replied. "You okay from the other day, your majesty?"

"I'll be fine. His target was clearly not me." The aura from the three changed at this, and Natsu looked down at the ground. "However it all turned out okay."

Natsu felt something was off. Nashi and the others had been awfully vague about what exactly had happened to them. They'd clearly aged, and they still wouldn't say more. It was strange, and yet everything was going back to normal. They started to return to their normal age, and all seemed right.

And Nashi had still not lost control.

"Let's hope it stays like this." He said. "I really don't want them to have t deal with anything more."

* * *

Zeus tapped his fingers against the fabric of his chair, watching the waves crash against the mountain side. As he watched them, he contemplated the Oracle's words.

_"When the King rises, Humanity will find salvation in the end."_

In the_ end._

Zeus was no fool. He knew a double entendre when he heard one.

"What she said makes it painfully clear." he said. "All the stars are aligning."

He turned back to his desk, where the lacrima vision displayed Nashi Dragneel dancing with Michael Eucliffe.

"She must be ready...Hades better be right about this. Losing her means there will be no salvation. Only the death of the world."

**And this is only the beginning of the filler! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	218. Piercing Blue

**Yep, another update. Try to guess what today is before I get to it ;)**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi yawned as she stretched on her way to the guild. It had been a few days since the Games had ended and they'd returned to Magnolia, which allowed her to relax a whole lot. It took her until she got home to realize how tense she'd gotten over the past few days. Of course, Nashi felt like, given what had happened with the Grand Magic Games, she wouldn't get to relax very long.

Once she got to the guild and walked inside, she immediately noticed something. When she entered the guild hall, she usually sought out her friends and go right to them. Obviously she did this again, but once she did this, something seemed off.

Damien wasn't present. Elise wasn't either, but Nashi expected that.

That in and of itself wasn't a problem, but Nashi usually saw him around when she entered. Was he late? Was he on a job or something?

Whatever.

"Hey guys." Nashi said, walking up to the table. "Where's Damien?" Simon shrugged.

"No idea. We haven't seem him yet." Again, this didn't seem odd. Probably overslept.

"It's not like Damien to oversleep." Drake said, cutting into Nashi's thoughts. "He usually get here bright and early." Now that Nashi thought about it, Drake had a point. Damien was usually here bright and early for whatever reason.

"Did he take a job?" She asked. Ultear shrugged.

"I don't think so, no." She said. "He hasn't taken one alone for a while." This made everyone think about this. For a while, Damien only came back late at night or early in the morning to take another job and disappeared again. After Phantom Dove, he stuck around and basically became apart of the team. Had he slipped back into his old habits?

"Whatever is it, just give him time." Simon suggested. "He'll show up eventually."

* * *

Damien knew he really needed to stop disappearing for a while, but in this instance he really couldn't help it. He didn't, or couldn't, tell his friends about what he was doing. Because if they knew, they have gotten rather irritated with him. Because what he was doing was a result of his own foolish actions.

And yet, as he progressed through the sky towards his objective, he found himself caring less and less.

Damien landed on the outskirts of the town and looked around quickly. Since he'd been to the town in three different times as of now, it was very disorienting to be where he was. Damien knew full well where the ranch was, and he sprinted towards it as fast as he could. After a few minutes of running he made it, and he basically tackled the door to knock on it. He waited impatiently as someone, Damien recognized it as Devin, opened the door.

"Oh my God..." He whispered. Damien rolled his eyes as he panted.

"No time..." He said. "Where...Is she?" The man seemed stunned for a minute or two, but eventually he regained his composure.

"She's in town somewhere. She went to work at the bar, but she might be done my now. I'm not sure." Damien nodded in appreciation and turned back to the town, sprinting once more. He went slower this time as he realized his chest started to hurt. And soon, he saw what he recognized as the bar from the future.

Walking towards the predictable larger looking building, he had to wonder what was going to happen to him. He had absolutely no idea what he was going to find, and it unnerved him a great deal. All he knew was that he had to find his sister.

As he reached the bar and walked inside, Damien noticed that the bartender was a completely different person that from twenty years in the future. As expected though, it was two decades of the same menial task. Damien would get bored too. As he walked towards the bar to ask the man if he'd seen Steph, the man sitting at the bar turned to see Damien advance. The man didn't strike Damien as anything special off of his looks alone, save his clothes. The man was wearing a black cloak over a black jacket, and his eyes followed Damien all the way to the bar. Damien kept his gaze and he reached it, and the man averted his eyes as the bartender came over.

"What'll it be?" He asked. Damien looked over away from the weird man towards the bartender.

"I wanted to ask you something." He said. "I'm looking for someone."

"Want information? Buy a drink."

"Are you serious?"

"Do I sound like I'm kidding?" Damien honestly considered turning into a demon right then and there and ripping the man a new one, but he held it in and took a deep breath.

"Fine. Get me a fucking beer." The man nodded and Damien tapped his fingers against the counter irritably. Why had he come into here again? He should've just gone straight to Devin and asked where she was...

"Looking for someone?" Damien looked up to see that the mysterious man and the counter had asked him this question. The man radiated a rather strange aura, but Damien saw no reason to feel suspicious. He had a cross around his neck, after all.

"Uh, yeah." He said.

"Who?"

"My little sister." The man nodded.

"Runaway?"

"Kind of." The man chuckled, but it sounded forced.

"I know the feeling. Looking for my brother myself."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Bastard bartender likes to force drinks on those looking for info."

"I could tell." Damien smiled as the man laughed at this, and the bartender returned with Damien's drink he didn't want.

"What did you want?" He asked. Damien returned his eyes to him and gulped, stomach turning.

"I'm looking for my little sister. She's blonde, has blue eyes, and she'd be around seventeen. Know her?" The man shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, that's Steph. She's a waitress here. You're her brother?" Damien felt his stomach flipping happily, and he couldn't help but smile widely.

"Where is she now?" The man shrugged.

"She should be around here somewhere. She's on break right now, so..." Damien nodded and quickly turned to leave. "Hey! Pay for your drink!"

"Fuck you and your drink!" Damien shouted angrily, yet excited. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a wad of jewel and tossed it at the bartender. The man sitting at the counter was still watching Damien.

"Good luck, kid." He said. Damien nodded as he turned to swiftly walk away.

"You too." He said. He left the bar and looked around the town frantically, looking for any sign of his sister. Could she be paying for food? Maybe admiring the view of the fields? He had to find her!

"Excited, Damien?" Damien froze in place. He hadn't heard that voice in a little bit. He turned and looked over his shoulder to find Xisplate,ever so smug in his suit, watching him.

"You fuck off." Damien warned. "I'm not in the mood for your cryptic bullshit."

"Oh calm down, you." Xisplate replied. "I can't talk to you?"

"Not right now." Damien growled. "I'm trying to find Steph."

"Hm, are you now?"

"Yeah, cause I undid your bullshit." Damien said, smirking at the demon. "I saved her life." Xisplate let out a laugh. An actual one.

"It's cute you still haven't realized what I did was of no consequence." Damien's eyes widened as Xisplate walked ahead.

"...What?" He asked.

"Nothing." Xisplate replied. "I think you might find her over there somewhere, so..."

Damien gasped in pain as an attack struck him in the back. He was sent to the ground and he sat there, stunned by the surprise hit.

"Just my luck." A voice said, one eerily familiar. "A demon... A _Demon Lord _no less, walks right into the bar!" Damien growled as he sat up, and looked back towards his attacker.

The man from the counter was standing there, a smirk on his face.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Damien demanded. "What do you want?" The man laughed as a glow surrounded his body, much akin to Michael's magic.

"I want your head, Lord. I wasn't tasked to find you. No, I was after that other boy...But you'll do so much better!" Damien gritted his teeth and stood, raising a hand to transform.

"Damien, don't." Damien raised an eyebrow and turned to find Xisplate standing at his side, looking frightened. _Frightened._

Huh?" Damien demanded. Xisplate looked over at him.

"The mans using Holy Magic. You need to run, he could kill you easily." Damien's eyes widened at this and turned back to his attacker. "If I had to place a bet, he's a Demon Hunter. If you fight him, you will not get past his magic."

"...So what do I do?!" Damien demanded. At this, a blast of white magic went past Damien's head, and he jerked back as his skin felt like it was boiling.

"You run." Xisplate said. "Or you die." Damien stare at the demon to make sure he wasn't kidding, but Xisplate's expression didn't change. Slowly, nerves overtaking him, Damien turned and started to run away. Attacks started flying all around him, with a few getting to close to him and causing his skin to get irritated.

Damien had never actually been in direct combat with someone using Holy Magic, so these effects were scaring him. How many could he take before it killed him? Or some other horrible effect? He turned and corner and kid there for a moment, waiting to see if the man was following him. Because if he was, Damien could sneak attack him there and...

_BOOM!_

Damien shouted in pain as the building he was hiding against exploded in white light. He stumbled backwards and looked back to find the man watching him with a smirk.

"Did you really think you could hide from me?" He demanded. You're mine, monster." Damien growled and squared off with the man. People were crowding around to watch, which it and of itself was dangerous. One misplaced attack and the bastard hit an innocent civilian.

"Get out of here!" Damien shouted. "He's dangerous!"

"I'm the dangerous one?!" The man shot back. "You're the monster graced by Hell's Embrace! I'm trying to save these people you murderous son of a bitch!"

"I'm not trying to murder anyone!" Damien said. "I just want to find my sister!"

"Bullshit." Another attack lashed out, and Damien hadn't been ready for it. It struck him dead in the chest, and he felt like his skin was being peeled away and he was being boiled alive. Another attack struck him and another, and another. Soon enough, Damien felt like he could barely breath. The man walked up to him.

"You disgust me." He spat. "Trying to use that woman who lives here as cover." Damien looked up weakly.

"It's not...cover...She's my sister!"

"Ugh." The man aimed a palm at Damien, and the blasts sent Damien onto his back.

"I'd get up, Dreyar." Damien heard Xisplate say somewhere. "We should really vacate the premises."

"Would if I could, asshole..." Damien managed as he struggled to one knee. The Hunter approached him again, glaring down at him.

"After all that training to take down a Demon Lord, and it's some kid who goes down as easily as peasants." The man said. "Pathetic. How the hell did his parents die to one of your kind?"

"What ate you talking about?"

"Doesn't matter." The man replied. He brought his hands together, and they glowed with white magic. "I'd say your funeral rites, kid. Your done. Neptu will surely promote me after this!" Damien wanted to move, but his body was acting sluggish. Why? Why was this happening?! He just wanted to find his sister...

Steph...

Damien growled and lashed out with an attack. It wasn't anything that would get him out of the situation, but the pent up frustration from the royal ball and the sprinting he'd been doing had reached it's peak. The man backed up a bit from the punch, but he didn't stop his attack.

"Was that really all you could manage?!" He roared, still charging his attack. "Fucking pathetic!" Damien growled as his skin crawled. He looked over to find Xisplate simply standing there.

"What are you looking at?!" Damien roared. "Do something!" Xisplate shrugged.

"No need." He said.

"Why?! I'm going to get hurt here!"

"Look above us, Damien." Damien had no idea what the demon was talking about, but he did as he was told.

Storm clouds. They crackled with lightning.

Strange, it had been a clear sky only a moment ago...

Damien watched as a lightning bolt easily eight feet wide roared down from the sky and struck the Hunter, who roared in pain and was thrown back by the resulting explosion. The Hunter rolled through the dirt and came to a stop a ways away from Damien, the crowd still watching.

Someone was walking towards them. Damien turned to look at who it was, and his world froze.

It was a girl. She was walking towards them with her head hanging. She had short blonde hair that just barely touched her shoulders, and she was wearing a black tank top with jeans. She walked until she stood in front of Damien. Damien watched as the hunter climbed to his feet with a groan.

"And who the hell are you?" He demanded. "Do you realize what your doing? He's a dangerous monster." The woman did not respond, and the hunter narrowed his eyes at her. "Wait...You two look very similar."

"Did you really think he was lying?" She asked, and her voice sent a shiver down Damien's spine. "Because he wasn't."

"Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't." He replied. "Doesn't change the fact that he's a dangerous creature that needs to be put down."

"Maybe so." Damien's eyes widened as lightning crackled around her. "But he's my monster of an older brother, and you aren't lying another finger on him without going through me."

"That so?"

"It is."

"Steph..." Damien said weakly. This caused her to turn, and Damien met her eyes. Just as he recalled, a piercing blue. Her eyes bore into him for a moment or two, before a smile creased her face.

"You protected me eleven years ago, Onii-chan." She said, returning her gaze to the hunter. The lightning intensified. "So allow me to return the favor!"

With this, Stephanie Dreyar turned into a lightning bolt and tackled the Hunter, all whilst her brother watched with a mix of happiness and curiosity.

**I have work to do, I really shouldn't be doing this...Whatever. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	219. The Tears

**I wonder what will happen today? Just kidding I already know.**

**Enjoy!**

Damien watched in shock as Steph tackled the hunter, her body coated with lightning. The hunter slid back and growled, raising his head.

"Foolish girl..." He hissed, throwing out what appeared to be spear like projectiles.

Steph easily darted around every single one and kicked the man square in the chest. She landed on one knee and watched as the man stumbled backwards.

"I don't get it." He said simply. "You know what he is, as is sister. Surely you understand the dangers of his existence." Steph lowered her head with a small laugh.

"More than you could very know." She said, making Damien's chest twang painfully. "But I also know he's my brother, and I'm not going to let you hurt him."

"Ugh," The hunter said. "No one ever has the stomach to realize a family member is a monster." His body glowed, and more holy attacks soared out towards Steph without any mercy. "You don't have the stomach to do what's necessary."

"There's a difference between necessity and overkill." Damien couldn't help but chuckle.

"I have hurt people..." he said weakly. Xisplate sighed.

"If only, most of the time it's because I have to convince you." Damien rolled his eyes.

"And usually it's you hijacking my body to do it."

"It's cute you think I've ever done that without necessity."

"Are you kidding?" Damien was thrown from his conversation with Xisplate and more attacks flew all around them. Steph was dodging the guy so easily it was pathetic, but her speed was really only rivaled by Simon and Meteor, so all the misses weren't exactly unexpected.

_She's incredible...And she learned all on her own._

Damien watched as his little sister, the one who ought to be dead, threw the hunter all around the small area they were fighting in, and he couldn't help but smile.

The hunter landed rather hard and rolled back to his feet, looking rather pissed off.

"Enough of this." He muttered. Damien watched as he brought his hands together, and a glow emanated from it. The blast that came from it soared right for Steph, who looked ready to dodge it and go at the man again.

The blast veered off course suddenly, away from Steph and towards Damien. Damien's eyes widened as the attack soared towards him.

"Onii-chan, move!" Steph shouted, sounded startled. Damien got to his feet as quickly as possible and threw himself to the side as best he could, landing sideways. The attacks didn't let up either, more came soaring towards him. A few struck his legs and arms, which were protecting the more vital parts of his body.

"Ah, fuck..." Damien hissed as skin started to smolder. "That doesn't look good..." Lightning crackled overhead, and the hunter was forced to dodge as the clouds overhead attempted to attack him.

"Stop it!" Steph shouted. "I'm fighting you, not him! Leave him out of this."

"I have no interest in you, woman." The man snapped back. "I'm only after him!"

"And you'll go through me, or I'll tear through you. Got it?" The hunter looked extremely pissed off, before he grinned.

"So, you're really his sister?"

"Yes, I am."

"Doesn't that mean you're one too?"

"How the hell did you draw that conclusion?" Steph asked, crossing her arms. "I can assure you I'm not a demon."

"No?" He asked. He snapped his fingers, and the ground beneath Steph glowed. She jumped in surprise, looking down. When Damien looked down as well, a magic circle had been drawn beneath her feet, which was glowing.

"Oh holy light that guides man through the dark reaches of Hell," The hunter chanted. "Purify all evil within your circle of light!" The circle glowed even brighter, and Damien had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Steph, be careful!" he shouted. She chuckled.

"You telling me that." She said. "Sounds like old times. Maybe sound a bit more irritated."

"Steph!" The light grew to the point where Damien had to shield his eyes, and he did so with his arm as it glowed. The hunter could be heard laughing.

"No way she's still conscious!" he shouted. "The holy light will have...!" hunter choked, and Damien looked up to find Steph standing exactly where she had been only a moment ago, looking unimpressed.

"Not one." She repeated, "I told you beforehand." The hunter seemed a little bit taken aback as Steph cracked her back. "Look, if you want to back off now, I'll give you the chance. If you don't I'll make sure you don't wake up for a few hours."

"You think I'm scared of you, girl?" He demanded, glowing once more. "I'm not."

"No?" She asked. Lightning crackled around Steph at this. "I'll inform you that my father is as strong as a Wizard Saint, and my mother is no pushover either. If you really want to come at me, I'll happily show you why it was a grave mistake." The hunter chuckled.

"And if I go after your brother?" He asked. Steph didn't reply right away, but the intensity of the lightning increased substantially.

"I'll make you regret you were ever born." The man weighed his options before he growled and launched himself at Steph. Steph responded in kind, and the two began to trade blows. For every one he almost landed, Steph landed three or more. She delivered a pretty vicious punch to his chest, causing him to fly away from her. Steph landed in an offensive position, the lightning still crackling.

"I'm done with you." She said. "This is barely a workout for Gods sake." The man was struggling to his feet, but Step was already preparing another attack. "You want to hunt demons, pal? Go and do it somewhere else."

_Jeez, I know I told her to get strong, but..._

"I'm not going to lose to you!" The man said, obviously trying his hardest to sound in control.

"Well, you're about too." She said, the lightning around her converging into her hands. "RAGING BOLT!" Damien flinched and covered his eyes as an explosive force of lightning rocketed out of Steph's hands and towards the hunter, who could do nothing as the lightning struck him and rove him backwards.

And right into the bar.

Damien watched as the lightning exploded against the building, and watched patrons sprint out of the building as it started to collapse from the sheer power forced into it.

After a few more seconds, the hunter did not reappear. Damien slowly looked over at Steph once he'd discerned the fight was over. She hadn't turned to look at it, she simply stood staring towards the bar. Damien slowly got to his feet and, in a near delusive state, walked towards his sister slowly. He wanted to make sure he wasn't having a fucked up dream.

"Onii-chan?" A chill went down Damien's spine at this word. It was her saying it. Steph turned, a teary smile on her face.

"Steph..." Damien whispered hoarsely, staring at her. After a few seconds of silence, Damien continued to walk towards her, and she giggled.

"You haven't changed much since then." She said. "Although the you that saved me...Was this you, so I'm not surprised."

Damien didn't have the words to reply.

"Good on you for keeping your promise." She said. "I was worried you weren't going to. Maybe you'd forgotten. I don't know, I'm just saying..."

Damien wrapped his sister in his arms and held her close to him. The warmth that spread through him...It was alien. One he'd not truly felt in eleven years.

"You're alive." He whispered as she buried her face into his chest. "I...I did it. You're alive." Steph didn't reply at first, but then she laughed tearfully and returned Damien's hug.

"Y-Yeah..." She replied. "I'm okay." Damien felt tears started to fall down his cheeks as he hugged her.

He'd done it.

Steph was alive.

"Sorry." She said, voice cracking. "I'm...I'm crying. You told me not too."

"I don't give a damn." Damien whispered back. "Cry all you want." Steph nodded, and together the two collapsed to their knees, still wrapped in each others arms. He'd done it...He'd really done it. He'd saved her.

It was then, however, as Steph cried silently into Damien, he sensed a presence looming over them.

He looked up and as expected, Xisplate stood there. Damien's grip on his sister tightened as he narrowed his eyes at the demon, who remained quiet. After a few more seconds, Xisplate chuckled and smiled.

"That's a nice sight." He said. "Good job, Damien." Damien didn't say anything, probably because Steph was so close, but he continued to stare at Xisplate. "Hopefully you and I can move past our differences, but I somehow doubt it unless you know the full story." Damien raised an eyebrow at this, but Xisplate disappeared into the darkness, leaving Damien with his sister.

And as the demon disappeared, the wright of the world was lifted off of his shoulders. All the guilt, the pain, it flew away in the afternoon breeze. He sighed and hugged her closer again.

"Hey, sis?"

"Y-Yeah?" Damien smiled.

"Let's go home."

* * *

"He still isn't back?" Drake asked, and Nashi shook her head.

"No, he's been gone for a few days too." She said, Ultear frowned and played with her drink a little.

"This is starting to worry me." She said. "Why is he taking so long?" Nashi wished she knew. It had been another whole day since they'd last seen Damien, and now they were getting worried. No one had seen him around town, nor was he locked up in his room like before. Nashi sighed and sipped her drink.

"...Uh, hey, guys," Nashi perked up at this and turned. Elise was standing next to their table, looking down as she greeted them quietly. Instead of her usually gear, she was wearing a simple white shirt and black short shorts. Nashi stared at her for a moment before she smiled.

"Hey." She said. "Are you feeling better?"

"...Kind of." Elise replied softly. "My mom suggested I go outside every now and then, so..." Nashi nodded and moved over a bit closer to Drake, patting the bench next to her. Elise sat down and silence came over the table.

"Elise?" Elise looked up as Simon called her. "You haven't heard from Damien, have you?"

"No." Elise replied. "Is he not around?" Drake shook his head.

"No, he's been gone for a few days now." Elise nodded, but then shook her head.

"Haven't seen him." She replied. Silence came over the five once more, but now they were wondering just what it was Damien could've been doing. Nashi hoped nothing bad had happened. She really didn't want to jump into another conflict at the moment...

_SLAM!_

Nashi jumped and looked towards the guild halls doors as they burst open. Standing just outside, looking quite serious, was Damien.

"Damien?" She asked, making him look over at her. "You okay? Where were you?" He smiled, and Nashi felt odd. She'd never seen Damien smile like that.

"Promise you won't get mad?" He asked. Nashi raised an eyebrow and looked at the others for this, but they looked equally confused. Looking back at Damien, the man laughed.

"What?" She asked.

"I fucked up." He said. "When we were in the past...I changed something." Nashi's eyes widened at this. "But believe me, I think it was for the better."

"What did you do?" Ultear demanded. Damien's smile widened. He turned to his left and slowly outstretched his hand, looking at something Nashi and the others couldn't see.

A hand, feminine in origin, took Damien's hand. He walked slightly to the right, and allowed the other person to stand in the light of the guild halls open doors.

And just like that, Nashi's world froze.

* * *

Laxus sighed as he looked through all of the paperwork in front of him. There was so many things he had to look through, from multiple different reporters wanted a chance to interview Damien and the others who'd participated in the Games to job requests asking from one to all of them. It was incredibly boring, but he had to look through it all. The backlog on it all was insane.

He could hear screaming and shouting from outside his office, but he ignored it. He assumed Natsu and Gray got over an argument about a piece of toast or something of that nature. Wasn't totally out of characters for those morons. Laxus sighed at the mere thought of this and continued sorting through his paperwork absentmindedly.

"_LAXUS!" _Laxus jumped as he heard Mira scream his name. _"LAXUS!" _Jumping from his seat, Laxus threw his door open to see his entire guild crowding around the doors. He pushed his way through the crowd towards the source of the screaming, and now he could hear crying. As he pushed his way through the final wave of his guildmates, Laxus could see Mira on her knees, clutching another human body. Looking up, Laxus saw Damien standing near the doorway, a wide smile on is face and tears in his eyes.

"Damien?" Laxus asked. Damien smiled at him.

"Surprise, Pops." He said. Laxus had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but Mira had finally taken notice of his presence, and moved to look at him.

Which revealed the other person on their knees hugging her. Laxus felt his heart stop.

The girl was smiling at him, and she bore a striking resemblance to..._Steph_.

"No..." He whispered, stepping backwards as the girl smiled at him. "No..That isn't possible." The girl smiled at him widely as tears began to fall down her face.

"Hi daddy." She said softly, making Laxus' spine tingle. "It's been a while. How are you?" Laxus stared at the girl in shock, unsure as to what he was supposed to say. It couldn't be, it just couldn't!

"...Steph?" He asked weakly. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah." She replied.

That was all it took for Laxus to surge forward and wrap the girl in his arms, making her laugh weakly as he did so. He gripped the girl- his _daughter- _tightly. HIs daughter...How?!

"I don't understand..." He heard Mira say in between happy sobs. "How is this possible?" Damien laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"The stories pretty long, but uh...I think even the others are interested in hearing that one." Steph laughed.

"Man, I'm pathetic. I can't stop crying."

* * *

Meanwhile, far away from Magnolia and the celebrating Fairy Tail guild hall, stood a camp. The camp had countless men and women milling around, performing many different tasks.

And running through that camp, was a man.

The hunter who had fought Steph Dreyar.

She sprinted through the camp as fast as his injured body let him, knowing full well his purpose. He was making his way towards the center of the camp and relay what he'd seen. As he ran his fellow hunters watched him with a mix of curiosity and surprise, but he ignored them and he reached their leaders tent and stood outside of it, getting a breath before entering.

Once he entered, towards the back, stood a man and a woman. This man had raven black hair, but it had distinct blue streaks going through it. He had a bandanna around his neck, and as he turned to greet the hunter, his black leather coat moved and revealed he was armed with a pair of pistols in their holster. He also noticed the black cowboy hat on the table behind him.

The woman was wearing bright white clothes, including a cape. The woman fit your stereotypical idea of a stuck up princess, but her dark red eyes begged to differ.

"Report." He said. "How was the hunt?" The hunter dropped to one knee and gulped.

"The hunt derailed, sir." he replied.

"This is unfortunate. What exactly caused it?" The hunter gulped at this.

"I...I ran into another target of interest. He had backup, though. I couldn't fend it off."

"What was this new target of interest?" The hunter paused, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"It...Sir, there's no mistaking it. I ran into a Demon Lord."

The silence that fell over the room was palpable, to say the least. The hunters leader stayed silent for a moment, before he nodded and looked at the woman, who nodded also.

"That's...Great news. You're excused." The hunter nodded and got up, leaving the tent. As soon as he did, he knew that his leader was interested. Just how much though, he couldn't say.

* * *

"...Do you think?"

"...No." The woman replied. "He hasn't surfaced for years. It can't be him, not in some random town."

"You never know..."

"Neptu, sir, it isn't. Please rest easy." Neptu growled at this and slammed a fist down on the table.

"He's still a Lord, damn it...You know I hate their kind."

"I know." She replied. "But right now our target is that other boy who's alluded us for years now. We've tracked him to the East. We should follow." Neptu stared down at the table before he nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

"I'll leave you to it, then." The woman turned on her heel and left the tent, leaving Neptu alone.

_"It...Sir, there's no mistaking it. I ran into a Demon Lord."_

He clenched his fists at this, angry coursing through his system.

_Drakhosz...I'll find you one day._

Neptu Skylancer raised his right hand, and it erupted in bright purple flames.

"I'll kill them all...Every demon on this earth deserves to be put into a hole in the ground."

**And we have the end of the chapter. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	220. The Flow of Time

**Today's chapter will be important and pretty interesting, so let's get into it!**

**Enjoy!**

Steph got to stare at her roof for all of a few seconds before her eyes widened.

"Shit! She shouted, sitting bolt right up in her bed. "I'm late for work!" She sprung from her bed and sped to the closet, flinging it open frantically. She looked around it a panic, and growled. "Where the hell is my uniform?! Fuck!" She looked around the floor of her room, but still couldn't find her work uniform. Cursing again, she stormed around her room for a bit, cursing, before she paused. She slowly backed up and looked out the window, her eyes widening.

"Oh, right." She murmured, feeling incredibly stupid and apprehensive at the same time. "I'm...I'm back home."

The sprawling city of Magnolia lay outside her window. Catching a glimpse out if as she stormed around had caused her to remember what had happened.

Just the day before, she had returned home to Magnolia, her family and the guild, after an eleven year absence. The whole day had been full of tears and happiness and Steph had managed to completely forget it all in one night, at least temporarily. Sighing, she turned and looked around the room, realizing it was the room she used to have in her parents house. The room, or even the bed as it was small and uncomfortable, should've tipped her off that she wasn't still in hiding, but, she'd still managed to ignore that.

As Steph stood in the room surrounded by the life she used to live, she felt a wave of happiness flow over her. She was home. She really was. Although it could be said that technically the village she'd been hiding at would've been her home, Steph had never really looked at it like that. She loved those that she'd met and befriended there but, all the while she knew one day she'd leave. That kinda of twisted her view on the topic. Looking down, Steph regarded the floor at her feet as she thought about what she was going to do. She knew full well that her parents were downstairs, and that was fine and all, but the very thought of walking down the stairs made her nervous.

_Ugh, I'm such a wuss..._

Steph swallowed her pride and decided to walk downstairs. She slowly opened the door to her room and walked towards the stairs, before slowly descending down them. She felt lightheaded as she reached the bottom and slowly walked towards the kitchen, and she stood in the doorway watching her parents.

Her mother and father both looked up as she appeared in the door, and silence came over the three of them. Steph really couldn't find the words to say, and apparently neither could her parents.

"Uh..." Steph started, looking down at her feet for a moment before looking back up. "...Morning." She said. After a few more seconds passed, her mother smiled widely.

"Good morning, sweetheart." She said, starting to get teary. As much as Steph loved her mother, the tears needed to get reigned in soon. "Did you sleep okay?"

"I suppose." She replied. "The bed doesn't really work for me anymore." Her father laughed.

"I suppose it wouldn't. It wasn't made for teenagers." Steph nodded at this with a smile, but silence came back over the three of them. After Steph realized this, she coughed.

"So, uh, what's for breakfast." Her mother smiled.

"Whatever you want, sweetheart."

* * *

The bustling street of Magnolia was slightly overwhelming to Steph. She gotten a pretty good look at it the day before, but Damien had whisked her right to the guild hall before she could really look around any.

"You okay?" Steph looked up at her father as he put a hand on her shoulder. She nodded.

"Yeah, just...Soaking it in." She said, looking back at the streets. She didn't really have enough memories to really recall anyone specific, so it was really just a blur of people she didn't know. As she and her parents proceeded through the crowd towards the guild hall, however, people started to look.

"Hey, who's that girl?"

"She loos a lot like Damien..."

"I was thinking Lisanna, but Damien looks like her too..."

"Wait, is that Steph?!"

"Don't be an idiot, she's dead!" Steph chuckled weakly as the rumors started to fly about her identity. She knew they'd all get it eventually, but for now she really didn't want to go through the hassle of introducing herself as the long supposedly dead Stephanie Dreyar. She'd get a riot on her hands before long.

"Don't worry about the townspeople." Her mother told her. "They'll figure it out soon enough."

"Don't say anything, though. They'll lose their shit." Her father warned. Steph chuckled.

"Yeah, I figured." She said. As they reached the guild hall, Steph stopped and looked up. The building itself was huge, and right in the center was a huge Fairy Tail flag. Steph smiled up at it as it came down on her that she truly was back at home.

"Steph?" Steph looked down as her parents called to her. "Coming?" Steph nodded and followed them inside. Once she was inside the threshold of the guildhall, she was greeted by the sight off all the guild members sitting around talking, drinking, and laughing. It reminded her heavily of the bar back where she used to work, but roughly quadrupled in size.

"I've got a lot of work to do." her father said. "So I should go and do that."

"And poor Kinana and Lisanna have been serving without me all morning." Her mother said with a giggle, before looking back at Steph. "Will you be okay?" Steph nodded. Of course she would be right?

But as her parents walked away from her, Steph felt alienated. Of course she could do whatever she wanted to, but being without a guide in the guild made her feel out of place. Steph scanned the guild, looking for a specific mop of white hair. She soon found it, and watched as her brother cackled at something Drake told him from across the table. Steph watched with a smile as the group of five talked among themselves, and Steph recalled what that would've looked like eleven years ago. But now, she could tell that the group had changed.

Ultear didn't appear to have changed much. Steph could tell the girl was still the mediator of the group to a large extent, along with Simon of course.

Simon, who was seated next to her, seemed to be enjoying himself as well, and he said something that made Ultear face palm.

Her brother she found hard to read. He seemed to be enjoying himself, but he seemed a bit apprehensive.

Steph could tell, even from a distance, Drake was still very much the kid she remembered. The joker. Even so, she could tell his friendship with Nashi hadn't changed. He still stayed by her side.

And, of course, Nashi. As Steph watched the girl talk to the others, she couldn't help but notice that the girl had come out of her shell incredibly so over the course of eleven years. She no longer acted shy or introverted, and Steph founded that good. After all, she seemed happy now.

Steph was thrown from her thoughts as Nashi turned and made eye contact with her. The two stared at each other for a moment before Steph raised her hand a bit and gave the girl a small wave. Nashi watched her for a few more seconds before a wide smile broke over her face.

"Steph!" She called. "What are you waiting for? Come over here!" Steph blinked in confusion a few times at this, before she nodded and walked over to the group. As she reached them, with all of them staring, she felt out of place again.

"Uh, hey." She said. Damien smiled at her.

"Morning sis." He said. "How are you?"

"I'm good." She replied. she looked over as Nashi side shuffled into Drake on the bench, moving over and patting the bench next to her.

"Sit down." She said, looking very happy. Steph did so, still feeling like she was intruding or something.

"I still can't believe you, Damien." Ultear said, breaking the silence. Doing something so erratic." Damien laughed weakly.

"Aha, sorry. It was an impulse. But hey, I didn't mess anything up did I?"

"Not that we can tell." Simon said. "Still, it was a risky thing to do."

"Who cares?" Drake asked, making everyone look at him. "The outcome is worth it in my opinion." Steph smiled at this and nodded.

"I hope my presence doesn't mess anything up." She said warily, and Nashi brushed her off.

"We'll see." She said. "Right now, though, we have to make sure you get settled back in as soon as possible."

"Right." Simon agreed. "Plus, and i hope I'm not assuming here, you'd the seventh team member." Steph raised an eyebrow at this.

"Team?" She asked.

"We're a team." Ultear said. "We were hoping that you'd like to join it. What do you say?" Steph looked around at the others, and smiled.

"Of course I will." She said. "Sounds like fun."

"Awesome!" Nashi said. Steph nodded, but then turned to look around the guild hall in confusion.

"Where's Elise?" She asked. Her question went oddly unanswered, and when she turned back to her friends, everyone wasn't looking at her. Nashi and Ultear seemed to be having a silent conversation.

"...She hasn't been in the best shape mentally lately." Ultear said. "...Just give her time."

"Yeah."Nashi agreed. "Just give her time." Steph didn't know what was wrong with Elise but she hoped the girl got better as quickly as possible. After that topic left the conversation, Steph felt the need to say something.

"You guys were incredible in the Grand Magic Games." She said, making everyone perk up. "I got to watch it."

"Thanks." Simon said. "We did our best."

"I could tell." Steph then turned to Nashi. "Especially you, Nashi." The girls cheeks turned pink.

"It was nothing, really." She said, shaking it off.

"Are you kidding?" Steph asked, bewildered. "The you that competed in the Games was not the same one I knew from before."

"Lots happened." Nashi replied. "Dad came home and after that it was adventure after adventure. But thanks regardless." Steph nodded and looked towards her brother to complement him, but he was staring down at the table. He seemed to be lost in thought.

"Onii-chan?" She asked. "Are you okay?" He looked up at this and met her eyes, before he smiled.

"I'm okay." He said. "Just thinking."

"About?"

"..."

"Damien?" Drake asked. "You okay bud?"

"...Let's get out of here." Damien said, standing. "Some stuff around town we should show Steph." Nashi, too, jumped to her feet.

"Right! We should get her acquainted with town." Steph watched as the others got up from their seats, and she too stood.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt." She said.

* * *

"I'm still not sure." Steph said.

"I think you should." Ultear said. "Moving into the dorms makes you closer to Nashi, Elise and I."

"Yeah, but..." Steph shrugged. "I'll think about it. Probably should stay with my parents for a bit. Just to make them happy."

"That makes sense." Drake said. "But I'd do it." Steph nodded and looked around, making a face.

"Where'd Onii-chan go?" She asked. The others looked around at this, also realizing that while they'd been walking around, Damien had disappeared.

"That's weird." Simon said. "I could've sworn he was right behind us."

"Huh." Drake said, scratching his head. "I didn't even hear him disappear." Ultear shrugged.

"He keeps doing that." She said. "I just don't get it." Steph didn't know what her brother was doing, but she had to admit she was curious. She was curious about a lot of stuff, really.

"Hey, guys?" She asked. "What is wrong with Elise, if you don't mind me asking?" The group seemed uncomfortable at this, but Nashi sighed.

"I guess it doesn't matter if you know." She said. "It happened a few months ago. She, Drake and I were captured by a dark guild and while we were there...She went through some rough shit." Steph felt bad knowing that Elise had gone through those things. "We had her memories erased, and she recently regained them. She's doing her best to deal with it."

"Oh..." Steph said, looking down. "That's what happened during her fight with that guy from Sabertooth during the Games."

"Yeah..." The group went silent, before Drake snapped his fingers.

"I got an idea." He said, making everyone look at him. "We should totally introduce Steph to all the others. I'm sure they'd love to meet her."

"That actually is a pretty good idea." Nashi said. "How about it Steph, want to meet our other friends?" Steph nodded.

"Sure." She said. The others walked ahead of her, and Steph followed slowly. She couldn't help but feel meeting these friends would be rather interesting.

* * *

Damien stared down at the useless tombstone in front of him, deep in thought.

Steph was alive, meaning that the tombstone really didn't serve a purpose anymore. They'd probably have to get rid of it at some point.

"Troubled, Damien?" Damien closed his eyes as he heard Xisplate show up behind him. The demon walked up next to him and regarded the tombstone. "Doesn't really serve a purpose anymore, does it?"

"..."

"Laxus will probably get it removed, so no need to dwell on what this represents."

"I've got a question for you." Damien looked up at Xisplate, who regarded him quietly. "What did you mean by me knowing the full story?"

"Be more specific, Damien."

"When I rescued Steph, you said that we couldn't move past our differences unless I knew the full story. Tell me the full damn story." Damien and Xisplate maintained eye contact for a few seconds before Xisplate sighed.

"I suppose it doesn't hurt know that she's been rescued." He said. "So I'll just come out and say it." Xisplate crossed his arms and watched Damien closely. "Steph was never dead."

...

"...What?" Damien asked, head spinning violently. Xisplate sighed.

"How do you think time flows, Damien?" He asked. "If you and your friends were able to travel into the past and the future, how do you think it works?"

"..."

"It always flows in sync with itself. There is an infinite number of futures and pasts playing all at once. And they're all playing at once. There is a version of you being born as we speak while a version of you also dies." Damien stared at Xisplate, wide eyed, as the demon explained this.

"So...What you're saying..."

"A future you always returned to the period Steph supposedly died, and always saved her. And the past you involved in the situation would grow up believing he killed her, only to become the very you to travel backwards and save her. There was no way to mess up the timeline because the timeline cannot be interrupted."

"What about the future we saw without us?! Where did that come from?!"

"That is a divergent timeline. Much like Edolas is a mirror world, that is a mirror timeline that only exists for twenty years. That future too constantly plays out from the moment you and the others disappeared to the moment you returned to your own time from twenty years ahead."

Damien felt like he was falling. All of this was so much to take in...

But one thing stuck out to him.

"And you _knew _this?!" He seethed. "You knew you never really killed her?!"

"I don't need knowledge of times flow for that." Xisplate replied. "I knew I never killed her."

"And you let me LIVE WITH THAT?!"

"Of course I did."

"WHY?!"

"Would you be who you are today had I not intervened, Damien?" This silenced Damien, and Xisplate glared at him. "Would you be who you are had you not thought you lost your sister that day?"

"...What..."

"Because I reckon you'd be very different. You'd still be a reckless, foolish boy who thinks he's the best there is. No child with any semblance of common sense would actually attempt by takeover at that age. You were a fool. Had you not lost Steph, you'd have continued to try, and continue to lose control. And cause more pain, and more suffering. Losing Steph ensured you did not attempt my takeover again until you were forced too against Taisho."

"...You did it to protect me? And others?"

"Of course I did." Xisplate spat. "I minimized the lives and damage taken by doing what I did. You're fucking welcome."

"How did you know she wouldn't die?"

"Because an older you had been teleported to that time with the thought she had been. I knew he'd try to save her."

"But I don't..."

"Remember? You had Mest come over and erase the memories."

Damien felt as thought his skull had been cracked open. He relived every moment of those few days as a child, now remembering every time he saw his older self and his friends there. It made his head hurt.

"It might not make sense." Xisplate said. "But I had no ill will in mind. Al least not like you're thinking."

Damien didn't know what to say. All these years he'd demonized Xisplate, thinking he was a psychopathic maniac of a monster inhabiting Damien's body.

And now, after all that, he learned Xisplate had nothing but good intentions in mind?

"I...I..." Damien couldn't find his words. Although Xisplate's way of doing it might have been off, it still achieved his goal.

"You're welcome." Xisplate said. "Now," Damien looked down as Xisplate extended a hand. "I believe you and I can start over?" Damien stared down at the demon's hand, before he lowly reached out and shook it slowly. He nodded.

"Yeah." He said. "Just this time, tell me everything before you do it." Xisplate nodded, and began to walk off. Damien watched him go, head swimming with what he'd learned. As he watched Xisplate go, however, something else occurred to him.

"Hey." He called. "One more thing." Xisplate stopped and looked over his shoulder at Damien. "You said one of my friends would die after the Games. Kronos came and went and no one died. What's the deal?" Xisplate watched Damien closely for a moment before he turned his head back around.

"As I recall," he replied. "Kronos attacked you during the closing ceremony."

"And?"

"The Games were not technically over." Damien choked on his spit as he stared at the demons back. "Meaning it was not an event meant for a friends death."

"So...?" Xisplate started to walk away, but his voice haunted Damien.

"One of the six...Or is it seven now? One will still die."

**If you guys have any questions about this, because I know it's confusing, don't hesitate to PM me about it. I'll do my best to explain it. Anyway I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	221. The Others

**I really should be studying for my exams...Fuck it.**

**Enjoy!**

"You guys seem really intent on reassuring me your friends are normal." Steph said, feeling tense. Nashi laughed.

"They are, but if we're all together things can get heated." She said. Drake scoffed.

"Understatement of the year." He said. Although Steph was looking forward to meeting this people, she was a bit nervous. She assumed it was the other competitors from the Grand Magic Games, but so far no one had showed.

"There you guys are." The group turned to find Damien walking up. Although he looked troubled, he smiled at them. Steph would have to ask him later.

"Where were you?" Ultear asked. "You've been gone all day."

"I had some stuff to think about." No one asked another question, which seemed to ease Damien's worries. Steph wasn't sure why her brother was so secretive and odd, but she'd find out some day. "So what're we doing?"

"Waiting." Simon said. "We told the others that we had a new friend that we wanted them to meet. They're on their way."

"Oh, cool." Damien said. "But, if everyone's coming, doesn't that mean..."

"Damien!" Steph barely had time to turn and look before a black blur flew past her. She turned back and saw her brother hit the dirt from receiving the full brunt of the tackle. Steph could hear her brother grunting in irritation.

"Knew it." Steph heard him mutter. "Get off of me." The thing, it sounded like a woman, laughed.

"Aw, you're no fun Damien." She said. The girl sat up, allowing Steph a full view of the girls perfect figure and blonde hair. "Enjoy life a bit." The girl stood and offered Damien a hand, which he took. The girl used this as her opportunity to pull him close, and Damien gave her an unimpressed look.

"Are you done?" he asked. She giggled.

"Maybe."

"Bella." The girl, Bella, turned as Drake called her. "Where's everyone else?" Bella smiled and pointed upwards.

"Up there." She stated simply. Steph looked up along with everyone else, and she was surprised to see an airship with a horse figurehead floating above them. The airship started to descend, and Steph watched as it stopped and the bay doors opened. Once they were open, she could see a group of people coming out of it. Steph watched as every team that had competed in the Games came out of the airship, and she felt her stomach turn a bit.

"I've got a feeling this is going to get heated..." She murmured to herself as the others reached them.

"Bella, what have I told you about opening the doors on the airship without prior warning?" A tan man asked, looking unimpressed. "You damn near depressurized the whole ship."

"Sorry." Bella replied offhandedly. "Just wanted to come down and greet them."

"You mean Damien?" Nashi asked, smiling quizzically at Bella. The girl nodded and pressed herself close to Damien, who barely reacted.

"You know it."Bella replied. Damien didn't bother to say anything about her closeness, so Steph couldn't tell what the two had going on. Were they lovers? If so, Steph had to commend her brother tastes. She was beautiful. Damien rolled his eyes and shoved Bella away from him.

"Anyway, as much as we love hanging out with you guys, we did want you to meet someone pretty important." Steph gulped at this, as everyone present seemed to take notice of her presence.

"Ah, the new girl." A boy with black hair and red eyes said. Steph felt stupid that she'd forgotten all of their names watching the Games. She hadn't really cared enough to remember. She did recognize the guy a the one who'd fought Elise a few times though. "Was wondering about her."

"Yeah, who is it?" The blonde next to black hair, red eyes asked. "She kind of reminds me of Damien." Steph laughed awkwardly.

"Funny you see that... She said. "I'm, uh...I'm his little sister, Steph." At first, no one reacted to her words. But after a few seconds to process what she said, everyone slowly grew shocked.

"Sister?!" Steph jumped as a tan girl tore through the crowd, grabbing Damien by the collar of his shirt. "What the hell did you do, Dreyar?!"

"Good to see you too, Terra." Damien replied in a deadpan. "How's life been the past few days? Good? Good. Yeah, it's..."

"Shut up and explain yourself!" Terra said, cutting him off. "I thought she was dead!"

"So did we." Simon said, cutting in."Wanna field that one, Damien?" Damien groaned and looked up at the sky.

"Remember when we got attacked in the stadium?"

* * *

"...And that's about the sum of it." Damien finished. "Happy?"

The crowd, more or less, had been enthralled by the story. Once Damien finished, Terra rubbed her eyes.

"Of all things, Damien..." She said. "You risked fucking time up by rescuing her? I can't believe you."

"I didn't really mess anything up, though."

"You don't know that."

"I do actually, but I'm not delving into that just yet." This piqued everyone's interest, but Damien waved them off. "Anyway, that's the story." This caused everyone's attention to get turned back to Steph, who sat up a bit as they did so.

Somehow Steph did not see Bella coming first.

"It's so good to meet you, Steph!" She said, hugging the girl. Steph returned the hug awkwardly, and Bella backed up to smirk at her. "Bella. I'm your brothers girlfriend."

"Since when are we a thing?" Damien retorted instantly, making Bella frown in his direction.

"Could you not play along for even a second?" She asked. "I would've had her, too."

"Not a chance, Bella." This caused the girl to pout, but Steph soon forgot about it as she was barraged by names and faces she had to remember this time. She managed to keep track of them well enough, it was more of a 'oh yeah, your so and so.' than actually seeing them for the first time. Once everyone had gotten to be introduced, Steph felt tired.

"Hey, wait up." It was Drake who spoke up. "Michael, where's Blake? He's not with you." This caused Michael to stand up a bit straighter, and Nashi looked away.

"He's, uh..." Michael started, but Juno cut him off.

"By the way, Michael decided to tell us just recently Blake was the one who, you know, attacked you guys during the final day. We're so sorry, we had no idea..."

"Yeah." Rina agreed. "We wouldn't have let him had we known either." Steph noted that everyone but Nashi seemed a little surprised by this news, but she didn't know why.

"Really?" Simon asked. "It was him?" Michael nodded.

"Yeah. He's not allowed anywhere, my dad said, until he figures out what his punishment is going to be."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Nashi said, placing a hand on Michael's shoulder. The two exchanged a glance, and even Steph could tell they were relaying their thoughts without words. The two knew something they weren't sharing. What. however, Steph had no idea. She turned back to find Drake watching the pair, his ears twitching. After a moment, his eyes widened.

"Nashi..." he started. Nashi looked over and shook her head,

"We'll talk later, Drake."

"But...!"

"Later, okay?" Drake looked a little apprehensive, but he nodded and looked down. Nashi patted his chest as she walked up to him. They looked at each other, before Drake shrugged.

"Whatever." He muttered. Nashi nodded appreciatively, before the pair looked back at everyone else as they discussed something else. Steph was obviously out of the loop on most of what they were talking about, but she had a feeling Nashi wasn't saying it out loud on purpose. Maybe she'd find out later.

"Hey, Simon." Steph looked over as someone called Simon's name. Once she looked over, she noticed the confrontation between Nami and Simon. Both seemed to be smirking.

"Yes, Nami?" Simon asked.

"One reason I came here was I wanted to have our rematch. What do you say? We're both in better shape now." The group was silent as Simon contemplated her words, before he shrugged.

"Sure, let's go."

* * *

Steph had spent the majority of the next few hours watching the competitors have friendly rematches, and truthfully it was pretty awesome. Nobody went all out, obviously, because there wasn't really anything on the line. Simon and Nami had exhausted each other, Kyoko had given into Ultear, Rina got to frustrated and got paralyzed by Drake, and so on.

"Jeez, we really need to find out better things to do with our day than fight." Rachel said.

"It was fun." Nami replied. "Don't say it wasn't."

"It's getting kind of late." Mami said, observing their darkening surroundings. "Maybe we should get going. Unless we're going to go get drunk back at the guild hall."

"I vouch for getting drunk." Reyna said, raising her hand.

"When don't you?" Winter asked, making the girl cackle. The group seemed to be discussing their options, but someone cleared his throat. Steph looked over to find Michael standing on the battlefield.

"We're not done with the fighting yet." He said, a smile on his face. "I seem to recall a certain someone telling me we'd settle something once and for all once the Games were over." Steph was unsure what he meant, but Nashi chuckled and stood up from her spot on the ground.

"I did say that, didn't I?" She asked, walking up to Michael. "Is that now?" Michael nodded.

"You're damn right." He said. "Round three. You or me." Nashi shrugged, stretching her arms.

"If you want to lose to me twice, be my guest."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing. The two walked to opposite sides of the battlefield, and Steph found herself very excited to watch and wonder who would win. Both of them were pretty powerful.

"Steph." She turned around as Damien called her name to find everyone else who was there had backed up a bit. "I'd back up if I were you."

"Oh, uh, okay." Steph said, standing up and walking towards everyone else.

"Yeah, good idea." Juno said. "Odds are we're going to end up in the blast radius anyway." Steph turned and watched as Michael and Nashi squared off on the makeshift battlefield. After a few seconds, both became enveloped in their respective element.

"Ready?" Michael asked.

"When you are." Nashi replied. Both stared at each other for a few more seconds before, together, they both surged forward. Light and fire formed around each of their fists and once they connected, the shockwave of light and fire caused Steph to shield her eyes. The two started to slug each other without holding back, each strike causing a small explosion on whoever got hit. Michael received a fairly decent blow and was thrown back a bit, but he slid to a stop and roared at Nashi, which she dodged. The roar followed her as she ran away from it, but Nashi jumped into the air and brought her hands together.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" The fireball left her hands and soared towards Michael, which he dodged. The fireball caused another explosion, and the two met in the center of the battlefield again to trade blows, only for Michael to land a kick before they did so and making Nashi stumble backwards. Michael went on the heavy offensive, making Nashi block all of his attacks. She slid back and ignited her body, but Michael barely stopped to think about it and continued to barrage her with attacks.

"They're pretty evenly matched, all things considered." Steph heard Keita say

"They are." Drake agreed. "But let's just wait and see." As Michael went in for another blow, Nashi reared her fist back and delivered a vicious blow to His face. Michael stumbled back and Nashi went right after him, delivering blow after blow that made Steph wince in pain as Michael flew back and landed on his back. The flames intensified as Nashi got closer to him.

A chill went down Steph's spine, but she thought nothing of it.

Michael got up and tried to defend himself from her attacks, but he seemed to be having a bit of difficulty as Nashi reversed the flow of the fight and threw him around a bit. Nashi punched him in the stomach which made him slid away, but Michael's body began to glow.

"This is exactly what I hoped would happen." he said. "Just going after each other, seeing which one of us is..."

Nashi doubled over, gripping her head. Steph wasn't sure what she was doing, but soon she started to groan.

"Stop it..." She hissed. "I won't..." Steph raised an eyebrow at this. What was Nashi talking about?

"You okay?" Michael asked, also seeming unsure as to what he was supposed to do. Nashi shook her head and staggered around a bit.

"I...I..."She hissed, making Drake gulp. "The...I can hear the...v-voice..." Steph didn't know what she was talking about, but Drake stepped forward.

"Fight's over." He said. "Sorry Michael."

"But..."

"Listen, man. It's for the best." Michael looked confused, and Steph was as well. Why did Drake stop the fight? What was wrong with Nashi?

The longer Steph was home, the longer she felt a lot of stuff was being kept from her.

* * *

All of them had returned to the guild hall to, as Reyna put it, get wasted. Steph had to admit after the strange ending to Michael and Nashi's fight, it certainly eased the mood. Even Nashi seemed to have eased up a bit, but she still seemed a little tense. Steph really had no idea what had happened on the battlefield, but she hoped she'd learn about it at some point.

Steph looked over at the girl, who was talking to Michael and Drake. She laughed, and Steph had to admit she looked totally fine. However, something had happened. She wasn't that stupid.

Steph was brought out of her staring when the door to her fathers office opened. She looked over to find Sting, master of Sabertooth, walking out of it.

"Dad?" Michael asked. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, this is where you guys ran off too." Sting replied, "I was just talking to Laxus about something."

"What?" Steph's father also appeared out of the office, looking a bit tired.

"It's probably good most of you are here." he said. "This concerns both teams." Steph had to assume that meant he was referring to her guilds team and Sabertooth's, which excluded her.

"Why?" Juno asked. "What's going on?" Sting and Laxus exchanged glances, before Sting sighed.

"A job request came in." he said.

"Okay, and?" Michael asked.

"One asking for both teams." Laxus said. "Not only that, but it's not one you're allowed to take lightly."

Steph, after spending all day with them, had a feeling sending those eleven might not get the job done as smoothly as the contact might have wanted.

**I had so much trouble writing this, you guys have no idea. Nothing felt right, but I persevered. Plus I'm considering redoing the order of some stuff coming up...I get through it. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	222. Corporate Raid

**Seems some of you think this is the new arc. Sorry to disappoint, it isn't. That'll come eventually, but I've got lots of filler lined up for you guys! So let's do all the fun stuff before we jump into all that messy business...**

**Plus, sorry for the wait. Grad happened, and then I got dragged on vacation. **

**Enjoy!**

"Alright, we're here." Juno said, stepping out of the train car. Soon enough, many of the others followed suit after her, stretching their backs after the long ride to their destination.

"Thank God." Damien said cracking his neck. "It felt like it took forever."

"Probably for a very good reason." Simon said, looking rather annoyed. Ultear laughed.

"You don't say?"

"Uh, guys?" Everyone present turned at Steph's call, who looked a bit concerned. "Don't you think we should do something?"

"Like what?" Rina asked. "Give the suckers a few seconds, they'll bounce back."

"But..." Steph looked back to find the four Dragon Slayers lying in a heap right outside the train car. Moans could be heard and someone thanking God. "They look pretty bad."

"Give it a minute." Kyoko reassured. "Michael, Keita, get up."

"You too, guys." Simon said, addressing the two dragons from their guild. "You're on land now, you'll be okay."

"Until we have to leave." Michael moaned, looking up. "Then we'll be in hell once more."

"I'm gonna hurl." Keita stated flatly.

"Don't do it on me." Drake hissed, pushing at the Shadow Dragon weakly. Steph made a face. She hadn't been aware that all four suffered from motion sickness. Apparently it was a common problem with all of the Dragon Slayers. As the four suffering from the ailment stood and shook off their pain, Steph took a look around the platform as people stared at them. It was to be expected of course, everyone save her was a competitor from the Games, and from two different teams no less. They were bound to draw attention.

"Are you done yet?" Juno demanded in Michael's direction, and he laughed.

"Peachy." He answered. "Let's go so I forget all of that."

"Amen." Nashi agreed. The group decided to go on their way, which helped avert a bit of attention from them. Which of course came right back once they began to wonder the streets. Steph could hear countless whispers from people all over the street, and they all basically said the same stuff.

"Is that Fairy Tail and Sabertooth?"

"I think it is. What're they doing here?"

"No idea. Maybe they're on a job."

That they were. Sting and Laxus only the day before had told them all about the job request that had come in for both the Fairy Tail and Sabertooth GMG team. Apparently some guy had some ordeal he needed dealt with, and they must have fit the bill.

Which of course begged the question why Steph had tagged along.

That was because Elise was not present. They had tried to coax her out of her room both the night before and the morning of, but she refused to budge and said she didn't want to go. Not much they could do, really. Steph had decided to come as her replacement, which she hoped was okay. Her father was unaware, after all. All she'd done to warn him was leave a note saying so. She had a bad feeling she'd get a scolding for that.

Also, to add onto their problems, Blake Hunt was not with them either. Sting had told them out of the gate he didn't want Blake to go with them. The poor guy was still under house arrest until Sting figured out what to do with him. And at that, the eleven of them decided to go.

"Where does this guy live again?" Rina asked, looking around. Juno shrugged.

"Don't know. It should be obvious if we see it given the pay." Steph agreed with her on that point. The pay per person was ridiculously high. Given how much they were offering, they must have been filthy rich.

"Let's hope this doesn't go downhill." Drake said. "Last time we got offered money by a rich guy...We blew up Silverridge."

"We?" Ultear asked. "I think you meant Apocalypse." At this, Nashi stopped walking and nearly fell, grabbing her head as she did so.

"You alright?" Steph asked. Nashi nodded.

"Y-Yeah." Nashi said. "It's nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Happens a lot." Steph wasn't really sure that equated to nothing, but Nashi didn't seem keen on sharing. As they continued on their way, Steph looked around them. All things considered, the town looked pretty prosperous. Everyone looked happy as well, so she wasn't sure it had anything to do with bandits or the like.

"Is that it?" Steph looked over, following Simon's finger towards a larger looking office building.

"Might be." Damien mused. "Let's find out." The eleven mages walked inside the building and towards the reception area, where a woman was busy filing something.

"Excuse me," Drake said, leaning on the table. "We're wizards from Fairy Tail and Sabertooth. Would you happen to know anything about..."

"Here for Mr. Halsey?" She finished, silencing Drake. "He spoke of finding guild wizards for something. Please, follow me." The woman stood and walked down another hallway, the whole group watching her in confusion before trailing after her.

"Did she say Mr. Halsey?" Kyoko asked. "I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."

"If he's some kind of big business guy I guarantee he'll tell us in the first thirty seconds of talking to us." Michael joked, Drake laughing.

"Yeah, and then he'll get all upset we don't know who he is. Like we care." He said.

"Yep. And then he'll be all sad for a bit before we get him back on track..."

"Oh enough, Michael." Juno said. Steph watched with a smile as the boys joked with each other before fist bumping for their jokes. The woman led them towards a doorway, which she knocked on. There was no response, so she fiddled with the handle before opening what appeared to be some kind of board office.

"In here, please." She said. "Mr. Halsey will be with you shortly." The eleven filed in and sat around as the door was shut behind them.

"Well, now what?" Rina demanded. "Mr business is going to take his sweet time I bet."

"He better not." Keita said. "We have work to do, not sitting around here doing nothing." Steph leaned against the wall and waited, wondering just what it was that the man wanted from them. Everyone was just talking mindlessly among themselves, but Steph had no interest in doing that. She just wanted to know what they were here for.

"Hey, Nashi." Steph looked up as Michael called for Nashi, who looked over at him. "I've been meaning to ask you guys something since our fight in the Games."

"What's up?" Nashi asked. Michael raised his hand and did Fairy Tail's salute.

"I saw your guild do this. What does it mean? I've been curious for a while now but never asked." Nashi smiled.

"That's just some thing our Master came up with as a kid." She explained. "When you do it, it's usually an act of support." Nashi looked down and did the salute with her own hand. "No matter where you are, we're always looking your way. That's what it means." Keita smiled.

"That's pretty cool." He said. "Makes sense now."

"Yeah, their guild did it when you guys got thrashed." Rina joked. This made Michael and Keita falter, while everyone else chuckled.

"Sorry then, Rina." Michael said.

"Huh?"

"We probably should've given you the salute when you were fighting Nami. Not that it would have helped you any." This made everyone laugh again, this time at Rina's expense.

As Rina boiled in anger at the joke, the door to the room opened, revealing a middle aged man with a pretty serious look on his face.

"Ah, you've arrived." He said. He looked around the room, and his eyes fell on Steph. He narrowed his eyes, and she gulped. |But who are you? I asked for the GMG team members, no extras."

"Elise couldn't make it." Nashi said. "Still not feeling well. Steph's her substitute. Don't worry, she'll be more than adequate." The man nodded at this, although he seemed unimpressed. Steph felt the urge to kick him.

"And Blake?" He asked.

"Guild business." Juno answered. "Couldn't make it. Can we hear about the job now?" The man nodded, closing the door behind him and locking it. He walked towards the window at the end of the room quietly.

"As I'm sure you've been told, I am John Halsey." He said. "I'm sure you know who I am." Steph winced as Michael and Drake snickered.

"Not a clue." Kyoko said, answering for everyone. Steph really had no idea who the guy was. And, as Michael and Drake predicted, John looked a bit downcast.

"Really?" He asked. This made Drake snort and the two Dragon Slayers elbowed each other knowingly. Regardless of how rude they were being, they were right.

"Speak up buddy, tell us what's going on." Michael said, trying not to laugh as Drake leaned back in the chair he was in beside him. John sighed.

"Right." He said, turning to look at them. "I'm the head on this branch. I work for the lacrima selling industry, Lacrima Today specifically. We sell hundreds of million in jewel every year with our lacrimas designed to perform different tasks."

"Fascinating." Drake said, voice oozing with so much sarcasm Michael cackled. John Halsey ignored this. Or maybe he didn't hear them. Who knew.

"Recently, as in the past few months, our warehouse at the edge of town have been getting raided. By who, or what, we aren't sure. What we do know is that they need to be stopped."

"So that's what you want us to do?" Nashi asked.

"Not just that." John replied. "Whoever is doing this might work for someone else. If they do, I want you all to find out who it is so that they can be brought to justice. Can you do that?"

"Think so." Simon said. "Sounds simple enough."

"Please be careful as well." He said. "If you cause to much damage, the lacrima in the warehouse might become unstable." Steph felt like that was a jab at the fact that they were from Fairy Tail.

"Alright then." Ultear. "Point us in the direction of the warehouses, and we'll do our best."

* * *

It's almost midnight." Michael noted. Nashi nodded at this.

"And nothing so far." She said. The two of them, along with Drake, Simon, Rina and Kyoko were watching over the first warehouse. Juno, Keita, Ultear, Damien and Steph were in the second one. They'd been watching the sites for a few hours now, but as night set in Nashi had a feeling someone would strike. Night would be opportune after all. Sighing, Nashi leaned back against the wall and raised a hand to the lacrima device in her ear.

"You guys good so far?" She asked. Soon, the device crackled and Ultear could be heard from the other side.

_"Nothing so far."_ She replied. _"You?"_

"Quiet."

_"Keep an eye out. Who knows when they'll show up."_

"You too." Nashi lowered her hand and looked around the small office they were all crammed into. Their plan was rather simple. If they heard a break in, odds are the perpetrators would shit themselves at the sight of them. And even if they didn't, Nashi knew well enough to evade any of the lacrimas and cause them to blow up. Last thing they needed was to pay property damages on this scale.

"You think they'll show?" Kyoko asked.

"I fucking hope so." Rina said, lightning crackling around her forehead. "I need to kick someones ass."

"Make sure to rein it in." Simon warned. "Don't need to make this place erupt."

"I will, I will."

"Hear anything?" Michael asked Drake, who perked up and took a listen.

"Nothing except mice, no." he replied.

"Good. Thought maybe you'd hear Halsey in his office wondering how we didn't know who he was." The two started to laugh again, and Nashi rolled her eyes. They'd been tearing apart the poor guy all night, and it showed no sign of stopping. At least they were getting along.

"I hope we don't spend all night waiting." Rina said. "I don't want to end up sleeping weirdly."

"Me either, but it's still pretty quiet." Michael said. Nashi slowly slid down the wall and sat, yawning. She hoped they could solve this as quickly as possible, but she somehow doubted that. As things usually went, she could assume they'd end up in a metric ton of trouble. Hopefully not, though.

"Wait." Nashi looked up as Drake said this, his ears twitching. "I hear something."

"What is it?" Kyoko asked, sitting forward. Drake remained quiet for a moment as his ears twitched a bit more, and his eyes upwards.

"They're here." He said warily. "I can hear them trying to get in."

"How many?" Nashi whispered, lowering her voice in order to prevent being heard.

"Sounds like forty or more. No more than fifty, though."

"Why the hell do they need so many guys?" Simon asked. Drake shrugged at this. The group went silent and waited as Drake continued to listen to them. After a few more seconds, his eyes widened.

"Aw, shit." He said. Nashi raised an eyebrow.

"What...?"

_BOOM!_

* * *

"Hear anything?" Ultear asked. Damien shook his head.

"No." He replied. "Nothing except for how bored I am."

"Can't be helped." Juno said, leaning back against the wall. "We just have to wait for them to show up. If they do, that is."

"The odds they don't are slim, don't you think?" Keita asked. "I mean surely..."

_BOOM!_

Ultear jumped as an explosion went off in the distance. She ran to the window in the small office, and she could see that a hole had been blown into the other warehouse a ways away, A few armored vehicles were outside the hole, and a ton of men ran in.

"Shit, they're attacking the other warehouse." She said.

"Should be go and help?" Steph asked. Before Ultear could answer, Ultear heard the sound of boots running on the roof over their heads.

"That's a no." Damien said, looking up. This is incredibly coordinated for bandits." Juno nodded as she stood.

"Sure is. Maybe someone hired them."

"Guess we'll find out." Keita said, cracking his neck. "First things first, we stop them from taking anything."

* * *

Nashi looked up as smoke and debris continued to fly everywhere.

"Holy shit." Michael said, covering his eyes. "This isn't a robbery, this is a raid."

"We need to catch them." Rina said, standing up. "Let's go!" The group got up and ran out of the office they were in and down a few stairs, now within the walls of packaging and items not yet shipped somewhere.

"What the hell do they think they're doing anyway?" Drake asked. "Blowing a fucking hole into the place. They must be going for the big haul." Kyoko brushed herself off.

"They probably don't think anyone's here." She said. "After making off with so much already, why not go for it all?"

"They'll make off with a broken arm." Rina growled. "Let's get them!" Nashi agreed wholeheartedly, and ran with everyone else towards the hole, weaving in between racks of items. After maybe thirty seconds or so of weaving around racks, they made it closer to the hole. Nashi noticed that many of the racks near them had been emptied. They were gone.

"Wow, they're clearing house." Michael said, looking around as they ran.

"We're close." Simon said. "Let's get them." Nashi nodded and, as they rounded the last corner, she lit herself alight and tackled one of the men she saw, startling him. She grabbed him by his shirt and glared at him.

"Something you need?" She asked sarcastically.

"What the hell?!" She heard someone say. "Who are they?"

"Damn it, guild wizards! I knew going for a huge take was a bad plan!"

"Fuck them! Let's get em boys!" Nashi tossed the man under her aside and advanced on the group coming at them. She punched one of the square in the face, which sent him flying backwards away from them. Michael did the same to another, and Drake dodged one's fist and kicked him in the stomach. Rina and Kyoko blasted a bunch from behind them, and Simon threw out blasts of heavenly light that forced the others back.

"Give what you stole back and we might not break your face." Nashi said, smiling. "'Kay?" The other men still standing growled.

"Didn't think we'd have to use these, but..." Nashi waited, and her eyes widened as easily ten or fifteen of the remaining me pulled out guns. "Shoot them! They're in the way!" Nashi threw herself behind some of the products as bullets started to fly, hoping that the others had the smarts to do as well. She listened as the weapons hit the things she was hiding behind, and she prayed nothing got through. Getting shot in Edolas was enough for her.

Soon enough, the shooting stopped.

Nashi thought this was a good thing until she heard the squealing of tires. Getting out from her cover, Nashi watched as four trucks took off down the road, carrying everything that that the men had stolen.

"Shit, now what?" Michael asked from behind her. Simon walked up next to her, and pointed to the left. Nashi looked over to find another truck there, abandoned. Most likely it had belonged to those they'd knocked out.

Her stomach turned as Simon ran towards it.

"Yeah, about that..." She said, slowly backing up. "I'll find another way."

"I'll, uh, go with Nashi." Drake said.

"Me too." Michael agreed.

"Oh, just get in!" Nashi started to panic as Kyoko and Rina pushed them towards the back doors of the truck, and tossed them in. Nashi barely got a moment to think before Simon revved the vehicle to life, and they took off down the street. Nashi's head spun, and she collapsed onto the floor in pain. Michael and Drake did the same, and soon enough she begged for the sweet relief of death.

"Holy fuck Simon, do you even know how to drive?!" Rina screeched as the truck swerved on a turn. Simon growled.

"It's not that hard, get off my back!"

Maybe she wouldn't have to wait that long.

**We'll continue this adventure next chapter! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	223. The Competition

**It's kind of weird writing more light hearted with this story honestly. Not sure I like it ;).**

**Enjoy!**

Another bump in the round threatened to make Nashi throw up. She groaned and fell on the floor, Michael and Drake already there.

"Are we there yet?" Michael asked weakly.

"No." Kyoko answered, resulting in moans from all three.

"Please just stop going so fast!" Nashi wailed, clutching her stomach. Simon clicked his tongue.

"Can't, or we'll lose them." He said. "Sorry, guys."

"Don't apologize, fix the problem!" Drake shouted, before he held in what Nashi hoped was just a burp. Another bump made Nashi nearly black out, and she groaned in pain as she rolled over onto her stomach, hoping it would soothe the pain somewhat. She really should have checked if there was any stabilizing lacrimas at the warehouse before they bolted. It would have made the right that much smoother for them.

Simon swerved the vehicle to the right, which caused her to slide across the floor and into the side of the truck. The others did so as well, and Nashi could hear Rina grunt.

"Simon, seriously!" She said. "If you're going to drive like a fucking maniac at least admit you're doing it!"

"I'm not! I'm keeping up with these assholes!"

"By acting like a maniac!"

"Can we all take a deep breath, please?" Kyoko asked with a weak laugh.

"I would but I might hurl." Michael replied, on his hands and knees before another bump threw him right back down again. The truck went dead silent for a moment, before another bump hit and caused all three rolling around in the empty space to groan.

Nashi decided at that moment she knew what hell was.

* * *

Ultear was certain that bandits were not the class these robbers fell under. Their tactics were way to sophisticated for that. On the other hand, though, they were about just as easy to take out.

"Is that you guys can do?" Ultear asked, her icy shield protecting herself and Juno as more bullets flew their way. "It's really not that impressive."

"Hm, right?" Juno asked, snapping her fingers. At this, the bullets hitting the shield were transported away by Juno's magic, and redirected towards the men shooting at them. The men dove for cover behind the nearby shelves, and Ultear sighed.

"Where's everyone else?" Ultear asked Juno, keeping their shield up.

"Don't know." She said. "Damien and Steph went another way, and Keita disappeared when they broke their way in from the roof." Ultear nodded at this, knowing that they had split up when the break in started. From what they could tell a lot of these guys had broken their way in, so there wasn't much they could really do but split up to ensure as little was taken as possible. She sighed as another wave of fire came.

"This is getting bothersome." She said. "I was expecting at least a little magic, not this crap." Ultear raised her left hand and waved it around. Icicles formed outside of the shield and flew towards the men, hitting a few while others dove for cover.

"Get ready, we're going after them." Juno said. Ultear nodded, and Juno placed a hand on her shoulder. At this, the two disappeared and Ultear stumbled as hey reappeared right behind the men taking cover from them.

"Alright, hands up." Ultear said, freezing several of the men solid. Juno acted quickly and transported all of their guns away from them. "Tell us what's going on and I might let you escape hypothermia."

"Go to hell! We'd never tell you." One of the frozen men said.

"Why are you here anyway?"

"Those bastards must have caught onto us! Of all nights to get security..." The robbers grumbled discontentedly to themselves, and Ultear sighed. This was going nowhere. Watching the men struggle against the ice and Juno make sure the others didn't try anything, Ultear raised a hand to her ear.

"Nashi?" She asked. How's it going on your end?" At first, nothing but static came back to her, and she frowned. "Nashi?" Again the girl did not respond, and Ultear felt a pit forming in her stomach. "Nashi? Are you there?"

"Is she not answering you?" Juno asked. Ultear shook her head.

"Nashi?" She tried again. "Please answer me, this is serious." At first, Ultear didn't hear anything. But, right before she was about to try once more, she heard a moan. After that, a desperate and pained plea.

_"Ultear!"_ Nashi wailed over the device. _"Help meeee!"_

"Nashi?!" Ultear asked, worry forming quickly. "Are you okay?! What do you need help with?!"

"Are they okay?" Juno asked, now looking worried too.

"Nashi, what's the matter?! Answer me!"

_"Simon's driving like a maniac and I feel like I'm dying!"_

_"I am not, fucking hell! We're trying to keep pace over here!" _Another voice shouted angrily over the lacrima. Ultear, however, felt a bit stupid.

"N...Nashi."

_"W-What?"_

"You're motion sick, aren't you?"

_"Yeah! W-Why else would I ask for help?! Make him stop!" _Ultear face palmed, Juno watching her with a raised eyebrow.

"Please hand the earpiece to someone who isn't killing over." There was a sound of Nashi taking the earpiece out, and someone else grabbing it.

_"Ultear?" _Kyoko's much more sensible voice asked. _"What did you need?"_

"What's happening? What's this about Simon driving?"

_"Well the guys tried robbing the warehouse, and we scared them off. Problem is they got out with some stuff and we're following them to...wherever. Half of us are down and out at the moment, though. Motion sickness, obviously." _Ultear could hear wailing in the background, but she couldn't tell from who it came from. _"Things alright for you guys?"_

"More or less." Ultear said, scanning the men she had hostage. "We're doing alright by all means, so..." Ultear paused as she reached a red haired robber, who was muttering something. After watching him for a moment, she walked over to him, lowering her fingers from the lacrima.

"What?" He asked, realizing she'd caught him.

"What are you saying?" She asked.

"Cursing you." He answered immediately, although he seemed dodgy. Ultear watched him carefully before she knelt down and reached towards him, but he jerked away.

"Stay away from me, you bitch!" He shouted. Ultear glowered.

"Strange you'd get so edgy when I reach for your ear." Ultear said, glaring. The mans eyes widened, which gave Ultear enough time to freeze his neck solid as well. Without anyway to move out of her reach, Ultear brushed the mans hair away from his ear.

An earpiece was in it.

Clicking her teeth, she ripped it out and stared at it. After a few seconds, tires could be heard screeching from outside.

"Fuck, they're getting away!" Juno shouted. Ultear crushed the device in her fist and dropped it on the robbers head, glaring at the wall as the sounds of vehicles peeling away got softer and softer. Sighing, she turned back to the one who had the earpiece, who looked a bit startled.

"Here's what's going to happen." She said. "You're going to tell us exactly where they're going, okay?"

"W-Why would I..." the ice around his neck crept up even farther, and the man looked a bit frightened.

"Would be pretty hard to tell me when your mouth gets covered." Ultear said. "Ever wonder what it's like being frozen solid?" She received no answer, so the ice went up a bit further. Ultear looked over to Juno.

"Go and find the others." She said. "One of them will crack." Juno smirked.

"Can do." The girl turned and walked off, but not before she transported all the rifles away from them even farther. Once Juno was gone, Ultear turned back to the robber.

"So, where are they going?"

* * *

"We have to go!"

"Please...Please just a few more seconds." Simon rolled his eyes as he watched the three Dragon Slayers relax in the back of the truck. The three had forced Simon to stop, and couple that with Rina's nagging Simon stopped for his own sanity.

"What if we lose them?" Kyoko asked.

"We can smell the magic trail from the truck." Michael answered. "I can tell the direction they went well enough from here."

"Yeah I bet that'll work really well while you're all trying not to throw up." Simon replied, making all three of them flinch. Sighing, he leaned on the steering wheel and did his best to distract himself. It wasn't that hard all things considered to see where the others had driven. Still, having to wait for the three Dragon Slayers was making Simon reconsider why the'd forced them along.

"Drake?" Simon perked up at Nashi's voice. Turning around, Drake was staring at the back of the truck. After a few more seconds, he stood and walked over to the door, kicking it open. Once he did, he clicked his tongue.

"We aren't alone." He said, moving to give everyone a view of the horizon behind them. There, from the distance, several trucks were driving in their direction, from the same way they'd come from.

"Think that's the others?" Kyoko asked.

"They wouldn't need all those trucks." Simon observed.

"It's not them." Drake replied, his ears twitching. "It's definitely the robbers they were dealing with, I can smell the panic." Michael laughed.

"Oh, so that's what that is." He said. "I just assumed it was the sweat from the guys we were chasing."

"I guess they'd smell the same." Nashi said. Drake jumped out of the back of the truck, and everyone else decided to do so as well.

"So, I guess we're dealing with them?" Simon asked. Rina cackled and stretched her arms before aiming at the trucks.

"How far away do they look do you guys?" She asked. Kyoko hummed as she watched the trucks advance.

"I'd say maybe four hundred feet out, give or take." She said. Rina clicked her tongue.

"Easy." She said. Black lightning crackled around Rina as it traveled down her arms towards her hands. As all of it reached her hands, the lightning exploded outwards and rocketed towards the trucks. After a few more seconds, the truck in the middle exploded in a small ball of fire. Michael rubbed the back of his head.

"Nice one." He said. "You think they're dead?"

"Probably not." Rina said. "The trucks run on magic. If anything they're probably just knocked out. Anyone else want a turn?" Simon shrugged and aimed an open palm at the truck on the left. After making sure he wouldn't miss, Simon fired off heavenly light, which caused it flip and roll a few times. Only one truck remained, but it slowly started to stop where it was, roughly two hundred feet away.

"What the hell are they doing?" Nashi asked. Drake narrowed his eyes at the truck, his ears twitching.

"They're surrendering." He said. "I can hear them talking about walking out unarmed with their hands up."

"Are they joking?" Michael asked.

"No." He said. "I can hear them." Simon sighed and watched the men actually get out and wait, their hands up.

"Well, let's go get them."

* * *

Ultear had not gotten an answer out of any of the men, and now all of them were frozen solid. Sighing as she walked away from them, she had to wonder if their other team had had any luck. Hopefully they had, otherwise those robbers will have gotten away.

"Did they talk?" Ultear looked up as Keita asked her this. She shook her head as she approached them.

"No, they wouldn't." She replied. "Just call the guards down here, and get them put in prison. That'll be fine for now."

"Damn." Damien said, running a hand through his hair. "So they got away." Ultear nodded, before she noticed the group of men behind her friends all tied up.

"Who the hell is that?" She asked.

"Keita went over to the over warehouse." Steph said. "He found it vacated and these guys lying around outside."

"It was pretty obvious they were robbers the others knocked for a loop." Keita filled in. "So I tied them up."

"Good work." She said. "Speaking of the others, I should try and get a hold of them." Ultear raised a hand to her ear, activating the lacrima ear piece. "Kyoko? You there?"

_"Ah, I was just about to contact you, Ultear."_

"Oh yeah? Did you find anything important?"

_"If you want to call three men shitting themselves and willing to tell us exactly where the others went, then yes. We're coming back to get you guys, and then we're going after them."_

"Wha...Really?"

_"Yes, really. So get ready because we're about to...Gah!" _Ultear flinched as she heard squealing tires through the device and bodies slamming into the sides.

_"That's fucking it, Scarlet!" _Ultear winced as she could hear Rina shouting. _"Someone else is getting behind the wheel on our way there!"_

_"Oh my god it isn't that bad! Kyoko you believe me, right?!"_

_"Don't buy into his shit, Kyoko! He's a horrible driver! Just look in the back!"  
_

_"Oh they get motion sick in carriages for God sake!"_

_"Just please end the suffering!" _Three voices shouted. Ultear listened to the argument with a pain expression before she slowly lifted her finger away from, causing the device to drop the signal.

"What did she say?" Damien asked. Ultear looked over at him, thinking back to all the fighting she'd heard.

"They're coming back to get us." She said. "They know where the bandits are going, so we can follow them."

"Sounds like a solid plan." Juno said. "Let's make sure these guys can't escape first." Ultear watched them make sure the unconscious men tied up couldn't escape, and turned as squealing tires could be heard outside.

Ultear had never had motion sickness, but she wasn't keen on finding out if she could.

* * *

"I'm telling you boss, they hired guild wizards as security!"

"Well no shit they did, the way you idiots hit them isn't very subtle. Tonight especially." The grunts seemed aware of this, but the man sighed regardless. "Just make sure whatever you did get away with isn't too damaged. We're going to have to lay low for the time being. Get going." The men nodded and ran off to do just that, and the man in question turned to look at the shelves full of products.

They'd been doing this for a while now, using this cave as a base, Only recently had enough of the lacrima gone missing for the guild wizards to be hired. It was his fault of course, he'd gotten to greedy. From what the men had said, those wizards were not to be messed with, either. They were strong.

"Sir?" He turned at this to find one of his men standing there.

"What?" He asked.

"Do you...Do you hear that?" Frowning, he payed attention to the sounds his ears picked up and listened for what the man was referring to. After a few seconds, he heard it.

The sound of an engine roaring.

After a few more seconds, it got louder.

"What is that?" He asked. "It sounds like a truck."

"Maybe it's..."

_BOOM!_

* * *

Nashi felt sick as Simon, who was somehow still behind the wheel, throttled their ride right through a wall. As the truck came to a stop, Nashi had never been happier to jump to her feet and kick the back door open. She got out and examined their surroundings. From what she could tell, it was just a cave full of stolen items. So, at the end of the day, they were just bandits. Pretty good ones she had to admit, but all the same.

"Wow, look at all of this." Keita said, everyone else getting out of the truck.

"I see Halsey wasn't playing around." Michael agreed. "A lot of shit got stolen."

"Hey! Who are you?" Nashi turned at this to find a man with a suit standing there.

"Sir! Those are the guild wizards!" When another one of his men shouted this, he looked shocked.

"You idiots! They're from Fairy Tail and Sabertooth! Of course you got beaten."

"And you are?" Juno asked. The man sighed and straightened his tie.

"My name is Mark Buswell."

"Okay, and?" Rina asked, crossing her arms. The man pushed up his glasses.

"That is not important. What is is that you are trespassing."

"Oh?" Simon asked. "So these stolen lacrima should just be ignored?"

"I never said that." At this, rifles started to get pulled out. Soon enough, every one of his underlings in the room was armed with one. "But you'd be smart to get out of here before we kill you."

"Pssh, yeah okay." Juno said. She teleported some of the rifles away from the men, but that caused them to open fire. Nashi and the others acted quickly to defend themselves. Nashi threw up a cloud of fire that melted the majority of the fire they came under, and Simon went to work using meteor to easily dodge the bullets and knock some of the men out. They all went to work on the grunts, knocking them out one after the other. Nashi heard Mark growl.

"You idiots! Just fucking shoot them!" The remaining of his men did so and opened fire, forcing everyone to dodge. Nashi landed near Drake, who's ears were twitching. After a few seconds, his eyes widened.

"Drake?" Nashi asked. Drake slowly looked behind them, and Nashi followed his gaze. He was looking at one of the shelves where a lot of the stolen lacrima were.

There were bullet hole in the majority of them.

Nashi slowly started to pale.

"Uh oh." She said. After a few more shots flew past them, a few boxes started to glow.

"This is bad." Drake said. "If these things go off..." Nashi looked up at the cavern roof.

"We'll be buried down here." Nashi stood and looked towards the others.

"Guys! We have to get out of here! These things are going to blow!" At her words, she watched everyone take notice of all the lacrima that had gotten hit during the firefight.

"Aw shit..." Damien growled. "Halsey will not be happy about this."

"Who the hell cares what he thinks?" Michael asked, all of them backing up towards the truck again while the men continued to shoot at them and they evaded. "I think the company can afford the hit!"

"Just get in!" Kyoko shouted. Nashi threw herself in the back of the truck, everyone else squeezing in as well in a hurry. Nashi found herself in Michael's lap while Drake was crushing her against the wall.

"Why the hell do we keep letting you behind the wheel, Simon?!" Rina asked, making Simon laugh.

"Want to get out of here fast?" He asked. Rina didn't reply, the only response being the bullets hitting the truck as they hid in it. As soon as Simon started to rev the thing, Nashi felt sick.

"Please don't puke on me." Michael hissed, his face going white.

"Same to you, asshole." She retorted. Simon slammed on the gas, and the truck reversed as fast as it could back through the hole they had come in through. Once they'd managed to turn around around and started to go, Nashi could feel the magic power from the lacrima.

"Floor it!" Steph shouted. "We're not going to make it!" Simon seemed to have no problem with that, and they sped up down the cave towards the exit.

_BOOM!_

Nashi felt the pure magic explode behind them, and the entire cave started to shake violently. The truck swerved several times to avoid falling rocks, and Nashi felt her lunch threatening her. After a few more seconds, they arrived back at the surface. The back door was opened, and Nashi looked behind them to see the cave completely cut off now. No way in anymore.

"So...Did we do good?" Ultear asked.

* * *

"Mark Buswell, you said?" Nashi nodded, and John looked down at his desk. "Of all people..."

"Who is he?" Juno asked. "Some competitor?" John sighed.

"I'm not sure you could call him that." He replied. "Mark used to work here. He was an ambitious young man, but he always had too many crazy ideas. Eventually, he got angry the company wasn't taking him seriously. He finally left, saying he were a bunch of idiots lost in the past. Said he'd opened his own company with his own ideas."

"So...what was his game, then?" Damien asked. "What purpose did his stealing serve?"

"I can only assume he was trying to get himself off the ground." Halsey replied. "Makes sense, really. Our companies products are top tier. If we could get himself off the ground with ours, people would be more inclined to get his crazier ones once he had them." Nashi wasn't really a fan of all this corporate bullshit. She just wanted her paycheck.

"Doesn't really matter anymore, anyway." Keita said. "The place caved in. Not sure if he got out." Halsey sighed.

"Indeed." He said, before he smiled. "Regardless, you did your job. I assume you'll want to be payed."

"Yeah, if you don't mind." Halsey reached into his desk and pulled out twelve envelopes. He handed everyone theirs, except he gave Blake's to Michael and hesitated before giving Elise's to Steph.

"You'll find the amount very pleasing, I'm sure." He said. Nashi smiled at this. Good pay was always good. "Speaking of, what happened to all the lacrima they stole?"

The whole group started to look incredibly dodgy at this, unsure as to what their answer would entail. Staying silent wasn't an option, though. Have to say something.

"Uh, Buswell's mercs blew them all up and caved the place in." Kyoko said weakly. Halsey's face barely flickered at this, and this made Nashi a bit nervous. What was be going to say?

"So...It's all gone?" He asked.

"Y-Yeah." Ultear said weakly. He looked down at his desk weakly before he sighed, closing his eyes.

"...Okay." He said.

"Are...Are we done?" Michael asked. Halsey looked up at him, looking just a bit unhappy.

"Just go." he said. "Before I take some of that jewel back for compensation."

Nashi felt that was more than fair.

**And the job is complete! More fun filler on the way, trust me. All characters will get their fill before we move on. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	224. The Nightmares

**Alright, so today we start some interesting stuff. And for filler, it is pretty important!**

**Enjoy!**

It was quiet, which was nice. The city of Magnolia was on it's way to bed for the night, and citizens went off to do just that. The silence was a great counter to the loud hustle the city had during the day, and soon enough the streets were empty. Surprisingly enough, even the Fairy Tail guild hall was quiet.

And that was the way the city stayed, at least for a few hours.

For the fifth night in a row, a bloodcurdling scream came from Fairy Hills, the female dorm for Fairy Tail wizards. As the scream continued, many of the young female wizards of the guild were awoken by it and rushed to see what was happening.

And, as usual, they were crowded outside Elise Redfox's door. It didn't take long for Nashi and Ultear to push their way through the crowd towards the door and open it with a spare key they had.

"Elise!" Nashi shouted. "Wake up! It's okay! They're not here!"

"This is crazy..." One girl muttered. "She does this every night."

"I know," He friend responded. "But it can't be helped, after what happened to her."

"I feel so bad for her." Another joined in. "She keeps reliving it..."

"Elise please!" Nashi shouted again. "Please wake up! It's okay, they can't...!"

"GET OFF OF ME! STOP TOUCHING ME!"

_BOOM!_

* * *

Keita yawned as he walked towards the guild hall. It had been about a week since they had returned from there co-op job with Fairy Tail, and he was sure at some point he'd be called out again for something. What is was, he wasn't sure. Since he'd been in the Grand Magic Games requests came in all the time, and usually it asked for someone else, leaving him be.

At least he wouldn't have to put up with any stuck up business men.

Keita reached the door of the guild hall and entered, looking around. Soon enough, he saw his friends all sitting around a table, talking and laughing. Keita ignored the fact that Blake was still not present and walked up to them, gaining their attention.

"Morning Keita." Juno greeted. Keita nodded.

"Morning." He replied.

"Glad you're here Keita, I wanted your opinion." Michael said. "Answer honestly, okay?"

"Okay."

"Was Ross, you know, the announcer from the Games?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Do you think he was genuinely excited, or was he just doing it to hype up the crowd?" Keita made a face at Michael.

"What asinine conversation were you guys having before I got here?" He demanded. Nobody answered him right off the bat, so he sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I think it was both."

"See?" Rina demanded. "Keita agrees with me."

"Fair enough, fair enough." Michael said. Keita really had no idea what the group had been talking about, but he tuned them out as they argued about something. You'd think after so long of putting up with this kind of shit early in the morning he'd be used to it, but somehow his friends continued to find ways to exhaust him right out of the gate.

"Keita." Keita looked up at the voice calling him. Sting was standing at the end of the table, watching him.

"Uh, morning Sting." He said.

"Hey Dad." Michael said. "What's up?"

"A job request came in." Sting answered his son, before he looked back at Keita. "For Keita." Keita made a face at this. Asking only for him? That was odd.

"Really?" He asked. "What do they want?" Sting turned and beckoned for Keita to follow, so Keita stood up and followed Sting away from their loud guild mates and towards the much quieter office Sting used. Once they were inside, Sting shut the door, sighing. He walked towards the window and stared out of it for a while, dead silent. Keita really had no idea what was going on.

"Master?" He asked. "What's the job about?" Sting was quiet for a while, but eventually he sighed and turned around.

"It's not a job." He said. "I just said that to get you alone." Keita raised an eyebrow, but said no more as Sting walked over to his desk. Sting sat down, and he looked up at Keita. "This morning, Laxus contacted me."

"Did he?" Sting nodded, but this told Keita absolutely nothing about what was happening. "What did he want?"

"He didn't want anything." Sting replied, confusing Keita. "Nashi did, though."

"Nashi?" Sting nodded again, and this left Keita even more confused. What would Nashi want from him? And only him?

"They didn't go into details." Sting said. "All I was told is that Nashi wants your help. They also said something about Elise, but didn't elaborate."

It suddenly made more sense.

"Oh." Keita said, looking down. "Okay."

"Are you okay with this? Nashi wanted you to come over as soon as you could." Keita nodded.

"Alright, I'll go there now." Sting nodded, and Keita turned to leave the office. As he did so, he couldn't help but wonder what it was Nashi wanted from him. If it involved Elise, well, Keita could think of a few things.

He just hoped everything was okay.

* * *

Once he was in Magnolia, Keita returned to his human form from the shadows. He'd used his shadow form to reach Magnolia faster, which worked much better for him then taking some form of transportation.

Shivering at the thought, Keita made his way through the streets, looking around for a way to the guild hall. Finally finding his way, Keita walked in silence and ignored the looks he got from people on the street. After the Games, people always stared. After a while, Keita looked up as he reached the guild hall. As he expected, it reeked of booze and the laughter from inside reached him through the closed doors.

Shaking his head, he opened the door and walked inside the guild hall. Once he was inside, the full force of liquor hit him right in the face, making him stumble.

"Holy shit..." He hissed, his stomach turning at the scent. "How the hell do they just sit in here? I feel sick..." Regaining his composure as quickly as possible, Keita looked around and eventually spotted the majority of the others all sitting at a table off to the side.

They were conveniently missing the one who'd called for his help.

Shaking his head, he walked up to the group, who took notice of his presence quickly.

"Oh, hey Keita." Drake said, making everyone else look. "What's up?"

"Nothing much." He replied. "You guys?"

"Nothing." Ultear said, smiling at him. "What're you doing here?"

"Apparently Nashi wanted to see me." Ultear's smile died away, which Keita noted before it bounced back.

"Really?" Damien asked. "What did she want?"

"Not sure." Keita answered. "All I know is that she wanted to see me as soon as possible."

"Weird." Simon said. "You just missed her. She went out to get some fresh air. Not sure where, though."

"Alright, I'll go sniff her out."

"Good luck." Steph said. Keita nodded and turned on his heel, leaving the guild hall quickly. Once he was out, he walked around for a bit so his nose could expel the smell of booze. Once he could actually smell the air instead of the guild hall, he walked around for a bit so that he could try and catch Nashi's scent. After walking around for a few minutes, he eventually caught what did smell like her. Turning in the direction it was strongest, Keita followed it for a bit until he was walking alongside the waterway running through Magnolia. Looking up, Keita spotted Nashi leaning against a bridge up ahead of him. She wasn't looking at him, so Keita walked right up to the bridge.

"Nashi?" His call seemed to startle her, as she jumped and turned. "I heard you wanted to..." Keita paused. That was strange.

Keita hadn't known Nashi very long, but having her hair over her eye did not seem like her style whatsoever.

Nashi's hair was covering her left eye, almost as if she had purposefully styled it to do so.

"Oh, hey Keita." She said, smiling. Even if she smiled, Keita noted her face seemed stiff. "You made it."

"Yeah, you wanted to see me?"

"Hm, yeah. Follow me." Nashi turned and started to walk away, leaving Keita no option but to follow. He walked behind Nashi through the streets, having really no clue where exactly they were headed. She didn't really seem keen on sharing either.

Keita, however, was still trying to figure out why she was acting so weird. The hair, the stiff smile, barely speaking to him...None of it fit.

"Sorry, I'm being kind of rude." Keita paused and looked over to find Nashi looking back at him. "I'm exhausted, so excuse my silence."

"It's fine." Keita replied. "Although I'd appreciate you tell me what the hell is going on." Nashi nodded, and turned to face him fully. They were alone on the road alongside the waterway, and Nashi sighed, looking down.

"I didn't know who else to ask for help...It's gotten so bad..."

"What has? Why am I here?" Nashi remained quiet for a moment, before she gathered her composure and looked up.

"I'm going to show you something, but you have to swear to me you won't tell a soul. Not Michael, or Juno, or anyone. Okay?"

"Uh, okay." Keita said. "If it'll help me figure out why you called for me, then...!" Keita's breath hitched in his throat as Nashi slowly lifted her bangs away from her face.

The whole left side of Nashi's upper face was black and blue. Her eyes was forcibly closed, and it looked brutally painful. Nashi only kept her hair up long enough for Keita to catch a glimpse before she flattened it back down.

"What...What was that?" Keita asked. "Who did that to you?" Nashi turned back around away from Keita.

"Elise did it to me." She answered. Keita felt a cold stone settle in his stomach.

"Wha...What?" He asked. Nashi sighed.

"Walk with me." She said. Keita did so and walked with her down the street, this time beside her. After more silence, Nashi gestured to her face. "Elise did this to me in her sleep."

"Sleep?"

"Over the past few days, she's been having nightmares. Nightmares about...You know." Keita knew very well what she meant. Phantom Dove. "From the sounds of it, she relives the whole thing, over and over. It's so bad not even shouting at her and shaking her wake her up."

"Jeez..."

"Hm. Anyway, this whole thing, reliving it, it's making it harder for her to get out of her room and do her thing. She can't get past this if she relives it all the time."

"So...Why am I here?" Keita asked. "I'm not sure what you want me to do." Nashi paused, so Keita did too. She looked over at him and met his gaze, which she held for a moment or two. Keita started to feel a little uncomfortable before she turned away.

"No reason." She answered. "I just felt like you might be able to help." Keita felt like she was hiding something from him, probably that explained why she wanted him to help of all people. Keita shrugged.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to do much." He said. "But I'll try. I owe her that much."

"That's all I wanted to hear."

* * *

"So, is this it?"

"Yep. This is her room." Keita stared at the door, unsure as to what he was supposed to expect. He had some idea, but he really hoped it wasn't so bad.

"So, what do you want me to do?" He asked, turning to Nashi. She shrugged and crossed her arms.

"Anything." She said. "She's gotten so bad recently...Just do something." Keita made a face and looked back at the door.

"Okay. I'll do my best." Nashi nodded and fumbled with something in her pocket. Pulling it out, Keita saw it was a key. Nashi reached forward and inserted the key in the door, unlocking it.

"Elise?" Nashi called. "Someone's here to see you. That alright?" There was no response, and Nashi sighed. "Go on in."

"You sure?" Keita asked.

"Yeah. She does this." Keita nodded and turned back to the door. He reached for the knob and turned it, opening the door. It lowly creaked open, revealing the room. It wasn't very big, and sitting up in her bed curled into a ball was Elise. She didn't even acknowledge Keita as he walked inside the room and stood there, looking around. The lights were off, curtains over the window, everything. She seemed intent on cutting herself off from everyone.

"Elise?" He asked. She didn't reply.

"I'll leave you to it." Nashi said behind him. At this, she yawned. "I have to go lie down. I'm really tired..."

"Good luck." He replied. "Make sure you get that eye checked out. It looked pretty bad."

"Yeah, I'll get Wendy to look at it after my nap..."

"Shut the door." Nashi did as he asked and shut the door, before she walked away towards her own room.

This left Keita and Elise alone.

Keita walked towards the bed, staring at the girl curled up on it. She looked so defeated, and it made him mad. Why the hell had he prodded her so much? She was reliving this because of him...

"Elise?" he asked, once again receiving no response. He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, waiting in silence. He had all the time in the world, after all. He had nowhere to be. So he sat there, next to her, and waited. He really didn't think of anything in particular, he just waited for her to say something.

"What are you doing here?" Keita looked over as her voice came softly from between her legs. He stared for a moment before he looked down at his hands.

"Nashi called for me." He said. "Said she wanted me to try and help you." Elise stayed quiet, and Keita sighed. "I'm really sorry. This is my fault you're like this."

"Would have happened eventually." She replied. "I'd rather is happened when it did then at some point down the line."

"I guess." He said. "What's going on? I want to help you." Elise didn't say anything at first, so Keita reached forward and touched her shoulder. "Elise, please. I swore I'd help you. Let me." His words seemed to convince her somewhat, as her grip on herself lessened slightly, revealing her face. She had bags under her eyes, and they were incredibly bloodshot as well.

"Every night." She whispered. "Every night for the past week I've...I've had nightmares. I relive...I relive Phantom Dove every single night. It doesn't stop, it's relentless."

"Elise..."

"It doesn't stop. I have to sit through the whole fucking thing until they stop..." Tears started to fall from her eyes, which made Keita feel even worse. "Last night I punched Nashi in the face, with a club. I thought...I thought I was hitting one of them. I can't do this...I haven't slept in days..." Elise started to tighten up again. "I can't...I just can't..."

Keita felt horrible about this entire thing. This was his doing. Why the hell had he done this, again? Morbid curiosity? If he could go back in time and slap himself, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

"Jeez, I...Elise I'm sorry." He said. "God...Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know...Anything...Anything."

"..."

"...Elise, please." Keita grip on her shoulder tightened. "There has to be something."

"There isn't." Keita stared at her. He wasn't going to give up that easily, there had to be something he could do.

_"I just felt like you might be able to help."_

_I wish I knew why, Nashi._

Keita looked over at the window, staring at the city outside through the curtains. After a while of that, he got an idea. Standing, Keita walked over to the window and opened the curtains, allowing light to flood in. He heard Elise make an odd sound.

"What are you doing?" Keita looked down, pondering his next words.

"We're going to go for a walk." He said, turning around to face her. She looked confused. "So get up, get dressed and we'll go. Okay?" Elise stared at him in confusion for a moment before she looked down and stared at the sheets on her bed. After a while, the expression on her face softened to indifference.

"Okay."

* * *

"Now what?"

Keita wished he had an answer.

Getting Elise out and onto the street was one thing, Knowing what to do after that was another problem entirely. He wasn't even sure if she'd be up for anything he suggested, anyway. And speaking of, Keita knew very well he was not a resident expert on what to do for fun. Fuck, he should have brought Michael with him.

"We'll see where the day brings us, I guess." He answered, feeling stupid for even saying that. He wanted to help, he really did, but faced with such a situation made him feel clueless. Looking around for anything that he might be able to use, Keita noted that there was an ice cream stand down the street. He weighed his options, and cast a glance at Elise who seemed to be either too tired to care or just didn't anyway.

Sighing and gathering himself, Keita walked ahead of her towards the stand, and waited in line behind some kids. Elise just stood off to the side indifferently. Once the kids had gotten theirs, Keita walked forward and ordered two for them. He didn't really know if Elise had a favorite flavor or anything, but he doubted she'd care all that much. Taking two vanilla cones and paying for them, Keita walked back to her and offered it to her. She stared at the cone before her eyes darted back up to Keita, who simply smiled at her. Sighing, she took the cone from him in two hands and took a few small licks, before lowering it slightly. Keita looked around while also licking his, wondering if there was anything else that might distract her for the day.

"Hey, is there anything you want to do?" He asked, looking back at her. She looked up at him.

"I..." She paused, staring at him. After a few seconds, incredulously, a small smile graced her face.

"What?" He asked. Elise shook her head and looked back down at her ice cream.

"Nothing." She answered. Keita made a face at her, before the smile grew wider and she started to hold in laughter. Keita watched as Elise's self control devolved into nothingness, and soon she was cackling as loud as ever while holding her stomach with one arm, the other one holding her ice cream.

"Why are you laughing?" He demanded. Elise regained control of herself long enough to tap her nose with her index finger. Keita had no idea what she was trying to say, which just made her laugh even harder. "What?!" He asked.

"Y-Your nose! She wailed, leaning against the buildings near them. Keita made a face and raised a hand to his nose, and his eyes widened.

Slowly lowering his hand, Keita saw that there was nice cream on his finger. He stared at it for a second before looking back at Elise, who was still trying to regain her breath.

_She's laughing at the ice cream on my nose...She really does need to get some sleep, she's going insane._

He watched as Elise wiped at her eyes while she giggled, and he smiled.

_At least she looks happy now. It's sort of cute, honestly._

Keita made a face as this thought crossed his mind. Cute? Maybe he needed some sleep. Shaking his head to clear the thought, he chuckled audibly.

"Was it really that funny?" He asked.

"...Yes. Really." Elise answered. "I..." She cackled again, and Keita shook his head with a smile. "I'm sorry. It really isn't that funny. I'm just so tired I can't..."

"It's fine." Keita answered. "At least you're smiling. It's a better look for you." Elise seemed to notice this as well, and her cheeks turned pink slightly.

"Well, I guess." She said. "What's next?"

"Not sure. now that you're in a better mood, anything you had in mind."

"Hm..."

* * *

Keita sighed as he cracked his back on their way back to Fairy Hills.

"I really was not ready for all of that."

"What was so bad about it?" Keita looked over at her, contemplating his answer. For the rest of the day until the sun set, Elise had dragged him all over to look at different things ranging from clothes (which made Keita realize he had grossly underestimated just how much of a tomboy Elise really was) to different piercings she was looking into getting, including a tongue one Keita basically had to talk her out of. The time had simply gotten away from them, which was odd seeing as it felt like more like a chore the longer the day went on for. Keita sighed.

"Nothing."

As they reached Fairy Hills and entered, Keita had to wonder where he was going to sleep. He was way to tired to trek back home at this hour, so he had to figure out what he was going to do. Whatever. He could see Elise off before then. They walked up the stairs and down the hall towards Elise's room, and she opened the door and walked inside before turning to face him with a small smile on her face.

"Thanks for forcing me out today." She said softly. "I had fun."

"Mm, as did I."

"You sure about that?"

"I'll fake it in front of you." This made her smile, as did Keita. "You just need to not let this own you, Elise." He said, making her look at the floor. "You proved today you can get past what happened, right?"

"Right..."

"You'll be okay. If you need me again, just call alright?"

"..."

"Alright?"

"...Alright." She said. Keita nodded.

"Well, goodnight then." She didn't reply, so Keita turned around and started to think about what he was going to do for the night.

That was until a hand shot out and grabbed his. Slowly looking over his shoulder, Keita saw that Elise had latched onto him, staring at the floor.

"Elise?" He asked. She didn't reply at first, but eventually she looked up, and Keita made a face. Elise's cheeks were pretty damn red.

"Can I ask you something? Something you can do for me." Keita turned back around, but Elise refused to look up. "I...I, uh..."

"Yeah?" Keita asked. Elise looked back into her room, took a deep breath, and looked back at Keita.

Keita gasped in surprise as Elise used her hold on his hand to yank him inside the room, and shut the door.

"What are you doing?!"He demanded, jumping to his feet. Elise, however, just remained silent.

"I...I..." Keita, although now slightly angry, waited for her to speak up. "I..." Elise growled in frustration and looked up at him, cheeks red as all hell. "I want you to stay in here for the night!"

...

Of all the things she could have said, Keita was _not _expecting that.

"...W-What?" He asked, also feeling his cheeks going red. Elise looked away from him.

"I want to know if if helps having someone else in my room with me...In case maybe being alone is what causes the nightmares."

"So you want me to sleep with you?"

"N-No! Just, like sleep on that chair or something..." Now having profusely embarrassed both of them, Elise seemed to have gotten her message across, and Keita pondered his answer. He wasn't exactly comfortable with doing so.

"Elise...I'm not even supposed to be in here, let alone spend the night." He told her.

"If nothing happens, nobody has to know...You could go shadowy and slip out in the morning."

"Still..."

"Please?" Keita paused as Elise looked up at him, eyes wide. "I want to sleep, Keita...Really, I do. And I can't with these nightmares waking me up constantly."

_She needs her rest, sure...And I guess I'm not really doing anything except sleeping here, so..._

Keita sighed and turned his back to Elise. Before she could ask him anything, he drew the curtains and then hopped up on the windowsill, resting his head against the wall. He looked back at Elise to find her standing there.

"Well?" He asked. "Go to bed. Let's see what happens." She blinked a few times in surprise before she smiled.

"Thank you."

"You'd better hope I don't get caught in here." Keita looked away as Elise changed out of her clothes and turned the lights off, and then crawled into bed. He looked back to find her look at him from her bed. He nodded at her.

"Goodnight." He said. She nodded, looking apprehensive.

"Goodnight." Elise turned away from him, and Keita leaned his head against the wall and looked out the window towards Magnolia.

"I hope this goes well." He muttered, closing his eyes.

* * *

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Keita jumped and fell off of the windowsill as a scream woke him up, landing right on his face. Scrambling to regain his bearings, he sat up on the floor and looked around. Finally remembering where he was, he looked over at Elise's bed.

She was sitting up in bed, clutching her head and screaming at the top of her lungs.

_Oh no..._

"Elise!" He shouted, springing from the floor and onto the bed, grabbing the girl by her bare shoulders. "Wake up! It's okay! I'm right here, you don't have too...!"

"GET OFF OF ME!"Keita barely had any time to react before an iron club socked him in the mouth, knocking him backwards and into Elise's closet. He groaned as wood and clothing fell on top of him. Looking up, he could hear people gathering around the door outside, muttering quietly. HE could barely hear that over Elise, though.

Jumping up again, Keita ran to the bed and grabbed Elise again.

"Elise, wake up! It's me, Keita! It's not them!"

"Is there a man in there with her?!" Keita hard a girl from outside shout.

"Holy shit we have to save her!" Keita gulped as the girls of the dorm started to knock the door down, and he shock Elise even harder.

"Elise please wake up! Not only are you safe, but soon I won't be! Please wake up!" Elise had stopped her screaming, but now she was clutching herself and crying loudly. "Elise! Please!"

"Thank God! Nashi, burn the knob off!There's a guy in there with Elise!"

"What?! Move out of my way!" Keita really had hoped Nashi had some sense, but he was running out of time. The knob was glowing. Now out of options, Keita grabbed Elise and held her close to him.

"Please just wake up." He hissed. "Please. It's okay. I'm here." Elise's crying stopped, but it was too late for him. The knob melted completely, and the door was flung open.

Thankfully, it only took Nashi and Ultear a few seconds to realize it was Keita and no creep.

"Keita?" Nashi asked, her eyes already looking better. "What's going on?" Keita just watched her and Ultear before he felt Elise pushing at his chest. She created some distance between them before looking around in confusion.

"...Did I do it again?" She asked weakly. Nashi nodded.

"Yeah. Keita woke you up this time though." Elise looked over at Keita, who nodded at her.

"You're bleeding." She said.

"Huh?" Keita asked, but now that it had been pointed it out he felt blood trickling from his mouth. He raised a hand and wiped it away.

"It's nothing." He answered, now feeling the pain from it too. Elise, however, looked devastated.

"So I hurt you too..."

"Elise seriously, it doesn't hurt..."

_Yes it fucking does, but she doesn't need to know that._

"Alright everyone, it's fine." Nashi said, turning to the other girls. "Go back to bed." The others grumbled, but shuffled around as Nashi and Ultear forced them enough, the two were alone again. Elise stared down at her sheets.

"I can't do this anymore...Every night like fucking clockwork..."

"Did me being here not help, then?" Keita asked.

"I guess not." Keita frowned and wiped more blood away. There had to be some way he could help her. Something, anything really.

A thought occurred to Keita.

At first he was embarrassed he even thought of it, but the more he thought about it the more it made some sense.

"I, uh, have an idea." He said, making Elise look up.

"Anything." She said. Keita took a deep breath and looked over at her.

"I might have to sleep in the bed with you." He was prepared for Elise to go red, stutter out a negative, and then maybe get punched. What he got, however, was an exhausted Elise tilting her head to the side.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because I know what your biggest problem is." He said. "You're having trouble discerning reality from the nightmares. Even though Nashi and I both tried to wake you, your initial reaction was that we were those in the nightmares and you attacked accordingly. If there was a way for you to realize you aren't alone, and it isn't real right out of the gate, that'd be it." He waited for Elise's reaction, hoping once more she wouldn't hit him. She seemed to be considering it thoroughly, before she eventually sighed.

"We can try." She said. "At this point I really don't care." Keita nodded, and he slowly looked down at the bed. It wasn't really made for two people, so he hoped it wouldn't be to awkward.

The two of them worked together as best they could to avoid any contact, although after five or so minutes of trying as hard as they could, their backs ended up pressed together.

"You okay with this? Really?" He asked. He got no answer. "Elise?" Again, she didn't reply. Keita sat up a bit and looked over to find Elise already knocked out. He stared down at her as she slept, before lying back down and doing his best to sleep.

Although he'd never admit it, the feeling of Elise's back pushing him slightly every time she breathed in was more soothing than he expected.

* * *

When Elise woke up, she half expected to be sobbing into someone's arms.

She didn't though.

She woke up with her rest resting on her pillow like any normal human being. She yawned as she slowly sat up, looking beside her. Keita wan't there.

Wait, had his plan actually worked.

Elise looked over towards her window to see him sitting there once more, looking outside.

"It...It worked." She stated, and he nodded.

"Yep. Slept like a baby until now" Elise stared down at the sheets, unsure of what to say. "See? I told you. You just need to remind yourself that you aren't alone, and you're fine."

"I guess you're right."

"Hm. So I want you to do two things for me." Elise looked back at him, but he still hadn't looked at her.

"Okay?"

"One, I want you to remember, every night, that you aren't alone. You have amazing friends in this guild who will always be there for you. Those men can't hurt you anymore. If you go to bed remembering that, I bet you'll be okay." Elise stared at him for a minute, before she nodded. That made sense.

"Alright, makes sense. What's the other thing?"

"Ah, well that is..." Keita turned to her. and Elise yelped in a panic, jumping to her feet.

Keita's mouth looking pretty bruised. It was a miracle he'd been talking at all. Keita looked damn near ready to cry.

"Can you please get me some ice? I'm dying over here."

**This chapter is pretty long, but there wasn't enough for me to separate it into two different chapters. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	225. Just to Leave

**Today is a catalyst for the 'filler' story so here we go!**

**Enjoy!**

"Wow, I haven't slept that great since, well, before the Games." Keita yawned.

"I wonder why." He asked, looking over towards the girl walking next to him. It had been three more days since Keita had first showed up to help Elise with her nightmares, as she had wanted him to stay a bit longer. He saw no reason not to, he was there to help after all. So we would.

Had he known what the next few days would entail, he'd have warned himself.

On the first night, Elise wanted him the bed as well as a precaution. Made sense. Unfortunately, about halfway through the night, Elise rolled over in her sleep and latched onto his midsection, waking him instantly. He didn't have the balls to wake her to change their position, so Keita stayed up the rest of the night painstakingly counting the minutes Elise had her head buried in between his shoulder blades and her arms around his midsection until thankfully around five in the morning she released him. Thank God. So he escaped the bed to go to the bathroom and anything else before he returned.

He wasn't even really sure where the second night started, honestly. Elise slept right through the whole next day without a single nightmare. Keita stayed in the room with her, completely not surprised by this. From what he could tell, from the bags under her eyes and the way she'd nearly bust a gut laughing at the ice cream on his nose, she'd been running on maybe a few hours of sleep at best all week. Her not waking up was nothing unexpected.

She did wake up around eight at night though, and it took Keita a decent five minutes to explain to her that it was the next day, not five or so minutes after she'd gone to sleep the day prior. She was still exhausted, so she got a snack (Was that what Fairy Tail girls considered a snack? A three course meal?) before returning to the dorm. This time she told Keita to remain on the windowsill, so she could try it on her own.

Which brought them to now, the morning after that.

Elise cast him a small smile.

"Thanks for sticking around. You really didn't have to." Keita shrugged.

"I don't mind. I told you I'd help, didn't I?" She nodded with a small chuckle and looked down at her feet as they walked.

"You did." She answered. "Which still surprises me as I was sure you really didn't like me." Keita made a face. It was true that, at least prior to their fight at the end of the Games, Keita was not Elise's biggest fan. Every way she acted pushed one of his buttons one way or the other.

"It was just the way you acted." He replied. "And I drew a lot of assumptions from that anyway. You're a great person."

"Hm..." Keita looked over at Elise. She looked pretty recharged, but the downcast look on her face made him feel like he hadn't done enough.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked. "If there's anything else..."

"There isn't." Elise said, cutting him off. "Nothing you can do, anyway." Keita frowned at this, but Elise looked back at her feet.

"I have to move past this on my own...The, you know." Keita nodded. He knew. He doubted he would ever forget the things he saw. "You're a great help Keita, and I appreciate it more than you could ever know, but getting past this, going back to my old self...Is a path I need to walk down myself. At least for now." Keita nodded. That made sense to him.

"Well, if you ever want anyone to help you, don't hesitate to call me. I'll come if you need me."

"Thank you." The two remained silent as they walked to the guild hall, and once they reached it and entered, Elise turned to him. "Are you going to go back home?" She asked.

"Don't see why not." Keita said. "Unless you still need me for something."

"Nope." She said, smiling. He still believed that was a much better look for her. "You did more than enough by sleeping with me."

...

"Elise..." Keita said, sweat starting to drop from his forehead. "Could you please rephrase that?"

"Hm?" Keita raised a hand and pointed behind Elise, who followed his finger. Elise's father Gajeel had his eyes firmly planted on Keita, and the murderous gaze he was getting made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. Elise seemed to realize now what she'd said and how it sounded, which made her go red.

"Ah, shit." She hissed. "You'd better go. I'll deal with Daddy..."

"Sounds like a plan." Keita turned and was about to hightail it out of the guild hall, looking to save his ass.

"Keita!" Keita didn't even stop at the angry voice yelling at him. He ran.

* * *

"Man, I wonder what Keita's job was." Michael said, staring up at the roof of the guild.

"Who knows." Kyoko added. "It must have been pretty serious though. He looked pretty serious when he left."

"He always has that look on his face." Rina countered, looking a little bored. "Have you not noticed?"

"Well I know, but he seemed a bit...Upset?"

"Doesn't really matter." Juno said. "He wouldn't share it with us." Michael wished he had. Although Rina had made a fair point, it was also true that Keita had straight up ignored them when they asked him about what the job entailed. He'd just walked out of the job, turned into his shadow form, and disappeared. It wasn't like him at all.

"Well he''l be fine." He said. "So maybe we should start looking at the stack of job requests coming in for us. From what Dad said there's a lot of..." Michael paused as the door to the guild opened. He turned at this, expecting to find Keita standing there.

Blake walked inside the guild, eyes glued to the floor. He was being flanked by several other guild members, presumably those who watched him at his home to make sure he didn't go anywhere until his punishment was decided.

And if he was here...

"Looks like today is the day..." Rina said under her breath, frowning. Kyoko looked pretty upset as well. Michael watched as Blake came inside the guild, but no one else was paying him any mind except for the four of them. He walked by their table, and he paused where he was. He looked over, and the two made eye contact.

Michael stared right back at Blake, who looked almost lifeless. His eyes had bags under them, meaning he hadn't slept for a few days. The frown looked as though it and not left his face either.

"Morning." He said softly. Michael didn't say anything back, observing his friend.

_"__They don't matter!__ All Sabertooth is too me is a cover! The people there...The others...They're nothing to me!" _

_...He didn't mean that._

That was what Michael had tried to tell himself ever since he'd stepped between Blake and Nashi on the final day of the Games. That those words, that had come out of the mouth of a person he considered a brother, weren't true. It had haunted him ever since. Was Blake really just that? An Olympians sleeper agent? Or...Was he their friend.

"...Morning Blake." It was Kyoko who'd spoken. From the looks of it, she was trying her best to smile. "Did you sleep okay?" Blake regarded her quietly, before he mumbled something incoherent and lowered his head, continuing to walk towards Michael's fathers office. Michael watched him go weakly, head swimming with theories.

_...If you'd just let us help you, Blake..._

* * *

The office was silent, and rightfully so.

Blake waited, head down, as Sting stared out the window of the office without saying a word. He just wanted to know what his punishment was. If his prayers had any merit, than he knew what they were going to be.

It was all he wanted. His last service to the guild that raised him.

So he waited, hoping and praying Sting wasn't feeling forgiving. After a few more minutes of silence, Sting sighed.

"Why?" He asked. That was all he said, but Blake remained silent. If he couldn't answer his own question, then Blake had to assume Michael had kept the Olympians a secret. Perhaps to better his chances of not getting kicked out.

A nice gesture, but not a an appreciated one.

Blake didn't speak up to the question. From the movement he detected, Sting had looked over at him.

"Why did you do it?" He asked. Blake again chose to keep silent. Was he going to have to say what he did was an order from the Olympians? Sting sighed and walked towards him, and behind him towards a shelf full of books to the right.

"I've been trying to figure that out since Michael told me what you did." He said. "I've exhausted myself countless nights wondering why...And I want to know. Give me an answer, Blake."

"...Dunno." Blake answered. He couldn't say the Olympians. If he did, that'd involve Sting too and then, the entire guild. They were already in danger as it was now that he'd defied Zeus. He needed to get away. He needed to make sure they were safe.

He needed to make sure Sting gave him the boot. It was the only way.

"You don't know?" Sting asked. "That's not a reason, that's an excuse, Blake. Tell me why you did what you did. I just want to know."

"..." Sting growled, and Blake could tell from the sound it was out of frustration rather than anger.

"Please, Blake." He said, walking back around to his desk sitting in front of Blake. "Just tell me. I don't care what the reason is. I won't punish you."

_No...You have to. It's the only way this guild will survive the week._

"...I was angry they were winning." He lied through his teeth. "I wanted to win so bad, for the guild...I acted out in a moment of weakness. I'm sorry." Sting remained silent, and Blake chuckled weakly and clenched the fabric of his pants in his hands. "I deserve any punishment you give me, really I do. Go all out. I deserve it."

"Do you really think I'm that stupid, Blake?" Blake gulped. "Do you really think that I'm so dumb that I'd believe that you, and you alone, devastated all six members of Fairy Tail's team and did so quietly because you were frustrated? Please."

"I-It's the truth."

"If it was you'd have owned up to it quicker than that. How long did it take you to concoct that?"

"Master, please..."

"I don't believe you." Sting leaned forward. "Just give me the why." Blake had no more excuses. If he said that he worked for the Olympians, that would make Sting want to go after them and as such, the Olympians would fire their satellite cannon on the guild hall. He couldn't allow that. He just wanted out.

"...If you won't believe me I don't know what to say." Blake said, still not looking up. Sting sighed and pocketed his hands, probably contemplating what he was going to do in this situation.

"...Fine, If it's something you wish to keep to yourself, than it's fine." Sting sighed. "Go on, get out of here. Lots of job requests came in for you."

...What?

"I-I beg your pardon Master?" Blake asked, finally looking up.

"You heard me." Sting said. You've got work to do. Get to it."

"W-Why aren't you punishing me?"

"Why should I?" Blake's felt like he was going to black out from the panic seeping into his system. Even without the knowledge of why he did it, Blake staying was the problem! "No one you did it to is made at you, they're cool with it. I see no reason to..."

"Please, Master!" Blake shouted, jumping to his feet. "I don't want to get off free for this, I don't deserve it!"

"Why not?" Sting asked calmly.

"Because...Because..."

Sure, Blake could leave on his own, but he didn't want that. Michael, Keita, the others...They'd hunt him down. Find him. If Sting kicked him out, they'd stay put and leave him be. That was all he wanted! For him to be hunted down due to his insubordination and for them to be safe...It was all he wanted.

"Blake, what is it you want me to do?" Sting asked. "You want a punishment? Fine. I won't enforce it, but you're free to make a suggestion."

"...Kick me out."

"Excuse me?" Blake met Sting's gaze, and held it firmly. No backing down.

"Kick me out of the guild, Master. That's what I want?"

"Why in the hell would you want that? That's crazy."

"Because..." Blake's head became filled with ideas. "I almost got us disqualified, I ran our guilds name through the mud, I behaved poorly as a representative of this guild, I...!"

"...Am the only one who thinks those things?" Sting asked, finishing Blake's thoughts incorrectly. "I don't think you did any of those things."

"I did! Kick me out Master, please!"

"Who do you think I am?!" Blake jumped in surprise as Sting slammed his hands down on the desk between them, an angry flare on his eyes. "Jiemma?! This isn't Jiemma's Sabertooth! I won't...I won't kick you out for something as trivial as anything you just listed!"

"...Master..."

"Why do you want me to kick you out? What exactly are you playing at?" Blake glared at the desk angrily.

"I don't deserve to bear this crest anymore, Master...I've done nothing except tarnish it's meaning."

"What...?"

"I don't care if you disagree, I want to get kicked out! It's the only option left!"

"Why?!"

"PLEASE JUST STOP! KICK ME OUT!" Blake prayed these words had not resounded outside the office. Staying silent, Blake waited for Sting's response, hoping it was what he wanted. After what felt like an eternity, Sting sighed.

"I don't know why you think you deserve this, nor do I agree with you." He said. "But...If you really think getting kicked out is a deserving punishment..."

"It is." Sting didn't continue for a moment, but he sighed and turned his back on Blake and walked to the window.

"Fine. Go." Blake's eyes widened. He slowly looked over at his Masters back, but the man just stared out the window. "If you really think so, then go. I won't stop you."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Blake blinked a few times in disbelief. He'd actually convinced Sting to boot him out. Nodding, he starting to roll his sleeve up for Sting to erase the mark on his arm.

"O-Okay. Erase my mark and..."

"I will not do that and if I see you even attempt it in my presence I will not be held accountable for my actions after I act out," Sting seethed. Blake felt a bit scared at the threat. "I am _not _Jiemma. I'm not kicking you out. You're leaving on your own accord, got it? This has nothing to do with me."

"...Y-Yes sir. Thank you, Master." Blake rolled his sleeve down and turned to leave, before a thought occurred to him. "M-Master?"

"Yes?" Blake was unsure as to the response he'd get, but he turned back to Sting.

"Please tell the guild you did this. I'm sure most will approach you at a later date, Like Minerva, and you can tell them then that it was my idea." He looked down at the ground. "But...At least to your son and his friends...Please tell them you did this. I want to be punished, and they'll try to stop me if they hear I did this. So please, if you could...?"

"...Fine." Sting replied, still not looking to him. His gaze was glued out the window. "I'll tell them I punished you. Now go. Repent, or do whatever is you choose to do."

"Y-Yes sir." Blake turned and walked towards the door, thankful that Sting would see to his request.

"One more thing, Blake." Blake paused. He could feel Sting's eyes burning a hole in his head. "If you, at any point decide you're done beating yourself up over this, you can come back. The doors always open for you. Okay?"

"...Okay." He replied. "Thank you, Master." With this, Blake walked out of his office. He walked through the guild hall with his head down. He knew he was about to pass by Michael and the others. He didn't pause, he couldn't. All he did was give them a single passing glance. They were all watching him, he took a spare moment to try and memorize their faces.

_This'll be the last time I see any of them anyway._

* * *

After Blake had walked past them, Michael got up and bolted to his fathers office, heart on his throat. He burst the door down and stared at his fathers back, who was staring at the window.

"What happened?" He asked. His father didn't answer him. "Dad! What happened?!" After more silence, Sting sighed.

"We...Decided on his punishment." Michael's father turned to look at him. "Blake's leaving us."

...

"You...You kicked him out?" He nodded.

"He thought it was necessary...I didn't disagree with him." Michael felt like he was falling. This wasn't...

_He..._

"I'm sorry Michael, but...It was what we decided. That's final."

_He didn't want to get kicked out..._

Michael turned and sprinted from the office. He tore past his friends, ignoring them as they called out to him in confusion. He also had to make sure not to run right into Keita, who looked ready to greet him. He sprinted down the street, heading for Blake's place.

_He didn't want to get kicked out! He's trying to protect us from the Olympians!_

Michael gritted his teeth.

_I won't let him! We're a team damn it!_

Michael had to stop his sprinting several times in order to avoid the crowds of people, who obviously had no idea why he was sprinting through town. Michael finally reached Blake's address, and pounded his fist on the door.

"Blake!" He shouted. "Blake! Open this fucking door! You can't leave!" He got no response, which only freaked him out a bit more. "Blake! Come on man open up!"

"Michael!" Michael made a face and turned the direction he'd come to find the others running to join him. "What the hell are you doing?! What' wrong?"

"Blake's leaving!" He shouted, walking away from the door towards them. His words shocked them, clearly.

"What?!" Rina demanded. "Why?!"

"I..." Michael wasn't sure he could say something. Did he want the others to know about the Olympians? Not right now. "As his punishment!"

"Oh that's bullshit!" She replied.

"We can't let him leave!" Kyoko shouted, looking desperate. "Get the door open!"

"Is he even in there?" Juno asked, craning her neck to attempt to see in the window.

"I don't know, I...I just..." Michael ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm down. "We just need to..." Michael jumped as he heard a door open. He turned to find Blake standing outside his door, a bag slung over his shoulders.

He was on his way out. He turned and looked at them, but his expression remained indifferent at best.

"Blake..." Michael said.

"Guys." He said. "What're you doing?" Michael wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.

"What are _we _doing?" Kyoko asked. "What are you doing? Why are you leaving?"

"I..." Blake paused, and looked away. "I want to make up for what I did."

"What you...are you fucking kidding?" Rina asked. "That shit you did to Fairy Tail? They're not mad!"

"I don't care."

"You should." Keita said. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Look, guys..." Blake sighed, and looked over at them. "I just want to do this my way, okay? Is that fine?"

"By leaving?" Juno demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "A bit much, don't you think?"

"No."

"Look Blake, whatever it is, let us help! We can...!"

"I cant let you!" Blake shouted. "I just want to leave!"

"But..." Rina tried.

"No fucking buts! Stop! I'm trying to be mature about this! Just stop making this hard!"

"By running away?!" Michael just watched this entire thing unfold, unsure of what to do. After arguing with Kyoko and Rina for a bit, Blake growled.

"Please," He hissed. "I'm just trying to do what's right!"

_What is he getting at?_

"You think this is right?" Kyoko demanded. "It isn't. What about us? Th others? You're a member of this guild Blake! You can't just leave!"

"It's what I've decided on." he answered. "What's worse? Leaving you guys or not respecting the wishes of a friend?" This silenced everyone, and Michael glared at the ground. "I want to leave. This is how I will repent. Whether or not you guys like it isn't in the equation. Okay?"

"But...But..." Kyoko tried.

"Please, I know this is hard, but I want this. Can you guys at the very least respect that?" Silence, then, "Besides, who said we won't see each other again down the road? You never know." No one spoke, and Blake sighed. "I'm sorry guys. I'll miss you, but please..." Michael took a deep breath.

"Fine, you bastard." He said, a pained smile on his face.

_He's trying to protect us alright...But he's also protecting the whole town. If he leaves the Olympians won't attack the whole city to get to him. He's trying to limit how much damage is done for the sake of one life. Even if it hurts...He accepting the responsibility._

"Michael!" Kyoko shouted.

"Blake can walk whatever path he wishes." Michael said, keeping his eyes locked on Blake's. "We don't have any right to tell him what he can and can't do."

"But..."

"We don't, Kyoko." Keita said, placing a hand on her shoulder. He too looked upset, but also understanding. Kyoko glared at the ground angrily, and Juno sighed.

"Alright, if that's really want you want Blake."

"It is, Juno." Juno frowned, her eyes clearly fighting the tears.

"Okay." She opened her arms. "At least hug me goodbye, you prick." Blake laughed and reached forward, embracing Juno.

"I'm sorry." He said in her ear. "Keep everyone in line while I'm gone, eh?" Juno sniffled and laughed.

"I will." She said. The two broke apart, and Michael was surprised to see Rina immediately fill the void, hugging Blake.

"Stay safe, asshole." She hissed at him, making him chuckle and hug her back.

"You too sparky." She smacked the back of his head, and backed off shaking her head. Keita offered his hand. Blake took it and clenched it tightly.

"Good luck, man." Keita said. Michael almost felt like cracking a joke at the fact that Keita looked ready to cry. He would have had he not felt the same feeling coming over him.

"You too." Blake agreed, a slight smirk on his face. "Find yourself a girl, too. I can't wingman you now." This made Keita laugh, and they let go of each others hands. As they did, Blake turned to Kyoko, who was already crying. "Kyoko?" He asked. The girl looked up at him, an angry and yet sad look on her face.

She fell into his arms in a similar fashion of Juno and Rina, but with far less grace. Blake shook his head at this and hugged her tightly just like everyone else. After trying his best to console her, Kyoko raised her head up to Blake's, and started to whisper something in his ear. Michael had no idea what she was talking about, but whatever she said made him close his eyes and look somewhat defeated. She moved away from him and kissed his cheek, before backing up and trying to control herself. Michael felt like asking any questions would be a bad idea.

And finally, the only one who'd not said their goodbyes was him. Blake looked at him with a sad smile, but Michael remained stationary. Blake offered his hand, holding up for Michael. He looked at it before he clasped it, and moved his eyes back to Blake.

"See ya some time, Michael." He said. Michael didn't reply. "Hope things go alright for you." Michael, still, did not reply. "Michael? Don't tell me you're gonna cry man, it's oka...!"

Michael pulled Blake in right up next to him, making their heads side by side.

"I know what you're doing." Michael said. "You're trying to heroically sacrifice yourself." Blake remained quiet. "You have no idea how much it hurts doing this, but I know you won't stop no matter what we do. You'll probably disappear off the face of the planet soon, eh?"

"Probably."

"Hm." Michael tightened his grip on Blake's hand. "So listen to me. Nashi is pretty heavily involved with the Olympians. At one point, maybe even soon, she'll butt heads with them. And I promised I'd be by her side if she got into trouble." Blake was quiet. "If we win, by some miracle...I want you to come home. Okay?" Blake didn't say anything for a moment, but he then laughed.

"I cant even guarantee I'll survive the week, but..." He said, his grip also tightening. "If by any chance, no matter how slim, you defeat them, you can bet your ass I'll be on the first train home." Michael smirked.

"You watch yourself man. I won't forgive you if you die out there."

"I'd expect no less." Michael reached out and clapped his free hand on Blake's back. Blake did the same to hm and they separated. Blake stepped back at bit.

"Well, I suppose this is it." He said. "I better get going." He turned on his heel and left. Michael watched him go, listening to the sniffles of his friends as some held it in better than others.

_"Hey, Nashi. I've been meaning to ask you guys something since the Games."_

Michael closed his eyes as the memory came back to him from Halsey's office.

_"What's up?"_

_"I saw your guild do this. What does it mean? I've been curious for a while now but never asked." _

_"That's just some thing our Master came up with as a kid. When you do it, it's usually an act of support. 'No matter where you are, we're always looking your way'. That's what it means."_

Michael looked down at his hand as it did the salute Nashi had taught him the meaning of. He smiled weakly.

_Thanks for the info, Nashi._

Michael's hand shot up, the salute high in the air as he watched Blake retreating.

_Because no matter where he goes, I'll always be looking his way._

* * *

As Blake walked away, he got an odd feeling in his stomach. He turned, and made a face.

All five of his friends were doing that Fairy Tail salute thing he'd seen their guild doing during the Games. He had no idea what it meant, but seeing all five of them doing it at was quite possibly their last meeting touched his heart. Michael smiled at him as tears leaked out of the corner of his eye.

"Take care of yourself, you son of a bitch!" He shouted, his voice cracking. "That's the least you can do after breaking our hearts!" Blake watched his friends send him off, fighting off the tears he too felt coming. After he did so, he smiled widely.

"Will do." He whispered. As he turned, he genuinely felt the urge to turn around and return to them. It, in that moment, felt worth the risk. But he couldn't, he knew that. Risking the lives of the whole city for his own desires was selfish. He just needed to disappear. And that's what he'd do.

As he walked through town away from his friends, for the first time in weeks, Blake felt at peace. It was certainly a feeling he relished in, as soon it'd be shattered.

He was not, however, expecting it to be immediate.

"My my, that was touching." Blake froze at the voice. Turning slowly, he saw a man standing on the road, watching him. the man had smooth brown hair and eyes of the same, and was carrying a staff in his right hand which was adorned with the Caduceus, the symbol of his godly power.

"Hermes." Blake breathed, body tensing up in preparation for a brawl. Hermes, however, seemed indifferent.

"Almost made me shed a tear, Blake. Good stuff." He smirked as he walked over, brown cloak flowing in the wind. "Would be a shame if they died horribly." Blake growled.

"You leave them be or _else._"He hissed, plasma circulating his form. Hermes laughed.

"Oh silly Blake. I'm not here for them. I'm here to tell you something." Blake raised and eyebrow, and Hermes leaned on his staff. "Zeus is giving you one more chance. If you come with me back to the mountain he promises your friends won't be harmed in the upcoming fight."

"And if I don't?" Blake asked. Hermes' smile darkened.

"Then they'll all perish." He replied. "Just like anyone else who gets in the way. We may even start with that girl who admitted having feelings for you. What was her name?" Blake's eyes widened. "Kyoka? Close enough. Anyway, that's the offer boy. What do you say?"

"...Haha." Hermes made a confused sound, but Blake continued to laugh before he steeled his resolve. "What kind of idiot do you take me for? I know damn well once you guys have what you want that no one except those who pledge allegiance to your Master won't survive." And at this, Blake smirked. "And I know damn well that not a single one of those five would dare bend a fucking knee for you!" Hermes stared at Blake, emotionless, before he shrugged.

"So be it." He said. "But know this, Blake Hunt. Pray that we never meet again, for if we do that day will be your last." Blake growled.

"Funny." He said. "I was about to say the same fucking thing to you." Hermes glared at Blake. Before long the magical pressure picked up, and Hermes disappeared with a gust of wind. Blake glared downwards at this, thinking over what the man had told him.

_If they really do succeed...If they get what they want...It doesn't matter what I do. Everyone who doesn't listen will die._

Sighing, Bake turned and continued his walk. Wherever he was going, he knew it was nowhere close. Best prepare. As he reached the exit of the city, he frowned as he thought of his friends, who he'd made cry. Surely there was something he could do for them...One last sendoff.

_Ah, I know. She may not be happy to see me, but I know she'll listen to my request. Hopefully. My journey might end there if she doesn't._

* * *

"Are you serious?" Nashi demanded. Mira nodded with a laugh.

"Yeah, these are all for you." Nashi paled as she stared at the heap of job requests. For the past four days she'd been running around like a servant for people, and she'd done at least twelve jobs since Keita had showed to help Elise. This was insane.

"Poor thing." Nashi narrowed her eyes and turned to glare at Drake, who was smirking at her. "Too much work?" Nashi smirked.

"More than you, sucker." She replied. Drake rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair, getting a cry of indignation.

"Just cause not all of us can create a holy fireball big enough to incinerate several city blocks doesn't mean we're any less requested." He said. I've done fair amount of work too."

"Oh I'm sure. Get any jobs for a date? I'm sure your fanclub sent a few." Drake groaned and hung his head, which made Nashi and Mira both laugh. In any case, these people seriously needed to realize that they could only do so many.

"Oh, uh, okay. Nashi!" Nashi made a face at this and turned at her mothers voice. When she did, her eyes widened. "You have a visitor." Said visitor was standing in the doorway, watching her. Nashi felt a bit uneasy.

"Blake?"

**Focusing a lot on Sabertooth, huh? Well they're pretty important, so big deal. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	226. One Favor

**Well well, is this another chapter I see? Interesting. This one will definitely be shorter than the last one, but that's just because it sets up the next one! Also, if you guys didn't notice, take a look at the story's cover art! Where did I find that hm? I didn't. A lovely reader blackmai...convinced her sister to draw me that. And I must say, it looks pretty good. But if it was colored in...I know you read that, zodiac. I'm teasing.**

**Enjoy!**

Nashi wasn't sure how she was supposed to react in this scenario. Blake, a man whom she knew as an Olympian agent, was asking to see her. Was he here on good terms? To kill her? It could have been either, honestly.

She had to wonder this as he walked up to her. Truthfully he too looked a bit tense.

"Hey." He greeted. "How've you been, Nashi?" Nashi didn't reply to him, she just kept her eyes glued on him looking for any sign of a sneak attack.

"...Hey." She said. He smiled at her pause.

"I see you're quite tense. Please don't be. I'm not..."

Blake was cut off by Drake.

Nashi watched in shock as her friend moved swiftly. He grabbed Blake and twisted him around, slamming him against a table nearby and startling those nearby. Drake twisted Blake's right arm behind his back and started to push it upwards, which caused a grunt of pain from Blake.

"Give me one reason." Drake snarled. "One good reason I shouldn't snap your fucking arm." Blake grimaced through the pain.

"Please do. I'd deserve it too, wouldn't I?" He asked.

"Drake!" Nashi shouted. "Go easy on him!"

"I know what I heard, Nashi!" Drake replied, looking back at her. A fire was in his eyes Nashi rarely saw. He was talking about when he'd listened in on herself and Michael when they were introducing everyone to Steph after she came back. Nashi had meant to talk to Drake about Blake's affiliation with the Olympians, but the job from Halsey had made it slip her mind. "He's one of them...Just like Apocalypse. What reason could he have for being here if not to attack us?!"

"Ah, that's...Right." Blake said, still grunting in pain as Drake looked back at him, pushing his arm even harder. "You can hear me, can't you Poison Dragon? Well do me a favor and take a nice, long listen and tell me what you hear." Blake glared right back at Drake, who made a face as his ears started to twitch.

Nashi watched as Drake did his thing, and the expression on his face contorted from anger to shock, calm, anger again, and finally, with a frustrated sigh, Drake let go of Blake and backed up. Blake sighed as he got up and rubbed his arm.

"Thank you." He told Drake. Drake looked down.

"I should have started with that...I had no idea that..."

"It's fine." Blake said. "I deserved that for what I did." Drake didn't say anything more, so Blake turned to Nashi once more. "Now that that is out of the way, would it be okay for me to speak to you privately, Nashi?"

"Privately?" She asked. Blake nodded.

"Yes. There's some thing I'd...Like to talk to you about." Nashi looked over at Drake cautiously, but he simply nodded. Whatever he had heard, it seemed to have soothed the anger in his heart. Nashi turned back to Blake.

"Okay. Let's go."

* * *

"You what?!" Nashi asked, sitting up bolt-right on the bench they were seated on.

"You heard me." Blake said, staring at his feet. "I betrayed the Olympians, and I'll be hunted for the rest of my life because of it. So to protect Sabertooth, I made Sting kick me out." Nashi frowned at this. "It was the only way to ensure that those I love stay safe...That they don't lose their lives because of me."

"Well, if that's what you want to do..." Nashi said slowly. She didn't really agree with his line of thinking, but she had no right to tell him what to do. "Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Blake shook his head.

"No, that's just the explanation of what happened." He answered, looking over at her. "When I left...Obviously Michael and the others weren't willing to let me go. I made them, but..." He looked down at the bench. "I hurt them so badly...In a way I never wanted too. Michael probably thinks I'll die, and the others probably think they'll never see me again."

"That makes sense, I suppose." Nashi said, nodding. "So...Why did you come to see me?"

"Well, a few reasons." Blake said. "I wanted to ask you a favor. I have no right to do so, but...If you'd at least hear me out and consider it, I'd appreciate it." Nashi made a face at this.

"Okay, I can do that." She said. Blake smiled.

"Thank you. That's all I ask." He sat up and sighed. "I want you, if it's not too much trouble, to see if you and your friends can somehow cheer them up a bit. I know it won't do much, really...but if you can get their minds off of what happened with me at least for a little bit, I'd be in your debt. They don't deserve to suffer because of me."

"Blake..."

"And I know that you're probably swamped with job requests because of the Games, so...This may be asking a bit much." That was true, at least. "But...Could you at least give it a go?" Nashi looked down at her own feet and thought about his words. If that was really all he wanted from her, she could probably do that.

"...I'll see what the others think." She said. "But I think we can do that." Blake smiled.

"Thank you. It's appreciated." Nashi nodded.

"But, you said a few reasons." Blake's smiled turned into a frown.

"Ah, so I did. When I was on my way to leave...Hermes came to talk to me." Nashi didn't know who that was, but judging from Blake's expression it was no one good. "He said...He said that if I wanted my friends lives to be saved in the upcoming battle, I'd have to go back to them." At this, Nashi tensed up.

"Are you...?" She started, making Blake look up at her.

"No. I told him to fuck off." Nashi sighed in relief, but Blake did not share her feeling. "I came here not only to ask for your help, Nashi Dragneel, but to warn you of said battle." The two made eye contact. "I don't know what it is they have planned, but it's not too far away now. And you're too heavily involved in their plans for you not to know they're probably closing in, so keep an eye out." Nashi nodded.

"Thank you for telling me." Blake hummed, looking up at the sky.

"I guess I'd better get going, unless I involve Magnolia in my problems as well..." Blake stood from the bench and walked onto the street, before he paused. He slowly looked back at Nashi, and the two exchanged looks once more.

"Anything else?" Nashi asked. Blake watched her before he chuckled and turned around.

"I doubt you'll be able to stop them, but..." He sighed. "If the Olympians truly plan to start a fight with you...Michael told me he promised to be by your side. Was that a lie?" Nashi thought back to her dance with the boy during the Royal Ball.

_"If some shit like yesterday ever happens again, don't hesitate to ask the others and I for help. We won't even hesitate."_

"No, it wasn't," She said. "He promised." Blake nodded at this.

"Thought so." He paused, looking troubled. "If the battle Hermes speaks of truly does come to pass..." He met Nashi's gaze. "I want you to do your best to keep them out of it."

"...What?" Nashi asked, but Blake just watched her, not saying anything more. "How am I supposed to do that? He wants to help us. All of them do." Blake chuckled.

"I know. I doubt even your words would convince them to stay out of it. But if there's even a slim chance you could, please try. I don't wan't them to get hurt."

"...Okay. I'll... I'll try." Blake smiled.

"Thank you. That's all I want." He then looked down both ways of the street. "I should go. Who knows if any of them are watching me." Nashi suddenly felt tense.

"Okay." Blake glared down the street for a bit, before he sighed and turned to her.

"Goodbye, Nashi Dragneel." He said, turning away from her. "Perhaps, if both of us are lucky, we will meet again." Nashi nodded, smiling.

"I hope so." She said. "You're a pretty decent guy." Blake chuckled at this as he began to walk away from her. He raised a hand to wave to her without looking back, and Nashi watched him disappear into the crowd of people. Once he was gone, she sighed.

"What are we going to do?" Nashi was not surprised that Drake was now with her.

"I don't know." She answered. "I really don't." She turned to look at her friend. "What do you think?"Drake looked unsure.

"Truthfully?" He asked. "I really don't. I'm not even sure Sabertooth would appreciate our attempt to cheer them up." He shrugged. "But we should give it a go anyway. I feel like I owe him now for almost snapping his arm..." At this, Nashi giggled.

"That's what you get for assuming attacking him, you goofball." She said, standing with her hands on her hips. "What did he do to deserve that?"

"Working with _them_." Drake said, instantly killing the joking mood she was in. She frowned.

"Well, he wasn't anymore. You heard that, right?" Drake nodded. "But still...I see where you're coming from. You took our safety first."

"Whatever. It was still a jackass move. I should have listened to him first." Drake looked genuinely upset with himself. Nashi walked towards him and patted his chest comfortingly.

"It's fine, Drake. You didn't do any harm." She walked past him, back towards the guild. "Now, let's go see if any of our friends have any ideas as to what we could do."

* * *

"Jeez, he left?" Nashi nodded at Ultear's question. "Damn."

"He really has a hero complex if I've ever seen one." Steph said.

"His line of thinking makes sense, though." Simon said. "Even if he's basically letting the Olympians get to him."

"Let's not think about that right now." Damien offered. "We should just be thinking of ways to help cheer Sabertooth up. They're probably in pretty bad shape right now."

"Should we go and see them?" Nashi asked. "See if they really do need some help?"

"I think we should." Elise agreed. "We're their friends, so that's the least we can do." Nashi agreed with that. She really had to look at it from her own point of view. What if one of her friends was leaving the guild in a similar situation, like Drake or Ultear? Nashi was certain she'd be beyond consolable for a bit. She could only assume how Saber felt.

"We'll head out tomorrow morning, then." Simon said. "If we go now it'll be nighttime by the time we get there." Now that it seemed the group was in agreement of their plan, the topic of conversation moved. Although she participated a fair amount in the conversation, Nashi's thoughts were still lingering on what they were going to do to cheer Sabertooth up.

Whatever. They'd have to think of something on the way.

* * *

Once they reached their destination and the three Dragons Slayers had recovered from the few hours of pure hell they spent traveling, the group of seven walked through the streets in almost a dead silence, all consumed by thoughts as to what they were going to do.

"Please tell me someone got an idea." Drake spoke up. Steph sighed.

"Not really." She said. "You guys know them better than me."

"Debatable." Ultear said. "We only knew them for a week longer than you."

"Leave it to us do go on ahead without any ideas whatsoever." Damien said. This made Nashi laugh.

"How is that any different from normal?" She asked. "We never have a plan." Continuing on their way, Nashi was once again consumed in thought as to how she was supposed to cheer Michael and the others up. She didn't want to see them sad, so she really had to work on this.

The group started to walk past a newsstand, and Nashi was prepared to ignore them like she usually did, but a pamphlet caught her eyes. Turning to look at it, she approached the stand to view what she was looking at. After a few seconds, she smiled and snatched the pamphlet and ran back to her friends, excited.

"Guys!" She shouted, making everyone turn and look at her. "I got it! I know what we can do to cheer them up!"

"Really?" Elise asked. "Let's hear it." Nashi smiled and brandished the pamphlet at her friends. She waited as everyone looked closer to inspect her find, and soon all of her friends were smiling.

"Say, that's a damn good idea Nashi." Simon said.

"Agreed." Elise said. "That'd cheer me up, at least for a bit."

"We should totally do that!" Steph said happily. "We've never been there before."

"Well, let's go see how they feel about it." Ultear said, also looking pleased at the idea. Pleased that her spur of the moment find even had her friends excited, Nashi walked at a quicker pass towards the dome-like Sabertooth guild hall. They could turn this into a huge excursion if it went well.

* * *

Michael was not surprised that the table was quite, but it was so unlike him and the others that it really did bother him. However, he really had no idea how to break the silence.

It was a pretty unhappy silence, as well. They had just lost a dear friend to them.

Michael still wasn't sure he'd ever see Blake again. The odds were slim in any case, and no matter how he looked at their situation it didn't look good.

_I just have to have faith, I guess. Just be safe, you bastard..._

Michael took a sip of his mug, and as he did this, he heard someone approaching him from the side. He turned just in time to catch a slap on the back, and he coughed as his drink came back up. Once he was sure he wasn't going to die from the cough, he looked up at who had hit him. He made a face.

"Nashi? What are you guys doing here?" Nashi smiled at this, and the others seemed pretty happy as well.

"We found out something pretty cool, want to come with us?" She asked.

"What is it?" He asked. Nashi smiled and reached behind her, pulling out some piece of paper. She whipped it out and showed Michael, who had to inspect it closely to realize what she wanted.

"...You want to go?" He asked. Nashi smiled even wider.

"Yep! You guys should come with! It'll be fun!"

"Not really feeling it." He replied honestly. Nashi frowned.

"I'm not taking a no for an answer, Michael Eucliffe. You guys are coming with us to Ryuzetsu Land whether you like it or not! Not that the latter is possible."

Michael found it odd that Nashi wanted to go to a water park, but the last thing they all needed right now was to sit around dwelling on what had happened.

"...Sounds great."

**Again, a bit shorter than the chapter recently, but it sets up the next one! So be excited damn it. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	227. The Exciting Ryuzetsu Land

**Seems you guys are excited for this chapter. Believe me, that's an appropriate response.**

**Enjoy!**

"Okay," Michael said. "I understand perfectly why we came here, I get it."

"Then what the hell are you complaining about?" Keita asked. Michael made a face at his shirtless partner before looking out over the changing room.

"Was there really any reason for everyone to come?"

He was, of course, referring to Blue Pegasus Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, and Quatro Cerberus.

He didn't even really know how they'd heard that Nashi had invited them all to Ryuzetsu Land, but they had and had met them there. Why though, Michael had no idea. He really didn't even know half of them, let alone on a friendly basis. Maybe that was Nashi's plan? For them all to be friends? Possibly. Although he kind of figured that if that was her plan that she might have mentioned it at some point.

"Does it really matter?" Keita asked. "They're here, might as well not dwell on it." Michael shrugged at this and turned to follow Keita out of the changing room, leaving his regular clothes inside now that he'd changed into his swimsuit. Once they were outside, the Michael was greeted by a full view of the inside water park.

Michael was no stranger to the name. Ryuzetsu Land was easily one of the most renowned water parks in the country. Both for it's size and rides, he expected nothing less than the many water slides he wasn't even sure he could ride, and the pools that littered the area. Something that did surprise him though, was that the park did not seem relatively full. He could see the occasional family here and there, but for the most part he didn't see many people. All the better. The others and himself were still pretty relevant in the public eye after the Games, so the less attention the better.

"Anyone seek the girls anywhere?" Michael turned his head slightly to see it was Ken who had said this. He too turned around to look, but couldn't see any of the girls that he felt he'd recognize immediately.

"Must still be getting changed." Keita answered.

"Figures." Jackson muttered. "They're taking their time as usual." Michael shrugged. No big deal.

"Should we just find something to do, then?" Taro.

"Water slides anyone?" Akio asked, a smile on his face. The very thought made Michael shudder. He watched as all the other guys ran ahead, leaving himself, Drake, Simon, Damien and Keita behind. behind. Ken turned to look at them.

"You guys not coming?" He asked. Michael shook his head.

"Nah." He answered. "Water slides involve motion." Drake laughed at this.

"Yeah, so we'll pass thanks." He said. Ken shrugged and took off after everyone else, leaving the five of them to themselves.

"They're sure excited." Damien said, smiling.

"Why don't you and Simon go?" Michael asked. "You guys aren't motion sick." Simon shrugged.

"Don't want to wrestle with them over when I get to ride a water slide." He answered. Damien made a face.

"Besides, even if I did I know for a fact she'd find me." Michael raised an eyebrow.

"She?" He asked. Damien frowned, which made Simon and Drake laugh.

"She's just doing it because you're bothered by it." Drake said flatly. Damien shrugged.

"I know. But..." Michael jumped a bit as Damien went flying forwards, having been tackled. He followed as Damien and his attacker rolled across the ground before coming to a stop five feet ahead.

Bella Realight sat up, straddling Damien.

"Hey." She said, greeting him. Damien just glared up at her.

"Can you not?" Damien asked. "You're bikini doesn't cover up enough for me to be comfortable with this." Damien's comment caused Michael's eyes to drift downwards. He was right after all. Bella was only two bits of baby blue cloth away from stark naked. This caused the girl to laugh and get off of him.

"Sorry babe." She said, offering a hand. Damien shoved her away and got up on his own, making her pout. "Wow, grouchy."

"Are you kidding me?" Damien hissed. "Are you trying to get a rise out of me?" Bella smirked.

"Not a rise out of you, specifically." She said. Damien raised an eyebrow, but Bella's eyes flickering downwards told him enough, it seemed. Michael knew damn well that if he'd been subjected to that Bella would have succeeded immeasurably. Or maybe Damien was too good at hiding it. He was not keen on asking. Once it seemed she got enough of antagonizing Damien, she turned to them. At this, Michael felt the urge to remind himself she could start to seduce any one of them at any point. She'd done it to him before.

"Where are the others girls, Bella?" Drake asked. Bella shrugged.

"I don't know." She said. "I ran ahead of most of them. So probably right behind you." At this, Michael turned to see if she was correct in that assumption.

He immediately realized she was.

Michael did his best to refrain from staring, but it was pretty damn difficult given what he saw. Moving towards them was the rest of the teams from the Games, which made Michael realize he hung out with some really hot girls.

"Why don't you take a picture, Michael?" Juno snapped as they got closer. "It might last longer."

"I should have." Michael said, smirking at her. "That way I could have the image of you not yelling at me etched in my head." Juno huffed and turned away from him at this, making him laugh.

"Wait," Simon said, making a face. "We're missing three."

"Nashi and Ultear went with Steph." Elise said. "She was so excited to come she forgot she didn't have anything to put on, so they went to get her a swimsuit." Michael made a face at this. The perverted half of him was disappointed, yet at the same time pretty excited.

"Where's everyone else?" Nami asked. "There's only five of you."

"Ran off to find water slides, I think." Keita answered.

"Of course they did." Terra said, frowning. "Well we're here, so let's make the most of it."

"Of course." Winter agreed. "We have all day after all. Let's get to it!"

* * *

Michael sat up against the edge of the pool and watched everyone enjoy themselves. He'd spent the last twenty or so minutes doing the same, but he took a step back to appreciate it. Everyone seemed to be having fun. Everyone was doing what seemed to be races to splash fights to the occasionally friend of there's landing in the pool from a water slide, causing a wave to crash into everyone and usually someone losing their temper over it.

Mostly, though, he was happy that his friends seemed happy.

Juno, Keita and Rina were laughing and having fun with everyone else. That was good. After the whole ordeal with Blake, he was happy that they could smile and laugh.

At this though, Michael frowned. He looked over his shoulder and looked at Kyoko, who was sitting at a table a ways away from everyone. She just stared down at the table, the same look on her face that she'd had for the past few days.

"Everything alright?" Michael jumped and turned to his side to find Drake there, also up against the wall. Michael nodded.

"Uh, yeah, just fine." He answered. Drake looked past him at Kyoko.

"She okay?" He asked. Michael looked back at Kyoko, unsure as to what to say.

Her goodbye to Blake flashed through his mind. He sighed.

"I don't know." He said. "She hasn't been the same since..."

"Since Blake?" Michael turned back to Drake.

"How did you...?" Drake simply tapped his ears, and it made Michael remember.

"Oh, yeah. Probably heard it." He looked down at the water, unsure as to what to say. "She...I don't know. She hasn't really said anything, at least to me, since he left. I want to help her but I don't know how I'm supposed to do that." Drake made a face at this.

"I'd listen to her, but I feel like that'd be intruding on something I shouldn't be."

"Agreed." Michael said. "I guess we just have to give her time. She'll bounce back."

"I guess."

"What're you guys talking about?" Michael knew this voice that came from behind himself and Drake. He turned, fully knowing who would be standing there.

What he was not expecting, though, was for his brain to stop working for a moment.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to feel. Nashi in no way wore baggy clothes usually, So how in the hell did she hide the figure he was currently getting a full frontal view of? It didn't make any sense.

"Uh..." Was the only thing Michael was capable of saying. He was elbowed under the water by Drake, thank God, and it jump started his common sense that he was staring. "N-Nothing." He said, smiling weakly. Nashi made a face.

"Didn't look like nothing." She said.

"Don't worry about it." Drake told her. "You were gone a while. Did it really take you that long to find Steph a swimsuit?" Nashi frowned and groaned.

"She's waaay too modest." Nashi complained. "It took forever to convince her she looked amazing." At this, Nashi looked over her shoulder, smirking. "See? Look how cute she is!" Michael craned his neck to get a look at Steph, who was being pushed towards the pool by Ultear (who also looked amazing). He had to admit, the yellow and black bikini she was in did make her look good. Even if she looked absolutely flustered to be in it.

"Looking good, Steph!" Drake called, making her go ever redder.

"Shut up, Drake!" She shouted, arms crossed over her chest. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"You look great." Ultear hissed. "Stop complaining."

"Coming from the girl with the stripper as a dad!" Ultear seemed to ignore this and pushed Steph forward, causing her to flail around and land in the water. Michael shielded his face from this, and when Steph resurfaced she looked pretty pissed off. Regardless of this, she turned and swam towards her brother, leaving them.

"Well, she looks happy to be here."

"She is." Ultear said. "She's just not very comfortable wearing something so revealing. She'll be fine."

"I guess." Michael agreed. "Well, whatever. Everyone's here now, what should we do?"

"Water slides!" Michael found it odd that Nashi of all people had suggested water slides. He stared at the girl in confusion for second, unsure if she was serious.

"Nashi..." He started.

"Oh don't worry about it! I asked some guy who works here and he said they've had stabilizing lacrima installed on the rides for a while now! We can go on any of them!" This made Michael smile.

"Really now? I'll have to get Keita, then. This sounds like fun." Drake nodded.

"It's kind of strange being so excited for a simple water slide but fuck it, let's go!" Drake jumped out of the water, and Nashi gave him a look.

"Go get Elise." She said. "I bet she wants to ride them too." Drake made a face at her.

"You do it." He said. Nashi looked ready to retaliate, but Drake was smirking.

In one swift movement, Drake grabbed Nashi around her midsection and tossed her into the air and into the water. Michael watched her flail before she landed hard in the water. She struggled to surface for a bit, but once she did she looked livid.

"Drake!" She whined, making Drake laugh. "Not funny!"

"I thought it was." Drake said. "What do you think, Michael?" Michael looked up at Drake. "Was that funny or what?" Michael grinned.

"It was pretty funny." He said, looking over at Nashi. "Only thing that might have made it better was if you yelped helplessly on the way." Even Ultear crackled a smile at this, and Nashi pouted.

"Whatever. Guess I'll go and find Elise..." Nashi turned and waded through the water towards Elise, and Michael followed suit to find Keita, once they were a fair distance away, he saw Nashi rubbing where Drake had smacked her. He smirked.

"Did it hurt?" He asked jokingly. Nashi turned with an extremely unimpressed look on her face.

"Yes." She said. "He threw me in."

"Was it that bad?" He asked. "No big deal. Can't be the worst thing he's done to you." Nashi nodded.

"That's way more true than you could possibly imagine..."

"Like what?"

"Never you mind!" Nashi shouted, brandishing a finger at Michael's face, her own pretty red. "It's not important."

"Sounds like it..."

"What?"

"Nothing, let's find the others."

* * *

Ultear watched the two swim off before she turned to Drake.

"Smooth." She commented. This made him laugh.

"Sorry. Couldn't help it." Ultear rolled her eyes.

"It was a pretty decent throw. She got like five feet in the air." Drake grinned.

"I thought so." Ultear looked around at everyone having fun. From what she could tell, their plan for Sabertooth to cheer up was working relatively well. Everyone seemed happy. That was, until, she noticed Kyoko was not anywhere around the pool they were near.

"Where's Kyoko?" She asked. "She came, didn't she?" Drake frowned and jabbed his thumb behind them. Ultear turned and found the girl in question sitting by herself, staring down at the table she was at. She was in casual clothes, no swimsuit.

"She's been over there for a while now." Drake told her. "Not even Michael knows what to do." Ultear watched the girl, who looked pretty upset despite where they were. Sighing, Ultear looked over at Drake.

"I'm going to go talk to her." She said. "Have fun not getting sick on slides."

"Trust me, I will. Good luck." Ultear nodded and turned away, walking towards Kyoko. once she got close, Kyoko seemed to sense her approach and looked up. Ultear smiled widely.

"Hey." She greeted, standing opposite Kyoko with her hands behind her back. "What're you doing over here by yourself?" Kyoko just watched Ultear for a moment before she sighed and looked back down at the table.

"Don't feel like swimming." She replied quietly. Ultear frowned.

"You came, didn't you?"

"Juno and Rina said it'd be good for me. I didn't want to." Ultear wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. Kyoko wasn't exactly making it easy.

"Well, you should try and have fun." She tried, her smile faltering a bit. "I'm sure you'd enjoy yourself. There's a lot to do here, so..."

"If Juno or Rina sent you, tell them I don't have to put up with this. I came, that doesn't mean I want to do anything." Ultear frowned.

"I came by myself. No one sent me." Kyoko sighed, but didn't say anything more.

Ultear wasn't just going to walk away.

She pulled the seat opposite Kyoko out and sat down, watching the girl quietly. Neither said anything for a long time, listening to the sounds of the others in the group talking and laughing, and splashes here and there.

"I heard Blake left." Ultear finally said. "Is that what's wrong? Do you miss him?" Kyoko didn't say anything. "Come on, Kyoko. Tell me what's the matter. I'm trying to help you." Again, no response. "Please?" Silence. After a few more minutes, Ultear sighed and stood. "Fine. I won't push you. Open up when you're ready." With this, she turned to leave.

"Wait." Ultear stopped and looked back to find Kyoko looking up, eyes teary. "I...I'll tell you what happened." Ultear nodded with a smile and sat back down, and waited for Kyoko, who played with her hands in her lap.

"Take your time." Ultear said. "I can wait." Kyoko laughed harshly.

"No point in taking my time." She said. "...I love him." Ultear stared at Kyoko for a moment, unsure if she'd heard that correctly.

"S-Sorry?" Ultear asked. "W-what did you say? I could've sworn I heard you say..."

"You heard me." Kyoko replied. "I love him." Ultear didn't know what to say to this. She was stunned into silence. Somehow the thought of Kyoko having an interest in Blake had totally escaped her mind. Now she didn't know how to react.

"O-Oh..." Was all she could manage. Kyoko chuckled weakly.

"Suppose I caught you off guard with that, huh? Not surprising, I'm pretty sure not even Juno or Rina know."

"You haven't told anyone?"

"No one except for you and Blake himself. When he left..." Kyoko trailed off at this, her face scrunched up angrily. "I told him when he left. I had to...I might never see him again. I had to get it out."

"I don't blame you." Ultear said. "I'd feel the same. How did he react?"

"He didn't really. Although I didn't really face him long enough to know." Ultear could guess part of the problem was her not knowing how he felt. "I couldn't have a thing for Michael or Keita, no no...I had to fall for him." Ultear didn't say anything at this. "I had to feel this way for so long...Only for him to walk out because he got the boot from the guild for something no one blames him for..." Ultear noted that tears had started to fall into Kyoko's lap. "This is so fucking stupid...I hate feeling this way but I...I can't help it."

"Kyoko, do you want to know something?" Ultear asked, causing the girl to look up a bit. "The reason we're here is...Blake came to talk to Nashi." Kyoko's eyes widened at this.

"W-What?"

"I don't know what they talked about, they were gone for a while." Ultear smiled. "But I do know that Blake asked for us to come and try to cheer you guys up. That he didn't want to see you all sad because he had to leave. He wanted you to be happy even though he was gone." Kyoko stared at Ultear for a while before she laughed weakly and sniffled, looking down again.

"That sounds like him, fucking dick..." She murmured. Ultear nodded.

"He wants you to be happy. All of you. That's why we went to see you, and Nashi suggested this. We're doing this for him, and for you. We're friends now, remember?"

"I know..."

"So, maybe instead of sulking over here, you try to have fun?" Ultear suggested. "I know your feelings for him must make this worse, but...your friends are sad too. And they're trying to have fun. Why don't we join them? Anything in particular you want to do?" Kyoko shrugged.

"Not really, no. But I'll go change just in case. I know Juno brought my swimsuit with her." Kyoko stood, and wiped her eyes with her arm. "I"ll be back."

"Take your time." Ultear replied. Kyoko started to walk in the direction of the changing rooms, before she stopped. "Kyoko?"

"...Do you have someone dear to you, Ultear?"

"E-Eh?" Kyoko looked over her shoulder at Ultear, face serious now.

"Do you have a thing for anybody?" Ultear shook her head.

"Not really." She answered, ignoring the red mane flashing in her subconscious. Kyoko nodded, and turned her head around again.

"Well, if you do, please don't do what I did. Tell them as soon as you feel able. Because..." Kyoko took a shaky breath. "Some alternatives are fair worse." Ultear watched the girl before she nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever fall in love."

* * *

Simon watched Juno and Rina have a friendly fight in the pool, smiling. It looked as though coming here had been a great idea. As far as he could tell, everyone was enjoying themselves. It also seemed bringing along the other teams was a good idea. He'd seen various other teams talking and laughing with Sabertooth, which was all the better. As long as they stopped thinking about Blake for now.

"Simon!" He turned as Nashi called him, turning to find all the Dragon Slayers there.

"What's up?" He asked.

"We're going to go and ride every ride!" Nashi said, looking pretty excited for something as simple as that. Granted though, without those stabilizing lacrima she wouldn't have been able too normally. Seemed justified. "Want to come?" Simon gave it some thought. It sounded like fun, but he wanted to stay near Juno and Rina to make sure they stayed happy.

"I'll pass for now." He said. "Maybe later."

"Your loss." Drake said. "Let's go, guys!"

"I'll beat you there!" Michael shouted at Drake, who smirked.

"You're on!" Together the two sprinted off into the distance, leaving Nashi. Elise and Keita in the dust.

"Since when are they best friends?" Elise asked, an eyebrow raised. "And where the hell are they racing to?"

"Probably since they learned they have a similar sense of humor back in Halsey's office." Keita replied. "They're very similar, those two." Simon had to agree. Even though he hadn't known Michael very long, the boy seemed very similar to Drake in many ways. Humor obviously the biggest offender.

"Whatever, let's go." Nashi said, walking in the same direction Drake and Michael had ran off in. "See you, Simon."

"See ya." He called, the other three also walking away. Once they were gone, Simon returned his eyes to the pool and got a wave right to the face, knocking him off balance. He could hear Juno and Rina laughing at this.

"Got him!" Rina shouted.

"Why don't you come in, Simon?" Juno asked. "You've just been creeping around!"

"I was not creeping around!" Simon replied, cheeks growing red. He had been, sort of, but not just to do so. He'd been keeping an eye on them.

"Whatever you say." Juno replied, a knowing look on her face. Simon rolled his eyes at this. He was about to fire back when he noticed Juno and Rina looking elsewhere. He followed their gaze to see Kyoko and Ultear walking up to them. As oppose to before, Kyoko looked like she had perked up a bit.

"Hey guys." Ultear greeted.

"Hey," Juno greeted. "You alright, Kyoko?" Kyoko looked up st this and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She answered. "Just needed some time by myself."

"If you say so." Rina said. "Anything you want to do, specifically?"

"Not really." Simon frowned at this. Although Kyoko was giving off the impression she was fine, Simon could tell she'd been crying. Her eyes gave it away. His gaze drifted off towards Ultear, who simply nodded curtly at him. He returned the motion and broke out into a smile.

"I heard there's an awesome aquarium here." He said. "How about we go?" Kyoko seemed indifferent, so Simon cast a glance towards Juno and Rina, who picked up on what he was asking quite quickly.

"That sounds like it could be fun." Juno said. "We should go and check that out."

"I'm game." Rina agreed. "How about it, Kyoko?" Kyoko shrugged.

"I suppose we could." She agreed, smiling weakly. Juno and Rina got out of the pool and dried off, and then the group went on their way to the aquarium. Simon fell back with Ultear while Juno and Rina went ahead with Kyoko.

"Did you talk to her?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said. "I did."

"What was wrong?" Simon didn't get a response, so he looked over to find Ultear staring at her feet, deep in thought. He watched her do this for a moment before she sighed.

"It's nothing." She replied. "It's not my place to say."

"Oh. Okay." Simon decided to leave it there. If Ultear didn't feel comfortable telling him, then he didn't need to know. Maybe Kyoko wanted it to be a secret.

Despite this, he couldn't help but feel curious as to what exactly had made Kyoko so despondent.

* * *

"Onii-chan, have you see the others?" Damien looked up from his chair to find Steph standing beside him.

"Nope." he answered, shutting his eyes again. "Haven't seen em." Steph made a sound.

"They disappeared so quickly. That was weird."

"If it helps any I saw every Dragon Slayer run off that way, and Simon and Ul went with Juno, Rina and Kyoko over that way." Damien said, pointing around to make his point. Steph frowned.

"Well if they've got every member of Sabertooth distracted, I suppose we're left with nothing to do."

"There was two extra people." He said. "So I guess that's you and me."

"I guess." Damien leaned back in his seat and yawned. Despite agreeing to come, every member of Sabertooth being distracted left him very little to do.

"Very interesting vacation, Damien." Damien looked up to find Xisplate standing next to him.

"Oh, hey." Damien greeted. Xisplate smiled.

"What's with the warm welcome?" He asked. "Usually you ask what I want in an angry tone." Damien frowned.

"I'm not mad at you anymore, so what's the point?" He asked. "No reason to hold a grudge."

"Onii...Chan?" Damien looked over to Steph, who was giving him a confused look. "Who are you talking to?" Damien laughed weakly.

"Aha...What do you mean?"

_Fuck, Xisplate! Make yourself visible to her at least!_

"You're talking to someone." Damien really had no answer to his sisters question. She seemed to be rather curious, and he had nothing to say.

"Well, uh...uh..."

"Damien!" Damien gasped in surprise as a body tackled him out of his chair and onto the ground. And yet, before he even looked up, he knew what the problem was.

"Bella." He greeted, making a face, Bella frowned down at him and got even closer.

"What's the look for? You said you weren't mad at me anymore."

"Huh?" Damien asked, looking up at her. "What are you...?" Bella winked and her eyes flashed up towards Steph. Damien grasped the situation immediately.

"You said you weren't mad." Bella repeated, voice still sweet as ever. She was covering for Damien talking to himself. Or Xisplate. Whatever.

"I'm not." He said. "Although I get the feeling I won't stay that way." Bella laughed and got off of him, allowing Damien to get up. Once he did, he could see Xisplate chuckling to himself.

Bella, however, didn't miss a beat.

"Ah, Steph!" She said, clapping her hands together. "You look amazing in that bikini! That body is to die for!" This made Steph look incredibly embarrassed.

"R-Really?" She asked.

"Oh, absolutely! I'm almost jealous." Damien withheld a snort. Like hell she was. She was just distracting Steph even more. Steph, however, smiled.

"T-Thanks! I wasn't sure about it but it does look good, I guess."

"Amazing, really." Now that Steph seemed to be both very happy with herself and not focused on why Damien was talking to himself, Bella turned to Damien. "You're whole family is attractive, Damien. It isn't fair." Damien smirked.

"I'm sure you jealous." He said. She smiled.

"Of course I am." She said. "So what are you guys doing?"

"Sitting around, for now." Steph said. "I was going to look for Nashi and the others, have you seen them? Onii-chan is boring me." Damien ignored that as Bella made a face.

"Hm, yeah. I saw Drake and Michael racing towards a water slide over there. So that'd be a place to look for them. I'd hurry though, they won't be getting motion sick so they'll be moving on pretty fast"

"Okay, thanks." Steph said, moving in that direction. "See you later, Onii-chan."

"I'll be here, being boring." He replied, making her laugh as she walked off in the direction Bella told her. Once Steph was gone, Bella whirled on Damien with a smirk on her face.

"Dummy." She said. Damien rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't thinking." Bella laughed.

"If you're going to talk to Xissy," She said, jabbing a thumb at the Demon Lord who had watched the entire ordeal. The nickname made him choke. "Then at least whisper. "

"Wait, you can see him?" Damien asked, looking at Xisplate, who nodded.

"She can." He confirmed. "She's a Demon Lord takeover wizard. I can't be invisible to her." Bella nodded.

"Yep!"

"And why did you call me Xissy?" Xisplate demanded at Bella, who frowned.

"Meridia said you preferred that."

"She..._what?" _At this, a sharp female laugh sounded around them.

"Of course I did Xissy!" It said. Damien turned, and immediately became awestruck. The most gorgeous redheaded women he'd ever met was standing behind them in a black dress that oddly matched Xisplate's suit. She walked up and laughed again as Xisplate fumed.

"Vantros tell you about that?" He asked. She nodded.

"I think it's cute!" She said. "It's like a pet name"

"This is why every Lord despises you."

"What's that supposed to mean? Quinxotic and I are basically besties!"

"And yet Mortavius threatened to crack your skull open."

"Oh Mortavius is a sweetheart, you know that."

"He's nine feet tall and wears the bones of his fallen foes as armor, that's not someone I'd describe as..."

"Did you guys forget we're right here?" Bella asked, raising her hand slightly. This seemed to remind both Lords of just that.

"Oh, sorry Bella hun. I forgot to introduce myself." Damien watched, growing ever redder as the Lord walked up to him and smiled dazzlingly at him. "Hello there, you're Xissy's takeover wizard, yes?"

"U-Uh, yeah I am." Damien felt like he could barely function. He knew the feeling as the seduction, but he felt so turned on he couldn't help but feel stupid. She smiled eve wider.

"I'm Meridia, Bella's Lord. It's a pleasure."

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Damien said, face still red. Meridia laughed and turned to Bella.

"Nice pick, Bella." She said, making Bella roll her eyes. Meridia shrugged and moved away from Damien, allowing his brain to operate a bit faster. "I won't bother you on your vacation Bella, so I'll talk to you later."

"Thanks. Later." Meridia nodded and with that, she disappeared. Xisplate watched her go and sighed. Damien, however, felt like he was coming off of the best high of his life.

"You okay?" Damien turned weakly to Bella, who was watching him warily.

"I-I think so." He replied. "W-What...?" Bella sighed.

"Residual magical energy." She said. "Meridia constantly leaks magic power, seducing any man near her who isn't a Demon Lord. Even in my eyes she overdoes it."

"Quite sickly, actually." Xisplate agreed. "Perhaps I should go to. Mortavius might make good on his promise." With this, Xisplate was gone as well. Damien still felt quite dizzy, so Bella straightened him as he began to fall over.

"You know what'll help you?" She asked.

"What?" He asked. Bella grinned. Or was it a smirk? Damien was too light headed to tell.

"There's a huge water slide in her. The biggest in the park. Wanna go on it?" Damien made a face.

"Why would I want to do that?" Bella shrugged.

"It'll clear your head." Bella's eyes flicked downwards. "And maybe return the blood to where it needs to be."

"Aw, shit!"

* * *

Ultear stared at the tropical fish in the tank as they swam up and down. They had an incredible amount of pretty fish in the aquarium, which made it quite the interesting trip.

"These things are cool, huh?" Ultear looked to her right to find Juno standing next to her. The others must've been looking at something else.

"Uh, yeah." Ultear agreed. "They're pretty." There was silence between the two as kids and their parents ran around, happily enjoying their vacation. Ultear should've guessed most people would be in here, but it had barely crossed her mind.

"She said she loved him, didn't she?" These words spoken by Juno tossed Ultear back into the conversation, and she made a face.

"H-Huh?" She asked, startled by the question. Juno sighed and looked at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Kyoko. She said she loved Blake, didn't she?" Ultear was still a bit taken aback by the bluntness of the question, but she slowly nodded and returned her gaze to the fish swimming around behind the glass.

"Yeah." She said quietly. "That's what she said." Juno nodded and looked back at the fish as well.

"I should have known." She said. "Kyoko...She said goodbye in an odd fashion. It only really occurred to me then."

"She must have been good at hiding it, then." Ultear said. Juno nodded.

"She was. I always made the assumption it was Blake who liked her, cause he was always going with her. Be it training, food run, or whatever. I never guessed it was her..." Ultear really had no idea how Kyoko must have felt. Losing someone you loved...Must have been very hard on her. "Kyoko needed this trip far more than anyone else, so I'm glad you managed to convince her to come along." Ultear smiled weakly.

"You're welcome." She said. "I just wanted to help."

"Well in that case, thank you."

"Guys!" Both girls turned to find Rina standing there, looking pissed. "I'm really bored in here." Kyoko, who was beside her, laughed.

"She's been complaining for the last ten minutes." Kyoko said. "We'd better make our way out before she electrocutes the fish." Simon rejoined them at this.

"Well, we are at a water park." He said. "Maybe we should do something other than wander around here."

* * *

As Nashi broke the surface of the water once she landed, a laugh escaped her. She was having way to much fun. For the past fifteen or so minutes, she and the others had been running around going on every single water slide and other ride they could find. She's never moved so much by something other than a living creature or her own feet and not gotten sick. It was incredible. he turned and watched as Michael catapulted out of the slide as well and landed near her, splashing her. He surfaced and laughed.

"This is awesome!" He shouted, moving his hair out of his eyes.

"Right?" Nashi asked. "We have to go find another one!" The two swam towards the edge of the landing pool as Drake, Elise and Keita soon launched off the slide as well. Once they were all out of the water, the five looked around for another ride they had yet to go on.

"So, where to now?" Drake asked.

"Who cares? Let's find another one!" Elise said. Nashi smiled, It was good that she seemed happy. The trip was good for Elise just as it was for Sabertooth.

"Let's just walk around and look for one." Keita said. "I'm sure we'll run into one eventually." No one seemed to contest this, so that's what they did. They weaved in and out of other people and rides, looking for one that caught their eye.

"Hey look, it's the Dragon Slayers." Nashi stopped and turned to find the majority of the group that they had come to the park with standing there.

"Hey guys." Nashi greeted as the two groups met up. "You've been running around this whole time, huh?" Taro nodded.

"Hell yeah we have. Just having fun." He said. "You guys?"

"Same thing." Drake said. "With the stabilizing lacrima on these rides, we can actually ride them." Nami smirked.

"You guys want to ride the best ride in this place?" She asked.

"Is that even a question?" Michael asked. "What is it?" Nami smirked.

"Is way over there." She said. "You'll find it if you go up there." Several people made a face.

"Uh, Nami..." Winter started, and then got shot a look. She shut up after that.

"Over where?" Keita asked, and Nami pointed to the left. Over there, Nashi could see a huge slide. She grinned.

"We have to go and ride that! Let's go!" The others nodded, and they ran off towards the water slide without a second thought.

* * *

"Smooth, Nami." Nami grinned at this.

"Whatever do you mean, Terra?" She asked, looking at the girl in question, Terra, although she was trying to look stern, had a smirk on her face.

"You know damn well you just sent them towards the Love Love Slider. That ride for couples." Nami laughed and shrugged.

"Oh well. They'll find out once they get there."

"You did it to fuck with Keita, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

* * *

Nashi ran ahead of the others as they reached what appeared to be the bottom of the gigantic ride. She smiled up at it as she ran, and looked back at the others.

"It's this way, guys!" She said, everyone close behind. Nashi rounded a corner and had to put on the brakes to avoid slamming into Damien and Bella, who were walking in the same direction.

"Jeez Nashi, watch where you're going." Bella said, smiling.

"Sorry!" Nashi said. "I'm just excited to ride that water slide over there!"

"The huge one?" Nashi nodded. Bella looked like she was about to speak up, but she neglected to do so. Nashi looked at Damien, who looked kind of pale and out of it.

"What's up with him?" Bella laughed.

"He's a bit out of it right now. He'll be okay once the wind from the ride hits him." Damien didn't contest this, so Nashi didn't really think anything of it.

"What're we waiting for?" Drake demanded. "Let's go!" They all agreed and were about to run off in the direction of the slide, but Nashi stopped. Over in the distance, she could see Simon, Ultear, Juno, Rina and Kyoko coming out of what appeared to be some other place she'd have to look into later.

"Guys!" She shouted. "Over here!" They looked over as they ran up to them.

"What's up, Nashi?" Simon asked.

"There's this huge water slide over here! You guys have to come on it, it'll be awesome!"

"That sounds like fun." Ultear said, smiling. "We should do that."

"Totally." Juno said, looking towards Kyoko. "Are you gonna come Kyoko?" Kyoko looked up at the ride, and made a face. After a second, she smirked.

"No." She said. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll see you guys later." With this, the girl walked off.

"Why was she smirking?" Keita asked.

"Who cares?" Elise asked. "Come on!"

* * *

Something about the line of people for the ride made Drake wary. They all seemed to be couples. At first he thought nothing of it, but as they got closer and closer to getting to go on, it made him confused. Maybe it was just popular with couples? That was obvious.

"Almost there!" Nashi said, first in line, followed by Michael and then Drake. Drake, however, looked around them. Nothing about the ride seemed to catch his eye as odd, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Another couple went down, and that meant Nashi was next. She smiled as she went towards the slide, Michael and Drake, followed by everyone else, close behind.

Looking behind him, Drake noticed a couple talking. One of them said water slide, and Drake's curiosity got the better of him. he decided a little listen wasn't so bad.

_"I'm so excited for this ride!"_

_"Me too. It's the best of it's kind."_

_"But it was hard to find. It's not labeled very well."_

_"I know. If you didn't know any better, you'd never know this was the Love Love Slider, the most romantic slide in all of Fiore! Enchanted to but the lovers in each others embrace..."_

_..._

Uh oh.

"Uh, guys?" Drake asked weakly, stomach turning for the first time all day. "We've got a problem!" Drake turned to address Nashi and Michael, to warn them about the slide.

"Oops, it's slippery on this floor!" Drake barely had time to register Bella's words before her hands connected with his back, and he was sent flying forwards. Michael turned just in time to see him, and together the two careened into Nashi as well.

And all three of them landed on the slide.

Instantaneously, Drake's arms wrapped around Nashi's body from the front, and Michael did so from the back.

"What the hell is this?!" Nashi asked as they picked up speed.

"We're so fucking dumb..." Drake hissed. "This is a couples slide! It's enchanted to put us like this!"

"So we sandwiched Nashi?" Michael asked. "What kind of couples have a third wheel?!"

"How should I know?!"

"We're never speaking of this again, got it?!" Nashi demanded, face incredibly red. Drake felt himself getting a bit embarrassed as well.

"That seems fair." Michael agreed. "Look at the bright side, at least Drake and I didn't land on it by ourselves." Drake, too, felt relieved by this.

"That's way to true." He hissed.

* * *

Bella grinned as she watched the three careen downwards. She'd probably get shit for this, but it was way to good of a possibility to pass up. She turned and grinned at Damien.

"Ready, hun?" She asked. Damien nodded.

"Yep." Without another word, the entranced Damien made a grab for the others, tossing them forwards. Now at a loss of balance, Bella laughed uncontrollably as Simon and Ultear, Keita and Elise, and Rina and Juno respectively were tossed onto the slide, the enchantment making them stick together like glue. Bella grinned and looked over at Damien.

"Ready?" She asked. He nodded and picked her up like a princess, making her giggle. He was going to hate her for this.

"Let's do this." With this, Damien too jumped onto the slide, making Bella cling to him like glue. She smiled and rest her head on Damien's chest.

"I'm going to get reprimanded for this so badly. Totally worth it."

* * *

"We're never to speak of this again, got it?!" Keita made a face and looked off to his side.

"I could not agree with you more." He muttered, his arms pinning Elise to the water slide. The enchantment of the slide had put them in this position, and now they were stuck like that. Their foreheads were touching too, which made it hard for Keita to look anywhere but at Elise's flustered features.

"If we're going to be stuck like this, at least man up and look at me." Elise muttered. Keita raised an eyebrow and looked back at her. She was blushing uncontrollably, he had no doubt he was too, but he held her gaze.

"Never again." He told her. She nodded.

"No. Never." As they slid down the water, a thought occurred to Keita.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked. "This isn't exactly...You know...triggering anything for you, is it?" Elise raised an eyebrow, but before long she seemed to realize what he was inferring. She puffed up her cheeks and looked away.

"It's you, so I suppose I'm okay..."

"What the fuck does that mean?!"

* * *

"So...We're killing Bella for this, right?"

"Oh absolutely." Simon agreed, feeling light headed. "I'll never forgive her for this." Bella, perhaps planning it all along, had tossed everyone onto the slide that was for couples, and now Simon found himself with Ultear sitting in his lap. Neither of them had looked at each other since the ride started, which was probably for the best.

"This is so stupid...Kyoko probably knew we were headed here. That's why she didn't come with us."

"She could've warned us." Simon agreed. "Now we'll never live this down."

"It could be worse." Simon made a face and looked at Ultear to find her looking away still.

"Please enlighten me how this could be worse." He said. Ultear still didn't look at him, cheeks red.

"I'm just saying it could be worse..."

* * *

"Bwahahahaha! Did you see the looks on their faces?!"

"I did! Man not telling them this was the Love Love Slider was so worth it!" Both Juno and now her slide partner Rina had known the second they arrived at the ride what it was, they'd heard about it before. But, for shits and giggles, they decided not to say anything. If Juno had learned anything about Bella from the time she'd known her, then what had come to pass was more than expected. But it was still worth it.

"They're going to be so mad." Rina said, smirking. The girl was on top of Juno, who was too busy laughing to really care. "I can't wait to see how unrecognizable Bella is once they kill her."

"They'll probably be to busy ignoring each other to do much about this."

* * *

Kyoko waited at the exit pool for the Love Love Slider, a massive grin on her face. She'd been here for a while now, so the others would be flying down it in each others embrace any second now.

"Kyoko!" Kyoko turned to find Steph running up to her. "Have you seen the others? I can't find them anywhere." Kyoko smiled.

"Wait here with me, Steph." She said. "You'll see them in a second or two." Steph made face at this, but soon the shouting could be heard. Kyoko turned just in time to see Drake, Nashi and Michael, all wrapped around each other, catapult off the slide and into the water, creating a huge splash. Kyoko burst out laughing as they were soon followed by Elise and Keita, Ultear and Simon, and then Juno and Rina, who were also laughing. As each pair surfaced they immediately distanced themselves from each other, red faced and stuttering messes. Kyoko nearly fell down from the laughter, and finally Damien and Bella flew out as well. As soon as the girl surfaced, she was being glared at something fierce. She laughed awkwardly and snapped her fingers, making Damien blink a few times before he glared at Bella.

"What did you make me do?" He demanded. Looks like he figured things out fast. Bella giggled.

"Promise you won't be mad?"

"No."

* * *

Nashi ignored everything as she shoveled more food into her mouth, trying desperately to forget what had happened. Riding down that slide stuck between Drake and Michael was bad enough, but the fact that both of them thought it was the funniest thing ever and were cracking jokes about. It seemed to lighten the mood about the incident, which helped.

"You okay?" Nashi choked on her sandwich and turned in her seat to find Michael leaning up against the counter she was eating at, and she felt her face going red.

"T-Totally!" She managed, face red. "Why?"

"You're blushing." Nashi frowned and looked away from him.

"What do you expect? That was embarrassing..."

"I thought it was funny."

"So I've heard. You and Drake haven't sopped laughing since it stopped..." Michael laughed and hopped into the seat next to her. Silence ensued, before he sighed.

"Thank you, Nashi." He said. She made a face and turned to him, seeing he was smiling at her.

"Huh?"

"Thanks for dragging us here. I haven't seen the others smile this much in...Forever. So thanks for cheering us up." Nashi smiled back at him.

"You're welcome." She contemplated her next words for a moment, and decided she'd speak up. "Blake came to talk to me." This caught Michael's attention, and Nashi smiled sadly down at her lap. "He wanted me to try and cheer you guys up now that he was gone...That's why we're here. I wanted to help you guy through this."

"Nashi..."

"Sorry I didn't started with that, but I thought maybe you wouldn't come if you knew." Michael stared at her before he chuckled and wiped at his eyes.

"Typical." He muttered. "Asshole cares more about us than his life, which is endangered..." After Michael gathered himself, he looked back at Nashi. "Anything else he mention?" Nashi frowned at this and returned her gaze to her food.

_ "I don't know what it is they have planned, but it's not too far away now. And you're too heavily involved in their plans for you not to know they're probably closing in, so keep an eye out."_

"...It's coming." She said. Hearing Michael make a confused sound, she looked back at him. "The battle. With them. It's coming. They're coming. He told me that." Michael's expression grew dead serious.

"Let me guess. He also said to keep us out of it?"

"How did you...?"

"Because fuck that." Nashi stared at Michael's expression, one of determined ferocity. "I will not stay out of that battle. You have my word. You see everyone who's here?" Michael gestured around at this, and Nashi looked around at every friend who had come here with them. "We're all in this with you. Don't forget that, okay?"

"...He knew you'd be like this." She said. "So i guess there's nothing I can do to change your mind?"

"Not a fucking chance."

"Well alright then. We'll see what happens." The pair went quiet at this, and Michael coughed.

"Anyway, I was thinking that after this, maybe sometime later, we could hang out again." Nashi looked at him with a confused face.

"Sure, I'll ask the others about..."

"No no, I was...I meant you and me." Nashi felt her face reddening.

"O-Oh..."

* * *

Zeus stared out the window of his office, watching the rain pelt the mountain. Soon enough, he heard the door open. He turned to find Hades standing there, grinning as always.

"What's up, old man?" He asked, crossing his arms. "Athena said you wanted to talk to me."

"I did." Zeus replied, turning to face him. "I've decided that we have no choice. We must use your plan." Hades smile actually faded for a moment, but soon he smiled.

"I figured as much, you old bastard." He said. "I'll tell Hephaestus about it. You sure?"

"...Yes. Start it up. It's the only way without wasting more time" Hades nodded and turned.

"Yeah yeah, the mountain, the satellite, lure them here...I got it. Don't worry, old man. I got it under control." Zeus frowned as the man left his office.

"I don't like it, but we have no choice...He's in control of the hunt now."

**Longest. Chapter. Ever. I worked a while on this one guys, so I really hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	228. Realight Party

**Kind of slumped into a once a week update cycle, haven't I? Sorry about that guys. Since this isn't arc material I'm not super hyped to get it out. No rush, no rush. Enjoy!**

Damien yawned.

"Are you listening, Onii-chan?" Damien made a face and turned to his sister, who was walking next to him.

"What?" He asked. "Were you talking?" This caused her to pout, and he laughed awkwardly. "Sorry. I zoned out. That job made me exhausted."

"Was it that hard for you?" Damien knew it hadn't been. They were on their way home from a job Damien had taken, because it asked for him. Steph had decided to tag along for one reason or another, which at first Damien figured the client would be against until he was told they were siblings, which made him happy. Two overpowered workers instead of one, right? And didn't need to pay one, according to Steph.

"Why did you come anyway?" He asked. "You could have stayed home." Steph smiled up at him.

"I just wanted to spend time with my brother. Is that so bad?" Damien smirked.

"Oh, is that so?" He wrapped Steph into a headlock and gave her a wicked noogie, which caused her to squirm in his grasp. "You'd better tell me the real reason!"

"Let...Let go, damn it!" Steph managed to free herself from his grasp, and cast him a glare. "Maybe it was a mistake going with you."

"Oh stop." He said. "I just doubted you because you didn't want to get payed."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." She said. "Is it really that hard to believe?"

"Last week you called me boring." Steph rolled her eyes at this.

"No, I said we were at a water park and you were sitting around on your ass doing nothing."

"Because Sabertooth was occupied."

"You still just sat there and talked to yourself." Damien made a face at this. He hadn't been talking to himself, it was his scumbag Demon Lord who had decided remaining unseen would be best. How many times now was that Xisplate had made it seem Damien was talking to himself? Far too many no matter what.

"I was relaxing."

"Hm. And then you decided to go on that ride with your girlfriend..."

"My _what_?"Damien demanded, cutting his sister off with a glare. Steph smirked.

"You heard me, Onii-chan. I'm not dumb, you know. I see the sparks flying."

"You must be blind." Damien replied. "Because there is no spark. At all. Bella's irritating as hell."

"Hm. I bet she was, cuddled up in your embrace like it would protect her from the harsh reality of..."

"Have you been reading romance novels or something?" Damien asked, confused as hell at his sisters ramblings. "Because you're making less sense the more you talk." Steph smirked.

"No, I'm just making an observation on what happened on that couples slide." Damien growled at this. Last week during their trip to Ryuzetsu Land, Bella had seduced him with her magic and had him ride the Love Love Slider with her. She also used him to throw some of the others on the ride as well, which didn't help matters. Now Steph had more than enough ammo to tease him and everyone else subjected to it. Save Drake and Michael, those two found it hilarious.

"I've told you a million times Steph, she used her magic on me." He told her. "I didn't do that on purpose."

"Oh I'm sure. I'm sure. You kissed her yet or what?"

"Come here you little..." Steph dodged Damien's hands and he chased her through town towards the guild hall, Steph laughing her ass off the entire way. Damien had to dodge more than a few confused onlookers, but kept on her tail pretty much the entire way to the guild. She kicked open the front door and ran in, arms flailing behind her.

"Help me! She shouted. "Damien's gone insane!"

"Come here!" Damien shouted, tackling her to the ground. Sitting on top of her, Damien reached forward and started to pull at his sisters cheeks, causing her to flail around. "Apologize." He said it a low tone.

"I'm sawy!"

"What was that?"

"I'm sawy!"

"Sorry, a little louder, okay?" Steph looked incredibly unimpressed with him, and soon Damien smelled ozone. He rolled of his sister just in time to avoid getting electrocuted, and when she sat up she glared at him as she rubbed her face.

"That hurt." She said, pouting. Damien glared right back, not giving any ground.

"How is it it's been eleven years since we spent any length of time together yet you can still push my buttons?"

"It's a skill." Both of them got up off of the floor and, giving each other another look. Once they both made sure neither was going to start something else, they made their way towards the table where their friends were seated, which gave them a front eat to the ordeal.

"Are you guys done?" Drake asked, a smirk on his face. Damien shrugged.

"Depends on if she's gonna push more of my buttons." He replied, sitting down. Steph laughed.

"He's just mad I caught him having a girlfriend."

"Do I need to come over there?" Damien asked, glaring at her from across the table. She simply stuck her tongue out.

"Ignoring what we just witnessed, how did the job go?" Ultear asked. "Was it hard?"

"Nah." Damien replied. "Especially for the both of us. Few monsters. That was all. Anything interesting happen over here?"

"None of us are in the middle of a situation, so no." Simon replied. "Been pretty mundane." Damien found it odd that spending their days working or together was considered mundane. Were they attacked that much to the point that normality seemed odd? Probably, given their track record.

"Whatever. I just want to get a drink and..." Damien made a face. "Hey, where's Nashi? She on a job too?"

"That's what we thought." Simon agreed.

"She isn't." It was Elise who spoke up this time. It was good she got out of her room more since Keita had helped. That and Ryuzetsu Land helped her a lot from what Damien could see. "I saw her leaving the dorms this morning, but Mira said she never showed here. Plus she was dressed weirdly."

"Weirdly?" Damien asked. Elise shrugged.

"Not like she usually is, I guess." She clarified. "I dunno. But she's fine. I think we can all agree on that." Damien knew that much. Nashi could handle herself. At this, though, Drake made a face.

"What's up, Drake?" Damien asked. Drake looked up at this.

"Oh, uh, nothing." He replied. Ultear smirked.

"You worried about Nashi? You sweetheart." Drake rolled his eyes.

"Get real." He snarled. "I was just thinking about how every time we leave Nashi to herself she ends up, you know, nearly getting herself killed." Now that Damien thought about it, Nashi had a knack for finding the most trouble on her own. Fighting her father during the S-Class trials, fighting Apocalypse and blowing up Silverridge, fighting Blake and blowing up several city blocks...She really had a habit of it.

"He has a point." Elise spoke up. "Trouble follows that girl like a moth to her flame."

"Almost like Drake and his fan club." Steph said with a smirk, which caused Drake to drop his head down onto the table loudly.

"I'm never gonna live it down..." He hissed.

"Nope." Ultear agreed. As his friends continued their conversation, Damien got a shiver down his spine. At first he ignored it, but after a second he felt the hair on his arm starting to stand up.

And that only meant one thing.

Damien braced himself and, soon enough, there was a collision with his back and arms and legs wrapped around him. A head now rested on his shoulder next to his head, and he sighed.

"You again?" He asked, his friends now silent. Bella laughed in his ear.

"Guilty as charged." She said. "You braced pretty hard for that one, Damien."

"Saw it coming, that's why." He replied. After she clearly got her fill of fucking with him, Bella got back on her feet.

"Nice to see you too." She said, smacking him on the back of the head. He turned and glared at her, but she only turned and ignored him to look at the others.

"What're you doing here, Bella?" Drake asked. Drake was really the only one who wasn't giving Bella a slightly pissed look, which was understandable. It had only been a week and Bella managed to escape before anyone got a hold of her for what she did to them on the couples slide.

"Well, besides for making little Damien angry, I actually came to talk to Simon." Simon made a confused face at this.

"Me?" He asked. 'What do you want with me?" Bella crossed her arms.

"So you guys remember my mom has a fashion line, right?" How the hell could Damien forget? He and Simon had walked into one of the stores itself not to long ago. Looking back on it now, Damien recalled his mind becoming muddled around Bella. It made a lot more sense to him now.

"Yeah, I remember." Simon replied. "What about it?"

"Well lately my mom's been making some deals with investors around Fiore, and a few days from today she's having a party to formalize the deal. She told me that if I could get a hold of every team leader from the Games so they could go and wear some of her best formal wear, she might even get a better deal out of it."

"So you want me to be your mothers showpiece?" Simon asked for clarification. Bella nodded.

"All you'd have to do is wear a suit and look handsome, which is pretty easy all things considered." Simon looked down at the table at this.

"All the leaders? Has everyone else agreed?"

"Well yeah, but you're the most important. You're the only male leader from the GMG teams. Reyna or Terra could flake on me but I'd need your help the most." Simon seemed to consider this deeply, before he shrugged.

"Not sure I should be doing you any favors after the Ryuzetsu Land incident." This made Bella pout and Ultear to blush.

"Are you really that mad about it? I was just having fun."

"That's not really an acceptable excuse." Simon sighed and looked down again. "Can I think about it?" Bella frowned.

"I suppose. But a yes would be appreciated greatly."

"Alright, when's the party?"

"Three days from now, it starts around nine."

"Alright. I'll see what I can do, but I won't make promises. I'm pretty busy." Bella sighed.

"I suppose that's all I'm getting." She said. "If you decide you'll come, just come by the guild hall. They'll direct you to the party. I guess I'll see you guys later." Bella turned to leave, and Steph gave Damien a look.

"What?" He asked. Steph smirked.

"Aren't you going to see your girlfriend off?" Damien growled at this.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Steph?" He demanded. "We aren't..."

"Aw that's just mean, honey." Damien froze as Bella clung to him from behind. "I thought you loved me."

"Get. The. Fuck. Off. Me." Damien hissed, body starting to glow black. Bella took that as her cue and scampered off, leaving them be. The group was silent at this, and Damien fumed quietly.

"So," Drake started. "You guys an item, or...?"

"Fuck off, poster boy."

* * *

Damien walked through the streets of Magnolia, not really with any specific destination in mind. He'd just eaten a three course meal at the guild hall, and decided he needed some air before he imploded.

"Ugh, I ate way to much."

"Watch your weight, Damien." Damien turned to his side to find Xisplate standing there. "You'll get fat."

"Oh yeah?" Damien asked. "I'd love to use your takeover when I'm bloated and disgusting."

"Don't you dare tarnish my form like that." Damien smirked at the demon at this. It was odd, having casual banter with a being Damien had hated longer than he hadn't. "What's the plan for tonight?"

"Nothing really." He answered, walking side by side with the demon down the empty streets. "Probably just sitting around. I'm not taking any immediate jobs, so..."

"Your friend Bella's party is tonight, right?" Damien paused at this. Come to think of it, Xisplate had a point. It had been three days since Bella had asked Simon for help at her mothers party. Damien hadn't seem him all day, so maybe he really had gone.

"So what?" Damien asked. "She didn't want my help."

"I guess you're right." Xisplate paused, and then smirked. "You're not mad Simon was asked on a date with your girl?"

"Oh for f...You too?" This caused the demon to laugh. "Fucking Bella..."

"I'm sure you'd like to be, yes."

"Wha..." Damien felt heat rising to his face at this. "Too far, man."

"Why're you blushing, then?"

"..." Damien did his best to come up with some sort of witty retort, but his tongue failed him. He growled and crossed his arms, grumbling angrily about her.

"Don't be so embarrassed, it's in her very nature." Damien made a face and looked over at Xisplate to find him looking up at the sky. "Meridia's powers allow Bella to get any man she wants with the snap of her fingers. She's, for the most part anyway, actively choosing to go after you without them. Probably just for fun."

"That makes way to much sense..." Damien grumbled.

"Damien?" Damien paused and turned to find Simon and Ultear walking towards him, Xisplate now falling silent as well.

"Oh, hey guys." He said. He was about to continue, but he noted the travelling look the pair had. "What's up? Yo guys headed somewhere?"

"Yeah." Simon said, scratching his head. "Urgent job request, asked for the both of us. Had to head out immediately."

"Oh, well have fun." As the two walked past him, Damien had a thought. "Hey, Simon!" Simon turned and looked at Damien. "Bella wanted your help tonight, remember? Shouldn't you be doing that?"

"This is urgent, man." Simon replied. "I'd help, but..." Damien made a face. "Tell her I'm sorry, could you? I feel kind of bad."

"...Alright"

"Thanks." With this, the pair continued on their merry way, leaving Damien and Xisplate alone again. After a second or two, Xisplate coughed. Damien looked over to find the demon wearing an expectant look. After a moment of contemplation, Damien's eyes widened.

"No." He said. "Not a fucking chance."

"What ever do you mean?"

"I am not going in Simon's place. No way in hell."

"I didn't suggest that."

"You were implying it."

"How exactly?"

"Because you gave me that look that said, 'she's your friend and she needs help and Simon bailed so who else could help?'"

"I did no such thing. I merely looked at you." Damien frowned and gave the situation some thought. Bella, and her mother Jenny, needed Simon because he was the only male leader from the Games. Now that he couldn't go, they'd arguably lost their most important factor for the night. Not to mention Bella would not let him here the end of it...

"...You're going aren't you?" Xisplate asked.

"...Shut up. We've got places to be."

* * *

Bella ran around in a whirlwind, making sure everything was set up for the party. Because she was clearly the most trustworthy person her dear mother could find, she'd been placed in charge of getting the other team leaders and other important parts of the party ready.

"This is way to much stress..." She hissed. "A whole fucking team of people would've been better."

"Oh calm yourself Bella, it'll be fine." Bella cast an angry glare at Meridia, who had her feet up in the corner of the room.

"You're no help." She seethed. "Sitting around."

"Nobody else even knows I'm here." Meridia replied innocently. "What could I possibly due to assist you?"

"Shut up and let me work. And ugh, Simon hasn't shown up yet! This is backfiring on me so badly right now!" Just as Bella began to panic, the lacrima phone in her pocket rang. Pulling it out, she saw it was her mother calling. Clearing her throat, Bella answered.

"Yes mommy dearest?" She asked in a innocent tone laced with venom.

_"How's everything going back there?"_

"...Flawless." She lied. Her mother laughed.

_"Right, which is why I can hear you cursing. Just make sure the girls are ready, okay?"_

"...Okay." With this, Bella's mother hung up. Tossing the device aside, Bella took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. "It's fine, it's fine, it's fine..."

_Knock knock._

Bella turned as the door to the room received a few hard pounds. Bella breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, it looks like Simon is finally here!" She ran towards the door and smiled happily as she flung it open and jumped forward to hug him out of appreciation.

"Not unexpected, honestly." Bella froze. Slowly, she looked up to find quite an unexpected face.

"Damien?!"

* * *

"Seriously?! Of all nights?!" Damien nodded.

"Yeah. He said he was sorry."

"Ugh! We needed him the most! This whole thing is gonna fall apart!"

"Wasn't your mom just finalizing the deal?" Damien demanded. "Whether or not Simon shows isn't that important, right?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Bella asked. "Simon was the only male leader, meaning my mom wanted him most of all for her suits. And now he's not here."

"Well that sucks." Damien agreed. After a few seconds of silence, Meridia, who'd been quiet for the most part, laughed.

"Don't worry Bella dearest. We have a backup plan."

"Do we?" Bella asked, looking at her. "What's that?" Meridia smirked over at Damien, and a second later Damien felt a hand connect with his back and send him flying forward. He turned to find Xisplate smirking at him.

"Damien can do it, he's a guy!" Meridia shouted as if she'd found the fountain of youth. Damien growled.

"I didn't say I'd..." He turned back to Bella, and froze.

She was giving him quite honestly the most adorable, hopeful look he'd ever seen.

"Could you?" She asked. It'd mean a lot to me, and my mom." Damien growled.

"What would I be doing?"

"Same thing as Simon, standing around and maybe talking occasionally." Damien took a moment to consider it, before he growled.

"Get me a suit, damn it. I'll do it."

**This filler seems oddly ship orientated...Huh. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	229. A Little Game

**Hey, this chapter came out faster. Cool. Enjoy!**

"How's it going in there?" Damien made a face as he struggled with the tie on the suit.

"It's going, I guess." He muttered, playing around with it. He had to admit, the suit was pretty high quality, but he still wasn't very excited about the fact that he had to do this. Simon so owed him.

"Let me see you." Damien sighed and turned, pushing away the curtain of the makeshift changing room to face Bella and the two Demon Lords. Xisplate smirked.

"You clean up well, Damien." He said.

"Shut up." Damien advised before he turned to Bella. "So? How do I look?" Bella made a face and walked towards him. Once she reached him, she reached forward and started to do up his tie for him., Damien remained quiet as she did so, ignoring the girls proximity to him. Once she was done with that, she looked up at him.

"I suppose this will have to do." She said. "Well, actually..." Damien made a face as the girl seemed to be thinking. After she was done with that, she leaned upwards and ran a hand through Damien's hair. At first he tensed in surprise, but he realized pretty quick she was doing a half assed job at trying to make his hair look a bit better. After she was done with that, she leaned back and sighed.

"Good?" Damien asked.

"Enough so, yeah." Bella agreed. "Thanks again for filling in for Simon, it really means a lot."

"Mm hm, whatever, Let's just get this over with."

"Agreed." Bella made a face and raised a hand to her chin. "I think we're all set at this rate, if all the others are ready."

"Fantastic." Damien muttered sarcastically. Bella seemed to completely ignore his comment.

"Well, I guess I should go and check on the other girls, see if they're all there and..." Bella was cut off by something starting to ring. Turning towards the noise, Damien noted there was a lacrima phone on the ground across the room. Bella seemed to notice this as well, and walked towards it. Once she picked it up, she made a face.

"What is it?" Damien asked.

"My mom, give me a second." Bella cleared her throat and answered the phone. "Hello Mommy dearest?...What?! What do you mean?!...Are you fucking kidding?! This is some kind of prank...Ugh. Well, what do you want me to do? You were going to let her wear it..." Bella went silent for a moment, not really reacting in any way for a short period of time. Damien, even though he had no special magic that affected his ears, could hear a woman talking to Bella through the device. After more silence, Bella sighed.

"Fine. I guess we don't have a choice." with this, Bella hung up and glared at the floor.

"Uh, everything okay?" Damien asked. "That didn't sound like a happy conversation."

"It wasn't." Bella replied, taking a deep breath. "Mami's gone."

"What?"

"Mami, my team leader? She's not here yet"

"Okay? Why is that a big deal? You said you just needed a guy the most."

"Correction," Bella said. "I said Reyna or Terra could not come. My mom made the ever so brilliant decision to let Mami wear what she considers the best dress she's got. Just now Master Ichiya informed her Mami was wanted on a job as well. She's not coming." That did sound like a problem. Even though Damien had the sneaking suspicion Mami had chosen to bail because she'd somehow caught wind that Simon wasn't going to come, he did admit he saw a problem.

"Okay, so what are we going to do?" Damien asked. Bella rolled her eyes.

"Obviously we do the same thing I had you do." She replied, turning for the door. "I'm going to go get ready."

"...Wait, what? Are you going to fill in for her?"

"Yes. Wasn't that apparent?" Bella asked, turning to look at him. "I have to. Nikki isn't around either." Damien frowned.

"Well, if you think so."

"You just shut up and stay here." Bella said. "Maybe find a way to try and make yourself more presentable." Damien made a face.

"Where's the Bella that always says how handsome I am?" He asked. Bella chuckled on her way out.

"You're street handsome, hun. Not sophisticated party handsome."

"There's a difference?"

"I'll be back once I'm ready." Without another word, Bella left the room and left Damien with Xisplate and Meridia. Damien turned to the redheaded demon.

"You not going with her?" Meridia shrugged in her seat.

"Bella doesn't need my help right now." She said. "She's a big girl. She can get changed on her own." At this, Damien looked down at his feet.

Somehow, he got the feeling this party was going to turn into a shit show.

* * *

Damien must have been waiting for a good twenty minutes or more. Aside from listening to the occasionally snarky comment from Meridia or Xisplate, the room had been pretty quiet. Damien had already counted every line on the floor and walls a few times, and he was beginning to consider the option of running off. Perhaps he'd only hear about it for a few weeks. A month at best.

"Bored, Damien?" Damien looked up to see Xisplate looming over him. He sat up in his seat and yawned.

"That easy to tell?" He asked. "I'm about to lose it over here."

"I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"Right." Damien hung his head over the back of the chair and groaned. Why had he let himself get sucked into this? Now he was going to get sucked into another dilemma all night. Simon so owed him for this.

While he was contemplating what he'd have Simon do to return the favor he hadn't asked for, Damien heard the door open.

"Finally," He said, not looking up yet. "You took forever."

"Sorry." Her response came. "I wanted to make sure mom got this deal." Damien sighed.

"Yeah whatever." He mumbled. "Let's just get this over with because I want to go ho..." Damien finally lifted his head back into a normal seated position as he started to feel lightheaded, and it did nothing to soothe the feeling in his head.

Damien had seen a lot of attractive women in his time. That he knew for certain. However, what he was looking at currently outranked all of them.

Bella was wearing a sparkly gold dress that split all the way down her chest and came back together near her waist, only to split differently to reveal her long perfect legs, and her blonde hair was done up in a bun that somehow made her even more beautiful. From what he could tell she had applied makeup as well, but just the perfect amount. Damien was no fan of makeup himself, but she had just the right amount on. Damien felt entranced by what he was seeing.

And that immediately set off warning signals in his head. He growled and looked away from her.

"What?" She demanded.

"Stop doing that." He hissed. "You're pretty, I get it."

"I don't follow."

"You're using your magic to seduce me. Don't play dumb." There was silence between them for a moment or two, before Bella coughed.

"Erm...Damien?"

"What?"

"I...Wasn't doing anything." Damien made a face at this.

"What do you mean you weren't...?" He turned back to find Bella looking away from him, her cheeks slightly pink.

Oh.

As he slowly realized his thoughts upon seeing her were his own doing, Damien felt slightly embarrassed. Surely what he thought of her didn't change knowing that, but...

"Whatever. You look great. Maybe a little too great. Guess I figured you were pulling one over on me again." He said, recovering quickly.

"I can see how you would make that mistake." She said, her slight blush turning into a smirk. "I'm hot in this thing, aren't I?" Damien rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah. Is the party starting yet?"

"About to, yeah. We should go and meet up with the other girls. Unless you think your hormones might take control again." Damien ignored this and stood, walking towards her. He moved past her for the door, and she followed suit beside him. They walked down the hall and reached another set of doors, which Damien presumed lead to the hall the party was in.

"Ready?" He asked. Bella nodded.

"Of course I am. Yet you didn't even both trying to make your hair look any better." Once again ignoring her comment, Damien opened the doors and walked inside with Bella. As soon as he entered, Damien once again became aware of the fact this was not his element.

And he thought the royal ball Queen Hisui threw was uptight and fancy.

He didn't know how many of these people were investors or anything, but the more he saw the more he knew whatever he'd have Simon due as repayment was going to have to be something huge.

"Feel out of it?" Bella asked. Damien nodded.

"That's an understatement." He said. "This is so snotty."

"That's business for you, Damien darling. Come over here, I see the other girls." Bella grabbed Damien by the arm and lead him through the crowds of people, before finally the other girls came into view.

Damien had to admit, Nami, Reyna and Juno looked amazing as well. All three were wearing dresses similar to Bella's, except in a different color. Juno's was white, Reyna's was blue, and Nami's was dark pink from the looks of it. As the three girls noticed him, they grew confused.

"Damien?" Juno asked, hands on her hips. "What're you doing here?"

"Our leader had a job he had to go on." Damien replied, making sure he looked livid. "Guess who had to be his substitute."

"Ah, ain't that sweet of you." Reyna joked. "You clean up nice though, man. Real nice."

"Same with all of you." Damien agreed. Bella snorted.

"He's underplaying it." She said. "I went to retrieve him and he might as well have gotten an ere..."

"_Anyway,_" Damien said loudly, driving an elbow underneath Bella's boob into her ribs. "What're we going to do tonight, Bella?" Bella was coughing and trying to recover from the elbow and once she did, she looked up.

"W-We just have to make sure we're around for the investors to see us." She replied, voice shaky from Damien's attack. Perhaps he'd hit her too hard. "Maybe go and speak to some, my mom will tell us if we have to do that."

"So we just stand around until then, huh?" Nami asked.

"I may need to get drunk to handle this." Reyna muttered.

"Are you ever sober?" Damien asked. This made her cackle.

"I wonder." She said. Damien snorted at this.

"Anyway, where the hell is Terra?" He asked. "I haven't seen her yet." Nami jabbed a thumb behind her to the large table covered in food and drink.

"She went over there to find a drink. Maybe thinking exactly what Reyna was." As if on cue, Damien heard a voice sigh.

"Nothing except shitty champagne." Terra said, approaching them. She, like the others, was wearing the same type of sparkly dress, except hers was a dark green color. "I assume our booze hound didn't want any if I found it shitty."

"You know it." Reyna agreed. Terra looked up from her drink and made eye contact with Damien. He nodded at her, but she looked positively stunned.

"D-D-Damien?" She stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Simon bailed." He answered. "Subbing in."

"O-Oh." She said, avoiding his eyes. "I wasn't expecting that...I'm so embarrassed you're seeing me in this."

"What's the big deal?" He asked. "You look great."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah." At this, Bella snorted.

"What does it matter if he's seen you like that, Terra?" She asked. "He's already gotten a nice view of you in nothing but your underwear." This confused Damien greatly, and Terra looked mortified.

"What?" He asked. "When the hell did I see her like that?" Bella laughed.

"You wouldn't remember darling, but it was...!" Terra flew forward at a speed Damien didn't expect from a women in high heels and clamped a hand over Bella's mouth.

"Not a fucking word, Realight." She hissed. Bella just looked amused, but she nodded. After being released, and Damien still being confused as hell, Bella sighed.

"So far so good." She said. Damien begged to differ.

"Bella!" Bella turned at this. Damien did as well to find a blonde women yelling at her from afar. Damien went out on a limb and guessed that the women was Jenny, Bella's mother. Jenny motioned for her daughter, and Bella sighed.

And then grabbed Damien by the arm and pressed up next to him.

"What're you doing?" he asked, irritated. Bella looked over at him.

"Show time, darling." She answered with a wink. At this, Bella whisked him towards her mother. Once they were there, Jenny smiled at him.

"You must be Damien." She said. "So nice of you fill in for your friend."

"Oh I did not want to." Damien said. "But thanks nonetheless." Jenny smirked.

"I called you two over here because I wanted you to stick by me for a bit, in case any of the investors come to see me. That way, the best looking girl and only guy are with me. That okay?"

"I guess." Damien replied. "How long is this going to take?" Jenny shrugged at this.

"Who knows?" She asked. "Could be a while. An hour? Two? I don't know. Whenever these old bastards decide if they want to invest or not." Damien frowned, but Jenny craned her neck to look past him. "Oh! Here some come now. Perk up Damien, a lot of money is on the line." She moved past Damien and Bella to greet the older men and women, and Damien sighed.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Remind me again why we decided to do this?" Nami asked, leaning up against the wall near them. Juno shrugged.

"I don't know." She replied. "Bella wanted help and we didn't say no."

"This is just no fun!" Nami complained. "Why don't we get to do anything except get ogled by old men?"

"Are you surprised?" Terra asked. "Damien needs to be with Jenny all the time because he's the only guy, and Bella looks the best out of all of us so she's there too. The rest of us are just here as showpieces." At this Reyna chuckled.

"I could spice this up, if you all want." She said. This made everyone look over at her.

"How?" Nami asked. Reyna smirked.

"We could play a game. I think it'd be pretty interesting."

"What's the game?" Juno asked, now curious. No other way to kill time at this rate. Reyna smirked and reached inside her dress, and fiddled around with something before pulling it out.

A flask. When shook, revealed it was brimming with liquid. Reyna smirked.

"You guys have to promise we play once we're all sloshed beyond believe."

* * *

"Thank you, thank you." Damien said, trying to maintain a smile as the old man laughed.

"No problem, my boy! A stellar show it was." The majority of the conversations Damien was forced to have with these people revolved around his showing in the Games. He was not surprised by this, Bella had asked for the team leaders. He should have prepared for this. Or the hour he'd spent doing it should have been enough practice.

"And a very handsome man." An older woman said. "I'm surprised you're single."

"So am I." Bella said from the side, laughing.

"Having fun, Damien?" It was with this Damien was reminded his Demon Lord was standing off to the side, mocking him. He had been for the past hour. "I think so.

"You're too kind." Damien managed towards the older woman. "I'll find someone some day."

"Aw, ain't that a nice response." Xisplate said. "So like you, my boy." Bella cracked a joke, which made the investors and Jenny laugh. At this, Damien took a chance to turn to the demon.

"I'm going to kill myself soon." He hissed. "This is torture!"

"I can see that." Xisplate replied. "Thankfully your suffering is entertainment enough."

"You're evil."

"I know."

"Anyways, Ms. Realight, I believe we should discuss our business now, correct?"

"If you want." Jenny answered. "I've got all night."

_Shut up, Jenny! I want to get out of here!_

"No no, now works." Jenny walked off with the investors, and Damien let out a sigh. Surprisingly enough, Bella did so as well.

"That was way to much of an act to keep up." She muttered. "I feel exhausted after that."

"Can I go home yet?" Damien asked. "I'm so done with this."

"I think so." Bella said, nodding. "You did a hell of a job keeping that smile on your face. Thanks."

"Thank me by never asking me for favors." He said. "That's all I want in return."

"I think I can manage that." She said, nodding. "But go if you want. I'll tell my mom you had enough of this and left..."

"Aha! There you are!" Damien made a face as a pair of arms wrapped around his midsection. Turning, he felt relatively surprised to see Nami there.

"Nami?" He asked. Nami looked up at him and pouted.

"You spent all night with Bella!" She said angrily. "Spend some with me!"

"...E-Eh?"

"No don't do that!" Someone yelled, grabbing his left arm. "Go with me!" Turning again, Damien now saw Juno there.

"No! Me!" This voice grabbed his right arm. This was Reyna. All three snuggled up into him making weird noises, and Damien was utterly confused.

"What the hell are you all doing?!" He shouted, his pent up frustration from all night seeping out and catching the attention of onlookers. "Get off of me!"

"No!" They all collectively replied. Damien whirled on Bella, who looked pretty stunned as well.

"What's going on?!" he asked. Bella shrugged.

"From the looks of it, they're drunk off their shit." She said. Damien could tell that much, he could smell it. Was that what they did to past the time while Damien was tortured?

"Come with me, Damien!" Nami shouted. "I'll show you I'm better than Bella!"

"No! Come with me!" Juno shouted, pulling on his left arm. Reyna did the same to his right.

"Come on, knock it off!" Damien shouted. "Let go of me!" Damien, applying a bit of force, managed to shake off Nami's grasp on the fabric of the suit. He swung around more and managed to free his left arm from Juno, only for Nami to tackle him from behind and latch on. Freeing himself from Reyna too, Damien worked on Nami as best he could without losing his mind.

"What're you doing, Nami?!" He asked angrily. The girl drunkenly giggled.

"Reyna said she'd give half a million jewel to the first one to seduce Damien!" She shouted happily. She hiccuped, lost her grip, and fell on her back laughing her ass off. Damien made a face.

"She what?" He demanded. "That's...That's...!" Damien didn't know any expletives for crazy, Although fucking insane came to mind, so instead he turned and tried to dart away. He didn't make it very far before the final girl blocked his path.

"Dam-ien." Terra greeted, wobbling a bit. Damien gulped.

"Heey Terra." He said. "Can I, uh, get past you there? Please?"

"Nuh uh." Terra said. "Can't. I want to win, damn it."

"No you don't, trust me. No one wins here!"

"I will!" At this, Terra sprung forwards and tried to get Damien to...hug her? He couldn't even tell what she was doing. All he knew was that once to many times His hands were almost forcibly wrapped around Terra's chest. This was insane.

"Damien!" That voice sounded sensible. He looked past Terra to find it. An angel. Bella stood there, her perfect body beckoning him as she smiled divinely. "Come with me." Her silky smooth voice said. We're leaving."

"Right...of course." Damien said. He flung Terra aside and ran to Bella's side. This caused her to smile and Damien felt like his brain was melting.

"There's a good boy. Now, come with me. We'll go somewhere a bit more private."

* * *

"I think they're not gonna show." Bella said, making Damien sigh in relief. They were currently hiding out from the drunk girls in Bella's apartment, which Bella had seduced him towards to get him away from the others.

"Thanks for the save." Damien said, rubbing his head. "Even though you seduced me to get me out."

"Please. You're too nice to use the appropriate force to get them off of you. So I made you."

"Again, thank you." Bella nodded.

"No problem." At this, the familiar sound of a lacrima phone ringing came up. Damien watched, and somewhat tried to ignore, as Bella reached in her dress and pulled out the phone. She gulped.

"It's my mom." At this, Damien also felt nervous. Had they fucked it up? Hopefully not, because he was not doing that again.

"Well?" Answer it." He said. Bella nodded and slowly answered it.

"Yes mommy?" She asked sweetly despite the panic on her face. Bella listened for a moment, before her eyes widened. "What? Really?...Wow...Didn't think those old bastards would...Really?! That's awesome! Congrats!...Yes, I'll tell Damien...At my apartment..." At this Bella, went red. "Mom! We're not...I wouldn't!...Oh shut up!" At this, Bella hung up and flung the device across the room angrily.

"Well?" he asked, ignoring the last part to maintain control of his feelings. "How'd it go?" Bella sighed and turned to him, smiling.

"They thought the girls trying to get you was hilarious." She said. "They offered my mom like thirty percent more based on that alone."

"Wow, that's awesome. So mission accomplished I suppose?"

"Yep. And look at the bright side, all you had to do was stand around for an hour! Could've been worse."

"I guess." Damien said. "But no more favors like this, got it? None." Bella nodded.

"I know. I'll consider my favors carefully for the next time." Damien nodded thankfully. Bella yawned.

"Anyway, running all the way here tired me out. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."

"Alright." Damien said. "Guess I'll go now. The girls have probably passed out now." Bella nodded and moved past him to walk towards her room, and Damien sighed. He really did hope that the girls weren't near him. He didn't want to deal with any of that.

"Damien~" Damien foolishly ignored her tone.

"What?" he asked, turning towards her voice.

"Why don't you come say goodbye?" Damien made a face. "Just keep in mind I'm naked." Damien felt the heat rush to his face at this.

"I'm leaving, Bella." He said, turning for the door.

"You sure? Shower's big enough for two."

"I'm sure, damn it." He said, walking away. "See you later."

"Yeah, okay. I'll be thinking about you later tonight anyway..."

"Goodnight, Bella." At this, he heard a loud cackle come from her room.

"Goodnight, sweetheart!" She called. Growling, Damien slammed her front door and started to walk down the street, making his way home.

"You're so chaste, Damien." Xisplate commented from his side. Damien rolled his eyes.

"How much do you want to bet she wasn't even out of her dress yet?" He asked. "She loves to fuck with me."

"I'm just saying, most men your age given that opportunity would have rushed in without another thought. Who knows, maybe it could have gone farther."

"Are you insane?" Damien demanded. "If I ended up doing that kind of thing with Bella fucking Realight I'd never hear the end of it."

"True, true." After this, the pair walked in silence towards the exit of the city to go home towards Magnolia. After a while, Xisplate looked over at him.

"You're going to make Simon do something insane for bailing, aren't you?" Damien smirked.

"Insane? No. Embarrassing like mine was? Definitely." Damien grinned.

"What did you have in mind?" Xisplate asked.

"Were you there for what he said to Ultear after she beat Mami on the first day of the Games? I think that's tame enough, don't you?"

"I don't think it matters what we think of it. Simon probably wouldn't agree, though."

**And what would that be, I wonder. I know, but do you guys remember? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	230. Damien's Sort of Revenge

**Man, sitting down to write has gotten kinda hard recently...oh well.**

**Enjoy!**

Ultear ate her breakfast quietly as the others sitting around her talked. She wasn't really paying them any mind, as far as she could tell it wasn't anything important.

"I kinda want to take a job." Drake said as she came back into the conversation. "I'm getting bored around here." This made Steph smirk and elbow him.

"Just make sure you don't get a job from the fan club." She joked, making Drake groan.

"Have you even gotten one of those yet?" Nashi asked from his left, also smirking.

"No." He replied. "Not yet I don't think. Maybe Mira filters them out for me."

"You'd better hope." Ultear said, rejoining the conversation as she brandished her fork at Drake. "Or else you might get one sooner or later." This made Drake look a bit scared.

"Maybe I'd better ask her to just in case..." he murmured. This caused the four girls around the table to laugh. Damien hadn't shown yet, but Ultear assumed that was because he was still recuperating from his experience filling in for Simon at that party. She didn't know, really. Simon was also gone, although Ultear assumed that was him sleeping in after their job. They had only gotten back around midnight.

"Speaking of jobs, how did yours go with Simon?" Elise asked Ultear, making her look over. "Probably wasn't a big deal."

"No, not really." She replied. "Bandits are a real pain sometime."

"That's an understatement." Nashi said. This made Drake look over at her.

"What about you?" He asked. Nashi looked over at him.

"What?"

"You took a few jobs these past few days, right? You weren't around." This caused Nashi's face to go red.

"R-Right!" She spluttered. "O-Of course I did! Easy! Easy as ever!" Ultear raised an eyebrow as Nashi's anxious behavior increased the longer the group stared at her. "What're you all staring at?! I swear they were!"

"Do I need to take a listen?" Drake asked with a smirk. This made Nashi stand and grab him by the collar of his shirt.

"Don't you fucking dare." She seethed angrily, making Drake laugh weakly. After Nashi's...episode, she sat back down and chugged her entire mug in one go, her face still as red as ever. Ultear would have to ask later, she did not seem keen on sharing.

"What the hell am I walking into?" They all turned to find Damien standing there, making a confused face.

"Oh there you are, Onii-chan." Step said, smiling. "Did you sleep in?" Damien's confused face turned into a devilish smirk.

"Yeah. Something like that." He looked over at Ultear, and then snickered.

"What?" She asked, making a face.

"Nothing." He said. "Hey, Drake. Come here a sec." Drake seemed just as confused as the others, but he stood and walked over to Damien. Once he reached Damien, he leaned in towards Drake and whispered something in his ear. Once Damien moved back, Drake was wearing quite the mischievous grin.

"Oho." He said. "That sounds like it'll be a riot."

"Right?" Damien asked. "Come with me, I need your help." The girls watched in confusion as the snickering pair retreated back out of the guild hall.

"What are they up too?" Elise asked.

"Probably nothing good." Steph said. Nashi remained silent, although she was still pretty red. Ultear shrugged and returned to her breakfast. Whatever Damien wanted Drake for, it wasn't anything she wanted to know about. The conversation carried onto another topic, and Ultear ignored that as well. Once she was done her breakfast, she kind of felt like going on a walk. It was a pretty nice day, after all...

"What the hell are those morons doing?" Elise asked, shaking Ultear from her thoughts. She turned to find Simon being shoved across the floor towards them, both Damien and Drake pushing him forwards. Ultear wasn't sure she'd ever seen Simon looking so out of it. It was a combination of anxious, anger, and something else. Soon enough Simon came to a stop in front of them, standing completely rigid. He didn't say a word, and Damien smirked at him.

"Come on, Simon." He said. "Don't you have something you want to say?" Simon only gulped at this, confusing Ultear even further. Drake laughed.

"You're this far, man." He said. "Just come out with it." Simon grimaced at this, his left eye twitching.

"U-Ultear..." he said weakly, making her look at him in confusion.

"Yeah?" She asked. Simon's eye was still twitching, and it only seemed to make Damien and Drake laugh.

"I know this is really sudden and everything and you have every right to say no please say no how about we go to dinner tonight?" He rushed out all at once, expression barely changing. This made Damien and Drake burst out in laughter.

Ultear, however, blinked in confusion.

"...Huh?" She asked. She was _certain _he had not just said dinner. Had he? He'd said it all so fast she'd barely caught it. Simon made a face and turned to Damien uselessly, who only motioned forward. Simon sighed.

"I..." He looked so uncomfortable. "I asked if you wanted to get dinner with me tonight."

...

"O-Oh..." She said weakly, feeling the blush creep onto her face. She turned uselessly to the other girls, but they all avoided her gaze. Ultear didn't know what to say. Why was he asking? She was so lost and she didn't like it at all. Looking back at Simon, he seemed to be casting Damien a livid look, one that Damien returned with a smirk. Why? She was at a complete loss.

"You don't have to say yes." Simon said quickly, avoiding her eyes. "I don't really care what you say..."

"Don't be so modest, Simon." Damien quipped. "Surely you want to?" Simon didn't say anything at this. Ultear had the creeping suspicion that Damien was behind this, but she would have to ask later. She looked down at her lap and contemplated this thoroughly.

"...Sure."

"C-Come again?" Simon asked weakly Ultear sighed and looked up with a weak smile.

"I said sure. Sounds like fun."

* * *

"I hate you." Damien laughed at this as Simon paced back and forth in front of him and Drake in the park.

"Do you have any idea what I put up with in your stead?" Damien asked. "Taking Ul to that dinner you promised her for beating Mami is the least horrible thing I could have had you do, you know. I could have had you take Mami instead."

"Ugh..." Simon groaned and rubbed his eyes. Once he did, he looked over at Drake. "Why did you help him?" He asked. Drake shrugged.

"Sounded funny." He said innocently. "Besides, it's like Damien said. He put up with a lot of shit, this is the least you can do." Simon growled at this. He had not, at any point, told Damien to take his place at Bella's stupid party. That was Damien's own fault. Why was he now somehow indebted to him and not Bella? Seemed strange.

"Why are your panties in such a twist anyway?" Damien asked. "Did we make you ask her out prematurely?"

"Get real." Simon snapped back. "It was embarrassing because you wouldn't let me clarify I did so because I somehow owe you and not Bella." Damien winced at this.

"Bella didn't lose anything." He retorted. "If anything Mami owes her."

"What?"

"Nothing." Damien said, shutting him down. "It's one night. You said you were going to do it anyway."

"I was joking!"

"Oops." Simon narrowed his eyes as the two other guys snickered at this. He really had no idea what he was supposed to do. He'd been adamantly against it the whole way to the guild hall, but then Damien had Drake come out and the two coerced him into the guild hall and made him do it. And now he was stuck with a date. Great.

"I don't even know what I'm supposed to do." Simon replied. "You guys act like I've done this before."

"Which is why I invited our resident playboy!" Damien said, slapping Drake on the back. This made Drake look incredibly unimpressed.

"Is that really how you look at me?" He asked weakly.

"Never mind that. Just help poor Simon over here not blow a gasket tonight."

"I'm not exactly a date night connoisseur either, you know." Damien frowned at this.

"Didn't you go out with Winter?" He asked. Drake nodded.

"Yeah, when we were younger." He said. "Our relationship was not anything special."

"Well it had to help some, didn't it? We aren't talking about a fancy restaurant. It's just dinner." Drake rolled his eyes and leaned back against the Sola tree.

"Whatever. What are you guys doing tonight, Simon?" Simon turned his attention to Drake at this.

"I don't know." He replied. "It isn't fancy, obviously, but other than that I'm not sure. I was against this to begin with. I don't have a plan." Drake nodded and pocketed his hands, humming to himself.

"Well if I were you, I'd just go to some place Ul wants to. Just make sure she's happy. If there's one thing I've learned with the girls we hang out with, keeping them happy if pretty important."

"See?" Damien asked. "Just improvise the whole thing. You'll be fine."

"As I see it, that's all there is to this." Drake continued. "Besides, you two aren't an actual couple. Just make small talk. Maybe insult Damien a little." Damien made a face at this.

"Hey let's not." He suggested. Drake shrugged.

"You know damn well Simon's going to say something to her about this being a set up for you to get payback." He said. "Might as well take the hit." Damien shrugged at this, and Drake returned his gaze to Simon. "So take a deep breath and just get through tonight. You'll be okay."

"I know that." Simon said. "I just know tonight will embarrass me."

* * *

"So...What's the plan for tonight?" Elise asked.

"As if I have a plan." Ultear replied. "That caught me off guard. Why did he ask me to dinner?"

"He did say he would." Nashi said from the other side of the table. "You know, when you beat Mami at the Games." Ultear very vaguely remembered something like that being said. It had been a while ago, truthfully.

"Yeah, so he's probably just making good on his promise." Elise said.

"Did nobody else see Onii-chan and Drake pushing him and laughing at his expense?" Steph asked, speaking up. "It looked to me like they made him do it."

"Why?" Elise asked.

"For revenge probably." Steph surmised. "He went to that thing in Simon's place. As far as I can tell he didn't have a good time."

"So he made Simon ask Ul out for...revenge?" Elise asked. "That's not even that bad."

"No, not really." Nashi agreed. "Although you are going to go, right Ul?"

"Uh..." Ultear said, looking up. "I guess. Although I don't know what we'll be doing. Do you think he ran off with Damien and Drake to plan something?"

"I doubt it." Steph said. "Simon probably went along because Damien wasn't suggesting some fancy shit. So it'll probably just be some casual place."

"Logical." Elise agreed. "Simon's not good with that kind of stuff." That much was true.

But then again, neither was Ultear.

"Guys, I'm not exactly comfortable with this." She said, speaking up. "I know it's not a serious date or anything, but I still don't know what I'm supposed to be doing." Nashi raised a hand to her chin.

"Well, in my experience..."

"In your experience?" Elise asked quietly, making Nashi go red. "What experience?"

"I-I mean..." Nashi scratched her head awkwardly. "I meant, you know, as a girl."

"Sure you did."

"Shut up, god." Nashi said angrily. "Anyway, I think the best thing you can do is just be yourself, you know? Don't be weird."

"Stellar advice, Nashi." Steph said. Nashi shrugged.

"Well? It's not a real date. I'm not going to tell her to show off her cleavage and dress super revealing so Simon constantly gets an eyeful of her..."

"Oookay, let's stop." Ultear said, breaking into their argument. "You have a point. It's not a real date, no point in getting worked up. Besides, it's just Simon. What could possibly happen?"

"That is painfully true..." Elise muttered, making Nashi and Steph chuckle. Ultear sighed and stood.

"I'm going to go back to my dorm and do what I can to get ready. If Simon comes looking for me, tell him that's where I am."

"Can do." Nashi said. Ultear nodded thankfully, turning to go to her dorm. As she walked, she told herself to remain calm. Why the hell was she so jumpy anyway?

It was just Simon.

* * *

Elise watched Ultear walk off, before her eyes drifted to Nashi.

"So," She said. "What experience were you referring to?" Nashi looked away from her, the tips of her ears a darker shade than her hair.

"I said shut up, didn't I?"

* * *

Now that it was nearing dinner time, Ultear had the suspicion that Simon was probably going to show up at any time. She hadn't really done anything that screamed 'getting ready', she'd really just retreated to her room to think about the situation at hand. She'd finally managed to calm herself down, so now she was just waiting for him to show up.

"Ultear?" Ultear looked up as Steph's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Simon's downstairs. You ready to go?" Ultear took a deep breath and stood up.

"Yeah. Thanks for coming to tell me. Are Nashi and Ul not around?"

"...No, they aren't." The pause made Ultear curious as she opened the door to find Steph looking away from her. "They're still at the guild hall.

"Weird, I told them to tell me if he came. Thanks."

"No problem." Ultear moved past the girl to walk downstairs and into the lobby, Once she got there, she saw Simon leaning up against the wall, staring at his feet. He looked up once he heard her approaching.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Uh, hi." She replied. Simon got off the wall and walked towards her, still looking rather apprehensive.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yep. Are you?" At this, Simon sighed.

"Yeah. As I'll ever be." He turned to leave the dorms at this, and Ultear quickly followed after him. They walked in silence, which was somewhere between what she expected and awkward.

_Tonight is certainly going to be interesting..._

**I'd have to say I agree, Ul. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	231. Faking It

**I feel kinda bad, guys. This chapter makes like four now the content feels like shit. Ain't nothing I can do about it either, what you see as the chapter is the best I do across the week or so between chapters right now. Oh well. It'll pick up from here on out, trust me. I hope.**

**Enjoy!**

"So, we're actually doing this?" Elise asked, hands in her pockets as the group waited patiently.

"Duh." Damien replied. "Do you not want to watch this?" Nashi crossed her arms and leaned up against the wall in the alley they were in. Damien had somehow convinced all of them to come with him and spy on Simon and Ultear, and now they were all waiting to find them. Some part of Nashi really did want to know how it would go, but now she wondered how they were even supposed to watch without getting caught.

Nashi guessed that was why Drake was here.

Damien obviously wanted Drake to do most of the work in regard to watching the date. Tailing them, making sure they weren't aware they were following them, something like that.

"If nothing happens, this is going to be the worst." Elise said, sighing. "Why isn't Steph here?"

"Said she didn't want to intrude." Damien replied. "Lame excuse, huh?"

"Whatever you say." Elise muttered, sighing.

"They're coming this way." Drake said, alerting everyone. Nashi shied back into the darker part of the alley away from the open street as, just as Drake predicted, the pair walked past without a clue that the others were there. They waited there for a moment before Drake nodded. "They're far enough away. We can tail them. Stick in the dark, though."

"Easy enough." Damien said. The four of them came out of the alley and slowly walked down the street after Simon and Ultear, who were now approaching a busier part of the city. As Drake made sure they kept on track, Nashi wondered where the two were headed. Given that she and the others had told Ultear to be act normally, it probably wasn't anything special. She could even guess Damien and Drake had done the same for Simon.

"Are they doing anything?" Elise asked Drake, who focused a bit.

"No, not really." He replied. "Just being awkwardly silent." This caused a chuckle to escape Nashi.

"Of course."

* * *

Simon's head was filled with curses he could hurl Damien's way next time he saw him, so he wasn't really concentrated on Ultear at the moment. They were just sort of walking, so he figured they'd need t find a destination sooner or later.

"So..." It was Ultear speaking up, so he turned to look at her to find her smiling weakly at him. "Any where in particular you want to go?" Simon shrugged and returned his eyes towards the street.

"You can decide where we go." He said. "I don't really care."

"You don't?"

"Nope. This is my treat to you, after all." Ultear cast him a quizzical look at this.

"Is it now? For getting Mami off of your case?" Simon growled at this. He didn't see Mami enough for it to be a huge deal, but god damn she made it one whenever they saw each other. And fighting Ultear during the Games made that obvious to him.

"Obviously." He replied. "I doubt you changed how she feels, but at least she'll leave me alone now." Ultear shrugged at this.

"Just felt like helping you out." She said innocently, and Simon snorted. Saying it so lightly. "Anyway, it's my choice?"

"One hundred percent."

"I suppose that means your footing the bill." Simon came to this realization soon as well and grimaced. Fuck, he'd been so caught up in everything else he forgot money was a factor as well. Not that he was short, though.

_...I guess Damien could pay me back for it. This was his idea he force on me, after all._

"I guess I am." Simon said, this thought running through his mind. "But don't drain me of jewel, either."

_Or Damien._

"Alright then." Ultear agreed, looking around. "There was this one place I wanted to try out, so let's go find it."

"After you." Simon replied. Ultear grinned at him as she walked a bit ahead of him, looking around for the place in question. He watched with slight curiosity as she looked around for it, wondering just where they were going. After she seemed to figure out where it was, she turned back to him and gestured for him to come with her. He nodded and walked up to her.

"So where are we going?" He asked.

"It's down this way if I remember right." She said. "Let's go." Simon watched as she walked ahead, sighing. After all, the night was only just now beginning.

* * *

"This is really stupid." Elise stated. "I'd rather go to bed."

"No one's holding you here." Damien retorted, giving her an irritated look as they watched the pair enter some restaurant. "I just want to watch Simon squirm."

"Jeez," Nashi said, putting her hands on her hips. "Just what did you go through at that party?" Damien shivered as he thought back to the old men and women making the driest jokes humanely possible and him actually forcing out something that resembled a laugh. He didn't want to think about that ever again.

"You have no idea." He replied under his breath.

"I kind of want one." Drake said, raising his hands slowly. Damien looked over at him.

"You're free to take a listen, at your own risk pal." Drake made a face before he nodded and took a listen. After only a few seconds, he shivered.

"Oh wow." He said. "I'm so sorry."

"Hm. Jokes like that? All. Night." Drake seemed to be trying to get his mind off of what he'd just listened too, so Damien returned his eyes towards the restaurant in the distance. He couldn't really see anything at the distance they were at, so they'd probably have to get up closer.

"Having fun, Damien?" Damien looked over slowly to find Xisplate next to him, watching the restaurant as well. "Spying on your friends date?" Damien neglected to answer, seeing as the others would think he was talking to himself or them and get confused. That was the last thing he needed. "No answer?"

"...No." Damien said lowly, not drawing any attention from the others.

"I figured. It's always so much fun showing up when answering me makes others hear you talk to yourself."

"..."

"Anyways, where's little Steph? Did I kill her again?"

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Damien asked quietly. Xisplate smirked.

"Decide for yourself." He replied. "I'm just making small talk."

"You're bad at it."

"Like you're any better. Probably why that party was such a nightmare."

"You were there, you know it was shitty."

"I spent the whole night listening to Meridia drone about shit I care nothing about, so I think you got the better end of the bargain." Damien couldn't possibly imagine what Meridia had said that made his end of the deal better, and he really didn't want to think about it.

"Anything going on, Drake?" He asked.

"They ordered their food." He reported. "It's about as mundane as a 'date' could get."

"I think we should get closer." Nashi said. "I can't see anything."

"Nothing to see, as far as I'm concerned." Elise muttered.

"Alright, let's get a bit closer." Damien agreed, also a bit bored by heir lack of vision.

* * *

Ultear quietly took a bit of her sandwich, the silence coming over them again. She knew she was supposed to act normal and not draw any attention to herself in an odd way, but it was harder coming up with a topic that she had thought it would be. She turned and looked out the window of the restaurant, contemplating if there was anything they could talk about.

"...I'm, uh, sorry." Ultear turned back to find Simon looking out the window too. "If asking you out for this embarrassed you, or anything."

"Oh, uh, it's okay." Ultear said quietly. "I don't mind." Simon closed his eyes and made a frustrated sound.

"I wouldn't have even done it if Damien had forced me too." So that was it. "He said I owed him because he took my place at that stupid party, so I went along with it. For reasons I still don't understand."

"I-It's fine, really." Ultear said. So he did only do it because Damien made him. The reasoning, though, was not what she had expected. So why did she feel so disappointed? "I kind of expected that anyway."

"Did you?" He asked. "Was it the fact that he pressured me into it or that he thought it was hilarious?"

"Both." She answered honestly. "But more so because, well, asking me to do this didn't seem like your style. At all."

"No?" He asked, making Ultear shake her head. "I guess not. At least not in front of everyone like that. Jeez, I'm cringing just thinking about it..." Ultear laughed at this.

"You'll be okay."

"I suppose. Damien's still an asshole, though."

* * *

Damien sneezed, making everyone jump a bit.

"What?" Elise asked.

"Nothing. Just had to sneeze." Drake snorted at this.

"Can't imagine why." He said. Damien felt he knew exactly why.

* * *

"It was pretty funny." Ultear admitted. "I'd probably think so more if I wasn't the one you asked." Simon chuckled at this.

"I guess it was pretty funny." he admitted. "Oh well." This caused another silence, and Ultear looked down at her food quietly, contemplating what she wanted to say next.

"Um...Can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Sure." He replied. Ultear took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Would you ever have taken me out like you said you would had Damien not forced you too?" Simon made a face and looked over at her. His cheeks were a little pink.

"Why?" He asked. Ultear shrugged and looked down again.

"I was curious when you said you wouldn't have if he hadn't forced you too." Silence. Ultear waited quietly, wondering what he was going to say. After a minute or so, Simon made a confused sound.

"Not like I wouldn't have or anything, but after the Games and Kronos and all it totally slipped my mind anyway."

"...Would you, though?" Ultear didn't know why she was pressing this so much, but the curiosity was killing her. "If you hadn't forgotten about it?"

"...Fuck, I don't know." He replied, sounding stressed. "Maybe? Don't see why not."

"Huh. Cool." This caused another silence between them, and Ultear admitted it was pretty much her fault this time. She just really wanted to know. Why though, that alluded her pretty well. At this, she forced out a laugh. "Sorry." She said. "I made it get all quiet." Simon smiled weakly.

"You sure did." He said. "I wonder how much more embarrassment I'll go through before the nights over?"

"It's just dinner, so hopefully none." She said weakly. "Anyway, let's just finish up and get this over with."

"Fair enough." Ultear took another bite of her sandwich and looked out the window.

She froze.

She may have just been hallucinating, but she she could have sworn that she just saw Damien's head quickly go back around the corner down the street from them. She chewed slowly, watching the area in question carefully. Seeing him wasn't the point, she was wandering why he'd quickly gotten out of her line of sight.

And then, he reappeared.

It was brief, but long enough that Ultear could tell he'd looked towards them, noticed her glance, and backed up again. What the hell was he doing over there? Was he...?

"Are you serious?" Ultear asked under her breath. "This is ridiculous..."

"What?" Simon asked. Ultear sighed.

"I'm pretty sure I saw Damien watching us from over there." She said, pointing towards the corner in question. Simon turned in it's direction, making a face.

"Now that you mention it, it feels like they're close." He said. "You feel that?" Ultear concentrated, and she too felt it. It was the magic pressure she felt from the others. Nashi, Elise, Damien and Drake respectively. They were close.

"So they are watching." She said. "Are they really that bored?"

"I guess they are." Simon agreed. After a moment or two, Ultear thought of something. At first she discarded the thought but once she considered it, she laughed. "What?" Simon asked.

"I have an idea, if you want." She said.

"What is it?"

* * *

"They saw us." Drake confirmed. "They know we're here."

"Way to go, Damien." Nashi said angrily, making Damien feel even stupider. "Now we're going to get chewed out for this one."

"And on top of that, nothing even happened." Elise said.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Damien said weakly. "We can go apologize if you guys want." Before either girl responded, Drake burst out in laughter. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, but he calmed down relatively quick.

"What?" Nashi asked him. He looked back at her with a smile.

"Nothing." He answered. "I'll tell you later."

"Didn't look like nothing." Elise pointed out. Drake ignored them and turned towards the restaurant again. After another good ten minutes or so, Drake perked up.

"They're leaving." He said. Damien had the urge to peek the corner, so he did so slowly.

What he saw was pretty much exactly what he expected. The two of them seemed totally normal. As they passed by the alley the four of them were in, they didn't even give them so much as a single glance, let alone stop to give them heel over the situation.

"What?" Elise asked quietly as they walked past. "Didn't they see us Drake?"

"They did." Drake confirmed.

"Then what are they doing?" Nashi asked. "I figured they'd want to chew us out. Just ignoring us seems a bit out of character for them."

"Whatever, let's see where they're going." Damien replied. He slowly snuck out of the alley and, just like before, followed the pair down the street. He watched closely, but they still didn't act any differently. Why were they ignoring them?

* * *

"They following us?" Ultear asked without looking at Simon. He nodded curtly.

"Yep." He said. "We really going to do this?"

"They wanted a show, no? Don't worry, it's nothing crazy." She replied.

"I know, but the last thing we need is rumors getting spread. The second the joke is over, let's be sure to tell them it was simply that, okay?"

"Trust me, I agree." Ultear, now that that was out of the way, took a deep breath. She knew the look on everyone save Drake's face would be worth it, but hell this would be embarrassing. She just hoped Drake could appreciate the spirit in the joke and didn't say anything. Knowing him there wasn't any issues. "Show time." She murmured.

And with this, she closed the distance between herself and Simon and clung to his arm. She immediately felt bashful, but she didn't back off because of it. She rest her head on his shoulder as well, and this made Simon gulp.

"This is so dumb." he hissed.

"Play along." She whispered. "Don't back out now I'll look stupid!"

"Ugh..." And so, for a few seconds, they stayed like that before Ultear forced out the best giggle she could at the moment. She was so fucking embarrassed. Why did they do this again?

"I take it you enjoyed yourself?" Simon asked, voice a little shaky. Ultear hummed in agreement.

"Absolutely." She said. "Thanks so much for doing this again."

"No problem." He replied, before lowering his voice. "Never again."

"Nope." She agreed.

* * *

"You need to get your ears checked, Drake." Damien stated flatly. Drake looked up, suppressing his smirk.

"Why do you say that?" He asked innocently.

"Do you see the same thing we do?" Elise asked. "Do you need glasses as well?" Drake rolled his eyes at this.

"I just didn't think I needed to share that little tidbit." he replied, looking away.

There wasn't any in particular he needed to share.

Other than he'd heard Ultear and Simon planning to pretend they had gone on some real date in order to screw with them. He assumed they were smart enough to know he was present and had heard it all, but had trusted him to not say anything for the joke's sake. Good thing they knew he appreciated a good joke.

"I guess it's a good thing we made him ask her out, huh Damien?" He asked, speaking up. Damien made a face.

"Uh yeah...I guess so." Drake did his absolute best to suppress a laugh, but this caught Nashi's attention.

"You okay?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...Y-Yeah." Drake said, still holding back a bit. Nashi didn't seem convinced, as she eyed him carefully. "What? It's nothing."

"Drake..." She started. Drake flinched at this.

"Okay," He hissed. "Just keep your voice down."

* * *

Simon had managed the walk back to the dorms without losing his cool, which was pretty impressive considering he knew he was sweating like an idiot. There was absolutely no reason he should be as nervous as he was, and yet he couldn't help but feel that he was losing it. What exactly was it?

He'd known Ultear his entire life. Not once had he wanted to put distance between like he did at that moment. Maybe it was the smell of shampoo coming from her head which was right next to his making him feel lightheaded. That must have been it. What was that smell anyway? Glacier? Ironic.

"You okay?" He heard her ask. "We made it."

"More or less." He replied. "Is it over?"

"Yes. Finally." Ultear broke away from his arm and gave him some space, which allowed him to calm down a bit. See, he knew it was the shampoo smell. "See, no harm done."

"Yeah yeah." He replied. "At least it's over." Ultear nodded, but looked a bit downcast. He didn't really know why, she should have been happy the torture was over. "Anyways, we'll tell them tomorrow that it was all a joke. I'm sure they'll be shocked."

"We didn't really do much in hindsight." Ultear said. "Doesn't seem convincing."

"Oh well, we tried." Simon said. "If anything, Damien owes me for this..." He muttered, trailing off as he wondered how that would work.

And because he did so, he didn't see Ultear moving towards him.

He snapped out of it once her lips connected with his right cheek.

He watched as she backed off and turned around.

"Goodnight." She rushed out, waling into the dorms and leaving him standing outside, dumbfounded.

"...Goodnight" He said, still standing there.

* * *

"So it was all a joke?" Elise asked for clarification. Simon nodded. It was the day after and they were all in the guild hall, where Ultear and Simon had just broke the news that their obviously fake date was in fact, fake. As if it wasn't obvious enough. Even if Drake himself knew all along.

"Yeah."

"I suppose we deserved that for following you." Damien said, sighing. "I guess I didn't consider that you two of all would pull something like that."

"Guess it was a good idea, then." Ultear said, smirking. "Right Drake?"

"Eh." Drake replied, shrugging. He didn't really think so. But maybe that was because he knew.

"You knew, didn't you?" Damien asked.

"Of course I did." He replied. "You wanted me along to listen in on them. So I heard their entire plan."

"And you didn't share it."

"I wouldn't say that." Drake replied, turning his eyes to Nashi, who was beside him. She smiled.

"Made a lot more sense once I heard." She said. Damien rolled his eyes.

"Of course you told her, that makes total sense."

"Shut up." Drake replied. "She caught me."

"Not that hard." Nashi replied, shrugging. "You can't cover your giggling for shit."

"Let's not launch into another session of making fun of me, okay?" Drake said, stopping it before it began.

"Sounds like you all hard fun." Steph said.

"I wouldn't go that far." Simon replied weakly, making Ultear laugh.

"Ah, you poor thing." She said. Just as the conversation was about to change direction, Drake felt an arm wrap around his neck. it appeared the person did it to Nashi as well.

"What's going on around here, huh?" The familiar voice asked. Drake smirked.

"Not much." He said. "What're you doing here?"

Michael laughed at this.

"I came for tea." He replied, releasing his grip on himself and Nashi. Speaking of, the girl seemed rather flustered.

"H-Hey." She said, playing with her hair weirdly. Drake made a face at her as she did this. "What's going on? Something you need, Michael?"

"Well, sort of." he replied, still smirking. "You guys are coming with Keita and I!" it was only at the mention of the Shadow Dragon Drake noticed him standing a bit behind Michael, looking completely over his partners shit. "Elise too."

"What?" Elise asked. "Why?"

"You'll know when we get there!" Michael replied, still seeming perky. It was weirdly so, as well. "And no listening in on me, Drake. I want you to come with me."

"Just tell us then, you bastard." Drake said, smirking.

"Nah" Michael said. "So pack your shit! For the next few days we're going on a little camping trip!"

**I feel so bad the last four chapters have been horrendous. Seriously. But I promise it picks up from here, really. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	232. Forceful Training

**Sshh, it's okay guys. 499 didn't happen here. Juvia is a-okay here. There is no death in the walls. Haha...Ha...**

**Enjoy!**

"Alright, this seems good enough!" Nashi stopped and looked around. The place in question seemed to be grassy plateau with a small body of water nearby. They'd been walking for a while now, only to come to the place in question. Michael happily dropped the bag around his shoulders and turned to everyone else. "We'll set up camp here."

"Set up camp for what?" Elise asked. "Would you just tell us already? Jeez."

"Alright alright, calm down." Michael said, holding up his hands in mock fright. "We came here so Keita and I could help you guys."

"Help us with what?" Drake demanded. Michael smirked.

"A little birdie told me you guys have entered Dragon Force before. Would that be correct?"

"Yes..." Elise said slowly. Michael smiled.

"Great! Then we already have one step done."

"Just come out with it." Drake muttered.

"Michael and I are going to help train you guys to enter Dragon Force at will." Keita spoke up, looking exasperated. "That's why we're here. We're going to help you guys train." At this, Nashi noted both her friends seemed confused.

"Why exactly?" Elise asked. Michael frowned.

"Are you telling me you don't want to activate Dragon Force whenever you want?" He asked. "Because I don't believe you."

"I guess it would be useful." Drake said. "But we need an immense amount of magic power to do that."

"You're all on par with Keita and I." Michael pointed out. "I think that's close enough, don't you?"

"I suppose." Drake agreed. "I'm game." Michael smiled.

"Great!" He said. "Then put your shit down and let's get to it!" The three of them complied to this, putting their shit down and getting ready. As she did so, it gave Nashi some time to think. After all, she was probably the reason they were here.

The 'little birdie' that told Michael they'd entered Dragon Force before had been her, a couple of days ago.

Nashi had gone to hang out with Michael a couple of times over the last week. She hadn't told her friends this because she feared they'd make fun of her for it being a 'date', which it absolutely was not. They were just hanging out. Nothing more and nothing less. Right? Right. Of course.

Anyway, at one point during that time, she had mentioned Edolas to Michael, and told him about how she and the others consumed a mass amount of the ether-nano in the air and entered Dragon Force for the first time. Nashi had not entered it since then, only Drake had against Kronos the first time. At this time she'd offhandedly told Michael that she wished she could do what he and Keita could do, which was enter it whenever she wanted. It would have made pretty much every major fight she'd ever had way easier. Exponentially, really. It would have prevented her from consuming Katsuchi's flames, falling into the Etherion vat, and killing...

Nashi stumbled as this thought crossed her mind, her vision growing blurry. That was her own fault, it always happened when she thought of Apocalypse meeting his demise.

Regardless, it just seemed so useful to be able to do. Michael had seemingly joked about teaching her how to do it, and yet here they were, about to be trained how to do it. She really needed to get better at detecting jokes.

"So what's first?" Drake asked, their stuff now on the ground. Michael crossed his arms.

"All of you sit down and cross your legs like you're meditating." He said. Nashi didn't seen any reason to object, so she sat and crossed her legs as instructed next to Drake and Elise. Once they had all sat down, Michael smirked. "Now, close your eyes." Still doing as instructed, Nashi closed her eyes. After a little while, a breeze rolled past.

"That's a nice breeze." Keita said from somewhere in front of Nashi. "You guys feel that?" She did. It did feel rather nice.

"Just focus on the breeze." Michael said. "Focus on how it hits your skin and how it feels."

"Are you smoking something?" Drake joked from Nashi's left, which made her snort and Elise to chuckle. Michael laughed.

"I wish." He replied. "Might make the meditation process easier. Just focus you idiot."

"Yes _sir._" After the banter died down, Nashi concentrated. Another breeze rolled past, she focused in on it and felt rather content at how at peace she felt. It really was a rather nice feeling.

"Feels nice, doesn't it?" Michael asked. It did. "You probably feel at peace right now. and if you really focus, you can probably feel the magic inside your bodies." Nashi focused a bit, and just as Michael said, she could feel the power surging through her body. At this, she almost lost concentration. What the hell? Had she always been this powerful? The amount of magic coursing through her was so much more than she had anticipated. Guess her bloodline really was insanely powerful.

"Think back to when you first entered Dragon Force." Keita said. "Remember the power you felt surging through you...And relate it back to how you feel now." That was going to take a bit of work, that had been so long ago. Regardless, Nashi thought back to Edolas and did her best to remember how she felt when she'd entered Dragon Force. Even though she was strong now, she'd never been as strong as she had been back then, because that had been insane. She did her best and concentrated on the raw power she felt back then.

"Now," Michael said. "Focus on your own power. And build it up. Make it reach what it was then." How exactly was she supposed to do that? Nashi stopped thinking about Dragon Force and started to concentrate on her own power. She drew into her magic and started to gather it up in her core. She started to feel tense, and sweat started to trickle down her forehead. She was close, but not quite there yet.

All of a sudden, Nashi's left side started to feel numb. At first she thought nothing of it, but it got to the point where she felt worried. Just as she was about to open her eyes, an arm grabbed her and yanked her upwards, her left side slowly regaining feeling.

"Well well." Michael said, chuckling. He'd been the one to hoist her up, and Keita had done the same to Elise. Nashi's eyes drifted downwards to Drake, where poison was rolling off of him in waves. "Looks like we got a natural." Nashi watched as Drake concentrated, and eventually scales started to form underneath his eyes. The purple scales grew in size.

Before, all of a sudden, they disappeared quickly and Drake collapsed onto his back, breathing heavily.

"Drake?" Nashi asked. "You okay?" Drake was panting pretty bad, but he had a slight smile on his face. Michael chuckled.

"Great job, Drake." He said. "For your first time without a huge amount of magic power entering your body, that was really good."

"...Yeah?" Drake asked, still panting. "Great...Progress."

"Well, you have entered it more times than Nashi or me." Elise said. "You getting to do it first makes sense." Drake shrugged on the ground.

"I guess...So." He said.

"You should probably take a break." Michael said. "The first couple of times are really strenuous on the body. You're better off having entered it before, but you should still wait until you feel better."

"Feel...Better?" Drake asked. He laughed, and Nashi watched as he sat up and recrossed his legs. "I'm ready to keep going."

"Well alright then, Mr. Trooper." Michael joked. "Let's start over."

* * *

Michael splashed water on his face and sighed, looking down at the water. It had been a pretty long day, having spent the majority of it training the other three to use Dragon Force. They were doing much better at the rate they were at, so he assumed that once a few days had passed, they'd be able to use it just like he and Keita could. All three were pretty powerful anyway.

Drake had made the most progress. His first attempt wielded scales on his face, and after that the scales stayed for a while. After another few hours of trying, he was capable of holding Dragon Force for thirty seconds before his magic power caved in on him. That was to be expected, he'd been straining it all night. After a good nights rest, Michael was certain the Poison Dragon would excel even more.

Elise had been a bit slower, but she wasn't too far behind Drake all things considered. Grey scales had started to form on her arms and face, but just like Drake she wasn't able to hold it very long before her body gave way. Having timed it, Michael figured she was able to hold it for about twenty-five seconds. Still really good.

Nashi, although she too had very little trouble, confused Michael a little bit. She didn't get as far as the others as quickly, but once she got the scales and increase in her magic power, she held in for two whole minutes before she collapsed under her own weight. Michael didn't want to make the other two feel bad by openly acknowledging how much Nashi's powers grew when she focused on contrast to the others, but it must have been apparent to them as well. Her passive magic power was impressive in and of itself, but if she concentrated and drew it together it was even more powerful. So, a couple more days as predicted.

"You sure Drake?" Michael turned at this, watching the exchange from the water. Nashi was standing at the mouth of the tent she and Elise were using, watching Drake who seemed to be walking away from her.

"I said yes." He replied. "I don't need to sleep in the tent. There's barely any room for me." Nashi frowned.

"What if it rains or something? You'll catch a cold out here."

"Oh no, whatever will I do with the sniffles?" Drake asked, sarcasm oozing from him so badly Michael cracked a grin. "I'll be okay, really." Nashi didn't seem convinced, but nodded.

"Alright. If your done acting tough for whoever's sake, Elise and I are willing to leave some space for you." Drake rolled his eyes.

"Alright, thanks." He said.

"Goodnight."

"G'night." With this, Nashi disappeared back into the tent. Drake walked a little bit to the side and sat down on the ground, yawning. Making a face at this Michael walked up the small hill towards him.

"Hey man." He said, making Drake look over. "You not sleeping in the tent?" Drake frowned and shook his head.

"No. Mira gave us a smaller one that she said she did. There's no room for me."

"You sure?" Michael asked, smirking. "Elise ain't that big of a girl." Drake laughed at this.

"That may be true, but I don't mind sleeping out here."

"Keita and I can make room, too. Just no spooning." Drake laughed.

"I"ll be alright man." He replied. "Thanks, though." Michael smirked. Drake really was a cool guy. They got along really well all things considered, so that was good.

_Speaking of which, I'm still curious about that..._

Michael shrugged the feeling off.

"Just yell if it starts to rain." Michael said, holding out a fist towards Drake. "I'll save ya." Drake smiled and bumped his fist against his.

"Thanks, Romeo." He said, both laughing, Michael walked towards his own tent and walked inside. Keita was sitting on the ground, and it looked like he was doing some of his own meditating. Smirking, Michael leaned down and flicked Keita's forehead, shooting off a small ball of light as well. Keita yelped and flew backwards onto his back, which made Michael laugh.

"Gotcha." he said. Keita just fumed at him from the ground.

"Thanks a lot, I was concentrated."

"On what?"

"Meditation. I was just training my own Dragon Force."

"Why?" Keita raised an eyebrow at this.

"In case you forgot, we lost in Dragon Force to girls not using it." He said. "We need to train just as hard."

"Yeah, yeah." Michael replied, lying down in his own cot next to the boy. "I"ll do it later."

"I expected no less." Keita resumed his meditation, and Michael just lay there in the silence, staring up at the roof. There was silence for a long time, so much so that the light from the girls tent next to them went out, leaving there's still flickering in the lamp. Michael just thought abut some things, most of which he wanted to keep to himself for now. It was nothing anybody but him needed to know.

"Hey, Keita?"

"Hm."

"What do you think about...All of this."

"What does that mean?" Michael sat up and crossed his legs.

"You know, the situation we're involved in." He said, looking over at his friend. "With Fairy Tail and...Whoever's after them." Keita opened his left eye and looked at Michael.

"It's not an ideal one." He said. "But right now things seem okay."

"Yeah...For now." Michael said. Keita resumed meditating, and Michael stared down at his hands, playing with them.

"...You already know, don't you?" He asked slowly. Keita hummed.

"I thought so." He said. "That Blake worked for the same people who hurt Elise. At least, perhaps the same overall situation. They're after those six, I think."

"Hm." There was silence in this. "They're after Nashi in particular."

"Do you know why?" Michael sighed.

"No." He said. "I wish I did, though. I want to help her out."

"I wonder why." Give the seriousness of the conversation, the snark from the meditating Shadow Dragon was not appreciated. Michael frowned at him.

"Stop." He said. "It's not the time for this." Keita grinned and slyly opened his left eye again.

"What?" he asked with a small laugh. "I've just never seen you act this way about a girl before." Michael growled and looked at the side of the tent. "Jeez man, Nashi must drive you wild if you're getting so defensive about it."

"Since when are you the one roasting me?" Michael demanded. Keita grinned.

"I got the trait somewhere." There was silence, then, "Is that why you pushed this Dragon Force training so badly?"

"Of course." Michael agreed. "They might need it in this upcoming battle. Best be prepared."

"Very true." There was more silence, and Michael looked over at the girls tent.

"...You gonna ask him about it tomorrow?" Michael didn't reply right away, but he nodded.

"Yeah." He said. "I'd feel bad if I overstepped on him or anything."

"Sounds good. I guess that leaves me with the girls."

"It does." At this, Michael turned and punched his friend in the shoulder. "You and Elise, eh?"

"Oh don't you go there." Keita said.

"Heard you guys already slept together, you animal."

"Goodnight, Michael." With this, Keita laid down and rolled over away from Michael, which made him laugh. He let the fire in the lamp go out, before he too rolled over and went to bed.

They, and most especially he, had a big day tomorrow.

* * *

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, welcome to day two of Dragon Force camp!" Michael said, trying to get a laugh. He succeeded rather well as everyone let out a chuckle.

"When do we get our badges?" Drake asked.

"Once you earn them, scout" Michael threw back, making them both laugh again. "Alright, today's agenda is a bit different. Drake, you're coming with me."

"Me?" He asked. "Why?"

"You're the closest to getting it down." Michael said, "So I want to take you away so you can concentrate alone. That okay?"

"Sure." He said.

"Cool, let's get going!" Nashi smiled at Drake.

"Good luck." She said. Drake smiled back at her.

"You too." He said, giving her a high five as she walked towards Keita with Elise. Michael forced the worry from his mind.

"Alright, let's go over to a stream nearby." He said. Drake nodded and pocketed his hands.

"After you, Troop Master."

* * *

"Come on man, you almost got it! Ten more seconds!"

"Ugh, fuck..."

"...Three, two, one...!" Michael grinned. "My man! Beat his record!" He looked up as Drake let out a breath of relief, the scales still covering some of his face.

"At least it's getting easier." He said. Michael nodded, crossed his legs on the rock he sat sitting on.

"Yep, you're getting close." he said, now smirking. "Maybe you'll be able to fight off the fangirls one day. A whole army, even." At this, Drake shivered.

"Oh god please no." He said. "Don't mention those girls."

"Hey, as a fellow attractive young man, I get you man." Michael said. "More than enough girls have told me they'd be willing to tattoo my name on their ass."

"Oho?" Drake asked, shedding his coat and tossing it aside. "What about your face?"

"That too. Any of them ask you out yet?"

"Nope. You?"

"Wish we could relate here. Sometimes they don't know when to quit."

"Very true." Michael smiled down at the ground.

"Even if some of them are kinda cute. The obsessiveness really undermines it"

"Yeah?" Drake asked. "I guess."

"You guess?" Michael asked. "I've heard the rumors. Your fan club has to have an attractive girl here or there."

"I suppose. I generally try to avoid it anyway." This was it, his chance to ask about it.

"Aha, I get it." He said, putting on a sly face. "You've already got your eyes on a girl, don't you?"

"What gave you that idea?" Drake asked, crossing his arms.

"Well I just assumed." Michael replied. "Got to be a reason you're not checking out your fans."

"Cause it's weird?"

"Nah nah, it's another girl, isn't it?" Drake raised an eyebrow at this.

"No, it really isn't." He said. Michael wasn't giving up that easily.

"Is it...Can I have a hint?"

"There's no hints to give..."

"Whatever." Michael said. "I'll start with the obvious. It's Nashi, isn't it?"

"What?" Drake asked, still sounding confused.

"Yeah. You're into Nashi, aren't you?"

"What gave you that idea?" Michael frowned.

"I mean..." He didn't really know what to say to that. Drake sighed.

"Why does everyone always get on our case...?" He mumbled under his breath. "Seriously..." He stared down at the ground before he looked back up at Michael. "Don't misunderstand our closeness, please. She's a dear friend, but I don't think of her like that."

"No?" Michael asked. "Can't say I'd agree if I were you. She's pretty cute."

"Maybe so." Drake replied. "But we're not like that. At least, I'm not." Michael felt bad that inside he felt relieved.

"Okay, I'm sorry I assumed then." He said. "I just..."

"It's fine." Drake said, growing a rather unpleasant look. "My own father thinks the same way." Somehow Michael felt like asking about that wasn't his best option. "Whatever. Want me to keep going?" Michael had almost forgotten about the Dragon Force training, his mind was so muddled.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." He said. "You'll get it soon." Drake nodded and sat back down, leaving Michael to his thoughts as once again poison rolled off the boy in waves.

_Guess I'm in the clear._

* * *

"Alright, happy campers!" Michael said. "Over the past couple days you've all done your best to use Dragon Force, and you've all succeeded wonderfully! At this point it's just up to you three to master it further, Keita and I have done what we can." Nashi smiled at this. She had to admit, over the last few days the three of them had made a shit ton of progress towards mastering Dragon Force, which would be a huge help down the road if she needed it. Especially if the battle Blake warned her of came to pass.

"Thanks again, guys." Drake said. "You didn't need to do this."

"Ah, don't mention it." Michael said. "I just felt bad that we were the best Dragon Slayers from the Fourth Generation."

"Says the guy who got his ass beat." Elise said.

"Says the girl who collapsed into my arms right after I got back up." Keita shot back immediately, making Elise blush. This made Nashi, Drake and Michael laugh. It was good to see Elise getting back to her old self. Soon enough, maybe things would be back the way they used to be.

"Let's just pack this shit up and get going." Elise said.

"Very true." Michael agreed. "We should get on that." Nashi moved to pack up the tent she and Elise had stayed in, with help from the other girl. Together they managed to pack it up with minimal curse words flying around, as oppose to when they set it up. Once it was all packed away and Nashi had convinced Drake to carry it for her, Elise stretched and cracked her back.

"I'm gonna go dump my face in the water." She told Nashi. "I"ll be back in a sec. Tell Drake he's a doll for carrying the tent by the way." Nashi laughed.

"I"ll pass along the message." She said. Once Elise was gone towards the lake, Nashi sensed a presence behind her. She turned a bit, and she found Michael standing there.

"Hey." He greeted. Keita and Drake were already up ahead, and Elise was down by the lake. This left Nashi with Michael. This made her a bit flustered.

"H-Hey." She said. "What's up?"

"Ah, not much. I just wanted to ask you something?" Nashi smiled weakly, her heart rate increasing.

"Yes?" She asked, trying to not look like an idiot. Michael smiled brilliantly at her and pocketed his hands.

"You free next week?"

**Figured we need a little pick me up after 499, the chapter that doesn't hold any weight here. I hope you enjoyed, leav a review! Let's try to get five!**


	233. What a Day

**Counting today, we have maybe five filler chapters left. Today will be...interesting. I feel the need to apologize to some of you in advance.**

**Sorry.**

**Oh, and before we get into it and I have to insert a random authors note at that scene, I checked the wiki and it had some food from the restaurant's menu. That shit isn't made up, I swear to God. look at the wiki.**

**Enjoy!**

"Calm down, Nashi...Calm down. It's okay, it's okay..."

Nashi repeated these words to herself as she walked down the street, trying to slow her heart rate as best she could. She really did need to calm down, she couldn't go through her day acting crazy.

If she wasn't so out of her element maybe she wouldn't be like this. But unfortunately, here she was. Out of it.

Nashi was currently in Hargeon, the port city. Now, one would wonder why she was there. Was she on a job? A mission? Was she currently looking for a escaped convict on the run from officials and she had been tasked with catching him?

If only.

No, Nashi was in Hargeon because Michael wanted to come here when he'd asked her if she was free the week before. He hadn't given her any real reason, but at least it wasn't someplace they were likely to run into the others. After all, they'd just get the wrong idea about it all, and she didn't want that whatsoever. It was no date.

_If it's not a date why'd you spend all morning finding a different kind of outfit, you idiot?_

Nashi paused where she was and looked down at herself, wondering the same thing. That morning as she'd gotten ready to slip out and come to Hargeon, she'd gone through the trouble to wear something a bit different.

It was at this point she finally cracked open her birthday gift from Simon and Damien, which she'd neglected to really do so since she'd heard they'd gotten them from Bella. This made her scared to open it to some degree. And now that she had and swallowed her pride to adorn it, she knew past her was right to be nervous about the gifts.

The outfit consisted of a (way to tight) pink t-shirt, frilly black skirt that barely reached her knees, and black sandals.

She was no fool, she knew she probably looked great, but therein was the problem. She felt stupid, too.

_Not to mention..._

As if on cue, Nashi's bangs fell from the side of her face and into her vision, so she angrily brushed them back into place. Her hair had gotten longer than she liked to keep it recently, and she wasn't sure if the rapid aging and sudden de-aging process from time travel had had anything to do with it. Though she guessed it did to some degree. As she on a time limit to get out unseen, Nashi hadn't had any time to go find her mother so Cancer could give her a haircut. So she had to improvise and the her hair up in a ponytail. It wasn't anything she'd done before, so it didn't help her feel less antsy at all.

Maybe coming like this had been a mistake.

_Then why'd you spend all morning trying to look good, stupid?_

Nashi really wanted the logical side of her to shut up, and she came pretty close. She just didn't want people to stare at her like she was crazy. She wasn't Damien, who seemed to like talking to himself.

_I just need too take a deep breath, I'm being stupid. This is nothing, we've hung out before._

_Yeah, well you've never put this much effort into your image. For him, no less._

_What's that got to do with anything, though?_

_I think you know as well as I do._

"Oh, shut up!" Nashi hissed under her breath angrily.

"...Was today a bad day?" A voice asked. Nashi's eyes widened and she looked up to find Michael smiling quizzically at her. This caused her face to go red. He'd heard her.

"M-Michael!" She exclaimed. "H-How long were you standing there?!"

"Not long." He replied, still smiling. "Long enough to hear you tell me to shut up when I greeted you."

"O-Oh no, I wasn't...That wasn't directed at you!"

"Who were you talking to, then?"

"Uh..." Nashi struggled to come up with a logical excuse for her behavior, but nothing came to her that sounded like it made any sense. "I wasn't really paying any attention, so..." Nashi couldn't come up with anymore words that sounded good, and the longer she faltered the redder she became. After she struggled for another few seconds, Michael chuckled and closed his eyes.

"Whatever you say." He said, ending the conversation. Nashi nodded weakly, grateful for that being the end of it. Michael looked up, and Nashi watched as he made a face.

"What?" She asked. Michael didn't reply right away, but he smiled warmly again.

"You're looking dressed up." He noted, which made the heat return to her face quite quickly. "Why the drastic style change?" Nashi, thankfully, had some sort of answer for this.

"I wanted to try something new." She replied, not looking his way. "And I thought maybe it'd help be a little less noticeable."

"Maybe you should have ditched the scarf, then." Nashi looked up before she realized that yes, she'd worn her scarf without a second thought. That would make her recognizable, if anything would.

"Ugh..." She said. "I know I know, I look stupid. I just wanted to try something and this was all I really had, so..."

"Stupid? Who said that?" Nashi paused and looked up to find Michael still smiling smoothly. "I think you look fantastic."

"...R-Really?" She asked weakly.

"Yeah, absolutely." He replied without missing a beat. "The ponytail especially. Makes you really cute." Nashi felt like she needed to do something quick before she passed out from all the blood rushing to her face. God, she was a mess. What the hell was wrong with her? "Haha, sorry. Looks like I embarrassed you, didn't I?"

"W-What did you expect..." Nashi murmured, looking down at her feet. "You don't just say stuff like that, Michael..."

"Why not? It's the truth."

"Maybe so, but..."

"Aw come on, don't be so bashful!" He said, laughing. "I'm complimenting you!"

"That's the problem..." Nashi just waited, wallowing in her embarrassment as Michael continued to chuckle.

"Well, if you're done being all flustered, wanna get going?" Nashi just nodded, and followed Michael as he began to walk away down the street. She caught up and remained silent, still trying to calm her heart.

"S-So..." She said, trying to make conversation. "What're we going to do today?"

"Hm. I dunno." Michael answered. "All i know is that I want to eat. I'm starving." he turned to look at her. "Anywhere it particular you want to go?" Nashi made a face.

"Not really sure." She said. "8-Island is good."

"That place an old council member founded?" Michael asked, Nashi nodding. "Never been. Know the way?"

"I think so. Follow me."

* * *

"This place is...Interesting." Michael noted as they were shown to their booth by a waitress. The female uniform was incredibly revealing, and Nashi was somewhat grateful Michael's eyes were elsewhere at the moment as he watched the waitress walk away.

"You can say that again." She said, sighing. "I'd forgotten about that."

"You been here before?" He asked. Nashi nodded.

"It was when I was little, so I don't remember a whole lot." She said. "But know I vividly recall that outfit."

"Hm..." Michael said, resting his head on his hand. After a second, he smirked.

"What?" Nashi asked, curious.

"I was just wondering how you'd look in that outfit." He joked. And just like that, Nashi's face went red once more.

"W-Would you stop it?" She asked. "I know that was just to get a rise out of me." Michael laughed.

"Damn, caught red handed." He said. Nashi rolled her eyes and looked out the window, watching people go by in at attempt to sooth her heart.

"...If you were just going to make fun of me, why did I agree to this?" She asked weakly. Michael frowned.

"Aw, don't be like that." He said. "I'm just teasing you. Lighten up." Nashi wished she could. She'd be doing what he was if she wasn't so out of it at the moment.

"I know..." She muttered. "It's still embarrassing."

"That was the point, but I"ll stop if you want me to."

"Thank you." Silence came after this, but it felt a little awkward now that Nashi had said what she did. Thankfully Michael didn't miss a beat as he picked up his menu.

"Hm, let's see what they got here." He said, obviously moving the topic away from her. "Hm...Beast Man Curry? Sounds absolutely delightful." Nashi managed a chuckle at the sarcasm dripping from Michael's voice. "Or how about this Blue Sky Bolognese? Is it actually blue, or what?"

"How should I know?" Nashi asked. "Ask the waitress. If you're not too busy staring at her chest, that is."

"No no, I'll stare and ask." He said, waving her off and he continued to look through the menu. "She might even get a better tip if she doesn't call me out for it."

"You can't be serious."

"Depends."

* * *

"Hahaha! Are you serious?!"

"Yeah! That girl was impossible, really." Nashi giggled at this as they walked through the city.

"Poor Keita." She said. "And I thought Drake had it bad."

"Yep, he wasn't too happy that she had taken such an interest in him. It's really a huge turnoff for him." Nashi smiled at this.

"Guess that makes sense." She said, thinking back to the future timeline she had seen. "Makes a lot of sense, actually."

"Why?" Nashi neglected to answer at first, and this made Michael even more curious. "Aw, come on! How could you know something about my best friend that I don't? Spill it!"

"It's nothing..." Nashi answered, doing her best to avoid his eyes. "I don't know anything."

"You're such a bad liar." Michael replied. "If you didn't know you would have looked me in the eyes as you said that." Nashi rolled her eyes and shook her head. There was no point in telling Michael about the future she'd seen. It no longer existed to the extent she'd known it as. For all she knew the bond Elise and Keita had in that future only existed because they disappeared. And now that they'd set time right, she didn't really know if things would turn out the same way.

She almost hoped it did, honestly. Lana was such a sweetheart.

"Nashi?" Michael asked, making her look up. "Tell me what you know."

"I don't know anything, I'm telling you." She replied. She knew he knew she was lying. After a couple seconds of stare down, Michael sighed.

"Well, I suppose you leave me with one option then, Fire Dragon."

"What option is tha...?"

Nashi was cut off as Michael grabbed her sides and started to tickle her relentlessly.

She broke into a loud laugh and squirmed in his grasp, but he refused to stop.

"S-Stop! Stop! M-Michael! P-Please!"

"Not until you spill your cute little heart out!"

"P-Please S-Stop! I'm g-going to piss myself!"

"Well you'd better tell me then, or else we'll have a mess to clean up!" Michael started tickling her even harder, and Nashi could barely breath, much less free herself from his grasp as he tortured her.

"...E-E...E-Elise! It's Elise! Elise!" Nashi's words stopped the torture, giving Nashi a chance to breath.

"...What?" Michael asked, sounding thoroughly stunned. "Elise? Did I hear you right through all of the laughing?"

"Yeah...Yeah you did." Nashi replied, finally regaining the ability to talk and wiped tears away from her eyes. "Although that was only in the future we got sent too that we told you about, so I'm not sure about now." Michael made a face.

"I might have to...discuss that with Keita." He said, a smirk growing on his face. Nashi raised an eyebrow.

"You're just going to tease him relentlessly, aren't you?"

"Well well, look who knows me so well." Nashi laughed.

"It wasn't that hard to deduce, really." She said. They locked eyes and smiled at each other, before Nashi realized something.

"Uh...M-Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you, uh...Let go of my hips?" After their tickle fight, Michael had neglected to let go of her. Once more, Nashi felt the heat rushing to her cheeks. Michael didn't seem phased, though.

"Haha, sorry. Aw look, she's all red again."

"Don't get started with this again, you said you'd..."

"Stop! Thieves!" Nashi made a face and turned ahead of her, Michael doing so as well. She watched as a group of men ran out from a shop, and took off down the street away from where they'd probably stolen from.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Michael asked, voice much more serious. Nashi nodded.

"I think so, yeah." She replied. Together the two of them took of down the street after the thieves, and they caught up pretty quickly all things considered. Nashi dodged a few confused onlookers, but kept her eyes firmly on those she was chasing. As she scanned the group, four in total, she noticed the man in front was carrying a large sack over his shoulders. No doubt it was filled with whatever they'd stolen from the shop behind them.

"Showtime." She murmured, igniting her fist. Boosting forward with flames, Nashi hit the slowest of the four and caused him to careen into a nearby wall and fall on his ass. Michael surged past her and took out another one of them with a blast of light. The remaining two went down a different street. Michael took off right after them, but when Nashi tried to a group of people got in her way. Frowning, she looked up quickly. She judged the distance between the ground and the rooftops and once she had, boosted upwards with her fire onto them. She sprinted down the roofs after Michael and the other thieves, and watched from above as they both turned around and attacked Michael with water and air magic, keeping him at bay. She caught up and taking a deep breath. jumped off the roof.

She sailed down towards the thieves, but only the air mage noticed her. Nashi watched as he tried to aim at her with the hand that wasn't carrying the loot, but she didn't stop. Like a little gust could stop her anyway. The man attacked her, but she ignored it as best she could, despite her skirt flying up and getting in her face. She managed to land on him and his friend with no difficulty either way, slamming their heads into the dirt and knocking them out. SHe laughed as she reached over and pried the loot away from the air mage, and then looked up at Michael.

"Good work." She told him. "We got em!"

"U-uh...Sure did." Michael said, his cheeks slightly pink. Nashi raised an eyebrow.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Uh, nothing." He replied, slowly looking away from her. "We should probably, um, go and give that stuff back to it's owner."

"Well, yeah..." She said, still unsure as to what his problem could've been. For someone who had just prevented a robbery, Michael was acting weird. More so than his usual antics. She had no idea what could set him of-

Nashi then realized that when the air mage had attacked, her skirt had flown upwards.

And Michael had been chasing them.

At this, Nashi's face once again flooded red and she gripped the hem of her skirt nervously.

"Did you see...?" She asked weakly.

"No." Michael answered quickly. "Not a thing." There was a silence between them, before Michael chuckled weakly.

"What?" She asked.

"It's just..." He laughed again. "Your panties are the same shade of pink as your hair."

* * *

"Well I'd say the rest of our day went fairly well, wouldn't you?" Michael asked, sitting down on a bench overlooking the ocean. Nashi nodded and sat next to him.

"Sure, went fantastic after you got an up skirt." She replied. This made him laugh.

"It is the same shade, don't lie to me." Nashi just smiled at this. After Michael had made the whole up skirt ordeal much funnier by pointing out the similarity in contrast to her hair color, Nashi was able to smile and laugh all day. Sure she still felt embarrassed and awkward at times, but Michael somehow kept it flowing with minimal incidents like that one. Overall it was much like the other times they'd hung out. A shit ton of fun.

The two of them just stared out at the ocean as the sun set, and Nashi wondered about what she could say in order to start a conversation to avoid the silence. Because in the silence, she started to overthink. And when she did that, she got embarrassed. Focusing on something else helped a great deal.

Looking over at Michael, Nashi noted that the smile that had been on his face had faded, and was replaced with a serious demeanor as he looked out at the water. He seemed to be troubled, but about what Nashi had no idea.

"You okay?" She asked, making him look at her. "You look troubled." Michael watched her for a moment before he sighed and looked back at the water.

"I was just...thinking." He said. Nashi tilted her head to the side.

"About what?" She asked. Michael kept quiet for a moment, but eventually he looked down slightly.

"...Blake." He answered quietly. "He always used to comment on how much he loved the sunset...I hope he's okay." Nashi frowned at this and turned to look at the water as well.

"I'm sure he is." She said. "He's tough. The Olympians can't have gotten him yet."

"Hm."

"Besides, they must be busy planning on how to get us next. No time for him." Michael said nothing in response, so the silence returned. After maybe a minute or so, Nashi slowly looked at Michael again. He had not changed his facial expression much, but she noted his eyes seemed a bit glassier than before. After another second or so, Michael raised a hand and wiped at his eyes.

"Sorry." He croaked. "We're supposed to be having fun, not a pity party."

"It's alright." Nashi said softly. "I can't imagine how worried you are." Michael shifted to put his head in his hands, and Nashi did nothing to stop him.

"I just..." Michael said quietly, sounding a mess. "I love that jackass like a brother. If something happened to him..." Nashi shuffled closer to Michael and put an arm around him.

"It's alright." She said. "I'm sure he's okay."

"I know, but...Just the thought." Nashi rubbed a circle on his back in an attempt to help him. After a few minutes of this, he sat up and laughed.

"Look at me. I'm pathetic." He said weakly. "Getting all worked up in front of you..."

"You've been working me up all day, some payback is nice." Nashi said, attempting to lighten the mood. She was happy her joke made him laugh. "If you ever want to talk about it, or anything really, you can always come to me. I'll lend an ear."

"Thanks. Really." He said, getting a better hold of himself. "Fuck, this is sad."

"You're worried." Nashi said. "If it was my lifelong friend out there, I'd be a nervous wreck. You handle it fairly well, all things considered."

"Hah." He said. "I don't like to think about it when I'm with you."

"Why's that?" Nashi asked. Michael shrugged.

"I'm usually happy when I'm with you." He replied, making her blush. "Thinking about that drags me down. And shit like this happens."

"Well...Thanks." She said. "I'm glad I can cheer you up." Michael smiled at her, and it was at this point that Nashi's stomach decided to do somersaults. "I'm happy when we're together too..."

"That right..." Nashi nodded weakly.

_WHY THE FUCK DID I SAY THAT?!_

The silence was pretty bad this time, but Nashi attributed that to what she had just said to Michael. Fuck, at least the day was over and she could go home and cringe about this for a month or so.

"Well, today was fun." She said cracking her back. Michael just hummed in agreement. "I guess we'd better get going, or else-" Nashi turned to Michael.

And he kissed her.

It was around here Nashi's world froze.

**Sorry for the late upload guys, my sleep schedule's been fucked for the last few days. 2 AM upload Fallen, what are you doing...Anyway, I hope you enjoyed (which depending on who you are, that severely depends haha!) leave a review! I'd say let's try to get five, but I feel we'll have no trouble with that. See ya!**


	234. Needing Advice

**Oh man, reading the reviews on the last chapter was hilarious. You guys are always good for a laugh!**

**Enjoy!**

The sun was shining through her window and right onto her face, but that wasn't what woke Nashi up. She'd been up for hours anyway.

_"Sorry, was that weird?"_

_Yeah. it was._

Nashi rolled over and stared at her roof, for the millionth time recalling the day before. The day when Michael had kissed her. She'd never felt so out of it before - nothing felt right. She was so confused and didn't know how to act.

And in turn, she'd just made the whole situation awkward.

Nashi hadn't been able to find her voice whatsoever. She didn't know what to say, or how to say it. So she was quiet, barely giving Michael so much of a nod if he said something. Once they'd parted ways, Nashi went home and went right to bed. She didn't bother eating, and just told the others she was tired when they tried to talk to her. And she was tired. Having little to no sleep often did that to someone.

"Nashi?" Nashi's eyes slowly moved over to her door where she could hear Ultear's voice. "You up?"

"...Yeah." Nashi replied, voice hoarse. Ultear opened the door a bit and peeked through it, Elise behind her. Ultear smiled softly.

"Are you feeling okay?" She asked. "You've been in your room since yesterday night."

"I'm fine."

"You sure?" She asked. Nashi nodded and put an arm over her eyes, trying to keep them closed to get some sleep.

"Yeah." She said. The two of them were quiet for a minute, and Nashi sighed. She knew the two wouldn't just leave, so she'd have to get up and go with them. "Just let me get dressed, I'll be out in a sec."

"Okay." Ultear said, closing the door. Once it was shut, Nashi laid there with her arm over her eyes for a few minutes. After deciding that the inside of her eyelids held no answers for her, she sighed again and kicked off her sheets, slowly sitting up. She got up and walked towards her mirror, and stared at her reflection.

She looked awful. The bags under her eyes were grossly apparent, and she looked so done with everything. Whatever. She couldn't get any sleep anyway. Sighing, Nashi reached forward and picked up her elastic and put her hair back in it's ponytail, seeing as it was still too long to let it do it's own thing. She threw on her usual outfit and wrapped her scarf around her neck, making it cover her mouth. Once she'd done so she made her way for the door and opened it, revealing Ultear and Elise waiting for her. Once they looked up, they frowned.

"What?" Nashi asked. Ultear broke into a smile.

"That ponytail makes you really cute." She said. "Right, Elise?" Elise nodded with a small smile on her face too.

"Yeah. Looks really good." Nashi managed a smile at this.

_He thought that too._

At this, her smile faded. Ultear made a face.

"What?" She asked. Nashi shrugged and yawned.

"It's nothing." She said. "I'm just tired is all."

"You look it." Elise agreed. "Were you not sleeping last night or what?"

"No...Not at all." She replied. "I'll sleep like a baby tonight, though."

"I'd think so." Ultear agreed, turning around. "Let's go, I'm hungry." Nashi didn't really feel very hungry, which was odd. Generally she was pretty hungry, but her stomach wasn't in the mood.

Yesterday had thrown her whole operation out of whack.

Once they made it to the guild hall, The three girls went right towards the rest of their team, who was already up and waiting. Simon and Drake were eating, while Steph and Damien appeared to be looking through A Sorcerer Weekly magazine. As they approached, Steph smiled and pointed to something on the page.

"Do you like that outfit, Onii-chan?" She asked. Damien shrugged.

"I dunno." He replied, sounding bored as hell. "Sure." This made Steph frown, but she looked up as they approached.

"Good Morning." She said with a happy smile on her face."

"Morning." Ultear said, smiling. Elise greeted them as well, but Nashi kept quiet and sat down, mind still muddled from yesterday and the lack of sleep she'd had. The group began to talk, but Nashi stayed out of it. She was still thinking.

"Right Nashi?" Her name being spoken made her look up. Ultear had said something to her.

"What?" She asked. Ultear didn't break stride.

"I said your ponytail looks great." She said. "Right guys?" Nashi looked over to find none of the guys even paying attention.

"Sure, sure." Simon said, still eating.

"Hm." Damien hummed as he flipped through another page, making Steph frown at him.

"What did you ask?" Drake asked, looking up from his own breakfast too. This made Nashi frown. Ultear made a face, and about a second later the table bucked upwards, along with Simon who seemed surprised.

"U-Uh, yeah you look great Nashi!" He said, smiling weakly. Damien yelped, and Nashi looked over to find Steph's finger still crackling with electricity.

"Fantastic!" Damien agreed. Nashi then looked at Drake, who seemed to pick up on it quickly enough.

"Looks really good on you" He said, handling it much better than the other two had. Nashi smiled weakly at this display.

"Thanks, I guess." She said weakly.

_Of course they think you're cute, he did too._

At this, Nashi frowned.

"What's the matter?" Drake asked. Nashi looked up at him, but didn't say anything. she really hoped for own sake Drake didn't listen in on her. He'd get all defensive like he usually did. That was the last thing she needed.

"Nothing." She replied, looking down at her lap. "Tired is all."

"You sure?" Simon asked. Nashi remained silent at this, not saying anything.

"...Yeah." She finally said. God, she was pathetic. Why was this throwing her so out of balance? She needed to talk to someone about this, but who?

_...I know. She's usually at home these days though..._

Nashi stood and looked at her friends.

"I'm going to go see how my mom's doing." She said. "I'll be back afterwards."

"Alright." Steph said. "Say hi for us." Nashi nodded and made her way for the door out of the guild, and made a bee line towards home. If anyone could help her out, it'd be her mother.

* * *

"...She's acting weird." Damien noted as Nashi left the guild hall. Drake made a face and nodded in agreement. That she was.

"I wonder if she's okay." He said.

"She didn't get any sleep." Elise said. "So that might be it." Drake shrugged. He didn't know.

But he had a sinking feeling that that wasn't it.

* * *

"So...I take it it went badly, then?"

"What do you think, Keita?" Keita shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't asked until now. So? Did it go well?" Michael frowned and looked at the ground beneath him as they walked towards the guild hall.

"...No, it really didn't." He said. "Went well right up until the end."

"Let me guess." Keita said, rubbing his chin. "She doesn't feel the same way about you." Michael shrugged and pocketed his hands.

"Dunno." He said. "She didn't really say much of anything after I kissed her."

"So you went right for it, huh?" Keita asked, and Michael nodded. "Alright, well, did she seem unhappy from it?"

"I don't know." Michael repeated. "Again, she didn't say another word after."

"Huh...Any idea why?"

"Keita if I had even the slightest idea why she didn't say anything I wouldn't be talking about this with you, alright?" Michael snapped at his friend, making Keita narrow his eyes at him.

"I'm trying to help, lover boy." He shot back. "Least you could do is cooperate."

"Ugh...No, I don't know." This was getting ridiculous. Why was he even wasting his time talking to Keita, anyway? Like he could help him.

He honestly had no idea what he was supposed to do. He'd hoped after their date had gone so well that Nashi would at the very least say something to him, but he didn't even get that. She just clammed up and avoided looking at him until they split up to go home. Did she feel the same way? Did she not? He had no idea. And it hurt his head to think about.

"Did you ever consider maybe she likes somebody else and you put her in an awkward position?" Keita asked, breaking him from his thoughts. Come to think of it, Michael had never considered that. Perhaps after his conversation with Drake he'd pushed that worry from his mind. But it was totally plausible that Nashi have feelings for him...

"I didn't, no." Michael replied. "God, this is so stupid."

"Agreed." Keita said as they reached the guild hall. "And sorry, but I really don't know how to help you."

"Yeah, I know." He replied. The pair made they're way towards the table where their friends were, but Michael stayed quiet for the most part as he thought about what he was to do.

The core of his problem now was that he had no idea how to approach Nashi about what happened. For all the times Michael had asked girls out before, he'd never gotten silence before. It made him doubt himself greatly, which was generally not something he did. So now he had no idea how to act, whereas if this had played out more to his expectations, he'd have asked Nashi out officially the day before. But what was he to do? He needed advice.

_Oh boy, he's going to tease me for this..._

Michael stood from the table, making the others look at him.

"I need to go talk to my dad." He told them, glancing at Keita. "I"ll be right back."

"Have fun." Juno said. Michael nodded as he walked away and headed towards his fathers office. Once he got there he knocked on the door.

"Dad?" He asked. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure, come on in." Michael took a deep breath and walked into the office, and towards his father who was sitting at his desk. He smiled as he approached. "What's up?" Michael sat down and sighed.

"I'll be up front with you, old man." He said. "I need some advice." His father smirked.

"Oh? Of what kind?"

"Of the girl kind." There was a momentary silence between the two of them before his father laughed and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.

"Well well, what brought his on?" He asked.

"Never mind that." Michael replied. "Are you going to help me or not?"

"Sure. What do you need help with?" Michael looked to the side away from his father.

"There's this girl." He said. "One that I really like. Problem is...I don't know how to ask her out. I might have, well...made things awkward between us."

"Hm..." His father said, scratching his chin. "Who is this girl? Is it someone I know?"

"In a sense." Michael said, nodding. As much as he liked Nashi, the less people that knew he was crushing on her the better. At least for now. With his luck the tabloids would get a hold on that info somehow. "I'm not sure if she likes me or not, and I feel like if I just went out and asked it'd make things worse."

"I see." His father replied. "Well, I can't say I'm well versed in this kind of thing, all things considered." At this, Michael smirked at him.

"Really now? And here mom always says you were so smooth." His father rolled his eyes at this.

"Sure she does." He said.

"What?" Michael asked. "She said you were pretty slick when she slapped you after Alvarez invaded."

"Yeah yeah." He said, waving him off. "Regardless, it seems like you're up shits creek without a paddle, kid."

"Well, do you have any advice, oh father of mine?" Michael asked, feeling a bit miffed his father could not help him.

"Actually, yes." He said. "I'd say you should talk to a girl about this. They might understand better than I do how this girl in questions feels. Ask your mother." Oh boy. The infamous 'ask your mother'. Like Michael was going to do that. As oppose to his father, his mother would be even more prying about who it was. It was pretty out of nature for her, but he'd experienced it enough to know how she worked.

"I'll ask somebody else." He said. "Thanks anyway, I guess."

"Your welcome." He replied, laughing. "Good luck, lover boy."

Oh boy.

* * *

"Mom?" Nashi called out, walking in the front door. "Are you here?"

"Nashi?" Now knowing that her mother was indeed present, Nashi walked inside to find her sitting down in living room, smiling at her. "So nice of you ti visit me." Nashi laughed weakly as she walked inside and hugged her mother.

"I'm sorry, I've been pretty buy since the Games."

"I don't blame you." She said. "But it is nice to see you." The two broke apart, and her mother frowned at her. "Sweetheart, are you okay? You look awful." Nashi rubbed at her eyes as fatigue nearly set in.

"I didn't sleep last night." She said. "I'm really out of it right now."

"You look it. Maybe you should sit down." Nashi obliged and sat down next to her mother on the couch. Nashi decided to, at least for now, turn their attention away from her.

"You're looking good." She said. "Just a few more weeks now, right?"

"Yeah, and finally I'll be rid of this little shit." Her mother joked, making them laugh. "And you get to meet him again I guess, huh?" Nashi smiled weakly at this. She knew very well that in a few weeks, she'd meet Luke for the second time, which was a weird way to think about it. But given what had happened, it was no less true.

"I guess so." She agreed quietly. There was a moment of silence before her mother made a face.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. At this, Nashi sighed.

"...No. I'm not. That's why I wanted to talk to you."

"Alright, what's up?" Nashi wasn't sure how to start. She was embarrassed about the whole situation, but she had walked all the way here to ask for help, so she really needed to come up with something, right?"

"There's...Well..." Nashi took a deep breath. "There's this guy..." She paused when she heard her mother snicker.

"Oh, _that's _why you're here. Little Nashi finally got the hots, huh? Well who is he? Wait, don't tell me. I already have an idea."

"Wait, you do?" Nashi asked. Her mother nodded.

"You don't have to say who if you're that embarrassed." She said. "I get it."

"Well, okay..." Nashi said. "Anyway, he's a really great guy and I like him and all...But I'm not sure how to go about anything."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." Nashi thought her feelings over. "I just don't understand. What to do, or how to go about it. I'm worried it'll just make things awkward. The last thing I want is that." She shrugged. "I don't know what to do."

"Well, I think the answer is fairly obvious." Her mother replied. "You like him, don't you?"

"...Yeah." Nashi replied.

"Then I think you should do what you want to do." She said, smiling at her. "If you like him, there's nothing stopping you from being with him except you."

"Yeah, but..." This was helping, yet at the same time it only confused Nashi further. "I just don't know. This is all so confusing." Her mother sighed.

"Does he make you happy?" She asked. Nashi nodded. "Do you want to spend time with him? Is he special to you?" Nashi nodded for all of these questions. "Then I'm not sure what the problem is. You clearly want to be with him." Nashi sighed and rubbed at her eyes. Honestly it was probably the lack of sleep affecting her judgment so much.

"I guess..." She replied. "I guess I'm just nervous. I've never...You know, never had a boyfriend before. I'm worried."

"Trust me, it's not easy. Sadly it also runs in the family."

* * *

Michael walked over to his friends, and they looked up as he approached.

"Hey." Kyoko greeted. "What did you talk to your dad about?"

"Nothing important." He said. He looked at three girls in front of him and weighed his options. Rina was definitely out. She would just tease him and give shit advice. Kyoko would probably try to help, but Michael didn't want to remind her about Blake so soon by asking what she'd do.

So that left Juno."

"Can I talk to you, Juno?" He asked, making her perk up.

"Uh, sure." She said. Michael closed his eyes.

"Privately." He added. Juno looked around at the others, but nodded and stood.

"Okay." Michael nodded appreciatively and walked away from the table and towards a dark corner of the guild. Once they were out of earshot of the others and other guild members, Michael leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms, and Juno stood in front of him waiting. "So?" She asked. "What's up?" Michael took a deep breath and looked up.

"I'm going to be upfront with you, okay?" He asked. Juno nodded, and Michael looked away. "There's a girl I like." Juno didn't reply right away.

"...R-Really?" She asked. Michael nodded.

"Yeah." He said. "Problem is, I don't know how to officially ask her out without making things awkward." He told her. "So I was hoping you could give me some insight, if you had any."

"U-Um..." Michael looked back at her to find her twirling a strand of hair around her finger and looking anywhere but at him, cheeks pink. "I-I guess I'd need to know the girl you're talking about to help you out."

"...I'd rather not say." Juno looked back at him.

"B-But..." She started, a weird look on her face. "W-Why not? Are you embarrassed about your feelings?"

"Well, no."

"Then what's the big deal?" She asked quickly. Michael watched her carefully, staring back into her wide curious eyes. Surely if anyone could keep a secret it was Juno, right? They'd known each other long enough. Michael sighed. Today was just not his day.

"Alright, alright..." he said under his breath. He looked up to find Juno watching him with wide eyes, so he steeled himself and got off the wall, which brought him a bit closer to her.

"M-Michael...?" She asked weakly.

"Juno." He replied. "It's...It's Nashi."

If was as if glass had shattered in Juno's eyes. She took a step back in confusion.

"N-Nashi?" She asked. Michael nodded.

"Yeah." He said, leaning against the wall again. "It's her. I just wanted some advice on how to ask her out, seeing as I made it kind of awkward when I kissed her the other day.

"...K-K..." It sounded like Juno was having trouble speaking. Looking up, Michael found Juno staring at her feet with clenched fists. "...W-Well, sorry Michael. I don't know enough about her to give an opinion. Sorry." With this, she turned on her heel and tried to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Michael said, grabbing her wrist as she tried to get away. "Come on, you must have some advice. Please Juno!"

"I don't know!" She shouted, making Michael jump a bit. After staying silent for a moment, she took a shaky breath. "...Ask somebody who knows her better than me, Michael. They'd be able to help you out."

"Knows her better?" Michael asked. He thought about this for a moment. "I got it, I know just the guy. I'm sure there's no one who knows her better." He smiled. "Thanks, Juno."

"...Whatever." She wrestled herself free of his grasp and stormed away, and he watched as she stormed right for the door. He sighed and looked down at his feet.

_Guess I'd better go to Magnolia. I just hope he's not on a job or anything._

* * *

Kyoko watched the entire exchange from a distance, but when Juno stormed towards them with her head down, she knew somehow had gone wrong.

"Juno?" She asked as the girl reached them. But the girl just sped right past. Not one to let up, Kyoko stood and latched onto Juno's arm. "Juno, what happened?" She asked. Juno was trembling something fierce, and tugged a bit on her arm in an attempt to get free.

And then, she turned to Kyoko, and her eyes widened.

Tears were streaming down Juno's face, and she looked heartbroken.

Let go of me." She whispered, voice cracking. Kyoko slowly did as she asked, and Juno ran off out the door.

"I know Michael was stupid." Rina said from the table. "But this...I never expected this." Kyoko watched the doorway where Juno had disappeared from.

"Yeah...Neither did I."

**All the drama in this place, huh? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	235. The Decision

**If all goes well guys, the next arc starts on chapter 238. We're almost there!**

**Enjoy!**

"You really think so mom?" Nashi asked. Her mother nodded with a smile.

"Of course. I know you can do it. It's just because you're so tired."

"I suppose." Nashi agreed. She'd been talking to her mother for a little bit about the whole thing, and so far she was feeling pretty good about it. More so than when she'd gotten up that morning. Although overall, she was still relatively uncertain.

"So," Her mother said. "Have you made up your mind?" Nashi looked down at her feet. No, she really hadn't. Sure, she liked Michael. She liked him a lot. But whether or not she had the courage to actually go out with him? That she wasn't sure about.

"I don't know." She said. "I wouldn't know what to do. Gah, this is so nerve racking."

"Tell me about it." Her mother muttered. "I rally don't think you have anything to worry about, sweetheart."

"No?"

"Not at all." Her mother reassured. "You've survived how many life or death situations now?" Nashi understood her mother not knowing the answer to that, but she felt stupid not knowing it right off the top of her head either. "I think going out with this boy you're talking about would be a walk in the park."

"I guess." Nashi agreed, growing quiet once more. Talking to her mother had been a great help. "Thanks mom." She said, smiling over at her mother. "I really appreciate this."

"You're welcome, sweetie." She replied, and the two hugged. "Now, do you have something to do at the moment?" Nashi felt her stomach twist around at this.

"Well...I suppose." She said. "But I kind of want to have a few drinks beforehand...Might help."

"It might." She agreed as Nashi stood and stretched. "Just do you, honey. You'll be okay."

"Thanks again." Nashi made her way for the door, heart much less heavy than when she came in the first time.

"Nashi?" Nashi stopped and looked back over at her mother. She was smirking devilishly.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Good luck. He's quite the catch." This made Nashi go red. Did her mother really know who was liked? She seemed so sure of herself. Had she made it too obvious?

"Uh, thanks." She replied. She was about to leave when a thought occurred to her. This made her stop. "Hey, uh, mom?"

"Yes?" Nashi looked back over at her mother.

"Could we, uh, not tell dad about this?" She asked weakly. "Knowing him, he'll just...do exactly what I know we both know he'll do." Nashi didn't know exactly how to say what she was worried about, but her mother seemed to pick up on her worries easily.

"Don't worry." She said. "My lips are sealed. Natsu won't know about you and him unless it comes from your own mouth." Nashi smiled.

"Thanks." She said, finally taking her leave. As she made her way back to the guild hall, her mind bubbled up with thoughts of how to handle talking to Michael.

All she knew for certain was the sooner, the better.

* * *

"So?" Michael asked. He watched Drake for a moment, unsure as to what the man was going to say. After a few seconds of silent thinking, Drake grinned.

"It's good." Drake said, taking another bite of his sandwich Michael had bought him. He'd whisked Drake away from the guild hall to talk to him privately about Nashi, and at the moment he was filling the boys hungry stomach. "I've never tried this combination of toppings before, it's really good."

"I told you man. We're too similar. I love that too." Michael watched as Drake ate happily, seemingly without a care in the world. He wished he shared the sentiment, but he was unsure as to how to approach the Poison Dragon.

During his multiple other dates with Nashi, she'd gone into detail about her friendship with Drake. She spoke at length about how protective he got of her due to the bullying she went through as a child, and how he always stood by her no matter what. And how much she truly appreciated him, no matter if she'd never really told him. Come to think of it, Michael figured this was probably why he'd gone out of his way to ask Drake if he and Nashi were an item, of if was interested. So now, faced with what he planned to do, how was he to go about it?

"So, you wanted to talk?" Michael came back to reality to find Drake still chewing, but watching Michael curiously. He nodded.

"Yeah. it's something only you can help me with really." He replied.

"Shoot." Drake said, taking another bite as soon as he swallowed. Michael took a few seconds to wonder how to phrase what he was going to ask, before deciding he just needed to go for it.

"It's about Nashi." He said. This seemed to catch Drake's attention, as he started to chew much slower than a second ago. "I'll be honest, okay?"

"...Okay?" Drake said, slowly swallowing and putting the remainder of his sub down. "What's up?"

"I, uh..." Michael said, faltering a bit. "I...like her. A lot, actually." Michael watched Drake's face carefully, looking for any sort of reaction whatsoever. Drake barely reacted at all, truthfully. He seemed a bit surprised, but that was it.

"Ah, okay." Drake said, returning to his food. "I get it. You want help with something?"

This was nowhere near the response he was expecting.

"Uh..." Michael started, unsure of what to say next. "I...I guess?"

"Alright, what is it exactly?" Michael took a minute to realize Drake wasn't being angry or protective and thought. What was it he wanted help with?

"Over the past few weeks," He started. "Nashi and I have been hanging out. That's where she disappeared to sometimes, if you were curious."

"Makes sense." Drake replied, still eating as Michael spoke.

"Right." Michael agreed. "Well, here's the thing. I was planning on asking her out yesterday, so I worked hard to make her happy. And well...I kissed her." Michael saw Drake pause as he took another bite, but it was subtle and it just seemed to be him thinking this over.

"Continue." He said.

"I planned on asking her out officially afterwards, but...She didn't say anything to me. Like, at all. She clammed up and din't say a word to me until we parted ways, and I don't know what to do now?"

"Not a word, huh?" Drake asked, finishing his sub and turned to Michael. He sighed as he licked crumbs off his fingers. "That is so much like Nashi it hurts..." He muttered.

"Huh?" Michael asked. Drake finished licking his fingers and turned to face Michael fully.

"Nashi ain't exactly very good at handling her emotions when they crank up to the extreme." Drake explained. "If she get to riled up, or scared, or anything else...She gets exactly like you just described." Michael thought his through. So Nashi was quiet because her emotions were going wild? Was that a good thing?

"I see..." Michael said slowly.

"For example," Drake continued. "When Nashi was told her mother was pregnant, she didn't exactly act gracefully. She threatened Erza, her own mother, and then stormed off in a rage. She acted similarly when her dad first came home almost a year ago. She's not good at handling her emotions." It certainly seemed so. "And I'm sure if Nashi thought about it, she's probably got a few instances I don't know about that fall into that category as well." Drake laughed at this. "She's a mess sometimes."

"Sounds like it." Michael agreed, chuckling weakly. "So...What do you think I should do?"

"Well, that depends." Drake replied. "You sure you like her? A lot?"

"Yeah. I do." Michael replied. Drake nodded.

"Alright then. Here's what you do." He said. Michael waited, and Drake moved a bit closer and slapped his cheek lightly with a smirk. "You come right out with it and tell her."

"Wait, what?" Michael asked as Drake leaned back and smirked at him. 'Is that really it?"

"Yeah." Drake agreed. "It's the only way to get through to her is to be straightforward. I'm willing to bet you're the reason she's been acting so weird today."

"She's acting weird?" He asked. Drake nodded.

"Yeah. We try to talk to her, but then she gets quiet and then a faraway look in her eyes." He explained. "When she snaps out of it, she just tells us it's nothing. Earlier she went to talk to her mom and I haven't seen her since. So, I'd just tell her how you feel man. It'll probably work out. Probably." The probably wasn't really helping his case, but Michael thought this over. If Drake, the one he considered closest to Nashi excluding her parents thought this was his best course of action, then it looked like he had no other way of going about it.

"Thanks man." he said, smiling at Drake. "And here I was worried about you threatening me."

"Why would you think that?" Drake asked. "We're good friends. I trust you. Plus, to be honest, I think you really make her happy."

"You think?" Drake nodded.

"Yeah. If you guys really have hung out those few times before, then that explains why she's all smiles for a few hours." Drake stretched and stood. "Now, let's get you too the guild hall. I'm sure we'll find her." Michael stood.

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

Nashi had made it to the guild hall and downed a few drinks, and none of the others seemed confused at her actions. Nashi's alcohol tolerance was pretty high, so she'd need just a few more before...

"Nashi!" Nashi made a face and turned as Drake called out to her.

"What is i-" She froze.

Why the hell was Michael with him? Drake smirked.

"Someone wants to talk to you." He said.

Nashi's face was pretty red, and Michael watched as she quickly chugged the rest of her drink.

"How is she?" He asked Drake lowly. He turned a bit to see Drake's ears twitching.

"She's really nervous." Drake relayed, looking over at him with a smile. "And her heart's going wild too." Michael took a deep breath at this. Nothing to lose. Nashi approached them slowly, taking her sweet time as she did so. Finally she reached them and smiled weakly.

"H-Hi." She said. Drake chuckled.

"I"ll leave you guys to it." He said. He went to walk away, but paused to stop and whisper something in Nashi's ear. This caused her to blush wildly.

"D-Drake!" She whined, Drake walking away laughing. "That's not funny!"

"It _so is." _He replied, waving over his shoulder. Nashi growled in his direction, but then turned back to Michael, who smiled at her.

"Can we take a walk?" He asked. Nashi nodded quickly.

"Sure."

* * *

Nashi knew she said she wanted to talk to Michael soon, but this soon? How long had he been here anyway? What had he talked about with Drake? This was way too sudden.

_Oh stop it!_

Nashi steeled herself as they came to a stop along the waterway of Magnolia, overlooking the flowing water.

"I'm sorry." Michael said, making her look at him. "For the other day. Shouldn't have just gone and done that."

"I-It's okay." Nashi replied, looking back at the water. "I'm not mad."

"That's good." There were a few seconds of silence before Michael sighed.

"Look," he said. "I'm going to be blunt." He turned to look at Nashi. "There's no easy way to cut it, really. Nashi, I really like you." This made heat rush to Nashi's face, but she held her ground. "Like, really. I think about you a lot, and being with you...Makes me so happy." If he continued on like this, Nashi wasn't sure she'd be able to do anything. "And you have every right to tell me you don't feel the same way. I just had to tell you." Nashi thought at this. She thought back to how happy she'd been when she hung out with Michael. How he made her stomach flip around.

"But...I do." She said, returning her gaze to the water. "Feel the same, that is. I just...Don't know. When I'm with you I am happy, but I get so nervous and act so stupid..." Nashi took a deep breath. "And I know what I want, but I'm not sure I can do it...I wouldn't know what to do. I still don't. I'm blabbering right now. So, I don't really know if-"She turned to face Michael to speak to him.

And he kissed her again.

This time, Nashi was able to keep control of herself, and didn't shy away once the contact was broken. She kind of wished she had though, because Michael's proximity to her had barely changed.

"You're too cute when your blabbing." He said, making her laugh weakly. "If you really do feel the same way, then that's great. That's my worst fear out of the way." Nashi looked down at her feet.

"I just don't know..." She said weakly. "I'm not a model person, you know."

"I don't care."

"My life's in danger regularly. If something were to happen..."

"Remember what I told you?" Michael asked. "I'll be by your side if a fight like that ever comes to the surface again."

"Even if it's them?" Nashi asked, steeling herself and facing him. "It's the Olympians?" Michael steeled himself as well.

"I don't care if the gods themselves descend to fight you." He replied. "If you're going to throw down, you bet your ass I'll be there. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Nashi didn't reply to this. "Look, I know you're nervous. Everyone's first is nerve racking. But if something so mundane and normal scares you, how will you react when the Olympians do come?"

"...Look, What is it you want, Nashi?" He asked. "Do you want me, or not? I don't mind either way, I only wanted to tell you how I felt because you're special to me and-"

Nashi cut him off by smashing her lips against his.

She'd really never kissed before save Drake on accident, so she really didn't know what to do. Luckily it didn't take Michael long to take charge, and she giggled as his arms snaked around her waist. They broke apart, and she smiled at him.

"Stop talking." She whispered. "It makes you look stupid." He laughed.

"Coming from you." He replied. "Blabbermouth over here. So, was that a yes?"

"What do you think?" She asked. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

"Might have too, my hearing isn't the best." Nashi grinned at this. She moved closer as if to kiss him, but swiftly moved past so her mouth was right next to his ear.

"YES!" She shouted in his ear, making him recoil with a yelp. She laughed as Michael glowered at her. "What?" She asked. "You said your hearing was bad."

"I can already tell this is going to go _swimmingly._" He hissed, hand covering his ear. Nashi smiled.

"Yeah." I think so too."

* * *

Kyoko took a deep breath and looked up at the house in front of her.

She doubted Juno wanted to talk, but keeping herself locked away wouldn't do anybody any good.

Sighing. Kyoko knocked on the door and waited.

"Juno?" She called, getting no answer. "Juno? Come on I know you're in there, open the door." After getting no response for about a minute or so, Kyoko wiggled to doorknob to find it unlocked. Steeling herself, she walked inside the house and made her way for Juno's room. She stared at the closed door, wondering just what exactly she'd see when she opened it.

_She needs someone right now. I know that better than anyone._

Kyoko opened the door. The lights were off, which was to be expected. Juno was curled on in a ball on her bed, completely silent. Kyoko crossed her arms and walked inside.

"You okay?" She asked. No response came. Kyoko frowned and looked towards the window where the curtains covered the outside world. "I knew you liked Michael since we were little, but...I never expected this."

"...Neither did I." Kyoko looked back at Juno to find her shaking slightly. "Hah...Nashi. I'm not surprised we likes her and not me."

"Why's that?" Juno laughed and lifted her head up a bit. Kyoko noted her eyes were bloodshot.

"I'm not his type." She whispered, voice cracking. "She's nice. She's beautiful. She's exactly the kind of girl he always chases after." Juno lowered her head again. "And I'm the childhood friend left in the dust. It's so cliche yet it hurts so bad..." Kyoko sat down on the bed and stared at her feet, playing with her hands.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you." She said softly. "You know Michael. He'd never do that."

"...Besides, you know his flings never last very long. He's moves on quick, that one."

"I know." Juno replied weakly. "So..." Her voice cracked, and Kyoko heard a sob force it's way out. "Why the hell does this hurt so much more?!" Kyoko embraced the girl softly and listened as she began to cry all over again.

"It hurts." She said. "It always does, losing someone you love."

_I like you, Blake. I might love you._

Kyoko closed her eyes as her words floated back to her.

"Trust me. I know. It gets better."

* * *

"Why're we here, again?" Michael asked.

"Don't worry about it!" Nashi replied. "I just wanted to thank my mom for something." Michael shrugged.

"Alright, go on. I won't stop you." Nashi nodded thankfully and walked inside the house, and immediately found her mother smiling at her.

"So?" She asked. "How'd it go?" Nashi blushed and looked down at her feet. "I take it that's a good thing. Congrats."

"Thanks." She replied. "For the advice. Everything, really."

"You're welcome, honey. Anytime." Nashi moved to hug her mother, but didn't stay in the embrace longer than thirty seconds.

"I've got to go. Michael wanted to go on a date, so..." Nashi raised an eyebrow at her mother's confused expression.

"Michael?" She asked.

"Yeah." Nashi agreed. "He's the guy I was talking about. Did you guess wrong?" Nashi's mother only looked confused for a brief moment. Then she smiled.

"Nope." She said. "I just wasn't expecting him to want to go on a date so soon. Go one, have fun." Nashi smiled widely.

"I will! Thanks again!"

* * *

Lucy watched her daughter run off, before she frowned.

"Michael..." She muttered. "Really? Guess I'm losing my touch. That or I misread them horribly...Oh well."

* * *

Michael watched as Nashi went in to speak with her mother, smiling as he did so. That had gone incredibly well. Drake's advice really worked.

"Nice moves, my man." Michael turned to find Drake walking towards him.

"Thanks to you." he said. "I was blunt, just like you said." The two fist bumped, and Drake smiled at him.

"Anytime. Looks like she's happy, too."

"What, you stalking us?"

"No, I was on my way to get another sub. That place makes great ones." Drake moved past Michael, but paused. "Oh, I forgot. One more thing, Michael."

"What's that?" Michael asked. Drake walked back to him, and smiled at him.

It all changed in an instant.

One moment Drake was smiling, the next he was pinning Michael to the wall of the house, holding him by the collar of his shirt. It happened to fast Michael was confused. How had he...?

"Listen up." Drake said, sounding dear serious. "If I ever catch wind of something you did to hurt her, _a__nything, _and you'll have to deal with me. I won't stand for that."

"D-Drake...?" Michael asked weakly.

"Got it?" Drake asked. Michael swallowed and narrowed his eyes, nodding. Drake smiled and let him go.

"Then we're good." He said. "Just keep that in mind, okay?"

"...Okay."

"Have fun on your date, man." Drake said, patting his shoulder as he walked away. Michael stared down at his feet, pondering what he'd just heard.

"Drake." he said, making him stop as he walked away. "If...If Nashi and I being together...Gets in your way at all, speak up now." There was silence between the two, and Michael looked over to find Drake's back still to him. Finally, he laughed and looked over his shoulder at him.

"What did I tell you when you trained me to use Dragon Force?" he asked, smiling. "She's just a dear friend. And one that even warned you that I'm protective. So have fun and stop being weird." With this, he walked off, leaving Michael by himself. Once he was gone, he stared down at his feet.

_Just a dear friend, huh?_

_Do you think I'm a fucking idiot, Drake? I don't need sound magic to know you're __lying . Question is, is it to me, or yourself..._

**And there we go. One more filler down! Next two will be some fun times. As if the last three weren't. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	236. The Interview

**What is this?! A double update?! That's right. Looking through what I had for this chapter, I felt kind of bad just giving you this and only this, seeing as it's more of a funny way to recap then anything else. So we'll have this and next chapter, which I want you guys to guess what it's about. What hasn't happened yet? Something we've been waiting for, say, nine months in story? Probably longer in real life, honestly. When was chapter 100 posted originally?**

**Enjoy!**

"Heads up girls, you've got about five minutes!" Nashi looked towards the closed door that the voice came from, frowning.

"Okay." Ultear called back, not looking away from her mirror. Nashi sighed and looked back at her mirror, staring at her face. Despite how great things had been going for her lately, she had a frown on her face.

That probably had to do with why she was here in the first place.

At it was at the moment, she and the others, not counting Steph, were in Crocus.

Specifically, they were in the studio for their interview.

* * *

_"You guys got a minute?" Nashi looked up to find Laxus walking over to them, something in his hands._

_"Sure." Damien replied, sipping his drink. "What's up Dad?" Laxus sighed and put the paper down on the table. From what Nashi could see, it appeared to be a letter of some kind. Steph picked it up._

_"Dear Master Laxus of Fairy Tail," She read. "I'm a representative for the talk show Fiore Tonight. I'm writing to you today to ask if it would be possible if your Grand Magic Games team consisting of Nashi Dragneel, Drake, Elise Redfox, Simon Scarlet, Ultear Fullbuster, and Damien Dreyar would be interested in doing an interview with us and our host, Ross Kennedy. It would take place on a show taking place a week from the day you receive this, and would mostly be about them and their participation in the Games..."_

_"This sounds like a chore." Drake mumbled, looking unimpressed._

_"Yeah." Elise agreed, staring down at the table, looking to be thinking things over. "Not really interested."_

_"...And we'd be willing to discuss their payment for such an interview, should it be within reason." Steph added, looking up from the letter. _

_This seemed to catch everyone's attention a little better._

_"...Well, it doesn't sound so bad." Damien admitted, a small grin on his face. "When is it again, sis?"_

_"Next week." She answered. Nashi looked around at the others as they considered this. "Says here the interview would only be ten minutes long or so."_

_"Well, we have been kind of lazy lately." Ultear said. "Mostly just sitting around."_

_"After all the times we've nearly died I think I can be lazy for a month or two, Ul." Drake said, making everyone chuckle._

_"My point being," Ultear continued. "This might be fun. We should do it."_

_"Agreed." Simon said. "Not to mention the pay is negotiable."_

_"That's definitely the best part." Nashi said. It was around here Steph frowned._

_"How come I wasn't invited?" She asked quietly. Damien snorted and wrapped an arm around her. _

_"That's cause you ain't on the GMG team sis. Don't be sad. You might get to be next year." Steph narrowed her eyes at him. _

_After a few seconds, sparks flew._

* * *

Long story short, Nashi was now in a dressing room getting read for said interview. There had not been any kind of rehearsal for it, which she assumed was so the interview was an natural as possible. She knew very well that the show was live, so if she stumbled over her words everyone watching would see her do it.

And she'd look like and idiot.

Great.

"Are you guys ready yet?" Elise asked, near the door.

"Just about." Ultear replied, still combing her hair. "Stop complaining, would you?"

"I just want to get this over with, is that so much to ask?" Elise replied, looking impatient. "For all we know we're about to get embarrassed on live lacrima TV."

"Don't be so pessimistic." Ultear said. "It'll be fun."

"Yeah, sure." Elise muttered, looking over at Nashi. "What do you think, Nashi? You've been awfully quiet about this whole thing." She really had been. Nashi didn't really have a strong opinion one way or the other about the interview, and truthfully she'd expected they'd be asked for one eventually given how they performed at the Games. Her biggest concern was, again, making a fool of herself live.

"We'll be fine." She said. "We weren't even told to dress classy or anything." And that was something Nashi appreciated. Getting to do the interview in clothes she usually wore would make her, at the very least, more comfortable. The dressing room was just for any other changes they'd want to make to their appearance.

"One minute!" A voice shouted from outside the door. "Can you girls come with me to the curtain?" Nashi looked over at Ultear.

"Time to go." She said. Ultear smiled and nodded, standing up. The girl left their dressing room and followed the man, who lead them towards a backstage area and towards where Drake, Simon and Damien were standing.

"Jeez, you guys finally showed up." Drake said, looking a little miffed. "We've been waiting for ten minutes."

"We were getting ready." Ultear replied. "Did you guys even bother?" Nashi took a moment to look at the three of them. None looked very different then when they'd split up to different dressing rooms, and it looked as if they'd barely done so much as comb their hair.

"Not really, no." Damien said. "Too much work." Elise chuckled.

"I agree." She said. "Besides, classy isn't our thing." That was true. The Royal Ball proved that well enough. As the group talked, the man who'd led the girls there walked up.

"Alright you guys, you can walk on stage once Mr. Kennedy introduces you, okay?"

"Ah shit," Drake muttered. "I forgot Ross was doing this interview..."

"He is the host of the show." Ultear said. "So it makes sense."

"Doesn't mean his incessant hype won't be annoying." Elise mumbled. Nashi remembered Ross. He was the man who'd been the announcer for the Grand Magic Games. He'd been a loud and proud commentator, but Nashi didn't know he hosted a talk show as well. Well, at the very least it'd make thing more interesting.

"Curtains up, kids!" Someone called. "Show time!"

* * *

"Natsu, hurry the hell up!"

"Calm down Luce, it hasn't even-!"

_"Hello ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to Fiore Tonight! I'm your host Ross Kennedy!" _Lucy spared a moment to look back at the screen to find the show starting.

"Natsu!" She called again.

"Coming!" Lucy watched as her husband rounded the corner into the living room with handfuls of food. She frowned at this.

"Really?" She asked.

"What?" He demanded. "I was hungry!"

* * *

_"And tonight ladies and gentlemen, we have some very special guests for our show tonight!"_

"Why ain't that the truth." Michael smirked as the guild watched the lacrima vision screen as Ross introduced the show. Nashi had told him about the interview, and Michael decided that he wanted to watch it.

Then the whole guild found out. And that's why everyone was watching.

"How come they get an interview?" Rina asked. "We got second."

"You saying you'd want to do an interview with Ross?" Keita asked her from across the table. This made Rina shiver, and Kyoko laugh.

"Good point." She said. "I wouldn't want to do that." Michael smirked at this exchange, before he frowned. Weren't they missing someone?

"Hey, Kyoko." He said, earning the girls attention. "Is Juno still feeling sick? She's been bedridden all week." Kyoko's smile turned into a slight frown.

"Yeah, she hasn't been feeling too good." She explained. "She has some kind of stomach virus, so best you don't get close yet."

"How come you can see her?" Rina asked, which earned her a venomous glare from Kyoko.

"Because I'm helping look after her." She said it a low tone, which made Rina look surprised. "No need for anyone else to get sick, am I right?"

"...I guess..." Rina said slowly, making a face. The two watched each other carefully and soon Rina's expression softened. "Whatever." She said.

_"And now, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, our guests for tonight!_

* * *

"After their amazing showing at the Games last month, when they rocked us with their one point victory over Sabertooth, hailing strongest guild in Fiore, we have Nashi Dragneel, Drake, Elise Redfox, Ultear Fullbuster, Simon Scarlet, and Damien Dreyar!" Nashi listened to the studio audience lose their shit as they cheered, so she guessed that was their cue. This was further emphasized as music began to play.

So, taking a deep breath, Nashi walked out from behind the curtain and onto the set, to the sounds of cheering and clapping. She smiled and waved to the crowd as her friends filed out behind her, and she made her way for Ross. Once she reached him, she reached out and shook his hand, and he smiled at her.

"Showtime." He whispered. She just smiled and sat in the seat closest to his desk. Drake sat next to her, and Elise next to him. Ultear sat on an elevated chair behind Nashi, Simon next to her above Drake, and Damien next to Simon above Elise. Once they'd all sat down and the cheering started to die down, Ross also sat and shuffled the paper on his desk, still waiting for the remainder of the cheering to die away.

"Well, then." He said. "I'm not sure the audience has ever gone so ballistic." At this, the audience cheered some more, which made Nashi crack a smile. Typical reaction from a crowd Ross got riled up. "But, I wanted to thank you all for coming today, because I assume you've been pretty busy since the Games, am I right?"

"Oh, absolutely." Ultear said. "It was pretty wild there for a few days. Jobs just flooded us for a little bit."

"Master Laxus has to filter them out for us, too." Drake added. "Which, I mean, that says something."

"It certainly does, yeah." Ross agreed. "Have their been any joke jobs, or...?"

"I kind of like to think that's why they get filtered out, you know?" Nashi asked. "So that we don't waste our time with someone who's willing to spend five hundred thousand jewel for an autograph or something." This made the crowd and Ross laugh. This was fun so far.

"That'd be a scene." Ross said. "But anyway, first off I just wanted to, again, congratulate you all on your victory in the Games, it was a spectacular showing..." This made the crowd cheer again. "...Amazing resolve you all showed, just incredible. It really was."

"Thank you." Nashi replied.

"So while we're on the subject, I wanted to talk about what happened to you guys at the Games. Specifically, what happened to you at your hotel. Do you have any leads on that or no?" Nashi figured this would come up eventually. It was a pretty interesting topic all things considered.

"Uh no, not right now." Simon said from behind her. "So far there's not really much we know about it but to be honest, it's not a big deal anymore."

"No?" Ross asked.

"Nah." Damien agreed. "It happened, but we still won and we're okay now, so who cares?"

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that, can I?" Ross asked, laughing. "But one thing I did find interesting is that a few weeks ago, there were some rumors floating around that you and the other teams from the Games went to Ryuzetsu Land. I there any truth to that rumor, or...?"

"Uh yeah, that's true." Nashi said. "W went so that we could hang out for a bit and be friends instead of, you know, trying to beat the shit out of each other."

"I see, I see." Ross said. Nashi had to admit, he seemed calmer than she'd initially imagined. "Okay so, for the most part, I want to talk about you guys in this interview is that okay?" Nashi had no problem with it. No one else disagreed either. "Alright, so first off, I wanted to ask you guys mostly about your participation in the Games." He looked at Drake. "Want to go first, Drake?" This made Drake wince.

"Oh boy." He said, earning a laugh from everyone.

"You'll be okay." Nashi told him. "They might not know about the rabid fan club."

"Hold on, hold on." Ross said, smiling. "Rabid fan club? Care to explain that?" Drake looked rather unimpressed, so Ultear spoke up.

"Drake attracts single women like it's nothing." She explained. "It gets kind of ridiculous sometimes."

"Yeah..." Drake agreed quietly. "And sometimes they get a little crazy." Ross chuckled at this.

"Alright, well, we'll avoid it. Seems like it's not a topic you like."

"Got that right." Drake replied.

"Okay so, you were the first team member to compete on day one, in Hidden, right?"

"Right." Drake agreed, nodding.

"Okay so what I wanted to ask is, well, just how good is your Sound Magic for you to go the entire round without getting hit? Must be pretty powerful right?"

"Yeah, I can hear what your thinking, so I'd say it's pretty powerful." Ross leaned back in his seat.

"Really now?" Drake nodded. "What am I thinking?" Drake's ears twitched.

"You were almost late to the set today because your wife was yelling at you for not making dinner the other night." He said. This made the audience laugh, ad Ross just sat there to add to the comedic affect. Nashi and the others also had a small laugh. It was pretty funny.

"...Alright, moving on to your fight." Ross said, earning more laughs. "You fought Jackson on the third day, and you beat him by paralyzing him, correct?"

"Yep." Drake agreed. "Wasn't that spectacular, sorry."

"Ah it's okay. Still a great showing. Not to mention that amazing show of strength against Rina on the last day.

"That one was good, yeah." Drake agreed as Ross looked down at his sheet.

"Also, Ultear you fought Mami on day one right?"

"Right." Ultear said.

"First off, great fight. You did great." Ultear smiled at this. "But I wanted to ask about the agreement you two made on the battlefield. Has she stayed by that, or not?"

"Yeah, she has." Ultear said, making Simon sink in his seat. "It really isn't that big of a deal overall, honestly."

"I see. You're final day bout with Kyoko was also fantastic. _And_ you and Damien also did great in the Scale Treasure Hunt."

"Yeah, we did." Damien said, smiling. Ross laughed.

"And you Damien, you did great overall. Thrashing anyone who you went up against. Well, save for that last day for a little bit." Damien faltered at this.

"Y-Yeah..." He muttered. "But I guess that's what happens when you're like us."

"You know, it's funny to think that the six of you could probably kill me if you wanted to, despite being half my age." Ross said with a chuckle.

"Don't give me any ideas." Elise said, making everyone laugh.

"Anyways, Next I wanted to talk to Oberon." At this, Simon laughed weakly.

"You don't have to call me that." He said, making Ross laugh.

"I know. I just thought it'd be funny." He said. "Besides, you're overall showing at the Games was one of the greatest I've seen in years. Years."

"Glad I could help you with that." Simon said.

"I mean, you taking on all 100 of those monsters in Pandemonium, that was incredible. How did it feel?"

"Well, it was slightly undermined by the fact that I knew it was a set up." Simon said. "I mean, let's be real. My mom did it, of course they'd want me to do it as well."

"So you knew you'd get to go first?" Ross asked.

"I had an idea, yeah." Simon agreed. "I bet even if I hadn't gone any of the others had gone instead of me we'd still get to be the first team in."

"Makes sense." Ross agreed. "You're other amazing fight was against Nami on the last day. Just incredible. You were both amazing. Worthy of that tie."

"Thanks?" Simon asked. Ross grinned at this, and is eyes shifted towards Nashi.

"I wanted to talk about probably the best fights for last, which would Nashi and Elise vs. Michael and Keita. Girls, there's no other way to put it. That fight was something else." Nashi smiled at this.

"Thanks."

"I mean, the way you four went back and forth like that, I was surprised none of you received life threatening injuries from that."

"Yeah, that is pretty surprising." Elise agreed. Ross looked over at her at this. When he did so, Nashi felt herself tense up. Was he going to talk about her fight with Keita?

"Elise, you did great in your foot race event and the final day. Is there an explanation for what happened to you on the final day?" Nashi knew it was coming. She looked over at Elise carefully, wondering what the girl was going to say. Surprisingly, Elise just chuckled.

"I wasn't feeling so hot after we got our hotel thrown on us." She said. "So I was pretty heated once I found him. I let it get the better of me."

"Hm. That makes sense. You seemed pretty pissed."

"Yeah..." She muttered. Ross than looked at Nashi.

"And you Nashi. Just wow. Like I said the tag battle was crazy, but you against Blake at the end of the final day? Now that was a spectacle." Nashi smiled, but it was rather empty knowing why she'd fought Blake.

"Thanks." She said. Ross looked down at his sheet again, and smirked.

"Also, I wanted to ask you about a specific rumor."

"Go ahead."

"How true are the rumors that you and Michael Eucliffe are in a relationship? Out of curiosity.

* * *

"Wait, what?" Lucy winced as Natsu perked up and stared at the screen. Of course Ross would go there. Of course someone found out. Lucy watched Nashi pale and her friends stared at her in surprise. Well, save Drake, who slid down in his seat, smirking.

_U-Uh, come again?" _Nashi asked weakly.

_"You and Michael. People have been saying you two are together now." _Natsu seemed to be paying a lot more attention to the screen now, and his facial expression darkened a bit. Lucy sighed.

"Sorry Natsu. We were gonna tell you at some point..."

* * *

"Wait, what?" Rina asked, staring up at the screen as Keita hid his smile. "What the hell does that mean Mich-Michael!" Keita looked up to find that Michael had slipped away from them. He was currently high tailing it out of the guild.

"Where is he going?" Kyoko asked weakly. Keita shrugged, still hiding the smile.

"No idea."

* * *

"Huh?" Terra asked, watching the interview with the others. "Nashi and Michael, huh?"

"I'm so happy for them!" Winter said gleefully.

"Of course you are!" Grace shouted.

* * *

"Say what?" Mami asked. "Nashi and Michael?"

"Their cute together, I guess." Bella said offhandedly from beside her. "Not like Damien and I, though." Mami rolled her eyes.

"Do you ever stop daydreaming?"

* * *

"Well, that was a left field question." Nami said, sipping her drink as he watched the interview. "Little Mikey got himself a girl."

"She looks so nervous, nyah!" Kumi said, making Nami laugh.

"She does, yeah. Poor thing."

* * *

Reyna lifted her head groggily and stared at the lacrima vision.

"Say wha...?" She asked.

* * *

"Who's Michael again?" Tetsu asked from across the couch. Katsuchi gave it a moment of thought.

"I think it's that blonde pretty boy in Sabertooth." He replied. Tetsu hummed at this and returned his eyes to the lacrima.

"Cool. Good for Nashi, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"What about Nashi-sama?" Azzie asked, peeking her head in from the other room.

"Rumors she's going out with Michael. Blonde Sabertooth pretty boy."

"Oh, cool."

* * *

_"Well, uh...They're true. We are together."_

_"Ah, excellent! You two look great together!" _The audience began to cheer with Ross, making Nashi look like she was about to faint. Looked like the secret was out.

Juno buried her head in between her legs, hiding her eyes from the dull light the lacrima gave off in her dark room.

"Guess she said yes...Good for them."

**Well, that concludes chapter 1 of the double update! Go read the next one! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	237. What The Future Holds

**Chapter two of the double update, and the final filler chapter! It might be a bit short, but you guys got a double update. No complaining!**

**Enjoy!**

"Well, that was a fairly easy job." Ultear said, stretching.

"They usually are pretty easy." Elise told her. "At least for all of us in one go." Nashi had to agree with her there. With all seven of them on the job, it was never very difficult. Only problem was most rewards split seven ways was never very big.

"Whatever, let's just go back home." Damien said. "I want to sleep."

"Yeah, I want to go home too." Nashi said. "We've been out for a couple days." At this, Drake leaned over and punched her shoulder lightly.

"Want to get back to your boyfriend, huh?" Here it came. Nashi winced as the others giggled.

"I bet she does." Simon agreed. "She's been antsy since we left."

"Can we not tease me anymore?" Nashi asked. "You guys have been doing it nonstop since you found out last week..."

"Because it's amazing." Steph said, smirking. "Plus you get so flustered, how can we not?" It was times like this Nashi realized she had great friends. Sarcasm intended. Sometimes they were insufferable.

"Not sure why that'd make her want to go home." Damien said, snickering. "She's been avoiding her Dad for the last week too." Well, that much was true. Nashi knew her parents had been watching the interview, so she pretty much avoided her father at all chances she could. She couldn't tell if he was mad at her or not, and she wasn't keen on finding out yet, honestly. Screw that noise.

"Can we just go?" Nashi asked.

"You? Eager to get on a train?" Simon asked. Nashi shook her head.

"No, just an excuse to possibly throw up on one of you."

* * *

Nashi's stomach finally settled when they got back home to Magnolia and the smells of the restaurants near by made her hungry. She contemplated running to one of those restaurants to eat, but she decided against it. She'd eat at the guild hall. Mira's cooking was God like anyway.

"Oh for fuck...There you are Nashi!" Nashi made a face and looked down the street.

"Rocky?" She asked in surprise, the others stopping as well as Rocky reached them. He slowed to a stop and tried to catch his breath as best he could. "What is it? Did something happen?"

"Did...Something...Happen?" He asked, in between breaths. "You're...Goddamn...Right!"

"Well?" She asked. Rocky finally caught his breath and stood up straight, his eyes dodgy.

"Your mom." He said. "She went into labor a few hours ago."

Nashi's eyes widened at this.

"...Labor?" She asked. Rocky nodded.

"Yeah. We've been looking all over for you, but I guess you only got back from your job now, so..." Nashi tore past Rocky and sprinted towards the guild hall, leaving him and her friends in the dust. She pushed past people with the quickest apologies she could manage, her stomach and heart fighting for first to jump out of her mouth. She'd known it'd only be a matter of time before her brother was born, but she hadn't been expecting it now, of all times. Making another turn, Nashi could see the guild hall in the distance.

Once she made it, she kicked the doors in, which made everyone look up.

"Nashi." Erza said as she walked inside. "You're back."

"Where's my mom?" Nashi asked weakly. "Is she okay? Rocky told me..."

"Calm down, kid." Gajeel told her. "Wendy's with her in the infirmary. Salamanders with her too. She'll be fine."

"But, but..." It was around then Nashi heard her mother cry out from the infirmary. Every fiber of her being wanted her to run up there, but she held herself back. She was okay. If the future had told her anything, her mother and Luke would be okay.

Resigned to waiting, Nashi slumped and walked over to a table and sat down, bouncing her knee in anticipation. It wasn't long before her friends showed up as well and walked over to her.

"Everything okay?" Ultear asked. Nashi shrugged.

"I guess so." She said. "My moms in the infirmary, and Wendy's with her."

"Then I don't think we have anything to worry about." Drake said confidently. "If she's with Wendy then everything will be fine."

"Yeah..." Nashi agreed. "I know."

"Have a drink or something, Nashi." Elise said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Relax. It'll all be okay."

"Yeah...Yeah, you're right."

* * *

After Nashi had gotten a few drinks into her, she felt much more relaxed than before. Granted she was still antsy, but that was too be expected. You know, considering the situation.

Her mother had not cried out for a while, so Nashi had to wonder what was going on.

"Wonder how it's going." Simon said, looking up towards the infirmary door.

"Probably like you'd expect." Damien said, not sounding as interested. "Lucy pushes for a few hours and we're all a-okay afterwards. Maybe a bit tired."

"I like how nonchalant you are about it." Steph said. "Have you ever pushed a baby out of you?" Damien made a face.

"No, but I have fought against people who have tried to end my life on more than one occasion. Lucy has as well. I think she'll be fine."

"Well, he's got a point there." Elise said. "I'm sure that everything's-" Elise paused as the infirmary door opened, revealing Wendy standing there. Nashi felt her heart jump into her throat as the woman turned around and smiled.

"Nashi?" She asked.

"Y-Yeah?" Nashi asked. Wendy smiled even wider at her.

"Want to come meet your little brother?" Nashi felt a bit woozy at this. As she stood and walked towards the stairs, her body started to feel like lead. Why though, she had no idea. Was she just jumpy because she'd been worried? That must have been it. As she reached the second floor of the guild hall and walked towards the infirmary, she still felt nervous. Wendy opened the door for her and Nashi walked inside.

Once she was inside, she could her mother lying down in one of the beds, holding a bundle of cloth in her hands. Her father was sitting next to the bed, looking tired but happy. Her mother looked up and smiled.

"There you are." She said weakly. "How did your job go?" Nashi laughed weakly as she walked towards them.

"Really?" She asked. "You're going to ask how my job went, of all things?" I think that's the least important thing right now." Her mother laughed.

"I suppose it is. I was just curious." Nashi reached her side, and her mother moved her arms slightly to reveal her brother's face to her. Despite the growth he went through in twenty years, Nashi could still tell it was Luke bundled up with her mother. She smiled.

"Wow." She said. "He's so cute." Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, he is." She agreed. After a few more seconds, she gestured towards Nashi. "Want to hold him?" Nashi looked at her mother uncertainly.

"Uh..." She said. Her mother smiled at her.

"Come on. I know you want to." Nashi stared at her mother before she slowly looked down at the baby. Gathering herself, she reached forward and took a hold of the baby. He was heavier than she had been expecting, honestly. She carried him like she'd seen most people carry a baby, and looked down at his face. She smiled.

"He's cute." She said. Her father laughed.

"Don't get any ideas." He said. "Got it?" Nashi laughed.

"Got it." She said. "Don't worry dad, I'm not interested in this kind of thing yet."

"Just making sure." He said, smiling. Nashi played with her brother for a bit longer before she handed him to her father, and her mother looked at her.

"I'd tell you what we were going to name him, but I think you already know what we were thinking." Nashi smiled and looked down at her feet, nodding.

"Yeah." She said. She looked over at her brother, feeling tears threatening to fall.

"Good to see you again, Luke."

* * *

Nashi stared out over the city as the sun began to set, lost in her own mind. She'd gone up to the very top of the guild hall to be alone and think, which was good considering all that had happened in the past few hours.

"Any reason you're up here all alone?" Nashi turned to find Drake standing by the staircase, a curious look on his face. She shrugged and looked back out over the city.

"No reason." She said. "Just wanted to think."

"Oh yeah?" He asked. "Seems like an odd time to want to think, considering Luke is downstairs meeting everyone."

"Yeah yeah." She said. He walked up behind her and jumped up on the ledge, sitting next to her. Silence came over them as they stared out over the skyline, before Nashi sighed.

"I was just thinking." She said. "About...The future."

"Oh?" Drake asked. "Why?"

"Because..." Nashi shrugged and looked down at the ground below them. "I realized something when I was holding Luke earlier."

"I'm all ears." He replied.

"I got to thinking about the future." She said. "Not in general, the future we left behind a month ago."

"What about it?" Drake asked. "It changed."

"Exactly." Nashi agreed. "But...Did we change it for the better?" Drake was silent for a minute. "Did us coming back make things worse than they'd be if we didn't? Was it a bad thing to come back here."

"Well...Who knows?" Drake asked. "I don't. Do you?"

"No."

"Exactly. And that's why I think you're just being silly."

"What do you mean?" Drake leaned back and smirked at her.

"Nobody can tell us if we did the right thing coming back to this time or not. Personally, I feel like it was the right thing to do. But I guess we'll have to see. I don't want to time travel anymore, anyway." Nashi agreed with that, at the very least. It was too stressful. "So at the end of the day, we won't know if we did the right thing until we know. Do you get it?"

"...Yeah. I do. You're right." She agreed.

"Yeah." He said. "So don't worry about it right now. What you should be doing right now is celebrating downstairs. Your little brother is down there, after all. Get drunk or something. Just forget about it."

"Alright. That sounds like fun." She jumped off the ledge and followed Drake towards the door back to the guild but she stopped and looked back at the sky.

"What is it?" Drake asked. Nashi smiled weakly.

"I was just wondering what the twenty years ahead looks like." She said.

"Like I said, don't know." Drake said. "But I bet everything is just fine."

"...Yeah. It'll be okay."

* * *

"Luke! You're so fucking worthless!"

"Oh coming from the Snake Queen!" Lilly sighed as Luke and Kaida continued to argue angrily as they returned from their job. Why she'd decided to tag along and subject herself to that torture she didn't understand whatsoever.

"You okay sis?" Lilly looked over to find Elise grinning at her.

"Yeah, I'm doing _great._" Lilly said sarcastically. "Can you kill me?"

"Nah. I'll watch you squirm." Elise replied. "Besides, it's hilarious."

"Yeah, I bet." Lilly looked back at the arguing pair and sighed. Sometimes those two put her at the end of her rope.

How their families put up with it, she'd never understand.

* * *

As the moon shone down on the valley, a man ran through it. He looked over his shoulder to check if those damn Demon Hunters had lost the trail. From the looks of it they had, as no one had followed him here.

Sighing, Gin sat down and looked down at his feet. It had been a long day.

**Again, It's shorter than I wanted it to be, but I can't really do much about that, this was all I had for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	238. Hunted

**Back again, for the start of a new arc! Let's get into it!**

**Enjoy!**

The road ahead seemed long and endless.

But Gin knew the road behind him looked just as hopeless.

He'd been wandering around for God knew how long. He'd been running for even longer. Running from those who wished his life to end.

And, hell, perhaps they were right. Did he deserve this life? Cursed with loneliness?

And so he walked down the beaten path, head hung watching his feet. He walked and walked, just waiting for them to find him. They probably would eventually. After a little while, his stomach growled in defiance to it's lack of fuel. He hadn't eaten in about a few days now. He'd need to scrounge together a meal to continue. Looking up, and brushing his white hair from his face, Gin found that he had arrived at a small village. It didn't look like much, but Gin assumed it had a market of some kind. So he decided to go there.

Once he'd reached the village, he found it to be quite lively. Children ran up and down the streets, chasing each other without a care in the world. Gin longed for that kind of life. There were those running market stalls not to far from him, and those who milled up and down the streets.

Walking towards the nearest stand, Gin perused the fruits and vegetables, looking for anything he could eat.

"What can I get ya, kid?" Gin looked up to find a middle aged man watching him with a smile.

"Well...What's fresh?" He asked, voice hoarse. The man laughed.

"Everything here is fresh! Right from the ground or the tree. Best around here, really."

"I see." Gin reached into his pockets and dug around. Finally, he realized that he had little to no money. Not near enough for any food. He pulled out the coins he felt in his pockets and looked up at the merchant weakly, who was still smiling.

"What'll it be?" He asked again.

"I...Don't have much money." Gin told him. At this, he frowned.

"Fresh fruits and veggies aren't cheap, son." He said sternly.

"I know." Gin replied quietly. "But perhaps, you could spare a few apples for a traveler?" He hated begging, but he was starving. The man made a face.

"Let me see how much you got." Gin reached out and showed off the few jewel coins he had, and the man shook his head. "That's enough for a single apple, kid."

"I see. May I have one, then?"

"Uh..." As the two stared at each other, Gin's stomach decided to help him out. It roared, which made the man's eyes flicker downwards momentarily. He sighed. Take two, would ya? My conscious would hate me if I let a starving kid wander off without enough to feed himself."

Gin spared a thought to wonder how shitty the man's morals were that two apples seemed to be enough.

"Thank you." Handing over the rest of his money, Gin took the apples from the stand and bit into one immediately. He chewed it with purpose, and finally his stomach began to calm itself. He'd now run out of money. What was he to do now? Hunt? No, he couldn't. He sucked at it. Leaving the stand and walking down the street, Gin wondered what his next plan of attack was.

"What the fuck was that?" Gin froze. No. Please no.

"...Leave." Gin whispered. The man clicked his teeth.

"You're pathetic." He said. "You could've killed that man if you wanted too. Stolen enough apples for three months. Yet you let him pity you? Pathetic."

"Leave." Gin said again, fists clenching.

"Kill him and take all the food and money you need!" The man shouted. "You can do it Gin! You're my-!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Gin roared, breaking character to shout at the man behind him. Just as he turned, he laid eyes on the man. He was in a dark black suit, and his face had more then it's fair share of scars. His long white hair was tied up in a bun, and his red eyes narrowed as he met Gin's. With that, he did indeed disappear from view, leaving Gin in the middle of the street with people staring at him in confusion. Great. He'd shouted out something so angry in the middle of a peaceful town? He was screwed.

"Who were you talking to just now, mister?" A voice asked. Gin looked down to find a small girl watching him, eyes wide with curiosity.

"...No one." He replied. "It's nothing."

"You sure?"

"Positive." Gin turned away from the child and began to leave. "Goodbye."

"Bye." Despite that being over, Gin felt eyes still following him as he walked down the street. Wrapping his sandy black cloak around his body, Gin knew he might as well just leave this place. There was no point in staying now that everyone figured the silver haired kid in the dark cloak is a freak and yells at nothing.

If only they could see him. If only they knew what Gin went through on a daily basis. Perhaps then they'd understand his struggle. But no. No one understood. No one would get it. They'd never get it.

He was alone in this. he had been since the very beginning. It was not unknown to him.

As he got away from the busier market portion of the town and the eyes stopped staring, Gin noted that he seemed to be in a more residential part of the town. People came and went from their homes as they pleased. Occasionally he caught a glimpse on the inside of their house, and saw how nice and homely it looked.

He'd never get to feel that. He'd never really had a home.

Sighing, Gin turned into an alley and pulled out the other apple he'd gotten from the merchant, and played with it in his hands for fun. He shrugged and bit into it, savoring the last bit of food he'd probably get for a while. He sat as he chewed, and before long nothing was left of his meal but the core. He tossed it off to the side and watched it bounce off the ground a couple times before coming to a stop near the wall.

He really needed some rest. He'd not gotten much sleep the night before thanks to those people. Closing his eyes, Gin felt himself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"Wake up, you little shit." Gin opened his eyes at this, only to see a sharp knife pointed in his face. He felt his stomach twist painfully. Had he dozed off and they'd tracked him here? No, the man pointing a knife at him didn't seem to be dressed like the Hunters. He was just some thug.

"What?" Gin asked, sounding unimpressed. Perhaps he was, given the situation.

"Gimme everything you got." Gin actually managed a laugh.

"I'm sleeping in an alley." He retorted. "You think I've got anything for you?"

"Give it to me!" Gin rolled his eyes and shifted to empty out his pockets, showing the thug he did indeed have nothing. The thug clicked his teeth. "What fucking good are you, then?" He asked, rearing his arm back.

Gin grabbed it before the knife impaled his chest.

"Get out of here." He said. "Before it's too late."

"Oh yeah?" The thug challenged. "What're you gonna do, huh?"

"If you don't get out of here soon, the townsfolk will discover a mangled corpse. And guess what? It won't be mine." Gin felt horrible saying such things, but it was the truth. If he was too threatened...It might be too late. The man seemed a bit startled, and backed up a bit. "Go on, go home." He took Gin's advice and fled out of the alley and down the street, leaving Gin be.

"He tried to kill you." Gin didn't need to look up to know his suited 'friend' had reappeared beside him. "Why does he leave unharmed, Gin?"

"Because there's no point in killing a man like that." He replied. "He'll be fine."

"You're pathetic, you know that?" The man hissed. "How the hell is it you're so soft? A man threatens your life and you let him walk off. Holy hell."

"Get out of here, you piece of shit." Gin said, looking over in the man's direction. A second later he vanished, and Gin sighed. This was insane. Perhaps it was time he left. If he stayed too long, those damn Hunters would show up. And if push came to shove, Gin didn't want to involve the townsfolk in that battle.

It'd be more akin to a slaughter, really.

Gin got up from his resting place and brushed himself off, leaving it and walking back towards the way he came into the town in the first place. He passed people, who gave him looks and mumbled about him. Perhaps rumors about the crazy silver haired boy who had started shouting at nothing in the market. That was fine. They weren't the first to gawk like that, and they sure as hell wouldn't be the last. He just wanted to leave.

But, as soon as he reached the entrance to town, he froze. He quickly ran into a nearby alley, and peeked out.

A group of two men and a woman were walking inside the gates. They were wearing black cloaks and jackets, marked with an insignia he recognized.

_The Hunters. They found me._

Gin watched as the group walked inside the gates and immediately walked towards the middle aged man's stand.

"You." The man in front with sandy blonde hair said. "Have you seen a young man pass through here?"

"Have to be more specific." The man replied.

"About six foot, silver hair, golden eyes." The Hunter replied. The man nodded.

"Yeah, a kid like that passed through here." This seemed to please the hunters.

"Where'd he go?"

"Wouldn't know. He walked that way but I haven't seen him since."

"Thank you for your cooperation." With this, the group walked in Gin's direction. Frowning, Gin ducked back into the alley and held his breath. Thankfully, they walked right by and down the street away from him. Gin looked out at them.

_I should follow them. Maybe I can corner them and beg them to leave me alone._

Gin's better instinct told him this was a mistake, but he decided to do so regardless. He tailed behind the hunters, keeping a wide margin between them just in case. After a while, the black haired man growled.

"This is bullshit." He said.

"He's good at hiding his scent, I'll give him that." The blonde one replied. "It took us this long to realize he's one of _them." _The woman laughed.

"Master Neptu will be pleased when the news reaches him." She said. "But first, we have to actually find him."

"Just draw a tracking circle, Melanie." The dark haired one said, making Gin's eyes widen. "We'll find him that way." The woman, Melanie, nodded and bent down towards the ground. And with this, Gin hightailed it away.

If they were going to find him anyway, he'd prefer if he was away from the town.

He ran back towards the entrance to town and bolted right past the man at the stand, who called out to him. Gin ignored this and bolted out of town. And, soon enough, a loud buzzing sound hit Gin's ears. He looked down to find a white trail of magic power snaking back down into the town. They'd located him. No way out now.

Walking a little farther down the road, Gin finally stopped and turned back towards the town. And with this, he waited. Soon enough, the three of them came running over the hill and stopped roughly thirty feet from him. There was silence at first, but soon the blonde one laughed.

"Finally." He said. "We caught you."

"So you have." Gin replied, calm. "What will you do now, Hunter?" The man smirked.

"Cooperative? I like it. Not like you, though. I heard the reports."

"Oh?" Gin asked. "What did those reports say?" With this, the man frowned.

"They told of a massacre." He said. "An entire scouting party. Camp painted with their own blood. Was that you?" Gin frowned and looked down.

"I have no recollection of doing such a thing." He said. "I'm sorry, you must be confusing me with another man."

"There's no confusion here." The man replied. "The report from a survivor gave it away. a man. Silver colored hair. golden eyes. Ain't no mistake."

"If you say so." Gin replied. He really did have no recollection of the massacre in question.

Although that really came as no surprise.

"You're good." The black haired man said. "You learned how to mask your smell excellently. Can't believe it took us this long to realize what you were."

"What I am?" Gin asked. "And what have you concluded?"

"That you are no mere demon." Melanie said. "You're..."

"Don't say it." Gin said. "They don't matter here. Sadly, I won't be going with you three. So I'd like you to surrender and flee. Okay?"

"And why would we do that?"

"Because I'd rather not spill your blood here." The two men laughed.

"Oh?" The blonde one said. "And why not? You seemed to have no issue with it back at the camp."

"That wasn't me." Gin replied simply. "That was...another thing." The blonde one growled.

"Well that 'other thing' is inside of you." he said, hands glowing. "And because of that, you're coming with us!" A blast of Holy Light came at Gin, but he dodged by bending away from it. More bursts came from the other two, but he graceful dodged all of them and landed on a hill away from the road.

"Please." Gin said. "Leave, before he's had enough."

"He?" Melanie asked. "Who is this he?"

"You know his name, but please don't speak it." Gin replied. "Or he might show up. And trust me, unless you want to end up like your scouting party, you'll avoid it." The blonde growled.

"You know, I think I'll kill you instead." He said, more light coming towards Gin. He dodged it once more and landed on the road, before he tried to run away. Pillars of light shot up out of the ground to prevent this, and he had to fall to the ground to avoid more blasts of light. Jumping up, Gin had no time to avoid the next blast, which hit him square in the chest. Once he fell to the ground once more, it felt like his skin was boiling.

_So this is what their holy light feels like...It burns so bad._

Gin stood and groggily dodged more blasts before hitting the dirt face down and groaning. He could hear the hunter approaching, so he needed to stand.

"Is this all the power inside you?" The blonde one asked, slamming a foot down on Gin's back repeatedly. "Maybe we deserved to lose those scouts if they couldn't even handle something like this! You're fucking pathetic!"

"..P-Please..." Gin managed. "Don't...Make him...Hurt you..."

"What was that, you little shit? I couldn't hear you!" The man foot hit Gin's head this time, and black spots appeared in his vision. As the pounding continued, Gin spotted something through the woman's legs.

The scarred man in the suit.

"No...No no no..."

_"It's over, Gin. If you won't protect this body we share..._

"NO!"

_"I suppose I'll have to."_

* * *

Melanie fell back and wiped the tears from her face as she watched the scene in front of her. The ground was torn up , scorch marks all over the ground.

And her comrades lay beside her, barely moving. She spared a look for them before she looked back at the monster in question.

He stood at at least seven feet tall. He was encased in armor that appeared as though it was made of bones, and he wielded a long sword at least as tall as he was.

And that face, Silver hair and golden eyes that glowed with murderous intent.

"Please..." She whispered. "Don't do it..." The beast stared her down before it sheathed the blade on it's back. Bony wings sprouted from his back, and he took off into the dark night sky. Melanie watched fearfully.

Thankfully, the beast did not return.

* * *

Gin landed hard as the transformation ended. His whole body ached painfully, and he felt himself blacking out. He was very far away now, he'd managed to control the form long enough to make a getaway. He now at the edge of a road near a creek, which would be where he slept that night.

"I told you...Not to!" Gin shouted. Nearby, a voice laughed.

"Sorry Gin. Can't have the body dying on me. No big deal. I even let you spare them. Just remember." Gin felt a hand grab his chin and yank his head upwards. He stared right into the mans blood red eyes as he laughed.

"You and me and are in this together. Don't forget that." And with that, Gin drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Is he okay? He looks like shit."

"He does, but he's breathing. I just want to make sure. Besides, our job's over. We aren't on a time crunch."

"Just saying Ul, he could kill over at any time..." Gin could hear people speaking, so he tried to open his eyes. It was a pretty big struggle, and he grunted while he tried.

"Wait, did you guys here that?" A woman's voice asked. 'I think he's waking up!" Gin finally managed to get his eyes open, and once he did the sun blinded him incredibly. From what he could tell, he was on his back, with seven figures looming over him.

"W-What...?" He asked, before he coughed. His body was killing him. "What's going on? Who're you people?" He opened his eyes again, and this time a face was visible.

It was a young woman. She had pink hair that was tied up in a ponytail, and her brown eyes shone with a warm kindness foreign to him.

"My name's Nashi. Are you okay?"

**I think I'll leave it here for today. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	239. Carrying The Burden

**Let's do this shit. **

**Enjoy!**

"Are we there yet?" Drake asked.

"Does it look like we are?" Steph demanded.

"No, but it didn't feel like it took this long on the way there." Nashi somewhat agreed with Drake on that one. As they walked back home from another job they'd taken, she couldn't help but feel like it was taking way too long. But that came with walking to and from, She guessed. Oh well. Not much they could do. Except walk.

"If you shut up, it'll happen faster." Elise suggested, elbowing Drake in the sides. This caused him to double over in pain, groaning.

"Ow." He hissed. "Was that deserved?"

"Yes."Ultear said. "We all know the roads long. Stop complaining."

"Ugh..." Drake moaned, massaging his sides. Nashi smiled at him.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." He replied, standing up straight again. "Elise just hits too hard."

"You're welcome." Elise replied. The group rounded a corner, and they paused.

"Is that a guy?" Damien asked. Nashi looked forward to find that this guess was pretty accurate. Towards the stream at the side of the road, lying on his back, was a man. He had silver colored hair obscuring the side of his face, and a black cloak hanging around his body. From the distance between them, Nashi could tell he looked a bit banged up from something.

"It looks like he's hurt." Simon said. As they walked closer, it became much more apparent from the scars and bruises on his body he was indeed hurt pretty bad. Ultear leaned down and observed the man closely.

"Is he okay?" Steph inquired. "He looks like shit."

"He does, but he's breathing." Ultear replied, standing up again. "I just want to make sure. Besides, our jobs over. We aren't on a time crunch."

"Just saying Ul, he could kill over at any time..." Elise said.

"What should we do?" Simon asked. "Can we treat him somehow?"

"Not really, no." Nashi said. "None of us are healers."

"That's true." Drake agreed. "We might hurt him even more trying to-" As Drake spoke, someone grunted. A quick look around confirmed no one had done it.

"Did you guys hear that?" Nashi asked, before another grunt came. Looking down, Nashi realized the man was trying to wake up. "I think he's waking up!" They all watched as the man finally opened his eyes, which were a bright golden color.

"W-What...?" He asked, voice hoarse. "What's going on? Who're you people?" Nashi leaned down and smiled warmly at him.

"My name's Nashi. Are you okay?" She asked. He stared at her for a moment, before he closed his eyes and winced.

"N-Nashi..." He said. "Your name...?"

"Yes. That's me." She said. The man didn't reply at first, but Nashi guessed he was in a lot of pain. "What's yours?"

"...Gin." He said. "My name's Gin."

"Nice to meet you, Gin." She said. "What happened to you?"

"What...Happened?" Gin opened his eyes and sat up quickly, which surprised Nashi as she jumped back up. He looked around at the others and his surroundings, before down at his banged up hands.

"You okay?" Ultear asked.

"...I guess." He said. "Everything hurts, but I'll get over it."

"If you say so." Damien said.

"...Why did you stop?" Gin asked, looking up at them.

"What?" Nashi asked.

"Why did you stop to check on me?" He asked. "You didn't have to. You could've ignored me and kept on walking without a care in the world. You don't know me, I don't know you. You had zero obligation to see if I was okay, and yet you stopped. Why?" Nashi made a face.

"We needed a good reason to stop and check if a wounded person needed any help?" She asked. Gin looked at his feet.

"No one's that kind for no good reason." Gin said. "People like that don't exist."

"Nice world view you got there." Drake said sarcastically.

"If you'd seen half the shit I have you'd feel the same way." Surprisingly, Drake did not reply to this. "The way humans act, how we fearlessly care little for those around us. It's a sad reality."

"Well, it isn't reality." Nashi said, making Gin look up at her. "We stopped. We wanted to see if you were okay. Just because you haven't encountered anyone like us doesn't mean we don't exist out there." Gin stared at her blankly before he nodded and struggled to his feet.

"I see." he said. "Your kindness...Makes me feel happy." Nashi smiled.

"You're welcome."

"And as such, I will return that kindness with my own." He said. "You should leave me. All of you. Leave and don't look back." Nashi made a face.

"Huh?" Damien asked. "Why?"

"No doubt those three reported back to their superiors nearby."Gin murmured to himself, but loudly enough for them to hear. "I'll be rained upon my light soon enough..."

"Rained upon by light, huh?" Simon asked. "Care to explain?' Gin shook his head.

"It's none of your concern." he said, turning his back to them and attempting to walk away, but faltered from the pain. "This is my problem. Getting you involved would only..." He grunted from the pain. "Would only get you hurt."

"We can't just leave you." Ultear said. "is there any way we can help?" Gin let out a cold chuckle.

"No." he said. "Hell, if you knew who I was you wouldn't want me to live anyway. That way you'd have kept walking." This made Nashi tense. Was he any enemy?"

"And who exactly are you?" Elise asked. Gin paused, before he turned back to them.

"There's no easy way to say this, even though I'm not trying to." He said. "So, here it is." he took a deep breath. "I'm a Demon Lord takeover wizard."

This stunned the group into silence. He was a what?

"Say again?" Nashi asked, stunned.

"Have you not heard of the twelve Demon Lords?" Gin demanded. "The guardians of hell and the circles of Judgment?"

"I'd say we know a little too much about them." Drake mumbled.

"I'm one of them." He said. "Ever since I was a little boy, I've had this horrible power. My family, my village, they cast me out for it. I've been running ever since." He stared down at his hand, looking as though he was livid to see it. "All my life I've had this shadow following me, egging me on to slaughter everyone who mistreats me...It's hell on earth." That did indeed sound hellish. Although Nashi could assume a certain someone knew his pain. "I'm surprised he hasn't told me to kill you guys yet, so..."

"It sucks huh?" Nashi watched as Damien stepped forward. "Having a shadow telling you shit all the time."

"I-I'm sorry, what?" Gin asked. Damien laughed.

"Sorry," He said. "Forgot to introduce myself." He raised his hand and waved. "Damien. Demon Lord takeover wizard." This made Gin's eyes widen.

"E-Excuse me?" He said. "You're...?"

"Yeah." Damien said, smiling thorough it. "I get you, man. Having a man in a suit follow you around and egg you on blows. So? Who's your demon? Does he have a name?" Gin looked stunned to his very core at this news, but he nodded weakly.

"Yes." He said. "He has a name."

"Want to share?" Gin didn't reply, but Damien didn't skip a beat. "Mine's Xisplate." Nashi watched as Damien looked beside him, where no one was. "Right Xisplate?" Gin was also staring in awe at the spot, but Nashi still saw nothing. All of a sudden, Damien looked unimpressed. "Asshole..." He mumbled.

"Nice to meet you, Damien..." Gin then looked at the spot beside Damien. "Lord Xisplate of the 12th Circle." A few seconds later, Damien rolled his eyes.

"There's no way in hell you can convince me to address you formally, you dick." he said. Nashi, however, could still see no one. Damien looked back at Gin.

"So? Who's yours?" Gin shifted uncomfortably.

"His name is Mortavius." He said. "The Lord of the 4th Circle of Judgment. The Brute, is his title."

"The Brute, huh?" Damien asked. "Sounds like he's a pain in your ass." Gin did not reply to this.

"So you're a Demon Lord takeover wizard." Ultear summarized. "No big deal. Damien's one. Our good friend Bella is as well. We don't think badly of you, man. Really."

"..I see." Gin said. "Despite this, please run regardless. Those Demon Hunters won't not hurt you. Death by association, I'd wager. So-"

"Demon Hunters?" Steph asked, stepping forward. "Can you describe what they looked like?" Gin made a face.

"Well..." he said, thinking. "They wore dark black cloaks and jackets, and there was a strange insignia here..." Gin pointed to the upper left part of his body. Steph looked at Damien.

"Onii-chan." She said. "They work for the same guy that attacked you."

"I know." Damien said. "Same outfit."

"You've run into them before?" Gin asked.

"Not because they were hunting me, no." Damien said. "I went to find my little sister and ran into one. Damn near killed me."

"A capable bunch." Gin agreed, nodding. "They would've got me too, but..." He looked away from them. "Not important. Anyways, I don't know how close they are or if they've gotten reinforcements, so please. Don't try to help me anymore."

"Not happening, buddy." Damien said. "We Demon Lords stick together."

"That why two we've met tried to kill you?" Elise demanded.

"The _sane _ones, that is." Damien corrected himself. "Don't worry, Gin. These guys won't hurt you. We'll help you." Gin looked confused.

"Why?" Gin demanded. "Strangers who help in a situation like this are naive and truthfully I'm starting to see it in you people. You aren't involved. Don't just insert yourself into danger for me." Simon burst out into laughter.

"Gin, we do that way to often." He said. "We'll be okay. We've fended off bigger threats then a few Demon Hunters." Gin did not look convinced, so Nashi smiled at him.

"You're stuck with us, Gin." She said. "We're not going to let them hurt you."

"...If you say so." He replied.

* * *

"Again, I'm sorry for slowing us down today." Gin said as they came to a stop in a valley. During the rest of the day they'd had to stop many times for Gin, who was more injured than he was letting on.

"It's no big deal." Drake said. "Stopping feels like a good thing anyway. I need a rest."

"No, you're just lazy." Elise replied.

"You telling me you're not, princess?" Drake demanded. Elise raised her hand in a threat, and Drake cowered away from her. Damien smiled as he watched his friends do normal things that people did when setting up camp. Ultear and Simon piled up pieces of wood and Nashi threw a small fireball on it to make the fire glow and lit up the area. Damien looked over at Gin to find him standing off to the side and watching them do their thing.

"Get over here." Damien told him. "Stay near the fire." Gin made a face at him, but nodded and came closer to the fire.

"Alright well, who's taking the first watch?" Ultear asked, crossing her arms. No one spoke up, probably because nobody wanted to do it.

"I'll do it." Damien said. "Those Hunters won't get past me."

"My man, Damien." Drake said, lying down and sprawling out, which made his arms hit Nashi, who was trying to lay down.

"Get off me." She said, pushing him. This made Drake laugh.

"Sorry, I forgot you aren't single anymore." he said. This made Nashi blush, which only fueled Drake's laughter as he rolled away and made his back face her. Soon enough, those two along with the others were lying down and falling asleep.

Well, except for Gin, who still stood by the fire.

"You alright man?" Damien asked him, making him look over. "You look like you're spacing out."

"I'm okay." Gin replied, still standing there. "Just sore is all."

"Sit down then. Jeez, don't act so weird."

"Sorry..."

"No need to apologize." Gin nodded and walked a bit closer to Damien, sitting down and taking a deep breath. After this, there was silence between them. Damien assumed Gin wasn't going to fall asleep, given he seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid it. Perhaps he wanted to watch as well?

"I don't understand you lot." Gin said, making Damien look at him. "What kind of person does all this for a person they barely know, much less can trust? How stupid are you people?" Damien smirked.

"If being nice is stupid, we're downright mental." He said.

"This goes beyond being nice." Gin replied. "You've injected yourselves into a conflict that had nothing to do with you, with me, who you don't know, all because I told you about it. Really now. How stupid can you get." Damien made a face.

"So in all these years, you've never seen another friendly face?" Damien asked.

"That face generally goes cold with hatred once they know I have a monster living inside me." Gin said quietly. "Nobody wants to help the walking time bomb."

"We did." Damien said. "That counts for something, right?"

"..."

"Besides, you're not a monster. Neither am I. Or Bella, another Demon Lord we know." Damien opted out of talking about Taisho and Shuichi. "We're just different."

"...How do you do it, Damien?" He asked, making Damien raise an eyebrow. "How can you act so casual and nonchalant about it? You have a creature that represents death incarnate using you as a tether to our world. How can you not throw up at the thought?" Damien gave this some thought.

"...Back when I first discovered this power of mine," he said, thinking back to that fateful day. "I was excited to try it out. In my zeal, I lost control. I destroyed my home, my city, and nearly killed my little sister."

"Steph?" Gin asked. Damien nodded.

"Yeah. After that, I loathed being his tether. Every day I was haunted by what he'd done with my body, and I wondered why I had to be the one to carry the burden. I swore off ever taking over into Xisplate again." Damien closed his eyes. "But down the line, I had no choice to use it again."

_"SHOW ME YOUR DEMONS, DAMIEN! SHOW ME WHY YOU DON'T USE HIM!"_

Taisho's angry roar rang in Damien's ears.

"Another Demon Lord takeover wizard by the name of Taisho was my enemy. He wasn't scared of his power, though that might be because he'd lost his mind." Damien said. "I had to use Xisplate again. And I did...Which ended with Taisho being killed."

"Wow..." Gin said.

"After that, my interactions with Xisplate grew in number. It seemed like he always showed up and talked with me, even when I didn't want him to." Damien laughed weakly. "Even if it was just to mock me. But soon, I started to not be so angry when he showed up. Eventually, I started to trust his judgment and then, once he told me why he'd done what he did with my body almost twelve years prior, I came to trust him."

"Trust?" Gin asked.

"Yeah. It's still weird for me, but I'm getting accustomed to it." Damien sighed. "My point being is that, well, I just do. I've been through so much with him and I've grown so much as a person because of his influence...He's my friend."

"Aw, I'm touched Damien."

"You shut it." Damien told Xisplate, who's presence he know sensed behind him. "Don't mock me. I'm trying to help someone out here." Xisplate snorted.

"Whatever you say, _friend_" Xisplate said. Damien rolled his eyes and looked back at Gin.

"My point is is that I just do it." he said. "At some point you have to realize that you have to carry the burden of being one of the twelve. But, if you don't treat it like a burden, it isn't so bad."

"Not a burden? Don't flatter him, kid." A dark voice said. Gin sat bolt right up, and Damien turned. Standing by the fire was another man in a suit. He had silver hair like Gin tied up in a bun, and scars all over his face. His eyes, unlike Gin's, were blood red.

"Nice to see you, Mortavius." Xisplate said. Mortavius glared at Xisplate.

"Fuck you, how's that for a greeting?" Mortavius asked. He walked closer to Gin and glowered down at him. "This kid is the definition of pathetic. He lets anyone, ANYONE, walk all over him like he's a god damn carpet, for fuck sake."

"Get out of here..." Gin whispered.

"You have the power to make all those who walk over you bow on their knees and plead for mercy!" Mortavius shouted. "And yet you let them do it anyway! That stall owner who fucking pitied you, that thug you tried to rob you, those hunters who tried to _kill _you, it's always the same." Mortavius spat on the ground. "You make me sick, Gin."

"Please just leave..." Gin repeated.

"And these kids, too!" Mortavius shouted, gesturing at the sleeping others and Damien. "You got pitied to the point that they wanted to help you! Fuck these people, kill all of them!"

"Hey, calm down." Damien said, standing up "There's no need for that." Mortavius stopped and turned to Damien. He walked right up to him and into his face, grinning darkly.

"Ah, you must be Xisplate's takeover wizard." He said. "What was it, again? Derick? Damon?"

"Damien." Damien corrected.

"Ah, right." Mortavius glowered at him. "Don't speak out of turn, boy. I won't hesitate to annihilate you and then your friends." Damien gulped. His guy really had a presence. "Hear me? I won' think Vantros or Meridia was bad? You ain't seen the power of The Brute, boy. I will wipe you clean off of this plane of existence, you fucking-"

Xisplate grabbed Mortavius' shoulder, which made him freeze in his tracks.

"That's quite enough, don't you think _Morty_?" Xisplate asked, voice deadly serious. Mortavius slowly backed away from Damien and turned to Xisplate.

"Sure, whatever." he said. With that, he vanished. Damien let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. Xisplate turned to Damien.

"A word, Damien." He said, walking away from the campsite. Damien followed him into the dark, leaving Gin as the sole watchmen.

"What is it?" Damien asked.

"Firstly, I'm sorry for Mortavius' behavior. He's got a short temper."

"I can tell." Damien muttered.

"Anyway, that's not my main point. What I wish to speak about is Gin." Xisplate turned back to Damien. "I don't know how, but the boy has masked his scent as a demon. Which is saying something, because I had no idea he was one of us until about thirty seconds before he told us."

"Really?" Damien asked. "You couldn't sense it?" Xisplate shook his head.

"No." he said. "Which is odd because with Vantros, Akirelys and Meridia I did right off the-"

"Wait, Akirelys and Meridia?" Damien asked, feeling his temper rising. "You knew they were around?!"

"Well, yeah."

"Why was I not told?!"

"It wasn't relevant." Xisplate said, waving a hand around. Damien wholly disagreed. "Regardless, the boy's masked his presence excellently. Sadly, we'll still be found by the Demon Hunters. My guess is midday tomorrow."

"Wait, why?" Damien asked. "His scent is masked."

"Are you really this stupid, Damien?" Xisplate asked, before he sighed. "Of all the things to not get..."

"What, what is it?" Damien asked. Xisplate walked towards Damien and jabbed him int the chest with his index finger.

"They're searching for a Demon Lord around here." He said. Damien's eyes widened.

"Oh no..."

"And you, Damien, absolutely _reek _of Demon."

**And another chapter down. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	240. The Ambush

**Sorry for the wait between chapters, guys. Last week or so has been a bit hectic. So apologies.**

**Also given recent manga developments, please remember: Can't change shit. **

**Enjoy!**

"So Gin, where're you from?" Gin looked up in confusion as this to see the others looking back at him as they walked along the beaten path.

"Pardon?" He asked. Nashi smiled.

"I asked where you're from." She said. her voice was soft and patient, one Gin was still unaccustomed to being addressed with.

"No where special." he said, looking away from her. "Some place east."

"Did you like it there?" Ultear asked. Gin looked down at his feet.

_"Get out of here, you fucking monster! Stay away! GO!"_

"...Yeah." Gin said, closing his eyes to forget the memory. "It was nice there. Until the incident, that is."

'Incident?" Damien asked. There was silence at this. "Seems like a lot of us get into shit like that."

"Seems so." Elise said. "Has Bella, ever? I don't think so, otherwise we'd have known what she was."

"Yeah." Damien agreed. "Although that might have to do with the fact that Meridia is a little eccentric."

"...This Bella girl you keep mentioning." Gin said, "You say she is a Demon Lord as well?"

"Yeah, she is." Simon said. "She's in Blue Pegasus."

"I see." Gin replied. "And this Meridia is her Lord, I assume."

"Yeah, she's the Succubus." Steph said, before smirking and elbowing her brother. "Right bro?"

"You shut your damn mouth." Damien said. "The last thing I want right now is to hear about that."

"What?" Steph asked. "I just figured you'd want to inform Gin your girlfriend has-!" Damien clamped a hand over Steph's mouth at this.

"What did you just call her?" Damien growled, making Steph snort under his grasp.

"Girlfriend?" Gin inquired. "I see, you two are involved romantically. Congratulations."

"No the hell we aren't." Damien said, making an angry face. "We're just friends. She just has a habit of clinging to me like we are an item. It's tiring." This made the others chuckle.

"Yeah, I don't know how you do it, man." Drake said sarcastically. "A drop dead gorgeous girl hanging off of you all the time must be a real drag."

"You poor, poor man." Simon agreed, snorting. This just made Damien hang his head in defeat. Gin found travelling with these people to be quite interesting. Like many other people Gin ran into during his lifelong trek, they seemed laid back and easy going. Although he had not been with them long, he sensed a very deep bond between the seven, one that he somehow didn't feel alienated by. In fact, their behavior made him feel...Strange. Almost warm on the inside.

"How much longer until we get home?" Drake asked. "We've been walking since dawn."

"It's still a while, Drake. You know that." Ultear replied. "The job was far away."

"Yeah, but..."

"Are you all employed to do something?" Gin asked, not sure why he felt so curious of them. Nashi nodded.

"Yeah, we're in a wizard guild. It's called Fairy Tail." She said. Ah, that made sense. These people knew magic. That was probably why they'd thrust themselves into this situation. Because they thought they'd be able to handle it. Gin hoped they were right. No more blood needed to be split over him.

"Can you sense it, Gin?" Gin's stomach dropped. Not again. He turned to see Mortavius walking alongside him. "Can you smell it?"

"What do you mean?" He murmured. Mortavius smirked and looked at Gin.

"The bloodshed." he whispered. "It's not far off now, I wager."

"What bloodshed?" Gin asked, before his eyes widened... "Do you mean...?" Mortavius laughed.

"Yes I do. The Demon Hunters are on their way. And guessing from the fact that a demon magnet is standing five feet from us, I don't think they'll have much trouble finding us." Gin looked forward, to where Damien stood.

Of course. Now he knew what was going on.

"...Guys." Gin said, coming to a stop. The others kept walking, perhaps because he's asked for their attention so quietly. "Guys!" he said, making them stop and look back. "They're coming, I know they are. They might even be close."

"We know." Nashi replied.

_...Huh?_

"What was it Xisplate said, Damien?" Simon asked. "Midday?"

"Uh huh." Damien agreed. "So we're not far off."

"Interesting." Drake said.

"W-Wait a moment." Gin said. "You know they're coming?" Damien shrugged.

"Yeah, I've known since last night. I told the others this morning as we left."

"Why was I not informed?" He asked weakly.

"Would you have bolted off on your own to defend us from them?" Ultear asked. Gin fell silent at this. "That's what I thought. Sorry Gin, but we're here now. No turning back."

"...I just don't get this." He said. "Why are you all so kind and selfless? It's so confusing..."

"Don't get all confused now." Elise said. "We might need you for the fight. Could get heated."

"It'd probably be better if Gin and I stay out of it." Damien said. "We take too many hits and we're gonna get fried inside out." At these words, Gin raised a hand to his chest, where he'd been hit by the Hunters a few days before. It still burned a little from what he could feel. Damien had a very good point. Take too many hits and Gin wasn't sure he'd be able to walk anymore.

"We'll be okay." Drake said. "Huh. This feels like our first fight against a group ganged up on us instead of one on one like usual."

"Jeez, yeah." Elise said. "Last time we had that must have been, what, The Enchanted Blades?"

"Something like that." Ultear said, voice a little darker than before. Perhaps that moment wasn't a good memory for her. Regardless, Gin still didn't know what he was going to do. He didn't like fighting, or killing. He never did.

Which only made Mortavius' behavior all the worse. And as such, every time he hijacked control Gin felt worse and worse. He only hoped there was no such incident this ti-

A high pitched ringing cut off his thoughts. Covering his ears and looking around, Gin soon found out what the problem was.

A white magic circle was around his feet, and it was glowing brightly. It soon dispersed, following a trail down the path away from them and back the way they came.

"What the hell was that?" Nashi asked.

"...Oh no." Gin said, recalling a few days before. "That was a tracking circle. They found me."

"Or the site of the massacre of those three morons." Mortavius guessed, laughing.

"Huh." Drake said. "Feels earlier than midday, honestly."

"They're efficient." Steph said. "I wonder if that prick that attacked you is coming, Onii-chan."

"Who knows." Damien said. "That'd be nice. Even the score a little."

"Weren't you staying out of this?" Simon asked. Damien shrugged and cracked his knuckles.

"If he's coming, I'll come out and play." And again, the laid back attitude the group displayed despite a battle coming to the forefront was off putting.

But Gin could not deny that, now that the fight was soon, he felt the group was very capable.

* * *

They had not made it very far after the tracking circle found them before Drake paused. Nashi stopped to look at him, and she noted he looked concentrated.

"There's a few guys over the hill that way, maybe a mile away or so." He said, pointing off to the side. Nashi looked over at the hill and saw nothing, but that didn't surprise her. Drake couldn't have been wrong. "It looks to be a scouting party for the main force."

"You hear any main force?" Drake paused once more.

"Nah, they must not be in range yet." He said.

"What even is your range?" Ultear asked.

"How do you know they're there?' Gin asked. Drake tapped his ear at him and smirked.

"I can hear it." Drake replied. Gin obviously had no idea what that meant judging by his expression, but Drake ignored this. "From the sounds of it these guys don't know Gin ain't alone, so I'd play that to our advantage."

"How so?" Simon asked. "Drake looked at him.

"We make sure these guys don't let anyone know." He said. Well, that was certainly a way. "I've got a plan. They're coming from our right, so Gin, I want you to keep walking without us. Make it look believable." He then looked to Nashi and the others. "We're going to hang back and try to remain undetected to catch these guys when they don't have a clue. Sound good?"

"Sounds like a solid plan to me." Ultear said. "Anyone got a problem?" No one spoke up. "Alright, lets'd do this."

"No running off now, Gin." Simon said with a smile. "Can't go losing you now." Gin didn't say anything in response to this, but he seemed to be going along with the plan given he started to walk down the path away from them. Once he was a fair distance away, Nashi and the others moved off the road decided to lay in wait. They didn't have to wait long before a group of three men dressed in black cloaks walked right where they had been a moment before.

"Well, their outfit makes in easy to tell they're who we think they are." Damien murmured.

"Sure does." Drake agreed, raising a hand. Nashi watched as poison coated his hand, but soon the color changed from dark red to green. Drake lobbed the ball of poison in the direction of the Hunters, and it exploded over them, making them freeze in place. After this, Drake got up from their hiding place and walked towards them, gaining the attention of his victims.

"Who the hell are you?" One of them asked.

"Nobody." He answered.

"Probably bandits." Another one of them said.

"Wrong, but it isn't important." Drake said, pocketing his hands as Nashi and the others reached him. "Now, care to tell me what you guys are doing following our friend?"

"Friend?" One asked. "What friend?"

"Don't evade me." Drake said. "You know what I'm talking about so spit it out. What're you doing? How many of them are you? Where?" At this, the silent Hunter laughed.

"I see." he said. "The kid hired some mercenaries to cover his retreat. Well ain't he just a smart little bugger."

"I'm getting a little irritated." Drake warned.

"What do you care anyway, kid?" He asked. "That guy you're protecting, he's a monster. He's killed countless of our numbers already, and Lord knows how many innocents. So you'll stand here and impede the progress of righteous justice?"

"Oh, we have a big talker over here." Drake said, walking over to the man. "I'll let you keep talking if you tell me how big your main force is."

"Main force?" He asked. "Ah, you mean the rest of us." At this, the man smirked. This made Nashi tense up.

"What're you smirking for?" She asked. The Hunter laughed.

"No reason." He said. "It's just...I can't believe the cover enchantment worked so damn well." Nashi made a face at this. She was about to ask another question when her spine tingled.

_Duck._

Nashi did as the voice said and ducked her head down, and she immediately felt a beam of magic fly right by her head and down the road. Looking up, Nashi felt the blood drain from her face.

She could only assume that the small army approaching them now was the main force they were asking about.

"What the hell's going on?!" Simon asked. "How come you didn't hear them, Drake?!"

"Don't ask me!" Drake replied angrily. "It's dead silent for my sound magic, but I see them clear as day!"

"We can't fight all of them." Elise said, voice steady. "We need to run."

"Agreed." Nashi said, cracking her neck. Feeling the magic flow through her veins, Nashi slammed her hands down on the ground. his caused a gigantic firewall to spring up around the army. It wouldn't keep them back for long, but at the very least it'd slow them down.

"Let's go while they can't advance." Ultear said. "Make sure Gin's okay"

* * *

Gin felt that the silence was much more frightening than a fight. He was fully expecting someone to come out and fight him at any second, but nothing happened.

_I hope nothing happened between them and the scouting party...Or else more people got hurt because of me._

"Can you feel it yet?" Gin didn't need to look to his left to know Mortavius had returned. "The oncoming bloodshed? Can you feel your heart-rate increasing? Your body warning you that danger is near? What an incredible feeling, huh?"

"Shut up." Gin muttered. The last thing he wanted to do was tell Mortavius he did in fact feel that feeling. Something bad was on the horizon, he knew it. It always happened eventually. "Come on you guys, don't make me..."

"Gin!" Gin looked up to find the group running towards him, looking a little shaken.

"Guys." He said. "What...What happened?"

"Those hunters are crafty." Drake hissed. "They have some sort of anti-tracking enchantment going on. I didn't hear their main force coming towards us. And by that..."

"They were right on top of us in an instant." Ultear finished. "We need to get moving, there was way to many of them!"

"Well, where to?" Gin asked weakly.

"Back to Magnolia, I guess." Nashi said. "They wouldn't cause a huge fight where civilians could get hurt if they care so much if they're hurt."

"That'll take a while." Simon said. "And they don't exactly need a bloodhound to track us." With this, he jabbed his thumb at Damien and Gin. "They can probably see these two a mile away."

"We don't exactly have a choice, do we?" Steph asked. "They know we're close either way."

"Fuck it, just go!" With this, the group took off down the path even farther away from the Hunters, and Gin found himself running alongside them. Why he instinctively went with these people he had no idea.

It just felt strange to run away from the problem with a group, instead of being what the group fled from.

* * *

They didn't make it fair before a white blast of magic from above cut off their advance. Nashi stopped and looked up the hillside to find a group of the Hunter standing there.

And just like that, they were surrounded in an instant.

Hunters in front of them, behind them, on all sides they surrounded them. Nashi had no idea where they had come from, but she knew from the looks of things there was no way out but to fight.

"Get ready, we'll need to fight our way out." Simon said.

"Way ahead of you," Steph said, crackling with electricity. They all readied themselves for combat, but the Hunters made no advance. Nashi watched as the Hunters in front of them backed up a bit and started to part. Soon after, she heard someone clapping their hands.

"Nice try, I'll admit." A male voice said. "You got pretty far." As the Hunters moved all the way to the sides of the road, a man approached them. Although he was barely dressed any differently then those surrounding them, Nashi could tell he was on another level compared to them. If she had to guess, he was probably some sort of General. That's what it felt like, anyway.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Elise asked.

"Oh come now, no need for such animosity." He said, hands behind his back, smile as big as ever. "After all, we're all capable of being civil, right?" As he said this, his eyes darted over to Gin. "So, lower your fists. I have something you need to know." Nobody moved.

"Just out with it." Ultear advised. He shrugged.

"Suit yourself." He said. "Hand over the Demon Lord. I'm being nice by only asking for the one."

"Oh really now?" Steph asked. "And which one is that?"

"Well, I was thinking the one who slaughtered a scout camp, brutalized another scouting party, and has been alluding us for around six and a half months." The man said. At this, Gin shifted uncomfortably. "So, hand him over, and we can all go home."

"Not gonna happen." Nashi said.

"And why not?" He asked, frowning. "Seems odd you'd be so fervent to help a stranger like him. Any real reason?"

"I've run into your kind before." Damien said. "You're going to kill him, aren't you?" The man made a face and looked around at his subordinates.

"Well, duh." He said. "We are Demon Hunters,after all. We hunt impure beings. So, if you would, hand him over and we'll be done with it."

"It's not going to happen." Elise said. "He's done nothing to you, drop it."

"Done...Nothing, you say?" He asked. "Did you or did you not hear his list of crimes? He's killed some of us. _Some, _is putting it nicely. He'll pay for what he did."

"That wasn't me." Gin hissed. "It was _him. _That creature."

"You and him are all the same." The man replied. "So, third times the charm, huh? Usually because I threaten force. Hand. Him. Over." at this, Nashi felt the Hunters around them tense up. A brawl was incoming. There was a dead silence as the groups stared each other down, getting ready for one or the other to make the first move. After a little while, the General laughed.

"What?" Nashi asked.

"Pardon my manners, I forgot to introduce myself. Perhaps that's why you're so distrustful of me." He smirked. "My name is Quinn of the Skylance Demon Hunters. I'm the Base of the Cross."

**We'll leave it here for today. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	241. Take Him Out

**Hey guys, next chapter is here. Unfortunately, I have something I need to address at the moment. apologies if I rant, but this is annoying, and I must say something. Skip this if you review with an account.**

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Nashi didn't really know why this Quinn guy felt like introducing himself made a damn bit of difference, but he seemed to think it did. After a moment. he coughed.

"Generally you introduce yourself after someone else does." He said, as if to hint at them.

"We'll pass." She replied, "Now, just take your men and get the hell out of our way."

"No can do, miss." He said. "That would imply that I disobey a direct order, and I don't do that."

"An order from who, exactly?" Damien asked.

"Well, our leader." Quinn replied. "You know, our founder. The big guy. So again, not going to happen." He sighed and shrugged. "I can't believe I keep giving you people chances, but I'm in a good mood today. So just hand the guy over already."

"If it avoids bloodshed, I'll go with you." Gin said, speaking up.

"Gin..." Simon started.

"Enough of this foolhardy behavior." Gin said, stepping forward, away from the group and towards Quinn. "You guys aren't involved, so go home to your families and friends. I appreciate your kindness, no matter how fleeting it was." Quinn smiled and patted the boy on the shoulder as he reached him.

"There's a good boy." He said. "Now I hate to do this to ya, but according to the big guy I have to transport you back to him. Something about the Pain Lord and you...I don't know. You know anything about a Pain Lord?"

"Not at all." Gin replied. "Brute's though..."

"Brute, eh?" Quinn asked, scratching his chin. "No, no nothing about that. Oh well, Neptu will beat my ass if I come back without you, or if you're dead, so let's go." Quinn moved and two Hunters took a hold of Gin's shoulders and pushed him away from the group. Nashi watched as every Hunter surrounding them slowly moved away and started to move down the street, leaving them and Quinn there.

"What?" Elise asked. "You got what you want, screw off."

"Hostile, huh?" He asked. "I'm sorry it came to this, you all seem like nice folks."

"Just leave, would you?" Quinn snorted and turned on his heel.

"See ya." He called, filing in with his men.

This left the group of seven be as the small army disappeared down the road.

"Fuck this." Drake whispered under his breath.

"What can we really do?" Ultear asked, crossing her arms. "I know we're good, but I couldn't count how many of those guys were around there. Plus that Quinn guy was something else. A bit quirky, but you could sense he was powerful."

"We can't just leave him." Damien said. "He's not like Taisho or Shuichi. He's sane, he doesn't deserve to die just because he's like Bella and I."

"Agreed." Steph said. "So what do we do?" Silence came over the group at this question, before Simon started to hum.

"The road runs through a valley up ahead, right?" He asked.

"I think so." Nashi replied. "Why?" Simon smirked back at them.

"I have an idea."

* * *

Gin walked with Quinn and his army through the valley, ignoring the causal chatter of those around him. Their mundane issues really meant nothing to him. All he cared about at the moment was staying quiet and keeping to himself.

"Rough day?" Gin made a face and turned to find the leader, Quinn, staring at him. Despite the power he radiated, the blonde hair and blue eyes looked incredibly friendly.

Gin knew better.

"You could say that." Gin muttered. "Getting captured wasn't the highlight, though."

"Ah, a joker?" Quinn asked. "Don't worry, it won't be that bad."

"No?" Gin asked.

"No!" Quinn exclaimed. "Neptu probably just wants to torture you for information for a few hours before the exorcism." At this, Gin felt sick.

"Exorcism?" he asked weakly. Quinn nodded as they walked along the path.

"Yeah, it's how he deals with strong demons." he said. "He usually expels it from the hosts body so that we can kill it. As to not hurt the host."

"But I'm a Demon Lord." Gin said. "The Lord and I have intertwined souls. An exorcism would-"

"Tear you both apart at the seams?" Quinn finished. "I know. That's the point. As oppose to other people who host demons, usually to no fault of their own, Demon Lords latch onto their host at birth and they become one. An exorcism rips the Demon Lord out to send it back to the Circles of Judgment and, now that your soul is left in the body alone, it collapses in on itself and you die. Sorry, I know it sounds painful."

Painful was putting it lightly. It sounded horrific. All because Gin was born as a one in a billion monster, he would die this way. Fate had a cruel sense of humor.

"Hey, don't pass out on me now." Quinn said. "All of this shit I talk ain't all true. We've never exorcised a Demon Lord before, there's only twelve. It might not even work cause you're so much more powerful. Maybe he'll need Elizabeth to help him. Maybe every member of the Cross."

"What are these members of the Cross, exactly?" Gin asked, happy for a topic outside of his death to come up. "You mentioned you were one before, right?"

"I did." Quinn agreed. " The members of the Cross are the four strongest members of the Skylance Demon Hunters outside of Neptu. There's me, The Base of the Cross. The girl I mentioned before, Elizabeth, she's the Left Arm of the Cross. And obviously there's two more members of the Cross. But that's enough about that." Gin supposed that was fine. He'd die anyway, no need to pry for information he'd never use.

"Whatever you say..." He muttered. Quinn didn't say anything more at this, and Gin fell into his own thoughts. An exorcism sounded excruciating, but there wasn't exactly a way out of it. He was surrounded by Lord knew how many Hunters, all of which were ready to kill him at a moments notice.

After a few more seconds, Gin felt a presence beside him.

"Don't worry about an exorcism, boy." Mortavius said. "That shit won't work on us." Gin didn't reply as to not raise suspicion from the Hunters around him, so he simply raised an eyebrow. "Like you mentioned before, our souls are intertwined. Ripping me out involves a meticulous process of separating you and me in the first place. An exorcism itself wouldn't be strong enough to separate at the seams, like he claims. And even if it does work, you wouldn't die. So take a deep breath."

Gin did as he was told and took a slow deep breath. Somehow it barely alleviated his worries about his current situation.

"Besides," At this, Mortavius laughed darkly. "It's almost upon us again, boy." Huh? What was he talking about? "Can't you sense it Gin? You've known me along enough."

The Bloodshed.

Gin knew what he meant. Mortavius was saying the fight was incoming. But with who? Surely not Nashi and the others, they weren't that dumb that they'd attack the Hunters at this ti-

_BOOM!_

Gin's thoughts were interrupted as something above him exploded. He looked up to see bits and pieces of the rock face to their left falling towards them. He ran backwards a few feet and watched as the boulders separated the army into two groups, who were all very confused and shouting out questions. After this, explosions rang out from the other side of the rock wall as Gin. He watched as bit of dark red magic and fire sprung out everywhere, and Hunters cried out in pain and surprise. The Hunters with Gin were surprised and just standing still, too stunned to move.

"Don't just stand around with your thumbs up your ass!" Quinn shouted somewhere to Gin's right. "We're under attack! Secure the prisoner and move to make a way to get to the other said of these rocks!" The Hunters moved quickly at this order, making sure Gin wasn't running off and then making their way through the boulders that had collapsed to separate the army.

As they did so, Golden light rained down on them, followed by an arc of electricity and ice. All of these attacks threw up a large smokescreen, and Gin couldn't see a damn thing. Soon afterwards, a figure landed behind him, and arms wrapped around his midsection.

"Don't say a word." The deep voice said. It was foreign to Gin, yet oddly familiar. The figure rocketed upwards out of the smokescreen and up onto the cliff surrounding the valley, and Gin landed on his feet as his savior released him.

Somehow Gin was not surprised that he turned to find Simon, Ultear, Elise, Steph and a creature he took to be Damien standing there.

"What are you idiots doing?" He hissed as more cries of pain rang out from the valley, followed by another explosion and a laugh that sounded like Drake. "You should have just let them take me away, not corner them like this and-"

"Save it, it worked didn't it?" Elise asked as Sion aimed his palm up and shot golden light into the sky.

"What was that?" Gin asked.

"A flare to tell Nashi and Drake we got you." Simon said.

"They're probably too wrapped up in their fighting to see it." Damien said, returning to a human form. Gin turned towards the cliff a good fifteen feet away to see a dark red claw latching onto the cliff side. After a few seconds, Drake and Nashi appeared on the end of it. Drake's left hand was holding the magic that held them up, and his other arm was wrapped around Nashi waist to take her with him. As they reached the top of the cliff, Drake threw her up and she in turned pulled him up, and they ran to join the others.

"So we did it, huh?" Nashi asked, grinning. "No issues?"

"Nope." Steph said.

"Nice." Drake said. "But we should probably get out of here. General dumbass and his bootlicking army probably won't take to kindly to this." Gin agreed with that much.

"We can come back out on a path back there." Ultear said, pointing behind her. "Let's get out of here!" Once again, Gin took off with these people away from the Hunters. He didn't know why they'd come for him, or how they'd come up with such a plan in such a short amount of time.

What he did know, though, is that they'd pissed off a whole army now.

* * *

"Sir, the Demon Lord's escaped!" Quinn growled and turned to the Hunter.

"And how the hell did he do that?" He demanded.

"No idea sir." The Hunter replied. "Shall we track him?"

"You check on the wounded, I'll track him." The Hunter nodded and turned to do his duties, and Quinn leaned down towards the ground. He didn't know how those kids had gotten the Demon Lord out, but they'd chosen their fate now. He didn't need to hold back.

Quickly drawing the tracking circle, he watched it light up as it prepared to track the Demon down. Before it did so, however, Quinn quickly added another enchantment to it. Something Elizabeth had taught him. It would track him alright, but it wouldn't alert the tracked. A much better alternative, even if it used up more magic to cast.

Quinn smiled as the line whipped up the cliff side and away from them. Appeared they planned on moving towards another path to get away. No matter. Quinn raised a hand to his head and initiated a telepathic connection.

_"Why hello there, fellow Hunters. It seems that keeping some of you in the woods away from this conflict was a good idea after all. Could you kindly intercept the eight kiddies that escaped to a path up the right side of the cliff?"_

_"No problem, Quinn. Passive tracking circle?"_

_"Yes, of course. We're taking a detour. Kill the kids trying to save our Demon Lord."_

_"As you wish, Base of the Cross"_

* * *

Damien ran with the others away from the Hunters, and he hoped that that was the end of them.

Somehow, he doubted that severely.

Soon enough they came out onto another path, and Simon looked around quickly.

"Where now?" Elise asked.

"Give me a minute, I have to get my bearings." He said, still looking around. "Alright, I think we have to-!"

_BOOM!_

Damien stumbled back as white magic exploded out around him. Like he thought, that wasn't the end of the Hunters. But how the hell had they caught up with them so quickly?

He watched as Hunters practically came out of the woodwork and surrounded them, just like the last time. This time tough, they didn't seem to just want to surround them. Many of the Hunters had their hands in a formation to use magic, and many others seemed ready to attack at a moments notice.

"How the hell did they find us already?" Nashi asked. "Was the distraction that bad?"

"Doesn't really matter either way." Elise replied, arms turning into clubs. "But now we've pissed them off."

"Divide and conquer, alright?" Simon said, before turning to Damien and Gin. "You two stay back, we don't need you getting really hurt."

"Alright, have all the fun then." Damien muttered, pouting.

"Understood." Gin replied, nodding.

And with that, all hell broke loose.

Damien and Gin dove behind the treeline as explosions rang out. Damien watched as Nashi caused huge explosions to separate the huge groups of Hunters, and Elise ran through them all clubbing one after the other. Simon flew all over the place and knocked Hunters out from a distance with golden light before landing and engaging some with swords. Steph and Ultear worked together to conduct electricity through Ultear's water magic and knock out large groups all at once.

So basically it was a war zone.

"Holy hell..." Gin whispered, making Damien chuckle.

"Yeah, awesome huh?"

"Barely." Gin retorted. "I've never met people so eager to die."

"I could say the same for you, Mr. sacrifice myself to save strangers." Damien said, making Gin grow quiet and stare at the ground. Damien returned his eyes to the battlefield to watch his friends destroy the Hunters, but more always seemed to crawl out of somewhere.

_"One of the six...Or is it seven now? One will still die."_

A cold shiver went down Damien's spine as Xisplate's words came back to him. One of his friends was supposed to die. But when? And why? How?

...Was it now?

All of a sudden, Damien's stomach twisted. He watched as Nashi received a blow to the back and fell forward. Drake took a fist to the face and staggered back. Simon dodged blasts of holy magic and landed on Elise, throwing both to the ground. Steph was hit from behind, and Ultear had to turn to water to avoid hits.

No. There was too many of them. His friends were surrounded.

Damien realized he was standing up when Gin grabbed him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He hissed. "We take too many hits and we're toast!"

"I know that." Damien replied calmly. "But I'm not going to sit back and watch my friends get hurt."

"God you people are crazy..." Gin muttered. At this, Damien jumped from the tree line and into the fray, taking over into his basic form. He soared towards Nashi and knocked her out of the way of a few bursts of Holy magic, but this caused them to strike him instead. As soon as they did, Damien felt faint. It really did hurt badly.

"What the hell, Damien!" Nashi shouted, taking out the Hunters who had hit him with a blast of fire. "Get out of here, you'll get hurt!"

"Like you won't?" He demanded. "Your mouth's bleeding." Nashi made a face and wiped the blood from her mouth.

"Just get out of here, would you?" She asked. Damien rolled his eyes and took off into the sky, looking for more Hunters to attack. He swooped down and tore at large groups of them, but this in turn made it very easy for some of them to notice him flying around and started to shoot at him. He dodged most of it, but a few stray shots managed to hit him, and he groaned it pain and he struggled to stay in the air. God, it hurt so bad...

_...Shit!_

Damien had been to lost in his thoughts to notice a huge blast of magic coming his way. He tried to dodge it, but it clipped his left wing. Damien cried out as he started to plunge towards the ground, right into the middle of them. He landed hard and struggled to his feet as Hunters came after him, countless holy bursts flying at him. He used darkness blasts to knock most of them away, but others snuck through and struck his body, causing him to fall to one knee in pain.

_Fuck, get up...Get up!_

Damien got to his feet just in time to grapple with a Hunter, who had advanced a bit to far. Damien struggled with him for a little bit, before grinning as he got the advantage and knocked the man down.

"Quick tip, man." he said. "Don't engage me in hand to hand comba-"

* * *

Steph threw out bursts of electricity at all the Hunters near her before she paled, and her spine tingled.

_...No. It can't be..._

Turning slowly, Steph saw what had in fact caused her to feel this way, and she nearly fainted.

The man from before, Quinn, had impaled Damien through the chest with a blade made of Holy light.

She watched as the blade disappeared, leaving no hole or anything. Damien, however, looked stunned.

"I said before." Quinn's voice rang over the chaos. "I only wanted the one, but you decided otherwise." He pocketed his hands, and Damien began to sway back and forth.

"Onii-chan!" Steph called out, making him look at her. They looked eyes for a few seconds, and Damien's eyes remained wide.

Before he puked up blood all over himself. After this, he started to fall.

"DAMIEN!"

* * *

Steph's scream made Nashi's blood run cold. She turned to find Damien falling over, Quinn walking away from him as Hunters advanced. Nashi ran on instinct, and made it to Damien as Steph knelt down and shook him.

"Damien! Damien!" She cried, shaking him violently. "Please hang on! It's okay!" Nashi looked up as the others made their way towards them, probably also from Steph's cry.

"Ultear!" Nashi shouted.

"I know!" Ultear replied, slamming her hands on the ground. With this, a shield of ice sprung up around them. The Hunters began to throw attacks at it immediately, but Ultear kept it up. "Tend to him!" Nashi looked back down to find Damien's face and body a ghostly white, and he coughed up more blood as Steph cupped his face in her hands.

"Damien, please! Hang on! You'll be okay!"

"What the fuck was that jackass doing on the battlefield?!" Drake shouted.

"I don't know!" Elise replied, tears rimming her eyes. "Is he okay?!"

"That fucker impaled him!" Simon growled. "I swear if I get my hands on him..."

"Damien! Damien!" Steph shouted over and over. "It's okay! Eyes on me, Okay?! Keep them on me!" Damien looked near death, but he nodded weakly and kept his eyes firmly on Steph.

"We need to get out of here!" Ultear shouted, still holding their shield up. "Get Damien home!"

"How exactly do we do that?!" Nashi asked, starting to panic. "We're surrounded and Damien doesn't look like he can take another hit!"

"I don't know, but my shield can't take many more either!" Nashi looked around at the cracking ice. They were running out of time.

"Do we have a plan or not?!" Drake asked.

"No, we don't!" Simon replied.

No.

They really didn't.

* * *

Gin watched as the Hunters assaulted the icy shield with everything they had, eyes wide with shock. Quinn had run Damien through with a magic holy sword. He'd watched it happen. What now? What was he to do?

_I can't do anything, I'll end up like him..._

It was at this moment Gin felt a presence. He slowly looked up to find Mortavius smirking down at him. There was silence between the pair, before Gin shuddered.

"Please, no..." He whispered.

"I'll leave this one up to you." Mortavius said, voice heavy. "People will die either way."

The shield broke, revealing the group surrounding Damien and Steph to protect them as best as possible. The Hunters didn't attack right away, they simply advanced ready to.

"You know what?" Quinn's voice rang out from somewhere. "One last chance. Where's the kid?"

"Go to hell!" Nashi shouted.

_I can't do anything, I'll end up like Damien..._

_..._

_But if I don't..._

"Kill them and search the area." Quinn said. "He can't have gone far."

_These people are prepared to throw their lives away for me..._

_Why am I not doing the same?_

* * *

"STOP!" Nashi looked over to find Gin coming out of the bushes at the side of the road.

"All he reveals himself." Quinn said. "So what'll it be, kiddo?" Gin didn't say anything, he simply stared at his feet.

"Gin, get out of here!" Nashi shouted. "We'll be okay, save yourself!" He didn't say anything.

"Don't be stupid, leave!" Drake yelled. "We'll be fine!" Gin again, did not reply. He simply began walking forward. After a few steps, he paused.

And slowly raised his right arm.

"Kid..." Quinn started.

"Takeover..." Gin whispered, yet it was loud enough for Nashi's blood to run cold.

"TAKE HIM OUT!" Quinn roared. "BEFORE HE...!"

"...Demon Mortavius."

**Yeah I'm an asshole, I know. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	242. The Base of the Cross vs The Brute

**Hey guys. I wanted to apologize if I sounded a bit rude in the last A/N. Was pretty heated, honestly. **

**Enjoy!**

"Takeover..."

"TAKE HIM OUT, BEFORE HE...!"

"...Demon Mortavius." A cold chill went down Nashi's spine as a dark black magic circle appeared on Gin's raised hand. After this, the area around them became to darken considerably. Many of the Hunters just seemed to stunned to react as the circle began to glow. After a while, a few bursts of white magic flew towards Gin, and they exploded as they struck him.

Once the smoke cleared however, it became obvious those few bursts had not done much.

Standing in Gin's place was a man at least a foot taller than Gin was. His silver hair was tied up in a bun, and he was clad in armor that looked as though it had been carved out of human bones. On his back was a gigantic sword, and it's sheath also looked rather bony.

"ATTACK HIM!" Quinn shouted. At this, the Hunters launched their offensive, countless bursts of holy magic flying towards Gin. Nashi watched as he reached for the sword on his back and slowly swung it downwards.

The sword cleaved through many of the bursts, causing them to explode on impact. Once the smoke cleared, Gin still stood as he had been, totally unaffected. Before any more attacks could come, Gin looked to his left and swung the blade.

Nashi jumped as the force from the swing carved a crevice into the earth and sent many Hunters in that direction for a good twenty meters flying. Gin then turned right and repeated the attack, sending even more people flying. Once he'd done this, his bony wings unfurled from his back and launched him into the sky above everyone.

In the blink of an eye he rocketed back downwards in between the Hunters, Nashi and everyone else. As the Hunters tried their best to recover from the attack, Gin turned to them, and Nashi felt her spine tingle from his murderous glare.

"Uh...Gin?" she asked weakly. At first, she got no reply. But after this, Gin's arm shot up and pointed behind them. Nashi looked back to find the pathway cleared out of Hunters.

"Take Damien and get out of here." he said, voice huskier than before. "This'll get ugly."

"What about you?" Elise asked. "You'll end up like Damien if we leave you here by yourself!"

"No, I will not." Gin replied.

"How do you figure?" Simon demanded. Gin furrowed his brow.

"I won't let it." With this, he unfurled his wings once more and took off into the sky. Nashi watched him go before looking over at the others.

"Well, let's get out of here!" She said.

"Help me with Damien!" Steph shouted. Drake bent down and helped support Damien's other side, and together the two did their best to drag him down the path away from Gin and the Hunters. He looked to be in bad shape, but his eyes were wide open still and his face even whiter than before.

"You'll be okay..." Nashi heard Steph whimper under her breath. "You'll be okay...Please be okay..."

Although she was silent at this, Nashi felt the same.

* * *

It wasn't very often Gin was in control of the takeover, often because he never activated on his own free will. But when he was, he sure did feel the power flowing out of him.

Swinging his sword at another group of Hunters, Gin spared a look to see if Nashi and the others hand managed to get away in time. Not able to see them, Gin hoped they were.

Because as he said, this would get ugly. Looking around, Gin found he was abut to be wading through enemies, and probably for a while. He sighed and stood straight up, sheathing his blade.

"I'll give you all one chance." he said. "Get out of here and leave. Return home, and I will spare you the pain I inflict when I takeover into my Demon Lord." A few faces in the crowd seemed scared, but no one ran off. Gin sighed at this.

"Fine," he said, reaching for his sword. "I suppose we do this the hard way."

Blasts of holy magic came for him, but Gin quickly angled his blade to take the hit and redirect it towards the casters. He twirled in a circle and did this to many attackers, knocking them flat out. He wasn't aiming to kill.

He never aimed to kill, and as long as he retained control, never would.

Gin jumped away from another attack into the sky and brought his blade down on the ground, the shockwave sending more Hunters flying. He turned and did this again, knocking more away. The Hunters learned right quick that getting to close seemed like a bad idea, so now many hung back and shot at him this way. Gin took to the skies and flew over them swinging his blade, knocking everyone in the vicinity back. So far he'd dealt a massive blow to the army present, and it wouldn't be much longer before the remainder of it was-

"Everyone still up, gather the injured and evacuate the area." Gin made a face and stopped in mid-air to see what was happening. Standing atop a rock was Quinn, staring up at Gin calmly. "Make sure you don't come back, and wait for my orders."

"Sir?'

"Are you sure?"

"This guy could kill you!"

"We won't let you fall to this monster!" The army seemed to be in quiet an uproar over the evacuation order, but Quinn grinned and raised a hand to his chest. he pulled out what appeared to be a necklace of a Cross hanging from his neck.

"Have you forgotten, Demon Hunters?!" he roared. "I bear the mark of the Cross! I cannot fall in combat, no matter how deadly the foe!" The Hunters angry cries soon became elated cheers.

"Oh, right!"

"I totally forgot about that!"

"Get him, Master Quinn!"

"Show this demon who means business!" Gin kept his eyes solely on Quinn as he turned to his army.

"Now go, I shall return when I'm finished here." At this order, the army gathered up their wounded and started to leave the area, and soon it was just Quinn standing on the rock and Gin flying in the air.

"What does the Mark of the Cross symbolize?" Gin asked, curious. Quinn simply tucked it back under his clothes.

"Nothing you need to worry about." He replied, looking up at Gin. The blue eyes that had seemed very easy going beforehand were now deadly serious. Gin felt his stomach knotting up. The brawl was coming.

"I'll give you the same chance I have your men." He said. lowering his blade a bit. "Leave. Tell your men you killed me, and I shall leave as well. No one has to get hurt."

"No one..." Quinn growled. "Has to get hurt, you say?"

"What do you mean?" Gin asked. Quinn clenched his fists and stared up at Gin.

"You massacre an entire scouting party. We go after you, two more men end up fatally injured after finding you. We manage to track you down again, and now you've got backup. I try to get them to leave, they don't. You give yourself up, but soon after your backup ambushes us and hurt _more _of my men." Quinn laughed coldly. "I tell the army that hung back to go after you, and this squabble ends with more injured soldiers. And you have the stomach to tell me no one has to get hurt? You're the reason anyone's hurt at all!"

"I am truly sorry for your men I've hurt." Gin said, frowning. "I was protecting myself."

"Oh yeah?" Quinn asked, whipping his cloak back to reveal his left hand. "And now I'll protect everyone. From you!" Gin watched as a bright white sword made of magic appeared in Quinn's hand, and the glow made Gin's stomach turn. It must have been the same blade that impaled Damien. From the looks of the thing, it was made of highly dense holy magic taking on the form of a sword. If Damien survived at all, he was lucky as hell. A lesser demon probably wouldn't have made it past the blade being removed from them.

"Then let us decide the winner of this battle." Gin said, drawing his own sword. "Shall we?" Quinn glowered at him.

"Yes, let's." Quinn rocketed up towards Gin, and Gin flew down to meet him. As their blades connected, a shockwave of holy and demon magic flew off of them, and the two separated. Quinn landed back on his rock, and Gin stabilized in the air.

"I'm sure Neptu won't care of I take you out myself." Quinn said. "After all, you're the not the one he's after."

"If you can kill me," Gin said, readying himself. "You may."

* * *

"Do you think we're far enough way?" Ultear asked. Although Nashi could hear the sounds of battle coming from the direction they'd come from, she was certain they were pretty far.

"Yeah, we are." At this, Steph and Drake slowly put Damien down on the ground. He had since fallen unconscious from his wounds, but he still looked pretty bad. His skin was nearly translucent, and his breathing slow and no where near assuring.

"What do we do?" Steph croaked out.

"Can we do anything except get him to Wendy?" Drake asked. No one said anything, but soon Steph reached forward and ripped open her brothers shirt. She only reached the center of his chest and stopped.

"There's no hole..." She whispered.

"Steph?" Simon asked.

"That guy impaled him, but there's no hole." Steph spoke up. "It must have been a spell or something..."

"If it was holy magic, we might be in trouble." Elise said. "Damien can't take hits like that. If the leader of that army struck him..." Elise didn't need to finish her sentence. Her worries were well apparent.

"We... We just need to get him home." Nashi said, standing up straight. "You guys take Damien and try to make some ground."

"What're you doing?" Elise asked.

"Going back for Gin." She said. "I'm worried he bit off more than he can chew."

"I'll go with you." Drake said, standing up too. Nashi nodded at him.

"Thank you." She said. He simply nodded. Nashi turned back to the others.

"Just get as far as you can, we'll catch up."

"Okay, you guys be careful." Simon said, taking Drake's place as the one supporting Damien along with Steph. "We don't need any more injuries."

"We know." Drake said. "Now get going." The others got back on track and walked away from Nashi and Drake, while they steeled themselves and started to run back towards where Nashi could hear Gin and the Hunters fighting.

"Think he's okay?" Drake asked, breaking the silence. Nashi didn't reply right away, listening to the explosions in the distance.

"Sounds like he's holding up." She replied. "i just hope he does until we get there..."

* * *

Gin reared back and dodged the explosively large holy spell, watching it fly into the sky and explode. He instinctively rose his blade and blocked another swing from Quinn, who had charged behind his attack to swing at him. Forcing Quinn backwards, Gin swung his sword in a vertical motion, throwing Quinn back down to the earth. Without letting up, Gin sailed after him and pummeled him with short swings, forcing Quinn on a heavy defense. It was rather incredibly watching Quinn actually repel a lot of his hits. Lesser men would've been knocked right out but Quinn kept at it.

"You're impressive, I'll give you that." Quinn grunted as they locked blades. "For a monster. Use that blade to kill my men?"

"Wouldn't know." Gin replied. "I don't remember I thing."

"Do you block out memories of killing men with families and children?"

"No, I personally have never killed." Quinn looked disbelieving, so Gin sighed. "The monster inside me, however..."

"Don't act like he controls you.' Quinn hissed, gaining control in their locked blades. "You're the wizard, control the takeover!" Gin glowered at him.

"Don't act like you understand." he whispered, his blade shuddering from his strength as he began to push at Quinn harder, forcing the man to one knee. "Don't act like you could even comprehend the struggle I go through...Because you will _never _know."

I suppose not." Quinn said. "But I do know this." His other hand began to glow, and Gin's eyes widened. He tried to get out of the way, but he was too slow.

Another blade protruded from Quinn's other hand and pierced the armor on Gin's shoulder, cutting into his skin. Once it did, Gin roared in pain and stumbled backwards as his skin began to smolder. He hadn't even been hit that hard and he was barely able to keep a handle on the takeover. Quinn's power was insane.

"That hurt?" Quinn asked, twirling both blades. "It should. I'm one of the strongest Hunters in Fiore. I'm surprised you're conscious." Gin needed a plan, because Quinn was out for blood now. Charging forth, Gin did his best to block both blades at once, but it was extremely difficult. His takeover, at least to his knowledge, had not many long rang attacks, so he needed to stay short range in order to do anything. But in doing so he put himself in extreme danger.

Backing up a bit, Gin swung his sword downwards, cleaving through the ground. The crevice went right for Quinn, who jumped out of the way as the ground below him crumbled.

"Those swings are so powerful they create shockwaves and cleave through solid earth." He said, starting to shoot holy magic from his hands. "You're living up the Brute title quite well!" Gin didn't reply, he simply countered the blasts by redirecting them back at Quinn. The man covered his head with his arms to protect himself from the blows. Gin flew in without waiting, swinging his sword every which way in an attempt to gain an upper hand, which he wasn't able to. He was being to cautious to manage that. The two locked blades again, and Quinn smirked.

"What?" Gin demanded.

"Oh, I just remembered something about my blades." He said. Before Gin could say anything, he felt a searing pain in his lower body. Staggering back, Gin looked down to find two more holes in his armor. Looking up weakly, he saw that the hilts of Quinn's makeshift blade had twirled and cut him. "They bend as I want them to." Quinn finished.

And with this, he went on the assault.

Gin felt himself get slashes a few more times during the following skirmish, and each time his reactions slowed, which allowed even more hits. His vision was starting to go black, and he cold barely stand. This was bad. If this kept up, he'd be in a bad place.

_"Gin. I have something to tell you._

_Oh God...Please not now._

_"Do you know what happens when a man reaches a point near death in battle?"_

Gin ignored the voice in his head and continued to parry Quinn's blows, trying to ignore the searing pain in his body as well.

_"As a man fights for his life, he starts to become desperate, panicked. An animal trapped in a corner."_

_No no no..._

_"And when a man reaches this point, he fights without restraint. After all, he's in danger of dying."_

Gin's vision started to go from black to red, and his hands began to shake violently. Quinn backed up in surprise.

_"Do you know why I have been dubbed The Brute, Gin?"_

_Please don't!_

_"I fight without restraint."_

"NO!"

_"And so should you."_

* * *

_BOOM!_

Nashi stumbled as an explosion rocked the ground beneath her. Drake did as well, and they both looked forward from where the sound had come from.

"That doesn't sound good." Drake mumbled. As the two finally reached the fight scene, they were greeted with quite the sight.

Standing at the edge of a crater was Gin in his demon form, sword poised over the crater. He was panting heavily, but otherwise looked alright. At the bottom of the crater was a white sphere. Slowly the sphere faded, revealing Quinn looked battered and bruised. Nashi watched as Quinn stumbled backwards and landed spread eagle on the ground, unmoving. He'd been defeated. She slowly looked back at Gin, who'd stumbled back as well.

"Gin?" She asked quietly. Slowly the man turned and sheathed his blade, returning to his normal form.

"...Yeah?" He asked weakly, eyes drooping.

"Uh, are you alright?"She asked. Gin swayed on his feet.

"...Yeah. Great." Once he said this, he slowly blinked. "I'm kind of tired." With this, he started to fall backwards. Drake rushed forward and caught him before he hit the ground, and shifted to carry him.

"What the hell happened here?" Drake asked.

"Don't know." Nashi said, looking back down at Quinn in his crater. "But whatever happened, it looks like it hurt." Nashi sighed and turned. "Let's just get home to Magnolia, Damien needs it."

* * *

"And after that I think we should pursue our leads he...Elizabeth?" Neptu turned and looked at Elizabeth to find her staring down at something. "What is it?"

"It's Quinn." She said, showing him what she was looking at. It was the Cross necklace that she and the other Members of the Cross had. The top and the two arms were still pearly white, but the base had turned black. '"He's been defeated." Neptu made a face.

"Has he now?" he asked. "He was after the boy from the East, right?"

"Right." Neptu nodded.

"Well, do you're thing, get him up." Elizabeth nodded, and clenched the cross in her fist. She funneled magic power into it, and Neptu watched as it started to glow and hover above her chest.

* * *

"Good for nothing Quinn..." The man muttered, digging out the cross from under his cloak. "Getting himself defeated. Jackass." Focusing, he funneled some of his magic power into the cross and watched as it started to glow and hover in front of his face. "Get up, ya dumbass."

* * *

"Lady Abigail, is something the matter?" One of the sailors asked. Abigail turned to him, showing him the darkened Cross.

"Yes, but I won't be long, continue sailing." She replied. Turning back to the open ocean over them, She gripped the Cross tightly and concentrated. Soon, it began to glow.

* * *

Quinn coughed as he sat bolt right up. Growling as it stopped, he got to his feet and began to brush himself off. Once he'd done that, he raised two fingers to his temple.

"Took you guys long enough." He said.

_"Shut your mouth, dumbass." _Another voice said_. "Having us save you like that. What happened?"_

_"Easy now, boys."_ Elizabeth said._ "We're not talking to fight. Quinn, are you okay?"_

"I am now, yeah."Quinn replied. "Got my shit pushed in by that boy, but otherwise I'm all right."

_"The Demon Lord, right?" _Quinn gulped. He hadn't been aware that Neptu was on the line. _"He defeated you?"_

"Uh, yeah. Sorry." Quinn said.

_"No need to apologize, he could have killed you." _Neptu said. _"Now, are we all here?"_

"I am." Quinn said.

_"As am I." _Elizabeth added.

_"I'm listening." _Abigail's voice said. The other male voice grumbled.

_"What's up?" _He asked.

_"I'm rerouting our efforts to catch this Demon Lord. If he could defeat Quinn, we aren't dealing with a pushover. Quinn, do you have any idea where he might be?" _Quinn made a face.

"Well, I was in and out for a bit there." He said. "But one thing stuck out to me."

_"What was it?" _Neptu asked. Quinn took a deep breath.

"Some chick said, 'Let's get home to Magnolia.'"

**And another chapter down. Fast update, huh? I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!**


	243. Promise Me

**I'm really inconsistent with updating. Must suck, huh?**

**Enjoy!**

Natsu yawned loudly as he put his drink down. This made Gray chuckle.

"Tired?" he asked. Natsu glared at the half naked man sitting across from him.

"What gave it away?" He snarled. "My yawning or the bags under my eyes."

"Nah, it was your upbeat and happy attitude." Gray relied sarcastically. "What's wrong?"

"What do you think, genius?" Natsu demanded. "Luke cried all night last night. I just want to sleep, man."

"Aw, you poor thing." He said. "How do you think the rest of us felt while you were parading around doing whatever it was you were doing for sixteen years." Natsu made a face at this.

"You know damn well what I was doing." He said. "You suggested it." Gray rolled his eyes.

"I know that." He retorted. "I'm just finding it hard to believe you were gone for _that _long."

"You try to seal away a part of yourself that keeps making it difficult and we'll see how long it takes you." Natsu growled. "With you all breeding like rabbits I needed to get it done. So sorry I'm late."

"Just shut it, flame brain." Gray said, ending the conversation. Natsu yawned again and looked around the guild. It had been a while since Nashi and the others had gone out on their job. It was a ways away, and since nearly half the team consisted of Dragon Slayers, they managed to argue their way into walking to the job. Natsu wished he'd gotten such a luxury, but sadly it never really happened. Other than that, everything seemed normal.

And eventually, Natsu's thoughts drifted back to his conversation with Gray.

About END.

It was no secret to all those Natsu knew prior to leaving he'd done so to find a way to seal away his demonic powers forever. Doing so would make sure he never had the ability to unleash that thing ever again. That part of his life was long past. Little did he know of course that it would take him sixteen years.

And after all of that, Natsu came home to find out he had a daughter.

A daughter like him.

Natsu painfully recalled months before when he'd collapsed on the city streets while Nashi was away. The feeling he'd had was one he'd not had in years.

The same power he'd tried so hard to seal away. That very same power had finally awakened inside Nashi. And from what he could tell once she'd returned, her body did not take kindly to the destruction it caused.

Natsu knew that at some point he'd have to tell her. He'd have to sit her down and tell her everything. Her heritage, her power, and what it meant.

But how? How do you sit a girl down and tell her she's got monstrous powers living within her, her heritage traces back to the most powerful dark wizard in history, and that power she had was a byproduct of that same man?

For now, Natsu knew what he had to do. He had to make absolutely sure Nashi was safe. He'd find a way to tell her about that when he could hid it no longer. And until then, he'd just have to protect her. After all, it had been a while since any real END related scares...

"Guys!" Natsu was torn from his thoughts as a familiar voice called out. He turned to the open doors of the guild hall to see Ultear leaning against the wall, looking like she was out of breath. After a minute she looked up. "Wendy?!" She cried frantically. "Where is she?!"

"R-Right here." Wendy replied, standing up. "What's the matter, Ultear?" Seeing the women did not seem to soothe Ultear's worries. She simply turned over her shoulder.

"Guys, come on!" She shouted. "Wendy's here!" This made a knot form in Natsu's stomach. If Ultear looked this frightened and was looking for Wendy, that meant someone was hurt, and badly. Although Natsu knew all of them did their best to walk off injuries, this must have been bad.

And soon enough, Natsu could tell why.

The other six made their way in, And another mystery man was limping in behind them. Natsu's stomach settled slightly to see his daughter only sporting a few small buts and bruises, but she too look scared. And after that, Drake and Steph came in.

They were carrying Damien, who coughed violently as he entered the guild hall, causing what looked like blood mixed with puke to stain his clothes even more.

"Damien!" He heard Mira shout frantically. Soon enough the entire guild was running over to try and assist, and Steph and Drake laid Damien down on the floor, making him puke again.

"What happened?!" Laxus demanded.

"We'll explain later!" Steph said, voice cracking. "We just need to stabilize him! Wendy please!"Wendy had already made her way through the crowd and was kneeling in front of Damien, feeling his forehead. After a second, her eyes narrowed.

"That's not good..." Natsu heard her murmur. Wendy raised her hands and held them over Damien's head, and they started to glow. There was silence as Wendy worked, and soon she moved her glowing hands down to Damien's chest and worked there. Damien had not puked anything up since she'd begun working, which Natsu hoped was a good sign. After a good five or so minutes, Wendy leaned back. Her facial expression, however, was not relieved.

"What?" Steph asked weakly.

"Get him up to the infirmary." She said sternly. "I need him up there."

* * *

It was a while that Wendy had to work on Damien in the infirmary before she finally gave herself a moment to relax. Damien barely looked any better to Nashi, and she didn't like that one bit.

"...So?" Steph asked, right by Damien's side.

"...He's in bad shape." Wendy replied. "It's a miracle he made it this long."

"Well, that much we knew..." Drake mumbled next to Nashi.

"Anyone care to explain why there's fragments of concentrated holy magic stuck in him?" Wendy asked.

"Holy magic?" Mira asked, also next to her sons bed. "That...Oh God..."

"Well..." Elise said, rubbing the back of her head. "It's a pretty long story..."

"I think I'd like to hear it." Laxus said.

"It's my fault." Nashi turned to find Gin standing near the doorway to the infirmary. Although he too had been in horrible shape from fighting Quinn, Gin had managed to awaken on the way back. "I'm the reason Damien's hurt."

"You might want to explain before things get ugly, kid." Laxus said, voice low.

"It isn't your fault, Gin!" Ultear said. "We told you guys to hide and Damien fought them anyway! He got himself hurt!"

"But you guys wouldn't have gotten involved if not for me..."

"We stopped to help you." Simon said, arms crossed. "Stop trying to take all the blame."

"Story. Now." Laxus said. Nashi took a deep breath.

"We were on our way home when we saw Gin on the side of the road." She started. "We wanted to help him, so we stopped. Once he got up he tried to shake us, and said he was a Demon Lord like Damien." This raised a ton of eyebrows.

"He said he was being chased by Demon Hunters." Drake continued. "So we wanted to help him and said he would. Long story short, things got heated and we told Damien to hide, but he didn't..."

"The leader of the pack ran him through with a sword made of magic." Gin said, cutting Drake off. "That's why he's like that." The story made the entire room quiet. After a while, Laxus took a deep breath.

"...How is he, Wendy?" He asked, completely dropping the story topic. Wendy wiped her brow.

"Not good," She said. "I need to work on getting the holy magic out of him, and after that his whole system will need to recover. With luck, he'll go comatose."

"Wait..." Nashi said, stomach turning. "With luck he'll be comatose?" Wendy nodded, looking sad.

"Yes. His condition is bad. Very bad. As I said, a miracle he made it here." She looked back at Damien. "Alright, everyone out. I need to keep working."

"I'm not leaving." Steph said, holding her brothers hand.

"Neither am I." Mira said. Laxus really didn't even need to speak up. Nashi and filed out with everyone else, heart heavy with worry.

_He'll be okay, right? After all, we're safe now._

* * *

Outside of the Fairy Tail guild hall, nobody really had any idea that anything was wrong. Many had seen the team rushing Damien home, and it worried them greatly, but most continued on their business like nothing was wrong. Probably because their was nothing wrong in their lives. Except maybe overdue rent or food gone bad. Mundane things really.

And after about an hour or two since the team rushed through, five more people appeared at Magnolia's front gate. Most who saw them noted they were clearly battle weary people, as they seemed primed for a fight. Three men and two women entered the city, and the man in front with blue and black striped hair made his way to a stall near the gate.

"Excuse me." he said, smiling at the women running it. "Would you happen to know anything about a girl with bright pink hair, would you?"

"Hm?" The women asked. "Well I think you're talking about Nashi Dragneel. Who're you guys? Friends of hers?"

"Sort of." The man replied. "We're wizards. She told us we could find her here." The woman answering him seemed to catch onto something at this.

"Ah, you must be looking to join Fairy Tail." She said. "Is that it?" The man smiled once more.

"Yes exactly." He said. "Could you please point me in the direction of the guild?"

"Sure. You see that big castle like building over there?" She asked, pointing towards it in the distance. "That's the guild hall."

"Thank you very much." The man said, digging into his black cloak. He threw down a wad of jewel, and smiled wider. "Be seeing you." The man returned to his group, and the blonde one laughed.

"Smooth Neptu." Neptu turned to him and frowned.

"Stop joking, Quinn." He told him. "We're here on business."

"Business?" The blonde woman asked. "i thought we were here to retrieve the demon."

"We are." Neptu said. "But we are not starting a fight here. Too many civilians. Besides, the guild members are also innocent."

"Not that group that handed Quinn his ass back to him." The black haired man said. "They're a problem."

"Shush, Tristan." The brown haired woman said. "I trust Neptu, don't you?"

"Sure I do, but we aren't walking into a bar here..."

"We technically are." Quinn said.

"Shut up."

* * *

After Nashi and the others had returned with Damien, the guild seemed a lot more put down. Obviously so, a member was in danger of dying. Nashi had since downed an entire drink, and was working on another.

"...Well he'll be fine, right?" Drake asked, attempting to lift spirits. "Wendy's never let us down before."

"That may be true, but Damien's in deep shit." Simon replied. "I trust her as well, but this isn't any simple wound. It's worse than that."

"I know, but..." Drake trailed off, before he growled. "This sucks so much."

"i know." Nashi agreed. "We had to make a total retreat otherwise he'd have been in deeper trouble." At this, Nashi looked up at Gin. He was sitting by himself in the dark corner of the guild hall. She wasn't really surprised he distanced himself for a while. He'd been pretty quiet the entire way here, so him speaking him in the infirmary had surprised her a little. As she looked around the guild, she caught her fathers eye. He noticed her looking and beckoned for her to come over to him.

"I'll be back in a sec." She said. Getting up from her table, she wandered over to her father and smiled at him. "Hey Dad. Where's Mom?"

"Hey." He said. "She's at home. You holding up alright?" Nashi sighed and sat down on the bench next to him.

"Just great." She replied. "Shit always seems to hit the fan whenever he try and do something." He chuckled at this.

"Don't worry, it runs in the family." Nashi smiled weakly. "Don't worry, everything will sort itself out." Nashi nodded. She guessed as much. As she stared blankly at the floor, pain shot up her arm, making her jump. Turning to her father, she found that he had poked a bruise on her arm.

"Ow." She said, making him roll his eyes.

"It didn't hurt that bad."

"It did."

"Nah, you're fine." He said, attempting to poke her again. Nashi laughed at this.

"Stay away from me." She said. Her dad was always good her lifting her spirits. After a couple more seconds, She felt her father wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her close to him. "Dad?" She asked, head resting on his chest.

"I was worried." She heard him mumble. "When Ul showed up looking frantic and asking for Wendy...I was worried you were hurt." Nashi smiled weakly at this and leaned into him a bit more.

"I'm okay."

"I know." he said. "But I worry, you know."

"Yeah..." The two grew silent at this. After a moment or two, her dad rubbed her arm.

"You know I'm proud of you, right?" he asked. This made Nashi's spine tingle a little. "You've grown so much since I came home, and you all did well getting Damien back here."

"You could stand to mention it a little more." Nashi joked. "But why're you getting so mushy right now?"

"...No reason." He said, although Nashi guessed the real reason he didn't want to share with her, for whatever reason. "Just figured I'd let you know."

"Well in that case, thanks." She replied. The two stayed together for a moment until Nashi felt her fathers grip in her tighten.

"What's this?" He asked under his breath. Nashi looked up to find a man standing in the door to the guild. As he walked in, Nashi noted that his hair was striped black and blue, which was a little odd. She could just barely see his hair underneath the hat, and he seemed to be wearing a dark cloak.

"Have I found the Fairy Tail guild hall?" He called out, getting some more attention.

"You have." Erza said. "And who are you?"

"That's not really important." He answered, looking behind him. "Come on guys, get in here." AT this, four more figures walked inside the guild hall.

And Nashi's eyes widened.

"You!" She shouted, jumping to her feet. Quinn laughed at this.

"Hey, pinky!" He called. "Long time no see!"

"How did you find us?!" She asked. "How did you get here so quick?!"

"Now now, we aren't here to start a fight." The man with striped hair said. "I just need to speak with those who faced off with Quinn the other day." He looked at Nashi. "I can assume you're one of them?"

"I am." Nashi said, casting a glance over at her friends. They all seemed ready to jump in at a moments notice. "And who are you?"

"The name's Neptu Skylancer." He said. "The Leader of the Skylance Demon Hunters. Who am I speaking with? Are you Nashi Dragneel?" Nashi was stunned into momentary silence. He was the leader of the Hunters? This was bad.

"I-I am." She replied. "What do you want?" Neptu shrugged.

"Not much." He answered. "Just hand me Gin and we won't have a problem. We'll leave with the Demon and you can all carry on with your lives."

Of course.

"And what if we don't hand him over?" Elise asked from the table with the others. Neptu turned to her.

"Well then of course we have a problem." Neptu answered. "And I really don't need any more problems right now, so please just hand the boy over."

_They tracked us so quickly. This would be a horrible time for a fight to break out..._

"So you come into our guild hall and make demands?" Nashi looked over as her father spoke up. "Ballsy move, man."

"Very." Neptu agreed. "But it must be done. I think I'm being pretty respectful not asking for the two demons upstairs. The one Quinn hurt and his mother, correct?" Nashi paled.

"How do you know about Mira?" She asked.

"If you really thought I wouldn't be able to sense a demonic presence that powerful you're fooling yourself." he said. "So, where's the boy?" Nashi looked over to find Gin was watching the exchange. He hadn't spoken up yet, but he also didn't seem keen on doing anything.

"Well to me it seems like you're chasing a kid who's done no more wrong that protect himself." Nashi watched as her father stood up. "So here's what we'll do. Leave here and the kid alone, and I won't beat the shit out of you." At this, the four standing behind Neptu prepared to defend him. Neptu, however, raised a hand and they paused.

"Is that so?" Neptu asked. "Is that what you think?"

"It is." Nashi's father said. "So what're you gonna do? Fight all of us?"

"No, no such thing." Neptu replied. "If I have to fight you, though, I will if I must. The boy will be coming with us." At this, Nashi's father began to glow, making Nashi smile. Neptu may have been strong, but stronger than her father? She doubted that very much.

"If you think you can handle me, than show me." Her father threatened. Neptu sighed and moved his cloak a bit and raised a hand.

In his open palm, a bright purple flame erupted to life.

"If I must." Neptu said. "Shall we begin?" Nashi's father did not respond to this. "Well? What will happen now, old man?"

"Dad?" Nashi asked. Her dad didn't say anything, he just stared down at his feet. Next thing Nashi knew, the magical pressure coming from her father faded away.

And then, Nashi knew she must have been dreaming.

She watched, in total disbelief along with everyone else, as her father slowly backed off and stood completely still. Neptu slightly lowered the hand holding the flames.

"Shall I take that as you backing off?" He asked.

"...Yeah." Her father said quietly, only furthering the disbelief Nashi felt. "It was." Neptu's flame faded away and he nodded.

"Alright then." He said. "Good idea, starting a brawl would not be good for anyone."

"Right..." Nashi had no idea what was going on. Why had her father backed off? That made no sense...

"I suggest a day grace period to figure things out." The blonde woman standing behind Neptu said. "That way you may say your goodbyes if necessary." Neptu looked back at her, but nodded.

"Alright, let's do that." He said. "I'll come back for Gin tomorrow. If you don't hand him over..." The man's face darkened. "Well I suppose we'll have another problem."

* * *

Since Neptu and his four Hunters had left the guild hall, everyone had launched right into theorizing what to do. Nashi still sat next to her father as everyone spoke.

"I think we can probably take them." Drake said. "There was only five of them."

"Did you forget the army Quinn summoned from nowhere?" Simon asked. "That might have been only a portion of their forces. We can't take a risk like that."

"Do we have another choice besides handing Gin over?" Elise asked.

"No, and we aren't doing that. They'll kill him." Laxus and Mira had since joined the conversation after hearing the noise. "So we'll have to find another solution.

"...So that's the way it is." Nashi turned to find Gin sitting in his corner still, playing with his hands. "I had hoped the adults that ran this guild were smarter than the kids, but I see now where they learned such foolhardy behavior."

"What's that mean?" Levy asked.

"What I mean is that none of you have any obligation to protect me." He said, golden eyes shining with solidarity. "Just hand me over and save your own skin."

"Nah, we're good." Gajeel said. Gin growled in frustration.

"I'm the reason Damien is hurt..." He hissed. "Just hand me over, would you?"

"...No, you aren't." Nashi looked over as Mira spoke up. "Damien got hurt because he was trying to protect someone he wanted to protect. He's hurt because he too didn't want to hand you over. Damien risked his life out there, there's no way in hell we're handing you over." After hearing from Damien's mother of all people, Gin fell silent and stared at his feet. Nashi however, jumped onto hers.

"Exactly!" She said. "I'm with Drake. Even if they have an army, we can beat them! I'll find that Neptu bastard myself and beat his face so bad he won't be able to-"

"Absolutely not." Nashi and the guild went quiet at this. Nashi turned to find her father eyeing her closely. "You'll do no such thing."

"...What?" Nashi asked, confused.

"You will not fight that man." Her father repeated. "You hear me? You stay away from him." Nashi furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Dad I know you worry, but I'll be fine! Besides, I'm sure I'll be fine if I just-"

"NASHI!" Nashi jumped as her father roared her name. He got to his feet and stormed over to her. Nashi feared what he planned to do before he reached her and grabbed her shoulders and got right up close. "You listen to me young lady. You are not, under any circumstances, fighting Neptu. Do you hear me? You aren't!"

"...Dad..." She tried, not understanding what was happening. Her father got even closer to her.

"Please..." he whispered, and Nashi's eyes widened. Her father's voice had taken on a tone she'd not hurt before. It wasn't angry, or prideful, or happy.

He sounded scared.

"Nashi, promise me. Promise me you will not fight Neptu Skylancer."

**Well well. That's, uh, something. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	244. The Purple Flames

**Just wanted to say before we start today, this chapter might be an answer to some questions. Ah? Ah? Read it. **

**Enjoy!**

Nashi stared down at her feet as the guild talked all around her. The conversation concerning what to do had moved to Laxus' office, leaving everyone else to themselves. Nashi, however, was absorbed in thought.

_"Nashi, promise me. Promise me you won't fight Neptu Skylancer."_

Nashi had no idea what had come over her moment he was standing up to Neptu, the next he was falling back and acting frightened. Was it something Neptu had done? She hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary...

"Nashi?" Nashi looked up to find her mother standing there holding Luke. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Nashi replied. "A little banged up, but I'll live."

"That's good." Her mother sat down next to her, holding Luke out towards her. Nashi smiled weakly and took the baby boy from her arms, masking him laugh.

"Hey Luke." She said.

"Where's your father?" Her mother asked. Nashi shrugged as she played with Luke.

"I don't know." She said. "He acted weird and then took off."

"Acting weird?" She asked. "What do you mean?" Nashi sighed. Maybe her mother could help her figure this out.

"Well, I'm assuming you got filled in that those Demon Hunters showed up to take Gin." Her mother nodded.

"I got a basic grasp on the situation." She said. "Go on." Nashi thought back to the situation, still confused.

"Dad got up to confront the guy." She continued, shifting Luke around in her arms. "It looked like a brawl was about to start, but then...Dad backed off." At this, her mother made a confused sound.

"He backed off?" She asked, and Nashi nodded. "Do you know why?"

"Not a clue." She replied. "All I saw was the two of them about to fight and then Neptu, the Leader of the Hunters, starting using some kind of purple fire..."

"...What?" Nashi looked up to find her mothers facial expression much more serious than a moment ago. "Purple fire?"

"Yeah." Nashi said, nodding. "He did that and all of a sudden, Dad's backing away from him. And after that, he's telling me that under no circumstances am I to fight the guy, but I don't have a clue why. I mean, he uses fire magic. We could just eat the flames and be fine, right?"

Looking over at her mother, Nashi saw it.

It was only for a brief second because she had turned to look, but her mother's eyes flashed with fear before she quickly hid it. What was going on?

"I'm sure he just didn't want to start a fight in the guild hall, sweetheart." She said, voice shaky and uncertain. "I think I should go and find him, did you see what direction he went?"

"Nope, no idea." Nashi replied. "All I know is that he stormed out."

"Alright. Can you watch Luke for a little bit?"

"I'll do my best."

"Thank you," her mother said, nodding thankfully as she got up to leave the guild. Nashi looked down at her baby brother, who stared back up at her.

"Well?" She asked. "What do you think? What the hell's going on?"

Luke just cooed happily back at her.

* * *

Gin stared at the door to the infirmary, unsure if what he planned to do was best. He knew Steph and Damien's mother Mira where inside with him and Wendy, and he knew that because he'd been directed up here to speak to them.

After the whole situation involving Neptu coming right into the guild hall after him, Gin had been thinking. About the whole thing, really. And in doing this, he came to realize that he'd caused these people so much pain, and had no even apologized for it.

And so, he'd actively searched for Damien's mother and Steph. He was slightly more scared of his father, who was in his office with others from the guild.

Taking a deep breath, Gin steeled himself and slowly opened the door. Once it was fully open, he had a view of Wendy's back as she worked on Damien, and both his mother and Steph watched with worry in their eyes. Once he walked inside, Steph looked up.

"Oh, hey Gin." She said, voice cracking. "Did you need a checkup from Wendy?"

"No...I'm okay." He replied weakly as Wendy turned to him questioningly. "I'm not her biggest concern at the moment." Gin walked a bit closer, allowing himself a look at Damien. The poor guy didn't look any better than he did before, even with how hard Wendy appeared to be working. "How is he?" He asked.

"...Pretty bad." It was Wendy who replied to him. "The holy magic has done a number on him, much more than I had anticipated. His bodies barely responding to my healing."

"Will he...Be okay?" Gin asked her. Wendy shifted in her seat.

"I hope so." She murmured.

"What did you need, Gin?" Steph asked. Gin took his turn to shift around, and he stared at his feet.

"I wanted to, uh, apologize." He said.

"For what?" Steph asked. This caused Gin to let out a harsh laugh.

"For what?" He asked. "How about bringing all of this down on you folks? For getting you all involved in my struggle and getting Damien hurt? Or maybe making it easy for the Hunters to track us back here and threaten everyone here and even the whole city? Or the fact that I didn't give myself up when they came here?"

"Gin..." Steph started.

"All I've ever done, no matter what happens, is bring people pain." Gin continued, cutting her off. "No matter what happens, me getting involved always ends in pain and suffering, until even the kind faces turn away in fear. As such, I distance myself. And even then, i end up in ass backwards situations like this where no matter what someone gets hurt and it\s all my...!"

Gin was cut off as Mira wrapped him in her arms tightly.

"Thank you." Mira whispered, hugging Gin tightly. Gin was confused. What the hell was she doing?

"W-What are you...?" Gin asked weakly. "Thank you for what?"

"For doing what you did." She replied, still gripping him tightly. "Steph told me you did everything you could to make sure the others got Damien out of the battlefield. Even fighting the man who did it to him. Thank you."

"I don't understand..." Gin hissed, clenching his fists. "I'm the reason he's in here, I made his injuries reality..."

"You put your own life on the line to make sure that he could get home safely." At this, Mira let out a sad little laugh. "Isn't that what you were chastising us for?"

"That doesn't mean..." Gin felt an odd warm feeling in his chest. "I didn't...There's no need..."

"Also, it sounded like you needed a hug." She added. "Don't worry, the kids did good getting you here as well. We won't let those men hurt you."

The mothers words made the warm feeling spread all over Gin's body, and at first it put him on edge. Why was she being so kind after Gin had her son put into a near death state?

"I don't..." Gin hissed, his eyes growing watery for the first time in a while. "You people..."

"It's not so bad being nice to people, you know." Mira told him. "I speak from experience, Gin. Bu not everyone's bad, right?"

"...I guess so." Gin managed, trying to hold himself together. He didn't know why after all he had been through, those simple words caused him to falter so badly. Perhaps after so long of being treated like a monster, being treated like a human being felt good.

Gin was brought out of his thoughts as Wendy leaned back in her seat and sighed.

"So?" Steph asked hopefully as Mira let Gin go, but the warm feeling didn't leave. Wendy stared down at Damien before she looked up at the mother and daughter.

"He's...Making it." She said. "I managed to find our biggest problem."

"Which is?" Mira asked. Wendy hovered a hand over Damien's chest, and her hand glowed. Soon after, Gin noted that the center of Damien's chest glowed white, in the shape of a blade incision. Quinn's blade.

"That's the source of our problems." She said. "I said before that Damien had what appeared to be holy magic flowing through his system, and he does. The insertion of the blade here has left heavy amounts of holy residue in Damien's system."

"So...Will he live?" Steph asked. Wendy took her sweet time reply before she looked up.

"He will if I work hard at it." She replied. "Once the holy magic's gone, he'll probably heal up quicker. He won't be fit for combat any time soon, though."

"I think that'll do him some good." Mira said, laughing weakly. Gin watched the four of them silently, feeling glad that Damien was probably going to make it. He turned at this and made for the door, but paused before he did.

"Thank you, Mira." He said. "For what you said."

"No problem." She said. Gin exited the infirmary at this, and surveyed the guild hall. While it was not rowdy and boisterous anymore, there were still many who engaged in happy conversations with others.

And all of these people were in danger because of Gin. Not because of him, but those who sought to end him.

Gin's surveying glance eventually landed on Nashi, who seemed to be playing with a bundle of blankets in her hands. Gin noted that she too seemed very happy. The woman looked up and caught Gin staring, and beckoned him to come over. He did so, and noted that it was actually a child in Nashi's arms.

"Hey." She said. "How's Damien doing?"

"He'll probably be okay." He replied quietly. "Wendy's found a way to help him."

"That's a relief." She said. Gin looked down at the happy looking baby to find it staring at him curiously.

"Uh, cute kid." Gin managed. Nashi's chuckled.

"He is, yeah." She said. Gin looked around.

"Is he, uh...?" He started, unsure of how to phrase the question.

"My little brother?" Nashi asked. "Yeah. His name's Luke"

"Oh. Okay." Gin said, dropping it quickly. "Cool."

"Mm hm." Nashi agreed. "Hey, could you hold him for a sec? My arms are killing me."

"Uh..." Before Gin could say one thing or another Nashi was thrusting the small child into Gin's arms, who swallowed and took him. He was heavier than Gin had expected, although he'd never really held a kid before. Luke started to laugh and wave his arms around at Gin, which made him crack a smile. Despite all the tensity around him, the little guy was happy.

But Luke was also in danger.

At this, Gin frowned as he stared down at the baby. He was endangering such a small and defenseless person with his presence. Could he really do such a thing.

"Okay, I can take him if you want." He heard Nashi tell him. He slowly handed Luke back over, and stared at his feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Gin replied. "Just great."

_I know that it's the right thing to do. No more blood needs to be split over me. Even if the guild tries to protect me, they shouldn't have to. I'm not going to be a such a burden to these people._

* * *

Lucy had no idea where else to check for Natsu but home. As she stared up at the building, she contemplated her options. From what Nashi had told her, the situation was very dire. And anything but preferable. Lucy steeled herself and entered the house, looking around.

"Natsu?" She asked, looking around. She slowly searched the rooms of the house, before coming across the slightly ajar bedroom door. Slowly pushing it open, Lucy saw Natsu standing by their window, staring out at the city. "There you are. I was looking for you."

Natsu didn't say anything as Lucy walked up behind him.

"Nashi told me some thugs came to the guild hall." She said. "And something happened with them, didn't it?" Again, she got no response from her husband. "Natsu, cane you please talk to me? Let me help you." Again, met with silence. Lucy knew from experience losing her temper wouldn't help.

She walked closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Natsu, please." She said. "I know you think I'm dumb. You have since the day we met. But I'm not. Tell me what's going on. What's bothering you. That man? The guild. Or is it the purple fire?"

At this, Lucy noted a reaction.

Natsu went from a stone cold stare out the window to wincing.

"The fire, then?" She asked. "What's up with it? Why is it bothering you so much?" Natsu didn't day anything, and she sighed. "I know you love to keep things to yourself, but please Natsu I want t-"

"it was purple Lucy." He replied quietly, staring out the window. "His flames...They were purple."

"And?" She asked. "What does the color of his flames have to do with anything?" Natsu sighed, but remained silent a little longer.

"...Think, Lucy." He replied. "We've seen this kind of thing before, but only once." Lucy thought back to all the adventures they had had, but saw nothing that seemed relevant.

"I don't know." She said. Her response seemed to irritate Natsu.

"I'll ring the bell for you." He said, whirling on her. "Tartarus. Sun Village. The _ice, _Lucy. You got it yet?" Lucy felt a bit nauseous. "No? Here's a good one. Silver. Gray. And that fight between us..."

It didn't take long after that for Lucy's eyes to widen.

"Oh no..." She whispered. Natsu nodded sternly.

"There it is." He said. "You know. You know what he is."

"What do we do?"

"I don't know." Lucy stared down at her feet as a knot started to form in her stomach. This was very bad.

"I can't believe it." She whispered. "It's a lost art form, isn't it?"

"Of course it is." Natsu hissed. "But it's not lost anymore, he uses it. I felt it the second those flames erupted in his hands."

"So, that means..." Natsu laughed coldly.

"Yeah." He said. "I'm scared of Neptu Skylancer because of that fire." Lucy nodded weakly, sweat dripping down her forward.

"Fire Devil Slaying Magic." She whispered.

* * *

"And Quinn said that he told three divisions to make their way...Sir?" Neptu broke out of his trance to find Elizabeth watching him carefully from across the table. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" He asked. "Yeah, sure. Good report."

"That's not what I said, sir." Damn it. Neptu sighed and put his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Lizzie." He said, "I was just thinking about everything that happened today."

"What about it, if I may ask?" Neptu slowly looked up at Elizabeth. The blonde woman was usually by Neptu's side, and she had been since the beginning. He didn't mind telling her.

"It's just..." he started. "...The Demon Lords."

"What about them?" Neptu sighed.

"There's two." he said. "We found two just out of nowhere. Unfortunately, neither of them are the one I'm after."

"It would appear not, no." Neptu sighed.

"You'd think if we found any, there'd be a chance, but he still alludes us."

"Not to sound rude, sir." Elizabeth said, brushing her hair over her ear. "But there are twelve Demon Lords. In was a one in twelve chance we find him." Neptu sighed.

"I know." He said. "Trust me, I know. It's been one in twelve since it happened." He said back in his seat. "I just wish for once, just once, the lead led us to him."

"I know it must be hard, Neptu." She said. "Chasing someone like that for so long." Neptu laughed harshly.

"Don't call him someone." He said. "That makes him sound like he's human. He's not. Just like the rest of them, he's a monster. Feeds off of mortal anger and despair like any demon."

"I know." She said softly. "And I know how much finding him means to you. But for right now, you'd best keep your eyes on that Gin boy. He's a Demon Lord as well, remember. And from what Quinn said, he isn't a pushover."

"I know." He said. "And I will. Thanks for listening."

"I have for years, no point in stopping now." She said. Neptu nodded.

"You should go to bed, Liz."

"Will you stay up all night torturing yourself over this?" She asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Maybe, maybe not." He said. "Guess we'll have to find out." Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but nodded as she turned and exited the tent. Neptu leaned back and stared up at the roof of his tent, pondering what to do.

Before long, he slowly rolled up his sleeve. There, on is arm, was a burn. He'd been burned so many years ago. Most people would have forgotten about something lime this, but that day had been burned into Neptu's mind. He'd never forget it. Ever.

After all, it was the day Drakhosz, The Lord of Pain, took damn near everything from him.

Neptu raised the burned arm and watched as purple flame danced around his fingertips. A last gift from those he'd lost that day. He sighed and lowered the arm, and went back to staring at the roof.

_Even if I have to find the other eleven first, I'll find him. I have too. For everyone who lost someone that day. The Flames will see to that. They always do._

**And I'm sure you guys got some answers from this one, huh? i hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	245. What To Do

**Thinking of a little something to surprise you guys with, but that's not important at the moment. We'll see.**

**Enjoy!**

"So after all of this, we still don't have a plan?" Gray asked, making Laxus sigh. They'd been at this for hours, but so far no concrete plan of action had been decided on.

"No, not yet." He said. "Other than fight them all."

"Is that for the best though?" Levy asked. "From what the kids said, they've got an army at their command."

"We've taken on bigger armies, shrimp." Gajeel said. "I'm sure we can think of something."

"We probably shouldn't." Erza said. "We might get the people in Magnolia involved, and that's the last thing we need." That much was true. The people who lived here had gone through so much as a result of Fairy Tail's enemies they deserved a break.

"Plus they don't sound all bad." Juvia added. "I know they're after Gin and tried to kill Damien, but they are Demon Lords. They tend to be rather violent, right?"

"That too." Laxus said, scratching his chin. Due to his past with most demons, he respected what Neptu and his group did. Most weren't the kindest. Still, they were a problem.

"We can't hand over Gin." Erza said. "They'll kill him."

"So we're stuck." Levy surmised. "Perhaps we can try to make them back off without any kind of violence either way? Maybe Neptu will see reason and back off."

"He does seem reasonable." Laxus said. "I guess we'll have to see, we don't exactly have any other option..."

Everyone turned as the door to the office opened, revealing Lucy and Natsu as they walked in.

"There you two are." Laxus said. "I wanted you here for the meeting."

"Sorry." Lucy murmured. "Did we miss anything?"

"No, we have no real plan." Gray answered before turning to Natsu. "Did you have to go find your husband after he ran off scared?" Usually Natsu would've replied to a remark like this, but he just stared blankly out the window. Gray made a face. "You ignoring me, flame brain?"

"...No." Natsu said quietly. "Just thinking."

"That's unusual." Gajeel said, snickering. Usually Natsu would've erupted and tried to start a brawl at things like this, but he remained totally still. Lucy coughed.

"We have a problem, everyone." She said.

"What?" Laxus asked. Lucy seemed unaware of how to say whatever the problem was, and Natsu was still blankly staring.

"Well, it's pretty much like this-" She started.

"Neptu's a Fire Devil Slayer." Natsu announced, cutting her off. At this, silence fell over the small room. No one spoke up for a moment, and Natsu scoffed. "No one else figured it out? And you say iI'm a dumbass."

"Are you sure?" Erza asked. Natsu nodded.

"Positive." he then jabbed a thumb at Gray. "Same feeling I got from ice prick over here. He's one, no doubt." Gray seemed a bit startled.

"Now that you mention it, yeah." He said. "He did feel familiar somehow."

"That's why you backed down." Levy said, Natsu nodding. "Does he...Well, wall you?"

"Essentially." Natsu said. "That fire could kill me. If I ate it, if it touches me...I can't beat him."

"You sure you couldn't Zancrow him?" Laxus asked. "Eat it and get some other form?" Natsu shook his head.

"Don't know." He said. "And I'm not keen on finding out if I can or if it'll roast me alive." At this, Natsu's frown deepened. "That's why I told Nashi to stay away from him if it comes to a brawl."

"It'll kill her too." Levy said, nodding.

"When are you going to tell her?" Juvia asked, casting another silence.

"She has a point." Gray said. "First Silverridge, then those times at the Games. Sooner or later Natsu, she needs to know."

"You want to do it?" Natsu snarled. "You want to go out there and tell her what she is?"

"Natsu..." Gray started.

"I know she needs to know." Natsu growled. "I know better than anyone. But how exactly do you go about telling your daughter that she's a beast created from the DNA of a human woman and a monster forming together? How do you tell her that she's got powers that were created over four hundred years ago by the most powerful dark wizard in history? Do I mention that those very same powers could take her over if she isn't careful?!How do you say any of that?!" Another silence came over everyone at this. Lucy put a hand on Natsu's shoulder, and he turned to glare at the window.

"The point is," Lucy said. "That's he's dangerous, and if it comes down to a fight, we have a serious problem."

"Because he could kill both Natsu and Nashi without even trying." Laxus said. "Yeah, that's quite a problem."

* * *

Gin trailed behind Nashi as they walked towards the others, still deep in thought after playing with her baby brother a bit. He was certain combat wouldn't be a good thing, but could he really do what he felt was right? What would happen then?

"Hey guys." He looked up as Nashi greeted the others, and they too looked up.

"Hey." Simon greeted. "Hey Gin." Gin nodded slowly, still unsure.

"Hey Luke." Ultear said warmly with a smile. "Can I hold him, Nashi?"

"Yeah, sure." Nashi replied, leaning over the table to hand the baby over. Ultear smiled down at Luke and played with him, while Elise looked up.

"Hey, you went up to see Damien, didn't you?" She asked. Gin nodded.

"I did." he replied.

"Is he okay?" Ultear asked.

"Wendy said he should be." He replied. "She's working on it." The others seemed to relax at this.

"Thank God." Simon muttered.

"I was really worried." Drake said, crossing his arms. "He looked pretty shitty for a long time."

"Yeah." Elise agreed. "And even then she said our best hope was a coma."

"She's better than she gives herself credit for." Simon said. "Look at how many times Nashi has ended up in their after a serious incident." At this, Nashi laughed weakly.

"That's true." She said.

"You get hurt often?" Gin asked her. She turned to him and nodded.

"Yeah, it's a bad habit I guess." She said, looking rather sheepish. "I end up hurt all the time."

"Hurt, surviving a point blank Etherion explosion, it's all the same right?" Drake asked. Gin felt his head spinning.

"Is that true?" He asked, shocked. Nashi nodded, staring down at the table.

"Yeah." She said. "I did that. It was pretty intense..." At this, Nashi swayed in her seat, before shaking her head. "Sorry, I got lightheaded." Gin made a face, and as he looked up, he noted that Drake was staring intently at Nashi, a serious expression on his face. Drake saw Gin had noticed him, and diverted his gaze elsewhere. What was that about?

"Regardless, it's good that he'll be okay" Ultear said. At this, Gin watched as Luke started to paw at Ultear's shirt. She made a face and looked down at him. "Can I help you?" She asked in a baby tone. Luke just made a strange noise back at her.

"Sassy little shit, isn't he?" Simon asked. Luke just continued pawing at Ultear and making weird noises.

"What?" She asked, laughing a bit. "Am I ignoring you?" A thought occurred to Gin as he watched the baby grab at her.

"I think he's hungry." he said. This made everyone go quiet for a moment before Drake snickered.

"Oh yeah, that's definitely it." he said, nudging Ultear, who was a little pink in the face. "Get on it, Ul."

"I am _not _breastfeeding Luke." She said, making a face at Drake.

"Aw come on, you're gonna be mean like that?" Ultear rolled her eyes and made Luke stop grabbing at her.

"You just want me to pull my boob out, don't you?" She muttered, making Drake cackle.

"Damn, foiled again." He said. "You got me there."

"Perv." Elise said. Drake rolled his eyes at her.

"This coming from the girl who doesn't close her door."

"You walked in on me!"

"Trust me Elise, twelve year old you wasn't anything to look at."

"Oh please, you stared for a long while."

"Was that before or after you broke my nose for seeing you in the nude? I don't recall if the shock from you naked or the impact made me stare."

"Doesn't really matter" This little argument made the others laugh, and even Gin felt himself cracking a smile. These people seemed to have a very infectious attitude. And despite the threat hanging over their heads, they found time to laugh. Quite interesting.

Before the others could start talking again, a door opened. Gin turned to find Master Laxus`office door opening, and the older members of the guild walked out of it.

"Looks like the strategy meeting is done." Simon said. "Let's see what happens." Gin watched as Laxus stood in the center of the guild hall and cleared his throat.

"Attention, everyone." He called, earning everyone's attention. "As I'm sure you're all aware, Neptu and his Hunters want us to hand over Gin. As am sure you all also know, the odds that we'll end up doing that are slim. But, obviously, we need to find a solution that we can all get behind. So, as of now, the plan is to try and talk Neptu down and make him leave. Any objections?" No one spoke up to this, so Laxus nodded. "Good. Now you should all turn in for the night. Tomorrow...Might be a problem." With this, members of the guild went about their business. Gin watched as A blonde woman walked up to them.

"Hey guys." She said. "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine, Lucy." Drake said. "How'd the meeting go?" Lucy did not reply to this, she simply sighed.

"I'll take Luke now, Nashi." She said. "It's way past his bedtime." Nashi nodded and took the baby from Ultear, and then past him to Lucy. "See you tomorrow, guys."

"Mom?" Nashi asked, making Lucy stop as she tried to walk away. "Did you find out why Dad acted like that? What's up?" Lucy didn't say anything for a moment or two, but soon she let out a small laugh.

"You're Dad was just worried about everyone." She said, turning and casting them a smile. "Didn't want to hurt anyone in the crossfire. And of course, not his precious baby girl." This made Nashi's cheeks turn a bit pink, and Lucy turned back around to leave. "Goodnight." And with this, she left.

"Huh, I guess that makes sense." Elise said. "He is pretty destructive."

"Right..." Nashi murmured, sounding unsure. Gin stared down at the table. From the sounds of things, the guild wasn't going to hand him over. And he very much doubted Neptu and the others would simply say that was fine and leave at that.

"Anyway, I'm going to go to bed." Ultear said, standing up. "I really missed my bed these past few days." Slowly but surely, everyone got up from the table and left, except for Nashi.

"You okay, Nashi?" Gin asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah." She said, looking up and offering him a weak smile. "I was just thinking about this whole thing." Gin nodded. "Don't worry, we won't let Neptu take you away, alright? We won't."

"...Okay." Gin replied. Nashi smiled and stood up from her seat, stretching.

"Don't worry about staying here." She told him. "You'd probably be safest right here anyway."

"I'll find someplace to sleep." He reassured her, now feeling the affects of his long travel here as well. Nashi got up and left, and Gin slowly rested his head down on the table, mind consumed with worry about the following morning. Whatever happened, he hoped nobody got hurt.

Because if they did, it was more hurt innocents caught in the crossfires he regularly caused.

* * *

"Wake up, kid." Gin jumped awake at this course voice speaking to him. Looking up, he swallowed hard as he noted Mortavius standing over him.

"M-Mortavius?" Gin asked weakly, and a cold breeze slapped in the face to boot. Looking around, Gin noted he was no longer in the guild hall, but on the very top of a building. Not only that, but the sun was bearing down on him. "W-Where are we?"

"On top of the guild hall." he answered simply, pockets in his hands as he smirked down at Gin. "I wanted to show you something, and I figured the best viewpoint was right here." Gin slowly stood, and glared at Mortavius.

"What is that, exactly?" Mortavius grinned and pointed behind Gin. As he did so, Gin's stomach dropped, and he paled. He had a bad feeling about this.

As he slowly turned, he now knew why.

Just on the outskirts of the city of Magnolia, was a gigantic mass of what looked like tenets, and people in black cloaks.

"Oh no..." he whispered, blood draining from his face. Mortavius chuckled.

"Looks like Neptu's preparing for a war out there." he said. "Nice view of em, huh?"

"This bad. Really, really bad." Gin said. "What do I do?"

"Well as I see it boy, it don't really matter." Gin looked over his shoulder to find Mortavius giving him a wolfish grin. "This won't end well for anyone."

"There has to be something!" Gin shouted, wind whipping around them. "I could give myself up, regardless of what the guild says!"

"And have them jump in to defend you like last time?" Mortavius demanded. "They won't let you die."

"Surely they'll see reason here..."

"Have they yet?" Gin slowly looked back out at the fields of enemies before looking back at Mortavius.

"Why'd you bring me up here?" He demanded. "What does seeing this accomplish?" Mortavius' grin only darkened.

"Too prove my age old mantra to you, kid." Gin closed his eyes slowly at this. "No matter how much you dislike it, or how much you want to avoid it. It comes regardless."

"...Bloodshed in inevitable." Gin finished. "I remember." Mortavius nodded.

"So what now, Gin?" He demanded. "Will you resolve to fight for once?" Gin stared down at his feet. What was he going to do? Give himself up, or fight? If a fight was inevitable...

"I don't know." He hissed.

"Better hurry up boy." Mortavius said. "Looks like times up." Gin made a face, but turned to look over the side of the building. Walking towards the guild was a group of five people.

"Oh God..." Gin hissed. With this, he sped past Mortavius, who took his leave and disappeared. He barreled down the stairs and arrived at the bottom floor before Neptu and The Members of the Cross did.

"Guys!" He shouted. "Neptu, he-!"

"Has an army on our doorstep?" Laxus asked, from the center of the guild. "We saw. Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"How can you people be like this?!" He demanded, starting to panic. "So many people could get hurt in this fight! Just let me go, it's not that big of a deal!"

"That's just it." Gin turned to find Nashi and the others watching him. "It is a big deal. Your life is just as important as mine, or Damien's, or anyone else's. Stop acting like handing you over to be killed is something we can just do. Because it isn't."

Gin had hoped, he really did.

But it still seemed as though the guild would not heed his prayers. Instead, they'd opt to defend him.

"I'm sure we don't need much of an introduction." Gin looked up to find Neptu and The Cross entering the guild hall. "Have you considered my offer, Fairy Tail?"

"All night, we did." Laxus replied, everyone watching carefully. "And we came to a decision."

"Oh?" Neptu asked. "Can I hear it?" Laxus nodded.

"We opted to ask you to leave this place and Gin alone." He said. "This isn't a fight that needs to be fought." Neptu just stared at Laxus, unmoving. After a few tense seconds of this, he sighed.

"Perhaps I was not perfectly clear last time." He said. "So allow me to reiterate. The boy is a Demon Lord. If you hand him over, we'll leave."

"I know." Laxus replied. "Doesn't really change anything."

"Are you not aware of the damage this one has caused?" Neptu asked. Although he still seemed calm, his voice showed slight irritation. "He's a monster. Do you have even the slightest idea what he's capable of?"

"Oh I'm very aware." Laxus replied. "I've seen it before."

"Than perhaps you'd reconsider again." Neptu said. "Hand him over. Now."

"And I suppose that's why you've summoned up an army outside our walls, right?" Laxus asked. "Just for us to hand him over?"

"I called them on the assumption that you'd be difficult." He replied swiftly. "From what Quinn said in his report, you're a difficult bunch."

"So to threaten us?"

"In a way, yes." Neptu replied. "Was I wrong in thinking that this would happen?"

"Not at all, but no fight needs to be had."

"If you refuse to hand him over, I politely beg to differ."

"Why chase him so thoroughly? What has he done?"

"Beside being in league with the worst creatures on the planet?" Neptu asked. "He's attacked and killed many of my men. More than enough to say that simple revenge isn't that much to ask in return."

"How much of that was in self defense to your men trying to kill him?" Laxus fired back immediately. At this, Neptu fell silent. "That's what I thought. So I'll say again, we aren't just going to hand him over." Neptu sighed.

"I'm trying really hard to understand you." He said. "You know full well that the kid's trouble, and yet you stand here and just...Just say no, we're gonna keep him here? Why?"

"Because I don't want him to die." Laxus said. "Simple as that. My son got hurt believing the same. I won't let that be in vain."

"Fools...All of you."

"Just...enough." Gin spoke up, staring at his feet. "I'll go with you."

"Gin!" He heard Nashi shout.

"Just stop it!" He said. "I've said a million times how this attitude you people have doesn't make sense, and I've had enough!" he slowly looked up at Neptu. "If you'll leave these people alone, I'll go with you." Neptu nodded.

"That was the deal initially, so I'll still abide by it." He replied.

"Will you withdraw your forces and never come back?"

"Absolutely. Might take us a day though, they mobilized a few days ago." Gin nodded and steeled himself, walking forward. He shook off the others trying to convince him to stop, and only did so once he was right in front of Neptu.

"I got him." Quinn said, moving forward to move Gin into the center of them. Neptu looked over at Fairy Tail.

"See?" he asked. "That was all that needed to happen. We'll be on our way now. The army should be out of the way by tomorrow morning. A lot of people, you understand. He then turned to Gin and his followers. "Get moving." At this, Gin was shoved towards the outside, and walked weakly with them out of the city.

"Good job handing yourself over kid." Quinn said in his ear. "Or else that would've gotten dirty."

"I know..." Gin replied.

_Bloodshed is inevitable._

"...I know."

* * *

Nashi watched as Neptu left with Gin, feeling rather angry about the whole situation.

"This is so dumb..." She hissed. "He just gives himself up like that."

"Don't worry about it, Nashi." She heard Laxus say. Looking up, Nashi noted her Master was watching her with a small smile.

"Why not?" Nashi asked. "What're we supposed to do?"

"I thought Gin might do something like this when he started talking about how foolish he were to get in the way yesterday." Laxus replied. "This isn't over, we're getting him back."

"How?" Simon asked. "There's a whole army out there." Laxus smirked.

"And?"

* * *

Gin had been moved into a tent by himself, but he'd heard plenty of people talking about him from the outside. From the sounds of it, they all wanted to know why Gin wasn't dead already. Quite honestly, Gin wondered that himself. Perhaps Neptu was just waiting.

Looking up, Gin noted that that very man had entered the tent, walking towards him.

"What do you want?" Gin asked. "Just kill me."

"No," Neptu said. "Not yet." He leaned down and got in Gin's face. "I got a question, Gin. And you'd better answer it to the best of your ability, or else." Gin didn't reply, he just stared at him. "Got it?" Neptu asked again.

"Yeah, sure." Neptu narrowed his eyes at Gin.

"Does the name Drakhosz mean anything to you?" He asked in a low tone. Gin, however, just raised an eyebrow.

"Who?" He asked. "I've never heard that name before, sorry."

"Are you positive."

"Absolutely." Neptu seemed a little unhappy with his results, but he sighed and stood nonetheless.

"Figures..Not even you know where to look..."

"Who is that?" Gin asked. again. Neptu simply looked back at him.

"Enjoys these moments, kid." he said. "They're some of your last." With this, the man turned and left the tent, only leaving Gin more confused. After a few seconds, however, Gin heard Mortavius laugh.

"Drakhosz?" He asked. "Now that's a name I haven't heard a mortal speak of in a long time."

"You know him?" Gin asked, turning to the Demon Lord. Mortavius laughed.

"Do I know him?" He asked. "How could I not? You think I'm bad when you unleash my power."

"Who is he?" Gin asked. Mortavius looked down at him.

"He's the Demon Lord from the 7th Circle of Judgment." He said. "Also known as the Lord of Pain." He certainly sounded as if he fit the bill for a Demon Lord, Gin knew that much. "I get it now. Wow. Poor guy."

"What?" Gin asked. Mortavius grinned.

"If that poor guy is the way he is now because of Drakhosz, I'm surprised he's let you live as long as he has."

**As I said above, I have an interesting idea for the story, but I'm keeping it to myself for now. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	246. Just as Important

**Alright guys, my idea was this. I was thinking of having a whole week of updates, Sunday through Saturday. Now I might have to take a small break to get all those chapters written, or do it on a day by day basis. Regardless, what do you guys think?**

**Enjoy!**

"Alright Gray, give me a ice replica of the outskirts of the city." Laxus said, him and Gajeel placing the table they were moving down. Gray walked forward and within a few seconds, the top of the table was covered in a sleek replica of the city outskirts. Laxus pointed down at it.

"The Hunters are generally right around here." He said, drawing a circle on the ice with his finger. "Their camps are here. What I want to do is send in a team during the night in order to get Gin out."

"What do we do when Neptu wakes up and finds out the kids gone?" Gajeel asked.

"It's covered." Laxus replied. "Like I said, I want a small team to go in and out and get him out. If you have to, make sure you shut him up. He might be difficult."

"I'll go." Drake said beside Nashi. "I can get in and out quickly with my sound magic."

"Good idea." Laxus replied. "Your in." Laxus then pointed to Ultear. "I want you to go with him, okay Ul?" Ultear nodded.

"Alright." She said. "I can do that." Laxus then pointed to Simon, Elise, and Steph. "You three, I want you to wait over here. Gray, Juvia, over here." He pointed towards the small mountain overlooking the area the Hunters were in, and then to a smaller outlook "Drake, if anything happens, I want you to shoot a blast of poison in the air. You guys see that, shits going down. Knock as many heads as you can."

"Understood." Gray replied.

"Sounds solid." Simon said, arms crossed.

"Why exactly are the strongest of us hanging back?" Gajeel asked. "Just sending in Ice Stripper and his dame and the kids seems a little overconfident."

"You really think sending you in for a stealth mission is a good idea, Gajeel?" Laxus asked. "I want the majority of us to hang back and protect Magnolia. This isn't supposed to be a full blown fight. If it comes to that, we'll have to see what happens. But until then, we stay back and wait."

"Well-" Gajeel started.

"Not to mention the reason I'm sending Ultear is so she can create an ice clone of Gin and trick the Hunters into thinking he's still there. Nashi had to admit, that was a good plan.

"Ugh, whatever." Gajeel muttered. Laxus just chuckled.

"Alright, if no one has a problem with that, we'll set you all out at midnight and-"

"I want in." Nashi looked up to find her father looking down at the icy city. Him speaking up caused the entire guild to become quiet, and Laxus seemed confused.

"What?" He asked, confused. "Natsu, I think it would be best if you were here and not..."

"I want in, alright?" He asked, sounding like he wasn't in the mood to argue about it. "I'll sit with the kids and wait to see if anything happens." Laxus and Nashi's father stared at each other for a while, neither backing down much.

"Are you sure?" Laxus asked.

"Positive." He replied. "Fight's not supposed to break out, right?"

"Right..." Laxus muttered, looking around. No one else objected.

And yet, Nashi felt she wanted too.

"Wait, what do I get to do?" She asked.

"Like I said Nashi, most of us should wait by the city and see what happens. Last thing we need is for any innocents to get involved. That okay?" Nashi made a face at this. She didn't much like the idea of her friends going out without her, but it didn't seem like she had much of a choice.

"Yeah, that's okay." She said. "Was just curious."

"Well okay then." Laxus stood up straight. "Like I said, you'll get out there at midnight. Let's hope to God this works." As the guild dispersed a bit, Nashi felt uneasy. With their track record, something was going to go wrong. It was bound too. What if?

And then, Nashi had an idea. No, she couldn't. It would take too long. Right?

* * *

"I'm just saying that it was way to easy." Quinn said. Neptu watched the four members of the Cross argue. "There's no way that guild is just going to give him up like that."

"And you're sure about that?" Elizabeth asked. "Perhaps they want to respect his wishes."

"No, trust me." Quinn said. "They won't."

"Why should we trust you?" Tristan, the final member of The Cross, asked. "We trusted you to hunt the kid down in the first place and you got your shit pushed in."

"You want to go and have a go at him, Tristy?" Quinn asked. "Let's see how you fair."

"Probably a lot better than your dumbass."

"Enough, guys." Abigail said. "It's not the time to argue. Just focus on getting our men out of the city by tomorrow morning." The two men seemed to be a bit agitated thanks to each other, but that came as no surprise. They rarely got along.

Quinn and Tristan had both joined Neptu a few years after he'd started to hunt demons. Tristan was a total hard ass, and didn't take shit from anyone, especially Quinn. Quinn, on the other hand, was a more light hearted and heavily sarcastic guy. Abigail was the final member to join them, and she often broke the two up when they fought. She was an excellent mediator, and both men respected her. None of this, however, stopped them from being some of the strongest people Neptu had with him.

Speaking of which, Neptu turned and looked at the side of his tent, where he could hear his entire collective force outside. When exactly had he become such a well known figure? That people came from all over to hunt those monsters by his side? One day it seemed it was just him and the four, the next an entire army was under his command. Things sure changed fast around here.

"What do you propose, Neptu?" He heard Abigail asked. He turned back to the brown haired woman, and watched her for a moment.

"I don't know." He said. "Perhaps we shouldn't do anything rash."

"What, and watch as that guild walks all over us when they come?" Tristan asked. No thanks, boss."

"I didn't mean that." Neptu said. "If anything, I doubt the guild wants to start a full blown fight right near their city. And neither do I. So if both sides are trying to avoid a full blown war zone scenario, I don't think too drastic measures are in order, no?"

"I agree." Elizabeth said. "We shouldn't do anything that looks hostile. So just try to get everyone packed up and moving."

"Exactly." Neptu said. At this, Tristan scoffed.

"Of course you'd agree with him, Liz." He said.

"Whatever do you mean, Tristan?" Elizabeth asked. Tristan rolled his eyes.

"It's pretty obvious." He replied. "You're only agreeing with him cause you're sleeping with him."

"Tristan." Neptu stood in immediately. "That's enough."

"You trying to say it isn't true?" He asked, Elizabeth still silent. "She never goes out and commands her own squads, she never leaves your side, and she always agrees with you! It's obvious."

"That couldn't possible be because she's like me and wants to respect that city, the guild and most of all, the innocent civilians inside?" Neptu fired back. "We aren't starting anything, you got it?" Tristan looked a little miffed about this, but he growled and pushed his way out of the tent. Soon enough, Neptu could hear him barking orders at his men.

"Jeez, that guy..." Quinn muttered.

"Do you two believe that shit?" Neptu asked, turning to Quinn and Abigail, making them both stand up a little straighter. "That we're an item?"

"Uh..." Quinn said. "I won't say we believe it..."

"But, uh..." Abigail started. "I won't deny that the thought has crossed my mind." Neptu sighed.

"Well it isn't true." He said, looking at Elizabeth. "Liz is my right hand. That's why she stays with me and out of the battlefield most days. Besides, her magic is mostly enchantments. Direct combat isn't her thing."

"We know." Quinn said. "It was just a thought. Whatever, I'll go crack jokes to the men so they don't get scared of Tristan out there." With this, Quinn made his way out of the tent.

"I'll go make sure that we aren't leaving a mess for the city to deal with." Abigail said, also going to leave. "Tristan's men are absolute pigs. o respect for others. Not surprising, considering who leads them." With this, she also left the tent, leaving Neptu and Elizabeth alone.

"Are you ever concerned that your top ranking commanders don't get along?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

"Some days, yeah." Neptu sad, rubbing his head. "Probably why I make sure you four barely cross paths, if I can help it." He looked up at her. "Sorry if that whole conversation made you uncomfortable, they just don't understand."

"It's fine."Elizabeth replied, smiling. "I wouldn't expect them to get it. They joined because they found you. I joined because you found me." Neptu chuckled at this. "I'll go see if everything's in order." With this, Elizabeth also left the tent for the outside. She was right, he didn't expect the others to get it.

After all, Elizabeth would have met the same fate as her entire past life had Neptu not made it there in time.

Up in smoke.

* * *

"Alright, are we ready?" Laxus asked, approaching the group going out into the night. Nashi looked over to find those he'd chosen to go out pretty much ready. They were all dressed in dark clothing to avoid being seen, they did indeed all look ready.

"As we'll ever be." Drake said, stretching his arms.

"Remember, get in, find Gin, and get him out." Laxus said. "Don't try and start something."

"We know." Ultear said. "We'll find him. And hopefully he can keep quiet so we don't have any issues."

"Well, we'll have to see about that one." Drake muttered. Nashi looked over at her father carefully.

"Are you okay?" She asked him. "You've been pretty quiet all day." Her father was silent for a moment, before he looked down at her. Their eyes met, and for a moment, Nashi saw his gaze lessen in intensity.

"I'm sure." He said, putting a hand on her head. "I want to scope things out. Besides, if anyone has to do work if we get detected, I can't let Gray beat me."

"What was that, Flamebrain?" Gray called. Her father didn't reply.

"I'll be back before you know it." He told her. "Don't worry." Nashi smiled up at him.

"I won't." She said. With this, her father took his hand off her head and slowly followed everyone out the door and into the darkness of the city, on their way to rescue Gin.

Despite the trust she had for those going on the mission, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

And at this, Nashi smiled. Now that she felt so uncertain, she was happy she'd done what she'd done a couple hours ago.

* * *

"Hear anything bad? Ultear asked from beside him. Drake concentrated and sent another wave of sound magic over the Hunter encampment, listening for anything that might be a problem.

"Nothing out the ordinary." he replied, pointing to their left off the side of the cliff. "Gin's in a tent over that way, guarded by some of the Hunters. You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go." She replied. Drake nodded and turned back to Simon, Elise, Steph and Natsu who were waiting behind them. Gray and Juvia had taken a different line of sight, so they had gone here.

"Like Laxus said." Drake said. "You see me shoot a blast of poison up in the air, you come running. Shit's going down."

"Got it." Steph said. "Be careful out there, don't do anything stupid."

"This whole scenario is begging for Drake's brand of stupidity." Elise said. "Keep him in line Ul." Drake ignored the girls jab and looked over at Natsu, who seemed to be scanning the camp.

"You alright, Natsu?" He asked. Natsu looked back at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said. "Did you hear Neptu or his elites?" Drake nodded.

"Yeah, Neptu's asleep near the center of the camp, and the other four are spread out. They shouldn't be any problem where they are." Natsu nodded at this.

"Alright. Just get in and out quick." Drake nodded and turned back to the cliff face. Aiming his hand down, he shot out a blast of poison, which turned into a talon and gripped the edge tightly. He gestured for Ultear to grab hold, and she did by putting her arms around his back. Jumping off the ledge, Drake felt the cold wind whip around him as they descended quickly. Tightening the poison latched to the cliff, Drake slowed them down so they could land comfortably and quietly.

With that, the two snuck quietly towards the encampment. Once they got the the very edge, Drake activated his sound magic. From the sounds of it, many of the Hunters were sleeping. Those who weren't seemed to be doing rounds of security. Creeping along the edge of the tents, Drake made sure he kept to the shadows, Ultear right behind him.

"Anything?" Ultear whispered. Drake shook his head.

"No, we're good so far." With how many of the guards were sleeping, it didn't take long for the two of them to reach the tent Gin was being held in. Drake watched from the darkness as the four men surrounding the tent kept their eyes open.

"Now what?" Ultear asked. "Got any ideas?"

"Not many, no." He replied. We need to take them out either all at once, or silently enough that they don't see a comrade getting knocked out."

Can't you just paralyze them?"

"I could, but I'm not sure if my poison could prevent them from screaming for backup." Drake watched the men carefully, unsure as to what he was supposed to do. One or two they could have handed, but four?

"Alright, I have a plan." Ultear said. Drake turned to her to find her staring intently at him. "You take out the two in front of us, I'll get the two behind the tent. When you hear me say three, jump out and knock them out. Got it?"

"Sounds good. Go." Ultear nodded and backed away from him, making her way slowly through the darkness towards the other side of Gin's tent. Drake hoped this was going to work, they couldn't afford a fuck up. Drake watched as Ultear's face appeared in the darkness just at the edge of the tents at the other side, watching the guards.

_"One," _he heard her think. At this, Drake tensed. This was it.

_"Two," s_he thought. Drake clenched his fists.

_"Three!" _At the count, Drake burst out of the darkness and slammed his fist into the guard on the rights face, knocking him out instantly. Before the other could even make a sound, Drake swirled and roundhouse kicked him in the face as well. Both guards collapsed to the ground as Drake stood upright, regarding his work quietly. He looked over to find the other two guards also on their asses, frost drifting off of them.

"That went surprisingly well." He said.

"You're welcome." She said. "Now let's get Gin the hell out of here." Drake nodded and turned towards the tent, and slowly pushed the flap, allowing himself and Ultear inside.

Once inside, they noted that Gin was curled up in a ball, asleep. Drake walked up slowly and knelt down, shaking him. Gin awoke quickly and, in a daze, stared at Drake.

"W-Wha...?" he asked slowly. "Drake?" Drake grinned.

"Hey bud." He said. "You feel like getting out of here?"

"What the hell are you...? Oh my god you idiots! I gave myself up so that you guys would be safe and now you're-!" Drake clamped a hand over Gin's mouth.

"Hush, jackass." Drake said. "I didn't come all this way in the dark with no sleep to hear you say no. Now get up. We're leaving." Gin didn't seem like he wanted to budge, but he sighed in defeat and stood up. "Alright Ul, do your thing."

"On it." Drake watched as the woman scanned Gin's appearance, before she cracked her knuckles and took the traditional Ice Make stance. "Ice Make: Ice Clone!" Just like Laxus had wanted, the ice clone formed in Gin's exact form on the ground, looking as though he was still unconscious.

"Good job." Drake said. "Now let's go." Ultear turned back to him and frowned.

"I don't know how long an ice clone can fool them, to be honest. I don't think they're that dumb."

"Maybe not." Drake said. "But long enough for us to get the real Gin to safety? Yeah."

"I really just cannot understand." Gin said. "Going through all of this for me. Why?"

"Because you're our friend, damn it." Drake snarled, turning to glare at Gin. "I wouldn't act any differently if it was someone else out here, I'd still save them. Just because you're a Demon Lord doesn't make you any less important, got it? Gin just stared at him silently, before hanging his head.

"Let's just get out of here." Ultear said. "The longer we stay the longer we risk getting caught."

"Help me move the guards inside the tent, Gin." Drake said, walking outside the tent to move the unconscious Hunters inside.

Despite how well it had gone, Drake was no fool. This plan was only a short term solution.

* * *

"See anything?" Elise asked.

"Nope." Simon said. "Looks like everything is good for now."

"Hey, uh, guys?" Steph asked.

"What's up?" Simon asked, turning to her. Steph looked extremely confused.

"Has anyone seen Natsu?"

* * *

Nashi sighed as she paced around the guild hall, waiting anxiously for the rescue to return. If they did she wouldn't have to worry. If they didn't...

_Bzz bzz!_

Nashi fumbled with her pocket before she finally pulled out her lacrima phone. She answered the call and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked.

_"Hey babe." _A male voice replied. Nashi smiled at this.

"Hey Michael." She said. "Did you do as I asked?"

_"It was a bit difficult, but yeah. I did" _Nashi sighed.

"That's great, thank you again. Is everyone coming?"

_Give or take a few, yeah." _He said._ "And I...Mami hold on...For fuck sake...Fine!" _Michael growled in frustration. _"Mami wants to talk to you."_

"Uh, okay." Nashi replied. She listened as the phone passed hands, and Mami cleared her throat.

_"Hey Nashi." _She said. _"How're you?"_

"I'm okay." She said. "Sorry if this was a hassle, but I wanted to be careful."

_"Ah that's fine. No one was forced to come, we all want to help." _Nashi smiled at this.

"Thanks. How far away are you guys?"

_"Ahhhh...Maybe half an hour, forty-five minutes. Not far."_

"That's good."

_"Uh huh. Don't worry, we'll be there before you know it." _With this, it sounded as though the phone was tossed back to Michael, who's muttered curses got louder as the phone went back up to his mouth.

_"We're coming, babe!" _He said._ "Not to worry. Back up is en route!" _With this, Michael laughed and hung up on her. Nashi smiled and slowly put the phone back in her pocket.

She had asked Michael to round everybody up and bring them to Magnolia, just in case.

He hadn't even argued, he'd just old er he'd get on it as fast as possible.

And now they were all on their way. Nashi chuckled to herself.

"They didn't even force anyone to come? Looks like they all love getting into fights too."

* * *

Natsu stared at the entrance to the tent quietly. He knew exactly why he'd asked to go with the kids on their mission to save Gin. Perhaps he should have just gone by himself instead of disappearing on the others out of nowhere, but he'd gotten here all the same.

Taking a deep breath, Natsu walked towards the entrance of the tent and stepped inside.

Sitting at the back of the tent, watching him enter from behind a desk was Neptu Skylancer.

"Good morning." Neptu greeted. "How nice of you to drop by."

"Drake said you were asleep." Natsu said. Neptu chuckled.

"Of course he did." He said. "Elizabeth's enchantments tend to distort the senses. Well, except for sight in this case." Neptu narrowed his eyes at Natsu. "Now, care to explain why you showed here? To kill me? To shut me up?" Natsu laughed.

"No, nothing of the sort." He said. "I came here to ask you something."

"Could it not have waited until morning?"

"No." Natsu replied. The two watched each other quietly before Natsu stepped forward a little. "Fire Devil Slaying magic."

"Excuse me?" Neptu asked.

"You heard me." Natsu said. At this, Neptu smirked.

"A fan of the craft?" He asked. "You've got excellent senses." Natsu didn't reply to this. "Yes, I'm a Devil Slayer. Passed down over a long period of time. Fits by work, doesn't it?"

"You could say that." Natsu replied. "One more question."

"Which is?" Natsu tensed up a bit at this.

"You ever kill an Etherious?"

**I think I'll leave it here for today. Remember to tell me what you think of my idea! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**


	247. Falling On Deaf Ears

**And so, the seven days of updates has begun! Also, given the timing, we can consider this the 2nd Generation birthday surprise! Kinda. Story turned 2 on the 26th of November.**

**Also, some of these chapters will be shorter than they have been as of late. No complaining though. You guys get seven in a week!**

**Also, this is the last authors note for seven chapters! Enjoy it! A little new addition awaits at the bottom ;)**

**Enjoy!**

"A what?" Neptu asked. "What did you say?" Natsu made sure his face stayed calm.

"An Etherious." He replied. "Never heard of it?"

"Not in my life, no."

"I'm not surprised." He replied, but knowing this didn't really make him feel better. "There isn't exactly a lot of them left. Regardless, I was just curious."

"Oh were you now?" Neptu asked, standing from his seat. "Well is it my turn to ask a question now?" Natsu tensed a bit at this.

"Sure, go ahead." Neptu watched him carefully for a moment, and Natsu waited for him to speak up.

"Why is it that you show up to my tent in the middle of the night?" He asked. "Is there something going on that I should know about? Or were you actually just curious about these Etherious?" Natsu wasn't sure how he was supposed to reply to this. It sounded as though Neptu knew that something was up, but what was he supposed to say?

"Do I need to answer that?" Natsu asked, shifting around. "I think you figured it out the moment I walked in here, didn't you?"

"I did, yeah." Neptu replied. "That kid, right?" Natsu didn't reply. "I figured as much. Guess I'd better do something about that, huh?"

"Think you can get past me?" Natsu threatened. He didn't want to fight Neptu, but now it felt like he might have too.

"Eh, I don't know." Neptu replied. "You backed down before, but was that for your safety or mine?"

"Want to find out?" Neptu didn't say anything back to this, and slowly sat back down.

"No, not really." He replied. "Want to sit? Have a drink?" Natsu stared at him, unsure of what to do as the younger man pulled out a bottle of liquor. "No? Not a drinker?" Natsu remained silent as he sat down in the seat opposite the desk and stared at the glass of liquor being offered to him, unsure of what to think. "Ease up man, nothing's going on."

Natsu doubted that very much.

* * *

Elizabeth walked through the camp quietly, making sure nothing was amiss before she finally headed off to bed. Hopefully nothing was going wrong, but she didn't know.

_"Elizabeth."_

Elizabeth perked up at this. Neptu didn't very often initiate telepathic connections out of the blue like this.

_"Yeah?" She asked._

_"Something's wrong. A member of Fairy Tail just waltzed into my tent." _At this, Elizabeth felt worried. Was he in trouble? _"I don't need help, but I was right. They're going after Gin. With our luck, he's already getting out of the camp. Raise the alarm and lock the campsite down. Got it?"_

_"Got it. Anything else, sir?"_

_"...Yeah. Cast a silence enchant over my tent. Don't want this bastard in here getting riled up. He's calm now, but I can feel my stomach turning from the magic rolling off him. That's all. Find that bastard." _With this the connection was severed, Elizabeth sighed. She raised a hand to her head and started another connection.

_"Tristan, Abigail, Quinn. Fairy Tail's in the camp, going for Gin. Raise the alarm, lock the camp down. Find them." _She didn't stay connected long enough to hear what the others said, and concentrated. Muttering the incantation to herself, she watched as the enchantment made it's way around her before soaring off to Neptu's camp. Sighing and cracking her knuckles, she made her way for Gin's tent as Hunters became alerted to the situation.

_Here we go._

* * *

"So, I never got your name." Neptu said, sipping his drink. Natsu watched him carefully, but played with the glass in his hand.

"Natsu." He replied. "Natsu Dragneel."

"Nice to meet you. I'm, as you know I'm sure, Neptu Skylancer." Neptu laughed. "Skylancer. Oftentimes I forget it's my name, not just the name of this group. All the same though. You got a family Natsu?"

"...I do." Natsu replied.

"That pink haired girl your daughter?"

"She is."

"She looks like a nice girl." Neptu said, sipping his drink. "Bet she turns lots of heads, eh?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Eh, I wouldn't expect her dad to." He took another sip of his drink. "Wish I had a nice little family life like you."

"It's not exactly a cake walk." Natsu said. "What? You have no family?" At this, Neptu's gaze darkened.

"...Well, no." He said. "I have a sister, but I haven't seen her in years."

"Why's that?"

"Conflict of interest, you could call it." He said, taking another sip of his drink. "We don't speak much anymore."

"That's too bad." Natsu said, still remaining calm. "Sounds as though you miss her."

"Perhaps I do." Neptu replied, staring blankly at the rough. Natsu was still unsettled by the mans actions. What was he doing? "I'm guessing that blonde woman was your wife? She and the girl look plenty alike."

"Lucy?" Natsu asked. "Yes, she's my wife." Neptu laughed.

"You're a lucky man." He said. "Which is why I don't understand you lot much."

"Care to explain?" Natsu asked. Neptu made a face.

"Well, it's like this." He said. He leaned back over his desk and looked at Natsu warily. "Despite everything you claim to know, you defend the boy, Gin. I tell you he's dangerous,you don't seem to give a shit. He could kill your wife, or your daughter, if things went badly. How would you react then?"

"He wouldn't kill them." Natsu replied.

"And what if he did?"

"He wouldn't."

"But what if-"

"I'm not saying he wouldn't because he isn't that kind of person," Natsu said, cutting Neptu off. "I say that because if he did attack either of then, I'd kill him before any of their blood had a chance to hit the ground." At this, Neptu smirked.

"Than you recognize the risk he proposes." He said. "Why protect him, then?"

"Saying we should've handed him off because he's a risk is like saying I shouldn't keep breathing because there's a risk I could cough." Natsu replied. "Taking risks is a part of life, kid."

"But one that could kill those closest to you?"

"My daughter spent her entire childhood being close friends with a Demon Lord." Natsu fired back. "And he never intentionally laid a hand on her. Why should Gin be any different?" Neptu stayed quiet for a moment before he leaned back in his seat.

"Fair enough." he said. "Everyone sees things differently. Just so happens this one is really polarizing." The two were quiet for a moment, before Neptu sighed. "Well, I need another drink. Want a refill?" Natsu watched as Neptu refilled his drink and offered the bottle towards him. He sighed.

"I'm fine."

"Suit yourself."

* * *

"Simon I hate to break it to you, but that is not the look of calm." Simon rolled his eyes as Steph said this.

"No, really." He said. "I'm not dumb. But Drake was supposed to shoot up a blast of poison if he was in danger, and I haven't seen anything."

"Besides, Cyanide Breath makes a huge scene when he fights." Elise said from her perch overlooking the camp. "We'd have seen him by now if he's actually been caught."

"Agreed." Simon said. "Just wait and see if they need help. I trust Drake and Ul. They'll get Gin out."

* * *

"Did we get seen?"

"No, that isn't possible."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Ul, I'm fucking sure!" Drake hissed, lowering the tent flap to glare at the woman standing behind him in the tent with Gin. "I'd have heard it!"

"Well what happened then?" Gin demanded. "Something happened!"

"Maybe they found out Gin was missing." She said. "We didn't exactly make it extremely convincing."

"That's possible." He agreed, looking out of the tent again. Hunters ran all over, but he couldn't discern anything serious from all the noise and chatter. "Alright, we need a plan to get out of here. Any ideas guys?"

"No." Gin said immediately.

"Wish I did." Ultear replied. "But right now I'm coming up with nothing." Drake clicked his tongue and looked around them. The tent wasn't really that helpful seeing as it didn't have much in it save for what looked like a couple of bedrolls and a locked box. Drake paused as he stared at the box.

"Ul, come here." He said, moving towards the box and shaking it a bit with his hands. From the sounds of it, he detected what looked to be clothes inside of it. "Open this up, would you?"

"Move." She said simply. Drake did so and Ultear moved in front of the box, and put her hand up to the lock. After a second of her hand glowing, the box clicked and unlocked. Removing her icy makeshift lock, Ultear opened the box and lifted to top of it to reveal the contents.

All that appeared to be inside was the uniform of the Hunters. At first Drake wasn't sure this would help, but soon he smiled.

"How many coats are in there?" He asked Ul. He watched as she pulled out two. She made eye contact with him at this.

"Is this our plan?" She asked.

"You have a better one?" Drake asked, grabbing one of the coats from her and starting to put it on. "We need a way out, and if we can get out this way I say we go for it." Ultear nodded at this and together, they both started to put the uniform on.

"So, what exactly is the plan?" Gin asked.

"It's simple." Drake said, throwing on the coat. "Ul and I are going to wear these things and masquerade as Hunters. We'll say that we caught you and are bringing you back to your tent. But instead, we'll try to escape the camp and get the hell out of here."

"And you expect this to work?" Gin asked.

"Do you have a better idea?" Drake asked. Gin didn't say anything back ,and Drake rolled his eyes. "That's what I thought. Now, put on your best guilty face and keep it on, it's showtime." Now that he and Ultear were dressed like the Hunters outside the tent, Drake grabbed Gin's left arm and Ultear his right, and they walked outside the tent and into the open.

it didn't take lone before they were spotted by other Hunters.

"Woah, you guys found him!" The redheaded man said as they ran up to them. "That's awesome, Lady Elizabeth was right!"

"Damn right she was." Drake agreed. "Bastard almost got away too. Lucky we found him."

"Really is." The black haired woman said. "What were your orders?"

"Bring him back to his tent and wait for...Elizabeth." Ultear said, thinking quickly. "We should get on that, don't want to keep her waiting." With this, the trio forced their way past the Hunters and continued on their way.

"Hey!" Drake froze, but slowly turned his head back to the Hunters who'd spoken with them. The redheaded man looked like he was smiling. "The tent is the other way."

"Oh, right!" Drake said as they turned around. "I'm so tired I must be confused."

"You and me both, brother." Now that they could part ways, Drake let out a sigh of relief.

"So far so good." He whispered.

"Yeah, so far." Gin muttered.

"Just one question." Ultear said. "How the hell do we get out of here?" At this, Drake paused. They'd probably need to go back the way they came in, which was back up the cliff side. Problem being that it was in the opposite direction of the way they had been told to go beforehand. For them to go towards the cliff, they'd need a different story as to where they were supposed to bring Gin. Drake had no idea what to say.

"We just need to get back to the cliff." Drake said. "Then we'll be good. Now, let's go." Turning around once more, Drake kept his eyes out for any Hunters that might question them, and did his best to avoid the bigger groups that might cause them a problem. A few people here and there spotted them, but all it took was a confident look from Drake and they gave them a thumbs up before moving on.

"You two, stop." Drake paused. They weren't anywhere near the cliff, but he could tell that voice was directed at them. Turning, he noticed a woman watching them. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and Drake instantly recognized her as one of the women that Neptu had with him when he visited the guild hall. And that made her a problem. "You found him?"

"Ah yes ma'am, we did." Ultear replied. "Is that a problem?" The woman did not respond, she simply stared.

"What member do you answer to?" She asked. Drake drew a total blank at this. What was she asking?

"Elizabeth." Ultear supplied. "We were told to bring him this way."

"That right?" she asked. She remained silent for a moment, and Drake decided to start listening to her to see if she knew they didn't belong.

It didn't take Drake long to realize he wasn't hearing anything.

He hid his confusion as best he could and concentrated, doing his best. Nothing. The woman's thought nor her movements became apparent to him. What was happening?

"I'll have to verify that with her." The woman said.

"Alright, go on ahead." Ultear said. The woman shifted around and sighed.

"Did I know someone had found Gin?" She asked aloud. "No, I didn't. Nor did I order anyone to bring him near the edge of the camp. Nor was I aware two members of Fairy Tail had joined our ranks." Drake felt his stomach turn violently at this.

"So you're Elizabeth." He reasoned. "Figures."

"That I am." She said. "Now, put the boy down and leave the camp. That's being gracious."

"And if we say no?" At this, the woman's body began to glow.

"Than we have a problem." She said. She raised her hands and put them together as if she praying, and kept er eyes on the three of them. "Last chance, Fairy Tail. Put him down." Drake rolled his eyes and stretched his arms.

"Not happening." He replied. "You wanna start a fight? Let's go right ahead and start one." Elizabeth closed her eyes, and Drake felt himself tense up as he waited for an attack. He watched as Elizabeth started mumbling to herself, and the glow intensified.

"Drake, what's she doing?" Ultear asked. Drake sharpened his hearing, but sadly he still could not hear her.

"I...I, uh..." he tried, still straining.

"Drake, what's going on?!" Ultear asked. "What's she chanting?!"

"I-I don't..." Drake didn't understand. He wasn't doing anything wrong or different, yet he couldn't hear Elizabeth whatsoever.

"Drake, what is it?" Gin asked. Drake gulped and turned to them feebly.

"I can't hear her." He replied weakly.

_BOOM!_

Drake looked forward to see a huge blast of Holy Magic headed right for them. Ultear appeared in front of him and right before the blast struck them, an icy wall appeared to shield him. The blast hit the ice hard and cracked it rather well, but Ultear managed to block it well enough.

"What do you mean...You can't hear her?" Ultear hissed, panting.

"I don't know." Drake replied, irritation with the situation rising within him. "I can't hear her thoughts or movements!"

"Last chance." Elizabeth said. "Hand him over." Drake watched the woman weakly before he took a deep breath.

"Ultear, take Gin and make a run for the cliff side." He said. "I'll hold her off."

"And you serious?" She demanded. "You're biggest advantage doesn't work. I can't leave you here!"

"And we can't afford to let Gin get caught up in the crossfire with a Member of the Cross." Drake replied. "Take him away from the camp if you can, I'll be okay." Ultear didn't seem ready to go, but Drake wasn't backing down. After a little more staring, Ultear sighed.

"Fine." She said. "I'll go. Stay outta trouble."

"I try." With this, Ultear ran back to Gin, and the two took off away from what had become the battlefield. Drake looked back to see another blast rearing towards them as they ran so she shot out a blast of poison that caught it and they both exploded.

"You really want to fight me?" Elizabeth asked. "I have an entire army here to help me." Drake smirked.

"I'll be okay." He said. He knew he'd need help at some point, so he as ready to fire a blast up to signal for assistance if needed. "I just need to make sure Gin can get out of here."

"And I need to make sure he doesn't." Elizabeth replied. "I don't like fighting, but I will if I have too." Drake knew this would be a big fight. Not only was this woman incredibly powerful, but she was somehow handicapping him.

Essentially, this was the first fight in Drake's life he was going into deaf.

* * *

"That was strange." Neptu said, referring to the shaking the desk had done a moment ago. Natsu stared down at the table, waiting to see if it would move again. "What were we talking about before?"

"No idea." Natsu replied. "Does it really matter?"

"I suppose not." Neptu replied. "So, what do you plan to do now, Natsu?" Natsu wasn't planning on responding to that. "To waltz right out of here? Hm?" Natsu didn't say anything, he simply stood up and made his way for the exit of the tent. "Do you really think you can fight your way through all of my men?"

Natsu paused at this. Turning slowly towards Neptu again, he noted that he had also stood up.

"What was that?" Natsu asked.

"My entire army knows you're here." Neptu said. "I'd advise you stay in here. I'd ordered them to blast you should you leave."

"That right..." Natsu slowly turned back towards the tent flap, and stared at it.

* * *

Neptu watched as Natsu seemed to be contemplating what he was to do. After a moment or two, the older man shuffled a little bit.

"So?" Neptu asked. "What're you going to do? Stay here, or-!" Neptu realized far to ate the growing magical power in the room.

Natsu whirled on him and unleashed a massive gout of fire from his mouth. Being unprepared for the blow, the fire blew Neptu back and right out the back of the tent and causing him to fly through many other tents before he came to a stop. he coughed and struggled to his feet, thanking his lucky stars the fire handed burned him.

"One thing to learn about me, Neptu." Neptu heard Natsu say, looking up,he saw that the man was approaching him through the tents that had been lit up. Natsu finally reached him, and glowered at Neptu.

"I don't like it when people act smarter than me."

**_Chapter 248: Natsu vs. Neptu_**


	248. Natsu vs Neptu

Drake turned and made a face as an explosion rang out in the distance. He watched as a plum of flames appeared in the distance, and he smiled to himself.

"Couldn't wait, eh Natsu?" He asked.

* * *

Neptu watched his opponent carefully, unsure as to his next move. Considering the fire he'd unleashed from his mouth, Neptu had to assume that Natsu was some sort of Slayer like himself. If that was the case, the two of them bounced off of each other way to well. Neptu couldn't really hurt him, nor Natsu him.

"Neptu, sir!" Neptu looked around as their battlefield soon became swarmed with Hunters coming to check out the explosion. "Are you okay?" It didn't take them very long to see Natsu, and they tried surrounding him.

"Well, you saw through the enchantment on the tent?" Neptu asked. Natsu just glared at him.

"Of course I did." He snarled. "I'm not dumb." Neptu nodded.

"I never said you were." he replied. "Although judging from what you used to blast me out here, we may a have a problem if it comes to a fight."

"I know that." Natsu replied. "We both use fire magic. Not only that, but Fire Slaying Magic. We can't hurt each other with it."

"Than what do you plan to do, Natsu?" Neptu asked. "Will you still fight me and my Hunters?"

"Hunters?" Natsu asked, before he laughed. "Unless you want to lose every man surrounding me, you'll order them to back off." Neptu tensed at this. He had no doubt Natsu wasn't playing around with a threat like that. With the amount of magic power coming off of him passively, he'd easily wipe through most of the people there. Sighing. Neptu cleared his throat.

"Hunters." he called out." Leave me and my friend here. Here's not an opponent even all of you at once could defeat."

"Neptu. sir! We can help you!"

"We can help you take this guy down!"

"Don't make us leave!" Neptu sighed as his Hunters started to call out arguments to him.

"Leave!" he shouted. "Go find The Members of The Cross and help them if they need it. I sense this is about to be a full blown fight." None of his men seemed interested in leaving, but soon they all started to back up. Soon the area was deserted save for Neptu and Natsu, and the two were still silent.

"So," Neptu started. "What now?"

"What now?" Natsu asked. With this, he lowered his gaze slightly and glowered at Neptu. "I'm going to take you out, that's what is happening now."

"That right?" Neptu asked, tensing up. "You gonna use your fire on me?"

"I don't care what I have to use." Natsu replied, body beginning to glow. Neptu was right, he had a massive amount of magic. "I have to take you out. I can't let you near her." Neptu made a face.

"What?" He asked. "What do you mean?" Natsu, however, just glared at his feet.

"I can't..." He muttered, just barely loud enough for Neptu to hear. "I can't let you near her...I can't!" Neptu tensed as Natsu shot forward, an explosion of red and purple flames as the two connected. Neptu struggled against Natsu's superior physical strength, and met the mans eyes.

Fiery rage stared back at him.

"I won't let you lay a hand on her." He seethed. "I don't care what happens to me...As long as she's safe."

* * *

Nashi had heard the explosion ring out in the distance, and she'd had her eyes glued to the horizon outside the dark city ever since. A faint glow came from outside the walls, but overall nothing else seemed to have happened.

"Does it look okay?" A voice asked. Nashi turned to find Mira standing behind her, smiling at her.

"...Yeah." She replied weakly, looking back at the horizon. "I just hope that it goes okay."

"You trust the others, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Nashi replied. "Especially my dad, Gray and Juvia. But..." She shifted and leaned against the wall of the guild halls wall. "I have a bad feeling about those Hunters is all." Mira chuckled.

"It'll all be okay." She said. "Besides, we have to stay here and make sure the city stays safe if that fight out there escalates."

"I know..." Nashi mumbled. "I'm just antsy."

"Hm..." Mira hummed, leaning against the wall as well.

"...How's Damien?" Nashi asked, changing the topic. "Wendy still working on him?"

"She took a break." Mira replied. "But he's looking good. She says that with all the damage done he'll be out for a while."

"I mean, I assumed." Nashi replied. "He's lucky he's alive."

"Yeah, he sure is." Mira agreed. She stared out into the darkness for a bit before she laughed weakly. "You know, I expected to be pissed at those Hunters for what they did...But I'm not."

"Why not?" Nashi asked, confused.

"They're just doing what they think is right." Mira replied. "Sure they hurt my son in the process, and would kill me if they could, but that's only because they've been hurt by people like me and Damien."

"How do you know that?" Nashi asked. Mira smiled weakly.

"It's obvious by the way that Neptu man spoke." She said. "He's been hurt by demons...Beyond caring what kind of person is attached to the demon. And I don't really blame him. After I thought Steph died, I spent a long time despising Xisplate. Almost to the point where it seeped over into my treatment of Damien, even though they're not the same."

"Huh..." Nashi said. "I suppose that makes sense. But still, he's going to such lengths to get Gin..."

"Gin's a Demon Lord." Mira replied. "One of, if not the most dangerous demon type on the planet. He's not giving up because he can't, in his mind." Talking with Mira made Nashi see the Hunters in a different light then a moment before.

"I guess." Nashi said. "We're in deep shit with them regardless."

"Well, that much is pretty true." After this, a hum could be heard in the distance. At first Nashi ignored it, but after a while it became a lot louder. Mira seemed confused. "What's that sound?" She asked. Nashi smiled.

"Huh, that's weird." Mira turned to look at her in confusion.

"What's weird?" She asked. Nashi smiled at her.

"They're early."

* * *

Drake dodged another blast of magic and landed on one knee, eyeing Elizabeth closely. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't hear her, and that was a huge problem. Without it, he was going to have trouble dealing with her. Especially because more and more Hunters were running at him to take him out.

Dodging a few that lashed out at him, he punched one in the face and swung him into his friend making both of them land on another three running forward. Drake smirked, but than got hit in the back by another burst. He knew right out of the gate it had been from Elizabeth, because he hadn't heard anyone launch it. Growling, he turned to eye the woman, who had barely moved.

"I don't get it..." he hissed. "Why can't I hear you?" Elizabeth made a face.

"What was that?" She asked. "You're not making any sense, kid." Drake got to his feet and stared at her, unsure of what to do.

"I use sound magic." He told her. "It allows me to hear my opponents thought and movements. But with you, all I get is silence. You immune to it or something?" At first Elizabeth seemed confused, but then she returned to an indifferent look.

"Well, then that explains your confusion." She said. "My primary use of holy magic is enchantments." She explained. "It allows me to protect myself from possibly and probably more powerful opponents."

"Okay, and?" Drake asked.

"Before I go into combat, I generally cover myself with a protection enchantment." She said. "It blocks out magic that effects me internally, like sound magic aims to do. That's probably why you can't hear me."

"I suppose." Drake muttered. "Doesn't mean I can't beat you." Elizabeth stared at him for a moment, before she rubbed her head.

"Can I ask you something, kid?" She asked.

"Call me Drake." He replied.

"Drake." She corrected. "May I?"

"Sure."

"Is your guild stupid?" Drake was confused by this question, but Elizabeth looked up at him. "All we wanted was to end a huge threat to humanity, and yet you people choose time and time again to stand in the way. Why?"

"Gin's no threat to humanity." Drake replied. "He doesn't want to hurt anyone, and yet you people continue to force him. If you just left him alone less damage would have been caused."

"Can you really gurantee such a thing?" Elizabeth asked."You didn't see the carnage he left in his wake. You don't know what he's capable of."

"I beg to differ." Drake replied, thinking back. Between Damien killing Taisho and Silverridge exploding right in front of him, he'd seen plenty of carnage. "I've seen my fair share of carnage."

"Then why?" She asked. "Why do you continue to cause more by standing in the way?" Drake looked down at his feet.

"Because I don't have the same beliefs as you." He replied. "You see a threat, I see a guy being hunted for nothing save being born with a power he didn't want." Drake looked up at her. "I'm not going to let you hurt Gin. I'll hold you off."

"That so?" Drake's ears twitched, and he turned to find a man with black hair and copper colored eyes walking up behind him. "Such nonsense being spouted from this kid."

"Tristan." Elizabeth said. "Why're you here?"

"Pretty obvious, Liz." he said. "Heard those guildies came after their friend. I want in on the action."

"I don't need your help."

"Did I ask if you did?" he shot back, silencing Elizabeth. "This kids got spunk, so I want in on it." Drake's ears twitched, and he ducked.

Just as he did, Tristan shot out a barrage of holy magic bursts, all that flew over Drake and blew up behind him. Drake got to his feet just in time to avoid a blast he saw Elizabeth shoot at him. Stumbling as he landed, another barrage came at him, knocking him to the ground. Drake recovered quickly and got up, and his ears twitched again.

He jumped to the side and avoided Quinn's blade by a hair's length. The Base of the Cross got up and laughed.

"Damn, missed him." he said, rubbing his blonde hair out of his face.

"Get out of hear, you fuck up." Tristan growled. "The kids mine."

"Now now, I don't see your name on him!" Quinn replied.

"Quinn I swear to God you're so annoying." Tristan growled.

"Boys." Elizabeth scolded. "Enough." Both looked irritated at this order, but didn't say anything more. Now Drake had to deal with three Members of the Cross, one he couldn't even hear. So basically, he was in a bad place.

"How about this?" Quinn asked. "First one to get the kid to beg for mercy gets three thousand jewel."

"I'll happily take three thousand jewel from you." Tristan replied. Elizabeth only rolled her eyes. "Let's go, Quinn!" Tristan opened up with another barrage of blasts, forcing Drake into a gymnastics routine to avoid getting hit. As he regained his composure, Drake was forced to counter Quinn's blades directly with a blast of poison. Poison and holy light went everywhere as the attacks collided, forcing Quinn back a bit. Quinn had only just backed up when another barrage came at Drake, and he'd only avoided a bit of it before taking the brunt of the attack and sliding back. he had no time to react before a blast from Elizabeth knocked him off his feet.

"Shit..." he hissed. "I can't take on all three of them at once, I need to knock one out." Feeling his paralyzing affect come into effect, Drake stood and shot bursts of it at both men, causing them to dodge around. Quinn took a hit to the leg, and fell down in surprise.

"The hell?" he asked. I'm paralyzed."

"It's poison, jackass." Tristan shot back. "Avoid the kid."

"I got it." Elizabeth said. "Hold still." Drake watched as Elizabeth brought her hands together like she was praying, and her body glowed. Soon, Quinn's leg glowed as well.

"Lord that guides humans towards a bright and peaceful future." She chanted. "Heal this irregularity in the human body to help us fight those who'd wish to disturb this peace." Drake watched in disbelief as the greenish tint to the paralyzed leg disappeared, and Quinn stood up like nothing was wrong.

"Thanks Liz!" he said.

"You're welcome." Elizabeth replied.

"Now," Tristan said, turning back to Drake with a smirk. "Where were we, kid?"

* * *

Neptu dodged Natsu's incoming fist and delivered one to the mans stomach, causing him to cough a bit before throwing more punches at Neptu, who did his best to take them.

The two of them had started a basic fist fight instead of using their magic, which neither would be affected by. Neptu had to admit, the older man definitely hit like an incoming truck.

"Got to admit." he said, rubbing his arm. "You're a hard hitter."

"So are you." Natsu said, body glowing again. "But I think our fists aren't going to be enough to end this."

"Agreed." Neptu said. Accessing his flames, Neptu raised a hand and shot out a blast at Natsu, who jumped away from it and shot out a blast of his own. Neptu didn't bother dodging, he simply stood and allowed the flame to strike him.

"Any reason you dodged my attack?" He asked. "If you really are a Fire Dragon Slayer, then I assume fire doesn't hurt you."

"You're right, it doesn't." Natsu replied. "But I don't want to get tempted to eat it and make the fight even harder for you." Neptu made a face at this.

"That so?" He asked. He smiled. "Then I suppose you won't mind if I take a little snack break?" Without waiting for Natsu to say anything, Neptu inhaled and started to suck up the red flames around him, as he did so, he felt his power surging. Once he finished, he sighed and laughed.

"What?" Natsu asked.

"That's gotta be some of the tastiest fire I've ever eaten." He replied. "Got a real spice to it. Though I guess you wouldn't know, not being able to eat it." Natsu didn't reply, he simply rushed at Neptu and he two began exchanging fiery punches. Neptu didn't waste time trying to eat any, as Natsu would simply take the opening to strike him even more.

"Quick question." Neptu said, backing up. "Who am I not allowed near?" Natsu glowered at this.

"That's not important. Natsu said. "What is, is that I'm going to beat you. And keep her safe."

"That right?" Neptu asked. He gestured for Natsu to come at him. "Let me see you, then."

"Happily." Natsu rushed at him again, and Neptu prepared himself.

What he didn't see coming was the electricity that began to crackle around the mans fist.

"What the-?" Neptu's sentence was cut off as he blocked the attack, causing sparks and fire to fire off in every direction. Neptu\s felt his body react poorly to the voltage, and he stumbled backwards in surprise. Natsu didn't let out, though. He went after Neptu relentlessly, and Neptu found himself in a bad loop of downing Natsu's flames to keep himself up from the electricity attacks.

_Screw this..._

"Flame Devil's Rage!" he shouted. Like Natsu had done before, a gout of flames erupted from Neptu's mouth, and since Natsu was so close to him, the man had been unable to dodge it, sending him careening backwards away from Neptu. Neptu watched as the man quickly rolled around to put the flames out, and stood, albeit a bit slower and with a grit of his teeth.

"Something crack, old man?" Neptu asked.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Natsu hissed, glowing again. "Stop with the talk. We're here to fight." Neptu nodded.

"Agreed."

* * *

Drake hit the ground and coughed, struggling to get back on his feet.

"Come on kid, I thought you had more than that." He heard Tristan mocking him.

_I do, but Elizabeth walls me completely..._

"Stop playing with your opponents, Tristan." Drake looked up at this new voice to see the a brown haired woman standing next to Elizabeth. "Just finish him off."

"Abigail..." Tristan said. "Don't tell me what to do. I'll finish him off when he's completely bored me. And I want to play some more." Abigail sighed.

"The kids all tired out." She said. "He's got nothing left."

Drake knew that wasn't true. He had a lot of energy left, but these guys hit so damn hard and he couldn't do any lasting damage to them because of Elizabeth. He needed something to get past them.

And Drake knew what it was.

Getting to his feet, Drake heard Tristan laugh.

"Oh? Want some more kid?"

"Four on one seems a bit unfair, no?" he asked.

"Well, you wandered into our camp." Quinn said. "You're lucky it isn't one on several thousand. We told our regiments to hold off on you."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have." Drake said. "They'll have their own problems now."

"Like what?" Abigail asked.

Drake simply raised a hand and shot poison high into the sky. The blast faded away high up, and the four enemies were silent.

"What was that?" Elizabeth asked. Drake didn't reply, he simply smirked.

"Who cares?" Tristan asked. "Come here, kid. we aren't do-!"

Drake watched with a wide smile as a golden light blurred past him and tackled Tristan, causing him to fly back and land in a tent. Quinn reacted by going to attack Drake, but he was struck by a bolt of electricity from above. Both of them girls seemed confused, but they too hit the dirt as iron clubs struck them in the back.

"Really now, Drake." A voice said, as the golden glow died away to reveal Simon in his Black Wing armor. "Waiting until it's a four on one to call for backup?"

"Jackass." Elise said, walking over to him from behind the girls getting back to their feet. Steph landed to his left.

"Are you okay?" Steph asked.

"Just fine." He replied. "Thanks for coming so quickly."

"So you had backup waiting on your mark, huh?" Elizabeth asked. "Clever. Sadly, I don't really think it matters."

"No?" Simon asked. "How about we find out?" Tristan smirked as he got to his feet.

"Now we're talking." he said. "Let's see what you kids got!"

"Where are Ul and Gin?" Steph asked.

"I told her to get him out, I haven't see her since." He replied. "We'll have to get past these goons first."

"The Members of the Cross, right?" Simon asked. Elise crackled her knuckles.

"Never been a religious one." She said. "So I don't really have a problem with snapping their pathetic cross into four separate pieces."

* * *

"Are you sure, Gray?" Juvia asked. Gray nodded.

"The kids can handle the four of them." he said. "We need to make sure the grunts don't go after them once they're done fighting." Juvia nodded.

"That's fair." She said, moving towards the cliff. "Let's go and get them, Gray. We must make sure Gin is okay as well." They had to do that too. As Gray moved to enter the battlefield, he felt that the battle was only just beginning.

_**Chapter 249: Backup.**_


	249. Backup

"So, looks like it's a four on four now." Drake said, flanked by the others, who had come down to help at his request. Tristan looked pretty pissed off.

"So you had backup." He said. "You think that's all it'll take to beat us?"

"Guess we'll have to see, won't we?" Simon said. At this, tension crackled between the eight people standing in the open area. Nobody moved for a moment, probably waiting to see if the other side would make the first move instead.

Finally, after a while of silence, the first move was made.

Tristan lashed out with another barrage of blasts, and the four all moved in different directions to avoid it.

Simon used his Heavenly Body magic to fly in between the blasts and tackled Tristan backwards, causing the blasts to stop. At this, Steph raised a hand, which crackled with electricity as it did. She aimed it at Quinn, who noticed this and jumped out of the way as Steph shot at him. Swords made of holy light appeared in his hands, and he ran towards Steph to try and slash at her. Elise met him halfway and iron connected with the light, causing sparks to fly everywhere. Quinn smirked at Elise, who had a more serious look on her face.

Drake took initiative and attacked Quinn from behind, but the other man was already ready and blocked his poisonous strike with a second blade in his right hand. Both Elise and Drake pushed at him, but neither were able to get past him. After a few more seconds, Elise`s eyes widened.

"Drake, behind you!" She shouted. Drake turned to see a blast of light coming right for him, and he clicked his teeth in annoyance. He backed up from Quinn to dodge Elizabeth's attack, who redirected her attention to him. She fired more bursts at him, but Drake flipped all around to dodge them, forcing himself to rely on his eyesight to do so. He stumbled backwards towards the others, and watched the Members of the Cross carefully.

"They're definitely not pushovers." Elise said. "They know what they're doing."

"We should try and separate them." Simon said. "Keeping all four of them together only makes it easier for them to work together. We need to fight them one on one."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Drake asked. "We don't know what they're capable of."

"I'd rather not find out when they're all together." Simon replied. "I'll take the black haired pompous prick."

"I'm taking Quinn." Steph muttered, electricity crackling around her. "He's going to pay for what he did to Damien..." Drake understood her want for payback.

"Which chick do you want, Elise?" He asked. her. She shrugged.

"Brown haired one, I guess." She replied. Drake nodded, neglecting to mention he couldn't hear Elizabeth. He wanted to deal with her.

"Good luck, you guys." Simon said. With this, he glowed once more and shot forward, tackling Tristan away from the others. Steph did a similar move with her electricity, tackling Quinn off into another direction.

"Ah, I see." Abigail said. "We're splitting off into one versus one. Well? Who's taking me on?"

"That'd be me." Elise replied. Abigail nodded.

"Alright then. Shall we be off?" Elise seemed confused by the manners of the woman, but nodded. Abigail turned to Elizabeth.

"Good luck with the boy." She said.

"I'll be okay." She replied. Abigail then gestured for Elise to follow her, and together the two wandered away, leaving Drake with Elizabeth.

"Well?" Drake asked. "Shall we?"

"I suppose." Elizabeth replied. "One thing you should know though, Drake."

"Which is?" Elizabeth lowered her gaze slightly, making Drake's spine tingle.

"You won't be able to beat us. The Members of the Cross do not fall." Drake made a face.

"That right?" he asked. "Color me intrigued, then."

* * *

"Sounds like a full blown fights started." Ultear said. Gin had to agree with her there. A fight involving everyone had surely started. Of course, they were only trying to get out safely. That was what Drake had told them to do.

"I'm sure he's okay." Gin tried. "He's strong."

"I know." Ultear replied. Gin watched with her as Hunters fought what appeared to be explosion of ice and water. "And that would be my parents fighting too. Clearly they're dealing with the underlings." Ultear was silent for a moment, but then she turned back to Gin. "Let's get out of here, before someone tries to hurt you."

"Okay." Gin said, following Ultear as they ran through the empty sides of the camp, making their way to the cliff they had apparently entered with. Once they made it there, Ultear arched her head back to look up.

"Alright, I think I got this." She said. "I haven't done this in a while, though."

"Done what?" Gin asked. He watched as Ultear aimed her hand up at the cliff, and water shot out of her hand and arched towards the cliff before latching on and freezing to keep a grip on it. She tugged on it, but the liquid was still under her control, and firmly latched on due to the frozen end. After she made sure it was good, she turned to Gin and offered her hand to him. Gin took it cautiously, and held in a cry of surprise when they shot up the cliff side and right to the top, tumbling over as they made it.

"Alright, the landing could have been better." She said. "But I think that went fairly well."

"I guess so." Gin replied, brushing the dirt off of him. Ultear stood as well and looked back down at the campsite turned battlefield.

"Think you can get back to the guild hall on your own?" She asked.

"I probably could." Gin replied. "Why?"

"I'm not going with you." Ultear replied. "I'm going back in there to help." She then turned back to Gin. "Go back to the guild hall. Everyone else can keep you safe there. Okay?"

"...Okay." Gin replied. Ultear smiled at this and turned back to the cliff. Gin watched as she turned completely into water, and disappeared down the side of the cliff. Looking down revealed her back in her human form running back into the camp. Sighing, Gin leaned back and stared up at the stars, pondering why he was even in this situation.

"You gonna stay up here?" Gin coughed at this and covered his eyes with his arm.

"I can't go down there." he replied. "I'll die." He looked over at Mortavius', who seemed as unhappy as always. "And you can't make me."

"I never said I would." He replied. "Just know, Gin. This is far from over."

"I hate how you have to make my fears ten times worse." Gin replied quietly. Mortavius just laughed at this and disappeared, leaving Gin alone again. Staring up at the stars, Gin listened to the explosions ringing out across the camp.

_They didn't have to start this huge fight for me...And yet they're down there fighting to keep me alive...Why?_

_..._

_I guess not everyone only cares about themselves._

* * *

"I got to give you credit, kid." Tristan said. Simon raised an eyebrow at this. "At base value, separating the four of us is a good strategy."

"You're agreeing with me?" Simon asked. "That's a bit odd." Tristan snickered.

"Well, sorta." He replied. "It would've been a good idea, if the four of us were any good fighting together. To be honest with you, all three of those pansies piss me off."

"Do they now?" Simon asked. "I thought you four would've been close, all being Members of the Cross."

"You know about that, huh?" Tristan asked. "Suppose that fucker Quinn can't keep his mouth shut. Well, allow me to introduce myself then." He held his arms out wide. "Tristan, Right Arm of the Cross."

"Simon." Simon replied. Tristan nodded.

"Nice name." he commented. "You know what the Members of the Cross stand for, Simon?"

"Not at all." Simon replied. "Though I suppose you're going to tell me."

"I am. You're clever." he replied. "The Members of the Cross make up the strongest of the Skylance Demon Hunters. The Base, The left Arm, The Right Arm, and The Head."

"Am I to assume the Head is the strongest?" Simon asked. "That makes sense to me." Tristan laughed at this.

"Who knows?" He asked. "I don't. I don't give the slightest shit about the other three. Quinn's a jackass, Abby's a stuck-up bitch, and Elizabeth's a teachers pet. Well, leaders pet I guess." He smirked. "You want to know another perk of being one of them?" Simon tensed at this.

"What?" Tristan's smirk only deepened.

"I'm in charge of a fourth of our forces." At this, Simon's spine tingled. He ducked just in time to see a blast go right over his head. Turning, Simon found many Hunters closing in one him. No doubt under Tristan's orders. Telepathy, perhaps.

Requipping into his Fire Emperor Armor, Simon went after the Hunters to thin them out. At least that's what he wanted to do, but for every one he too out another three appeared to take his place. Simon received a fair amount of hits to his armor, causing him to grunt in pain. These guys sure hit hard. Before Simon realized it, he was surrounded by Hunters.

"Everyone all at once!" Tristan's voice called out over all the chaos. Simon looked around as everyone one was charging up an attack. Requipping into his Adamantine armor, Simon prepared himself for every attack he knew was coming for him.

_BOOM!_

Once the impacts began, Simon gritted his teeth as he felt pain searing up and down his body. If they kept up barrages likes this, he seriously doubted his ability to take them out.

"Again!" Tristan called out. Simon barely had time to recover from the first one as the Hunters repeated the attack and Simon was once again hit with a multitude of attacks all at once, and pain shot up and down his form as his armor strained against the hits.

_Shit, there's so many of them I can't even get out of this ambush..._

* * *

Elise's iron coating around her body wasn't in the best shape, which was due to all of the hunters coming out of the woodwork to attack her at this woman's command. She had assumed that this would be a one on one, but at the moment it was more like a countless against one. Elise dodged more attacks and landed upright, clubbing two more Hunters in the face as she dodged around.

"Hold!" The hunters stopped, and Elise paused in confusion. Soon enough, the woman appeared out of the groups and stood there, arms crossed.

"What?" Elise asked.

"I don't usually do this." She said. "But I'll give you a chance. Back off and leave. I'll let you walk out, as oppose to crawling."

"Like hell." Elise spat. "You'll just go after Gin instead."

"And what if we do?" The woman asked. "He's a threat to all of us, and yet you protect him."

"Of course we are." Elise replied. "Poor guy doesn't deserve the fate you're trying to give him.

"Now that is where you're wrong. He's a demon, a Demon Lord at that." She said. "He deserves everything we're trying to do."

"Why?" Elise asked. "Because one hurt you a long time ago?"

"And what of it?" Elise made a face.

'I've been hurt before." She said. "In...A lot of ways."

_"I...I was raped..."_

"But that doesn't make me hate everyone one." She said. "You have to see the differences in people."

"I wouldn't expect a girl raised with a loving family to understand." She replied. "We of the Cross have lost everything to 'people' like Gin. Showing mercy would be like allowing it to happen all over again."

"If that's really how you feel, sure." Elise replied. "Bu we don't agree. That's why we're in this situation."

"Yes, quite." She replied. "Hunters, if you'd be so kind as to-!

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

_BOOM!_

Elise stumbled around as explosions rang out around her. Looking around in confusion, Elise noticed that the explosions were coming from the group of hunters, causing them all to go flying everywhere.

"What the hell?!" The woman asked. "What's going on?!"

"I was going to ask the same thing!" Elise replied as more explosives went off. "Who is that"

"What the hell is that?!"

"They're above us!"

"Look up, you idiots!" Elise made a face as she heard other voices calling this out, so she looked up in surprise.

And a smile slowing creased her face.

* * *

Wendy sighed as she stretched, and decided it was time to go back upstairs and check on Damien. She'd been downstairs relaxing for a bit, but if she wasn't careful he might worsen if she didn't pay attention.

_I just everything goes okay...This isn't a good situation._

Wendy paused as she reached the door into the infirmary. There was a smell coming from the door that Wendy didn't recognize right away. This made her on edge. Was there someone else in there?

Slowly opening the door, causing it to creak a little, the infirmary was opened to Wendy, who looked over by Damien's bed. Sitting next to his bed was a blonde girl, who seemed to be staring at him. Once Wendy got a clearer look at the girl she recognized her, but it didn't clear up her confusion by any measure.

"You fucking idiot..."The woman sitting by Damien muttered. "You know they can kill you, why would you just jump into the fray like that..."

"Uh..." Wendy started. Her saying this caused the girl to jump, and from what Wendy could see it appeared she'd been holding Damien's hand. The girl jumped up and turned to stare at Wendy, and Wendy's eyes widened.

"O-Oh..." She said weakly. "S-Sorry, I didn't hear you come in..."

"That's okay..." Wendy muttered. The girl rubbed her eyes with her arm and pushed past Wendy to leave, who watched her leave. Once the door was shut she walked over to Damien and stared down at the boy. The blanket covering him had damp spits on it where it had not before.

_Why was Bella in here...?_

* * *

Drake coughed and stumbled to his feet, still keeping his eyes on Elizabeth. He was so unaccustomed to fighting deaf that he was really in a bad position with her. He couldn't even reach her.

"Why don't you just give up?" Elizabeth asked. "There's no point in fighting me."

"I'm not giving up!" Drake shouted. "I have to beat you, there's just no other way!" Elizabeth sighed.

"You're actually not paying attention." She said. "I'm saying you can't. Not because I'm stronger, or you have a no trump card, I'm stating facts. You _cannot_ beat me. You just can't."

"Stop spouting bullshit!" Drake snapped. "You're so fucking full of yourself!"

"I disagree." Elizabeth said. "I'd say you are. I keep saying you can't win yet you continue to stand. Why?"

"Because I can't give up." Drake replied. "Because if I do you'll kill Gin. And God knows who else. I can't let that happen. I won't!" Elizabeth just stared at him before she sighed.

"If you views laid elsewhere you would be an excellent asset." She said. "But oh well. Can't win them all." Waving her arms around and muttering, Drake tensed as Elizabeth pointed at him. He'd been expecting a blast, but at first nothing happened.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Look down." She replied. Drake looked down and his eyes widened. Below him was a white magic circle, glowing brightly. "Trap Enchant Number 22: Spark" The circle glowed even brighter, and Drake cried out in pain as white electricity coursed through his body. It went on for a good ten or so seconds before Drake collapsed to his knees, trying desperately to stay up. He couldn't fall, or they'd be in trouble.

"Shit...Come on, you've survived worse." He muttered to himself.

"Holy Attack Number 14: Holy Barrage." Drake looked up just in time to get a face full of holy light, causing him to fly back and land in the shambles of a tent. His body tried to force him to stop, but he ignored it. He was fine.

"Come on, she has to have a weak spot..." He muttered, trying to free his leg from under a part of the tent.

"Holy Cannon" Drake looked up to see the woman firing a huge blast at him, one that currently he'd have trouble dodging. Starting to panic a bit, Drake slashed at the debris trapping his leg, but he didn't free himself in time.

_Shit!_

Drake braced for the hit, knowing full well this one would hurt.

It never came.

Confused, Drake opened his eyes and looked around, realizing he was still stuck.

"What the hell?" he asked.

After a moment, a large suction sound could be heard. Drake looked up, and his eyes widened.

"Wow." Michael said, wiping his mouth. "That tasted fantastic." Elizabeth looked confused.

"What?" She asked. "Where'd you come from?" Michael laughed.

"Up above." Michael replied. He looked over his shoulder at Drake. "You okay man?" He asked.

"Yeah..." Drake replied. weakly. Michael aimed back and freed Drake with a blast of light, allowing Drake to get up. Elizabeth made a face.

"Fine, I can handle two." She said.

"Three." Michael said.

"Huh?" Elizabeth asked.

"Three." Michael said again, pointing downwards. Elizabeth looked and as she did, the shadows below her erupted up, and Keita uppercut her in the chin, causing her to fly into the air and hit the ground hard farther away.

"Nice one Keita!" Michael said as Keita walked over to them.

"No problem." He said, looking at Drake. "You okay?" Drake nodded.

"Yea, I'm good." he replied. "But where did you guys come from?" Michael grinned and pointed upwards. Drake followed his finger, and his eyes widened.

The Christina was flying overhead, dropping magical explosives down on the Hunters."

"Backup's here." Keita said.

**_Chapter 250: You Can't Win_**


	250. You Can't Win

"What the hell?" Drake asked, staring up at the Christina. "Why the hell...What?"

"Ha!" Michael said. "You look seriously surprised, bud! Don't worry though. Back up has officially arrived!"

"How did you guys know we needed help?" Drake asked. "And how many people came?"

"Every team from the Games came to help." Keita said, crossing his arms. "Nashi called us and said there was a brawl going down. Nobody even needed to be convinced." Drake smiled at this and looked back up at the Christina as it dropped more bombs down on the campsite.

"Wow..." He said. "You guys are a serious save, you know that? Especially you, Michael. You make all these people useless."

"I kinda want to eat sparingly." Michael said. "But yeah, I do. Don't worry, we're going to knock these guys out of here."

"Well of course." Drake replied. "Eat too much and it won't be good for you."

"Yeah, exactly." Michael replied. "But don't worry, we got your back. Drake nodded.

"So, you've got even more backup?" Drake looked over as Elizabeth crawled back to her feet, pretty banged up from Keita's attack. "Who are you two?"

"Name's Michael." Michael replied. "This is Keita. We're from Sabertooth."

"Sabertooth, huh?" She asked. "Another guild. Why're you here?"

"You attacked our friends." Keita replied. "I think that's reason enough to come."

"Especially because you put Damien in a hospital bed." Michael said, face growing darker. "That wouldn't happen to have been your fault, would it?"

"No." Elizabeth replied. "That was probably Quinn. You're looking for the blonde haired loudmouth."

"That ring a bell?" Keita asked Drake, who nodded.

"Yeah." He said. "Steph took him on."

"I suppose that's fair." Michael said. "Now boys, should we take this girl on?"

"All three of you, huh?" Elizabeth asked. "Looks like the tables have turned, Drake."

"They sure have." He agreed. "And in may favor to boot."

"I wouldn't go that far." Elizabeth replied. Drake made a face at this.

"And what's that suppose to mean?" He asked. Elizabeth tilted her head to the side.

"I'm still not going to lose."

* * *

Elise watched the Christina drop bombs on the battlefield with a smile. She didn't know how, or why, but it looked like they had a little bit of backup.

"Elise!" Elise turned to find Ultear running towards her. "Why's the Christina here?! Do you know what's going on?"

"No idea!" She replied. "But who cares? We've got some serious firepower on our side now!" Ultear smiled at this.

"Yeah, we sure do."

"Where's Gin?" Elise asked.

"He should be on his way back to the guild hall." She said. "I got him out, not to worry."

"That's good." Elise replied. "Glad you're here. I have a little something to deal with." As if on cue, the hunters who'd been thrown around by the bombing stood and surrounded the girls again.

"Ah, I can see that." Ultear said. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, I guess." Elise said, her hands turning into a club and blade. Ultear prepared herself with whips of water, and together they tensed as Hunters came at them from every angle.

That was, of course, until someone else got to them first. Elise watched as sand whipped around a bunch of the hunters and threw them all over, and more hunters got all wrapped up by a plant. The hunters around them were getting decimated by someone, but Ultear couldn't tell who.

"What the hell is?" Abigail asked from farther away. "Whatever. I'll deal with this myself." Elise turned to the woman to see her sending a blast of holy light at them, a huge one at that.

"Ul, we need a shield!" Elise shouted.

"I'm on it!" Ultear replied. Ultear moved to block the attack, but something else beat her to it.

A card beat her to it.

Elise watched as a single card floated in front of the blast and blocked it completely. It seemed to be emitting some kind of force field that didn't allow the blast to do any further. Once the blast died away, the card simply fell to the ground and laid motionless.

"Hello ladies!" Elise made a face and turned around. Once she had, she smiled.

Reyna, along with the whole of Quatro Cerberus' GMG team, stood there.

"Reyna!" Ultear said happily." Reyna laughed.

"We've come to join the party." She announced. "Boys, could you do me and the girls here and favor and fend off this woman's soldiers?"

"Happily." Akihiro said, a wolfish grin on his face.

"We'll hold them off." Ryo said, cracking his knuckles. "Girls, take out that woman giving us a dirty look." Elise turned back to see Abigail was indeed looking pretty miffed at the whole situation. As the boys from Quatro Cerberus moved and engaged the hunters, Reyna stood side by side with Elise and Ultear as Abigail flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"This is ridiculous." She said. "Do you all really think you stand a chance?"

"Don't get cocky." Reyna replied, smirking. "We aren't anything to fool around with."

"That right?" Abigail asked. "Why don't you show me?"

* * *

Simon got his breather when the hunters surrounding him got caught up in watching the attacks going on somewhere else. Using this distraction to his advantage, He requipped into his Black Wing Armor and took out a lot of them that got to close, and flew off to get away. Finally given a moment, Simon looked up and made a confused face.

"What the hell?" He asked. "Where did the Christina come from?"

"You know what that is?" Simon turned to find Tristan glaring at him. "It's bombing the campsite and making a huge nuisance out of itself."

"It's a friendly airship." Simon replied. "Well, at least to me anyway. You're probably in trouble if it's showed up here."

"That right?" Tristan asked. "Doesn't matter to me. I can't lose."

"Quite the pompous attitude you got." Simon said. Tristan smirked and another wave of holy blasts came towards Simon, who prepped to dodge it as usual.

However, he really didn't have to as the blasts disappeared from in front of him and appeared behind Tristan.

"Gah!" Tristan shouted out as his own attack struck him from behind, causing a small explosion. "What the hell did you do, kid?! How did you do that?!"

"I didn't do anything." Simon replied. "Though if I had to guess..." Simon watched as Tristan burst out of the smoke and attacked him again, and once more the attacks roared towards Simon.

This time though, they just veered into the dirt in front of him. This only seemed to irritate Tristan even further."

"What the fuck?!" He shouted angrily. "Who's-!"

"Damn, you're a mouthy one." A female voice called out. "Quiet down, your yelling is annoying me." Before Tristan could respond, he was slammed down into the ground by an unseen force. Simon smiled at this.

"Nice to see you again." He said, watching as the black haired girl with the black leather jacket wandered out into the open.

"Good to see you to, Simon." Nami said, smiling. "I figured you might need a hand."

"Anyone else here?" Simon asked.

"Mostly everyone." She replied. "Juno came with me. Right Juju?"

"Don't call me Juju." Juno muttered as she too walked up, wearing dark jeans and a blue shirt. "I hate that nickname."

"That's why I use it." Nami replied simply, making the girl roll her eyes. As the two of them walked up, Simon made a face.

"You okay Juno?" He asked, making her frown questioningly. "You look like you haven't slept in a while." Juno frowned even deeper and looked away.

"It's nothing." She replied. "I'm just having trouble sleeping recently."

"Oh, sorry to hear that."

"I'm fine." Simon nodded, but his spine tingled as he did so. e weaved away from the blasts that came from Tristan, who was still on his ass on the ground.

"Hate to break up your little catch up." He growled, slowly managing to get to his feet. "But I'd rather not sit here and listen to you three talk. We gonna do this?"

"You really want to fight all three of us?" Juno asked. "We aren't pushovers."

"I don't give a damn." He replied. "I'll just outlast you. Then you're nothing."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Nami asked. "It's a three on one." Tristan grinned darkly.

"I can't lose, idiot." He replied.

* * *

"Roar of the White Dragon!"

"Shadow Dragon Claw!"

"Poison Dragon Spiral Jaw!" The force from Michael's roar pushed Elizabeth back into Keita, who slashed her right towards Drake, who then coated his legs in poison and kicked her back into the dirt. She stood and did her best to send out bursts of magic to interrupt their attack. Keita just disappeared into the ground, while Michael and Drake both ran around her attacks and managed to reach through it all.

"White Dragon Talon!" Michael shouted. His fist was coated in a sharpened bit of light, which he swung at Elizabeth. The woman did her best to dodge it all, but she took a couple of decent hits from it. She did a technique similar to Michael and swung at him as well, but Michael simply caught her hand and sucked up the light around her hand, making her look confused.

"So you're all Dragon Slayers." She surmised as Michael backed up.

"Nice observation!" Michael replied. "So basically none of your attacks are gonna do jack shit, sweetheart!" Drake tagged himself in as Michael backed up and swung at the girl as well, but he didn't bother using poison. If she had magic capable of curing herself, there was no point in trying to poison her anyway. A good punch to her midsection forced her back, and this was when Keita came up out of the ground and roundhouse kicked her, forcing her back down into the dirt.

"That's interesting." She said. "So you're like Neptu, in a sense."

"He's a Dragon Slayer?" Drake asked.

"Not exactly." She replied. "But what isn't important. Right now, all you three need to focus on is me."

"I think you should take this a little more seriously." Keita said. "Because right now you're kinda treating this like a joke."

"It might as well be one." Elizabeth replied. "Like I said, you three can't beat me." With this, Elizabeth brought her hands together, and she began to glow. At first Drake prepared himself for an attack, but it became clear that wasn't what she was doing.

"What is that?" Keita asked.

"Bodily Enchant Number 10: Armor." Elizabeth said. "Bodily Enchant Number 14: Damage Decrease. Bodily Enchant Number 30: Physical Damage Increase." Drake watched as the holy light morphed around Elizabeth, and formed what looked to be a set of armor around her body, before it faded away, leaving only an imprint. It then formed around her arms and legs, making them glow faintly once the spell died away. Once she was done, she stretched and smiled.

"Been a while since I did that." She said. "Feels good."

"What exactly did you just do?" Drake asked.

"Why don't you come and find out?" Elizabeth asked. Drake knew something was up, but they still needed to beat her. Running ahead of Michael and Keita, Drake coated his fist in poison, and reared it back to strike Elizabeth.

Drake was a little taken aback when his fist didn't do anything when it hit her.

He wasn't imagining anything, he could see that his fist had made contact with her skin, but nothing happened.

"What the hell?" He asked. "What did you do?"

"Like I said." Elizabeth replied, rearing her own fist back. "I primarily use enchants." And with this, she swung.

Drake tried to block it, but even with that he felt a gigantic force push against him. He flew backwards, but soon he felt two pairs of hands grab him and slow him down.

"What the hell was that?" Michael asked.

"Who knows." Keita said. "But if her magic is primarily enchantments, she probably did something to herself."

"That sounds about right." Drake muttered, his whole body aching from the force that had pushed him backwards. "But whatever it was, It worked.

* * *

Steph had already seen the Christina coming down, so she assumed that someone had called for backup.

That, however, wasn't her main concern at the moment.

Steph had finally tracked down Quinn, who had run off from her the moment he'd had a chance. She stared at him carefully, making sure he didn't run off again.

"Well, you caught me." he said. "Now what?"

"Now what?" She asked. "Now, I pay you back for what you did to my brother, you piece of shit."

"You're brother?" He asked. "Ah, so you're the demons sister. I see. That's cool I guess. So I suppose you're mad at me."

"You suppose?" Steph demanded. "Yeah, I am mad. You dam near killed my brother, asshole. Doing the same to you is the least I can do."

"I see." he replied. "Well, if that's what you want to do then have a go at it."

"Gladly." With this, Steph coated herself in electricity and shot at Quinn, tackling him with it. She reared back as he formed his swords and swung at her, and she made sure to keep a wide berth around them. Quinn for the most part just kept away from her, which made her run after him through the ruined campsite.

"Almost had me!" he joked as a bolt of lightning soared past his head.

"Stop moving!" Steph shouted angrily, throwing out more bolts in an attempt to hit him. Quinn stopped dead in his tracks, and Steph did so as well, watching him.

"You seem tense." He said.

"No, really?" She asked angrily. "Couldn't imagine why?" Quinn shrugged.

"I don't know." he replied. "But I suppose this is a good time to tell you that you won't be able to win."

"And why do you say that?" She demanded. "Gin beat you back when you attacked us."

"In a manner of speaking." Quinn replied. "But he didn't, he only slowed me down."

"...Is that right?" Steph made a face. Who'd said that? Before she had a chance to ask, the ground beneath her began to shake violently.

"What the hell?" Quinn asked. "What're you doing, girl?"

"Nothing." Steph replied weakly. "I'm just as confused as you are..." As Steph did her best to keep her balance, she sensed a presence. Slowly, turning, Steph's eyes widened.

Bella stood there, a black aura coming off of her form. She looked up, and and Steph noted her blue eyes were rimmed with tears.

"You." She hissed. "You hurt Damien, didn't you?"

_**Chapter 251: The Succubus**_


	251. The Succubus

"Taro, how're things going?" Mami asked the pilot of the Christina. The tan man smiled at her.

"Looks like we did a decent amount to the hunters down there." He replied. "Also, everyone deployed the second we got over the battlefield." Mami nodded, smiling.

"Good, then looks like we'll need to do our part too." She turned around to look at Akio. "How many bombs to we have left?"

"More than enough." He replied. "Want to unload some more."

"Sure, why not. There's a bunch of those fucks down there." Akio nodded and went to go check the bombs, and Mami turned to Ken.

"You have a view on everyone?" He asked. Ken nodded.

"For the most part," He said, nodding. "Seems some of us have engaged the tougher hunters, while others are just dealing with the lesser." Mami nodded at this and looked up at the archive screens. She watched as her friends fought with the hunters. She kinda wished she could be down there as well, but it was for the best if she stayed up here and had a command post set up.

"Well, let's hope this goes well." She muttered, watching the battle unfold.

* * *

Steph stared at Bella in shock. What the hell was she doing here?

"Bella?" She asked weakly. "What are you doing? Why're you here?"

"...He did it, didn't he?" She asked weakly, making Steph make a confused sound. "He hurt Damien, didn't he?" Wait, was Bella here because of that?

"Well, yeah." Bella didn't move for a moment, but after this the ground began to shake again. Steph gulped. "Bella! What are you doing?!"

"So you did this..." Bella hissed, tears falling from her face. "You did that too him..."

"Bella, get out of here! This guys no joke, he could kill you!"

"You did it...I'll...I'll..."

"Bella! Leave, please! You'll end up just like Damien if you don't! Go!"

"Ah, so she's one too?" Steph turned back to Gin to find him a little surprised. "A third one. Good God, this is good. What're you gonna do, girl? I almost killed your friend, and I'll do the same to you too!" Steph didn't know what to do. She was trapped in between a Demon Hunter and a Demon Lord. Turning back to Bella, the girl had an angry look on her face.

And then, she slowly started to raise her right hand. Steph's eyes widened.

"Bella, no!"

"Takeover..."

"BELLA!"

"...Demon Meridia."

* * *

Gin made a face as a familiar feeling came over him. He knew this all too well. It was the feeling of a Demon Lord close by. It wasn't one that he had felt before though. He looked over the battlefield towards the center of the power that he felt.

"What is that?" he asked. "Another Demon Lord?"

"It's Meridia." Gin turned to Mortavius at this. "The Succubus."

"That's their friend Bella, right?" Gin asked. "I guess she came in that airship over the camp site."

"I guess so." Mortavius replied Gin turned back to the camp site and stared at it, unsure as to what he was supposed to do.

_Doesn't she know how dangerous that is?...Does she care?_

* * *

Natsu blocked Neptu's flames and gritted his teeth as it burned at him. He'd been right to assume that the flames were't good for him. Every time they even licked him it hurt and it wasn't good. Natsu was fully prepared to stand back up and deliver another attack, but he paused as he saw Neptu just standing there, staring off into the distance with a wide eyed expression.

"What?" Natsu asked.

"That feeling..." He heard Neptu say probably to himself. "It's one of them..." Natsu made a face and looked over in the same direction to see it dark and foreboding. Natsu likened it back to the feeling he got from Damien some times, only heightened extremely.

"What is that?" Natsu asked. Neptu still stared at the darkness, but soon he shook his head and looked back towards Natsu.

"It's nothing." He replied. "It's not the one I'm looking for. I'll deal with it after I'm done here."

* * *

Steph watched in fright as a dark black magic circle appeared on Bella's hand, and the area around them darkened as it began to glow. Steph backed up slightly as Bella was engulfed in darkness. After the girl had completely disappeared in the torrent of darkness, she could hear Quinn laughing.

"Come on, then!" He shouted. "Show me if you're stronger than the other kid!" At this, the darkness around Bella faded. Her blonde hair was flying wildly behind her head, but the tips were dyed red now. She had curled blue horns on her head, and jet black wings spread out from back. He clothes had morphed into what looked to be her armor, which was basically just standard dark blue underwear. She also had forearm armor as well, and her legs were covered thigh down with similar armor.

It was the first time Steph had seen Bella's takeover, and it was surprisingly terrifying given the look it had.

"Well, then..." Quinn said from behind her. "That's certainly a revealing outfit you've adorned." Bella simply tilted her head to the side, glaring at Quinn. After a moment, Steph could hear him grunting. Turning, she found him making a pained face as he slowly walked forward. She watched as Quinn approached Bella, the pained expression he had slowly turning into one calmer and more...happy.

"What the hell?" She asked weakly. "What's happening?" Quinn reached Bella, and she reached forward and caressed his face.

"You piece of shit." She hissed. "I'm going to make you pay." Quinn's eyes look hazy, but Bella looked ready to kill. "What should I do first, I wonder. Maybe break your limbs? Or just snap your little neck?"

"...I..." Quinn managed weakly, Steph just watching in confusion. "I..." Steph watched as Quinn slowly raised a hand and reached for Bella, who just watched. As he got close, Steph's eyes widened.

"Bella, look out!" She shouted. Bella's eyes widened, and she raised her hands to defend herself. She did so just in time, as a blast of holy light came from Quinn's hand and shot right at her. She slid backwards and used her wings to slow herself down. Quinn shook his head, and began to laugh.

"You foolish bitch." He hissed, starting to laugh even louder. "Did you really think your poisonous seduction would work on a man blessed by holy light?! You're so dumb!" Bella looked surprised, and Steph felt a similar feeling going through herself.

"I don't understand..." Bella said aloud. "It worked on Michael, why not you?"

"Who's Michael?" Quinn asked. "Ah who cares. All I know is that you aren't going to be seducing me. Got anything else up your sleeve, or was that all?" Bella didn't reply to this, she simply stared down at the ground. Quinn shrugged and raised another hand to shoot at her. "Oh well. I was fighting the demons sister. Wait your turn." With this, he fired off a blast at Bella.

And Bella raised her own hand, firing off a beam of black magic to counter it. The blasts met and exploded, so Steph covered her face to prevent getting hit with any debris.

"It's foolish of you to think that seduction is all I'm capable of." She spat. "I just generally like to avoid using my basic darkness magic."

"That right." Quinn said. "How about you show me, then?"

"Gladly." Steph watched as Bella shot at Quinn, tackling him away. Turning, she watched as an explosion of black and white happened in the distance. The two separated, but it didn't last as the two shot at each other again. They both swung at each relentlessly, but from what Steph could tell Quinn was definitely more on the defensive. Jumping away from her, the man laughed.

"You seem just as riled up as the sister!" He shouted as his blades countered Bella's shadowy slashes. "What did I do to piss you off, huh?!"

"I'm going to kill you!" Bella shouted angrily. "It's the least I can do!"

"Yeah keep running your mouth!" Quinn parried her slashes again, and Steph watched as the blades morphed and slashed at Bella. The blades cut into her upper body, causing her to cry out in pain. She backed up, but this only allowed Quinn to go on the offensive and get a few more decent cuts in.

"Bella, just stop!" Steph cried out, running towards the fight. "I'll handle him! You're too weak to his attacks!"

"Shut up!" Steph froze as Bella shouted this. The demon whirled and glared at Steph, and Steph felt her head spin.

Despite the pure rage that radiated from the woman, Steph could very clearly see she was in more than just physical pain.

"I've got it covered!" Bella said. "Just let me handle it!" Steph watched the demon turn and go after Quinn again, and she landed a few decent hits that the hunter hadn't been expecting. Quinn backed up, but Bella didn't give him any breathing room and came right after him again. Quinn had nowhere to go, and Steph heard him grunt in irritation.

"Back off!" He shouted. A small explosion of light forced Bella away, and in that moment Quinn covered himself in a sphere of light, one that seemed to protect him. "This protected me from that others kids swings!" he shouted from inside. "There's no way you'll-!"

Quinn was cut off as Bella roared angrily and stabbed her hands into the shield and began to pull at it. Steph watched in awe as Bella pulled the sphere apart, revealing the confused Quinn inside. He had no time to ponder how she'd done it, though, as Bella used her opening to reach inside and grab his head, ripping him back out into the open. Quinn flew across the battlefield and landed face down in the dirt, Bella right after him. She grabbed his head and slammed it down on the ground, and again, and then again. Steph watched Bella beat Quinn into the dirt, feeling almost bad for the man. Another small explosion threw Bella off, and Quinn climbed to his feet, albeit very slowly.

"Ow." He muttered, rubbing the bleeding wound on his head. "Stupid bitch..." He turned to Bella and blasted off some light to keep her distracted, but Bella's methodical movement allowed her to run right through his attacks. She went to punch him, but Quinn stopped her with an open hand. Bella tried her other hand, but Quinn grabbed that one as well. Now the two were stuck in a close quarters grapple, one that neither seemed to have the upper hand in. Quinn grimaced.

"I gotta say, you're something else." he said. "But I'll tell you the same thing I told Gin."

"What?" Bella hissed. Quinn grinned, and Steph's eyes widened.

So did Bella's as a blade of holy light pierced through the left side of abdomen.

"The blade's bend as I want them to." Quinn said. The blade retracted from her, and Bella stumbled backwards gripping the bleeding wound. Quinn didn't give her time to recover and blasted her with holy light, causing her to fly away from him and hit the ground, unmoving.

"Bella!" Steph shouted, running to the girls side. Kneeling down and having the girl in her lap, Steph noted that she, like Damien had been before, very translucent skin and she was struggling to get out of Steph's grasp.

"Steph, let me go..." Bella hissed, pushing at her. "I'm fine!...I'll take this asshole down..."

"Bella, that's enough!" Steph shouted. "You're going to end up like Damien if you don't stop! Just take it easy!"

"No, god damn it!" Bella shouted. "I'll take him out! I have too...I have too..."

"Bella..." Steph said weakly, staring down at the weakened girl in her grasp. Bella closed her eyes and growled, pushing Steph away and managed to get to her feet.

"I'm fine." She said, hole in her abdomen still bleeding a dark red color of blood. "I can handle it."

"Can you know?" Quinn asked. "Do I really need to stab you some more to get my point across? You can't beat me."

"I don't care." Bella hissed. "I have to try." Quinn made a face.

"Fine." He said. "Be that way." Charging forward, Quinn punched Bella in the gut, casing her to cough up blood as she staggered back. She tried to throw her own punches, but she couldn't. She was too weak. Quinn pushed her back, and a large holy blade appeared in his hand.

"Bella, watch out!" Steph yelled.

"I'll stab you right in the heart." Quinn said. "Let's see if you're stronger than your friend!"Quinn surged forward, blade aimed right for Bella's chest. Bella was just staring at him, wide eyed. Steph couldn't bring herself to look away.

She didn't have too either, as a gust began to pick up. At first it was simply that, but soon it felt as though a storm had picked up around them. Bella seemed unaffected, but Quinn's attempted charge had been reduced to him fighting the wind pushing against him.

"What the hell is this?!" He demanded. "Why is it so wi-!"

Quinn was cut off as a pillar of earth struck him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards away from Bella. Steph looked towards said demon, but she looked just as confused.

"You're just a dumbass, Bella." Steph looked towards this voice, and she felt relief wash over her.

"Terra..." Bella coughed out. The Lamia Scale wizard looked over at Bella.

"Thank God I found you before he ran you through." She said. "Why're you out here? We left you at the guild hall." Bella just looked at her feet at this comment. Terra glared at her for a bit, but soon she sighed. "God you're dumb. Stand back, I'll handle this jackass."

"No, I'm fine!" Bella shot back. "I'll take him out!"

"Like that?" Terra asked. "I very much doubt that. Take a seat before I make you, Bella."

"But..."

"Don't worry Bella." Another new voice said. Winter walked beside Terra with a smile. "I'll get you going again. I'm no Wendy, but I think I can keep you on your feet." Bella looked ready to object, but she didn't get a chance before Terra made the earth below her levitate over to them so Winter could help her. The two glared at each other for a moment or two before Bella sighed and collapsed to sit down.

"Fine." She said, crossing her arms. "I appreciate the healing, Winter."

"It's no problem." Winter replied, kneeling down to do exactly that. Terra then looked to Steph.

"You ready to go Steph?" She asked.

"Eh?" Steph asked, realizing she'd been addressed. "Do you want my help?"

"Yeah." Terra replied, turning to watch Quinn as he stood back up. "I'm assuming this is the prick that put Damien in that hospital bed?"

"Yeah, he is." At this, Terra's expression became pained.

"Thought so." She said. "Only reason Bella would come out here." Bella didn't reply to this, she simply stared down at her feet as Winter healed up her holes.

"So more ladies are trying to take me down?" Quinn asked.

"Trying implies we'll have trouble." Terra said. "And trust me, there'll be none of that." Quinn smirked.

"I'll say it again to you, new girl. You can't win."

**_Chapter 252: The Men of the Fourth Generation_**


	252. The Men Of The Fourth Generation

Drake dodged Elizabeth's attack and tried to punch her again, which only resulted in his fist stopping right as it struck her in the chest. She smirked at him.

"You're a slow learner, aren't you?" She asked, swatting at him, Despite the clear nonchalant motion in the swing, Drake still went sliding back, before he stumbled and came to a stop. Looking, up, he glared at Elizabeth closely, looking for some sort of weakness. He'd been attacking her with Michael and Keita, but none of them were able to land a hit. It was stupid, honestly. Drake watched as Michael took his turn to rush her, and Keita's shadow rushed along the ground.

"White Dragon Claw!" he shouted. Elizabeth stopped his attack with an open hand, but Michael seemed prepared for this. As his fist struck her palm, he twisted so that he had a grip on her arm. She looked over at him, confused.

"What are you doing, exactly?" She asked. Michael smirked.

"Nothing." he replied. On cue to Michael's response, Keita surged from the ground, shadows wrapping around his fist as he did so. His fist struck Elizabeth in the stomach, but again she didn't move. She looked down at Keita's fist, unimpressed.

"Seems all three of you are rather boneheaded." She said. She swatted Michael's face with her free hand, making him fly away. From there, she rose a knee and Keita flew straight up and then right down. After both of them had recovered, they backed up and regrouped.

"This girl is impressive as all hell." Michael muttered, wiping dirt off his chin.

"Very much so." Keita agreed. "Her defense seems impenetrable."

"There's no way that's true." Drake replied. "Magic like that can't exist."

"How would we know?" Michael asked. "I've never seen her brand of magic before." Drake knew Michael had a point. Despite the clear holy aspect to her magic, Elizabeth's technique's were all foreign to him. From what he could tell she was enhancing herself, but if there was any clear way around it was a mystery.

"Her enchantments were white, no?" Keita asked, question directed at Michael. "Just eat them."

"Hate to break your master plan wide open," Michael replied, jabbing a finger at Elizabeth. "But do you _see _any white on her?" Drake took a moment and noted that yes, despite the enchantments being white in origin, he couldn't see them now. "How am I supposed to eat what I can't see?"

"I don't know, it's not my area of expertise." Keita replied snarkily. "We're relying on you here, oh White Dragon Slayer." Michael clicked his teeth in annoyance.

"Oh my bad Sir Cheney." He replied. "Allow me to develop a new technique for you. Shall I pull it out of my ass?" Drake rolled his eyes as the two other men with him started descending into an argument.

"Guys..." He tried weakly.

"While you're trying, get that stick that's been up there for a while." Keita snapped.

"Keita Cheney does not get to lecture me about a stick in my ass." Michael shot back. "Yours is so big I could plant a flag on the other end and claim your ass for my homeland!"

"Guys!" Drake shouted. "Can we please focus on the enemy?" Both of them seemed a bit miffed with each other, but nodded and returned their attention to Elizabeth, who seemed to be barely paying attention as the two had argued.

"Oh, are the lovers done with their spat?" She asked.

"We'll finish it later." Michael said. "After we kick your ass seven different ways."

"I'm waiting." Drake watched the woman wait for them, but he still didn't see any openings.

"So, any ideas?" Keita asked.

"I guess we just rush her all at once." Michael said. "Maybe her magic doesn't work as well if we're all rushing her at once." It was a garbage plan, but if Michael wasn't sure if he could eat the enchants it was all they had.

"Alright then, all at once." Drake agreed, tensing as they prepared to run at her. Michael chuckled.

"You know, I've always wondered how our magic would work in tandem." He said.

"Oh yeah?" Drake asked.

"Yeah." Keita agreed. "The light, shadows, and poison. Shall we test it out on our opponent?"

"Gladly." Drake replied. And with this, the three of them charged together.

The second they got close, Keita melted into the ground below them and shot ahead. He created a veil of darkness in front of Elizabeth, and he slashed at her from out on it occasionally, making her confused as to his location. Keita melted back into the ground as Michael and Drake reached her, and together the two let loose with a flurry of punches all over her body, but none of them made her seem hurt in the slightest. She was backing up thanks to the speed in which the two attacked, but other than that she wasn't really doing anything. Michael backed up as Drake's mouth dripped with poison, giving Drake room to let loose.

"Poison Dragon Roar!" He shouted. with this, the dark red element let loose from his mouth struck Elizabeth in the chest, but she still didn't move. Drake watched as his poison didn't even do as much as infect her. Looks like her boasting that other enchant before wasn't as big of a boast as he'd thought.

"White Dragon Spears!" Drake backed up when he heard this, and watched as a flurry of pointed whit spears rained down on Elizabeth from above, the origin being Michael up in the air. The attack threw up a cloud of smoke, making it hard to discern if Michael had actually done anything at all.

"That all?" Elizabeth asked from the smoke. Once it cleared and Michael had landed, it was clear their tandem attack was still not enough. Elizabeth still stood, and she watched them without a care in the world. "You boys really need to learn." Drake grinned as he watched her.

"You remember there was three of us, right?" he asked. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, but her eyes widened when she realized Drake was actually looking behind her, where the veil of darkness had reappeared. She tried to whirl and defend from the blow, but Keita was faster.

"Shadow Dragon Slash!" Keita jumped from the veil, hand coated in shadows. Before Elizabeth had a chance to block him, he took aim right for her head.

And Drake got a front row seat to Elizabeth flying across the battlefield, a screech of pain accompanying her. He watched as she finally came to a stop, and din't move her a while. Michael laughed triumphantly.

"You got her!" He shouted gleefully. "What did you do, anyway?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Keita replied. Drake watched as Elizabeth struggled to her feet from the blow, and he grinned.

"I don't know if this'll work," He said to the other two. "But listen to me carefully. I have an idea."

* * *

So far all Elise had dealt with was a few blasts from Abigail, and other than that she hadn't really done much. It irritated Elise because it was blatantly obvious she was hiding something.

"Is this all you kids are capable of?" She asked.

"You really haven't shown us much either." Reyna replied. Abigail shrugged.

"I'm trying not to hurt you." She replied. "I'd rather stick to my basic self defense strategies."

"Well I hate to break this to you, but we're aiming to hurt you." Elise said. "So wise up and start trying."

"Again, if you're trying to hurt me you're not going to last very long." Abigail said. "But very well. You seem interested in learning. So allow me to give you a quick lesson. As the Head of the Cross, my ability differs quite a lot from the others."

"How so?" Ultear demanded.

"I won't dare say I am the strongest." She said, her hands glowing as she began to do what looked like praying. "But I am very strong. So perhaps the others view me as the strongest."

"Look out you two." Reyna called out. "She's about to pull out something huge!"

"Huge?" Abigail asked. "No no, nothing too crazy. He's actually rather moderately sized." With this, Abigail's eyes glowed as well. "Descend to my aid, Aeran." With this, light exploded around Abigail, which made Elise shield her eyes instinctively. The light blinded her completely, and she she opened them, Elise was greeted with quite the sight.

Standing in between them and Elise was a being made completely of light. This being was about six feet tall, and had no distinct facial features. It was covered in what looked like metal plating, and a long sword was sheathed on his back.

"What the actual hell?" Reyna asked. The creature still hadn't moved from it's position, but Elise could still see Abigail right behind it.

"It's the Guardian Aeran. You could say my magic revolves around giving holy magic form, much like this."

"Is he some kind of spirit?" Ultear asked.

Yes and no." Abigail replied. "My magic gives form to holy light. Aeran is no spirit like a zodiac nor is he human. He's somewhere in the middle. Isn't that right, Aeran?" Aeran offered no response, making Abigail chuckle. "Oh right. I forgot you're the strong and silent type. Be a dear and take care of these girls for me, okay?" Aeran still offered her no response, but he drew his blade all the same and charged towards them, making Elise back up. She watched as Aeran turned to her and swung his sword, but she was far out of range.

That was of course until it extended and struck her, causing her to land on her back and grunt in pain.

"You okay Elise?" Ultear called.

"I'm fine..." Elise replied, getting to her feet, stumbling as she did. "Bastard hits like an angry bull, though."

"How're we supposed to get around this thing?" Reyna asked. "And does she have more than one?"

"Who knows." Elise replied, arms turning to iron. "All I know is that I want to smash it's head in."

* * *

"You guys got it?" Drake asked. Michael nodded.

"Got it." He said as Elizabeth finally got back to her feet.

"Lucky hit." She snarled. "No idea why it got through, but...!" The rest of her reply was cut off as the three of them turned and charged her. She was a bit stunned that they rushed right for her, but she raised her hands to defend herself.

As they reached her, Keita sunk into the ground just as Drake wanted. Drake and Michael continued their assault, making Elizabeth back up as she defended herself. Finally, Michael kicked at her with his right leg, which she used to spin him out in that direction. Just as Drake wanted. He continued to attack and, As such, Elizabeth tossed him to the left. Despite how unsure he'd been originally, the first part of the plan had got perfectly. He and Michael continued to attack her from both sides, as they had to wait for Keita's signal.

It didn't take long for it to come around either, as Drake spotted the shadows lurking behind Elizabeth.

"Michael!" he shouted. The other man nodded and together, they back up. Elizabeth seemed confused by this.

"What?" She asked. "Got some kind of plan?" Drake didn't bother responding to this, she'd find out soon enough. "No matter. It's tiresome fighting you boys. I'll have to...?"

Drake heard her stop talking as he and Michael began to inhale, but he wasn't going to stop. The plan was simple, really. They were all going to roar at her. But not just a plain old roar.

"Poison Dragon..."

"White Dragon..." Elizabeth clearly noticed that they were about to do something, but she wasn't prepared for Keita to be doing the exact same thing right behind her.

"Shadow Dragon..." She whirled again in surprise, but it was too late.

"ROAR!" Together the elements of light, poison and shadow shot forward towards the enemy. However, Drake was a little nervous his attack wouldn't land. Not because his aim was bad, because he was aiming for Elizabeth's head.

It was only a theory, but Drake hoped it was going to work. Basically, he reasoned that since Keita's last attack had hit Elizabeth in the head, that her current armor enchant didn't account for her head. Because if it did, no such attack should have sent her flying as high as it did. So, as such, Drake had the others aim for her head from several different directions so that, even if one or two didn't hit, she'd still take damage. That way, they'd actually stand a chance at beating her.

Luckily, all three roars managed to hit their mark at the same time and exploded. A yelp of pain from inside the smoke cloud could be heard, but Drake waited to see what would happen instead of getting excited.

"Was that really all it took?" Michael asked, cracking his knuckles.

"Let's hope so." Keita said. "If she gets up our advantage could disappear." Drake didn't join into this conversation, he simply watched and waited. Soon enough, the smoke began to clear.

Which revealed Elizabeth lying face down, not moving. The three Dragon Slayers watched her carefully and looked for any sign of movement, but she remained still.

"I guess we got her." Drake said, feeling the tensity dying out of the situation. Keita nodded.

"Seems she can't take many hits without those enchants." He said. "She only took four attacks to the head and she's already out."

"You say that like it's abnormal." Michael said. "Most people wouldn't take one and get back up." Drake knew that was true. Perhaps Elizabeth was one of those people.

Either way, the battle was over.

* * *

"Hm, this is odd." Elise paused as she watched Abigail dig around in her jacket. Soon, the woman pulled out what looked like a necklace of the cross, but it's left arm was darkened black whereas the other parts were pearly white.

"What?" She asked. Abigail shrugged.

"You focus on Aeran." She replied. At this, the woman's guardian swung at Elise, making her dodge once more. Elise couldn't see Abigail very well, but she did the cross begin to float in front of her face.

* * *

"Well well, look who's flat on their ass this time." Quinn said, landing lightly after avoiding more of Steph and Terra's attacks.

"What?" Steph asked, not sure what he meant. Quinn smiled at her as he pulled out a pearly white cross necklace, with a blackened out left arm.

"It's nothing," he replied. The cross began to glow and float by itself. "Alright, I'm done. You can come at me again."

* * *

"You dumb broad." Tristan hissed as he climbed to his feet.

"Excuse me, asshole?" Nami demanded. Tristan scoffed at her.

"Not you, bitch." He replied. "I was referring to a comrade of mine." Simon watched as Tristan pulled something out of his shirt, and it began to glow. Tristan smirked.

"What are you doing?" Juno asked.

"Nothing that directly affects you." Tristan replied, as his necklace began to float by itself. "But perhaps bad for some of your friends."

* * *

"Where should we go now?" Michael asked.

"Don't ask me." Keita replied. "I suppose we should just follow any more explosions we see." Drake believed that would work. Maybe then they'd be able to help the others and end this battle quickly. Hopefully, but who knew.

"And then we can help the others." Michael reasoned. "We should get on that, I'm tired."

"Worn out already?" Drake asked with a smirk. Michael rolled his eyes.

"No, it's past midnight." He replied. "I've been up since yesterday morning. And I've been fighting. I'm tired."

"Nice excuse," Keita said. As the two began to bicker, Drake looked around for any direction that looked as though it had a fight going on. Despite how much he trusted the others, he wanted to help them just in case. Just in case.

"Who's closest based on smell?" Drake asked the others. Michael paused his argument with Keita and took a sniff.

"Smells like Elise is that way.'" he said, pointing to their left. Drake nodded.

"Alright, let's-!" Drake was cut off as a blast of magic struck him in the back, sending him flying onto his face.

"Drake!" Michael shouted. Drake got back to his feet quickly, and turned towards the blast. When he saw the source, his eyes widened.

Elizabeth was back on her feet, and looked as though she was perfectly fine. She had some dirt on her face, but that was about it. She reached up and wiped the dirt from her cheek, sighing.

"Don't turn your back that quickly, boys." She said. "Fight's not over yet."

"What the hell?" Keita asked. "You were out cold a second ago."

"And?" Elizabeth asked, a faint glow coming from her chest. "I'm not now. Although, I must thank you boys. I didn't realize until you struck me, but I used the wrong enchant." Elizabeth brought her hands together, and muttered something. Drake watched as another set of armor covered her body, and swiftly disappeared into her skin. This time, however, her head was covered up by a helmet.

"Oh boy..." Michael grumbled.

"I used the one that didn't have head protection." Elizabeth said. "Now, shall we continue?"

"Well," Drake said, readying himself along with Michael and Keita. "I'm not sure we have a choice."

_**Chapter 253: Not An Ounce Of Freedom**_


	253. Not An Ounce Of Freedom

Simon wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do, given his situation. Despite the current three on one he was involved in, Tristan was giving them more than a run for their money. Despite most of his attacks simply ending up in the ground or hitting him thanks to either Nami or Juno, he was very powerful.

And probably hiding the true extent of his power, if Simon had to guess.

Backing up as Tristan flew backwards, Simon watched as he stood upright and laughed.

"Damn you kids are good." he said. "Especially the two girls. Bravo, bravo."

"Looks like we got a sexist." Nami said, flicking her blade around. "It'll make me feel even better once I kick your teeth in." Tristan laughed.

"Sexist? Please. I have two comrades who are girls, and they're pretty strong."

"You told me you hated the both of them." Simon said.

"Oh I do." He replied. "But I hate Quinn too. See, I'm all for equality." He laughed. "Besides. I know better than to cross the girls. Especially Abigail."

"Why's that?" Juno asked. Tristan looked a little uneasy at this.

"Her magic creeps the hell out." He replied. "Plus she gets really passionate about it. Frigging weirdo." He shook his head and smirked. "Besides, we're busy." And with this, he charged.

* * *

Elise dodged Aeran's attack as best she could, but the extending blade of the emotionless creature was incredibly hard to avoid. Rolling across the ground before jumping back to her feet, Elise inhaled.

"Iron Dragon Roar!" The attack flew towards the creature, but it simply raised it's blade and blocked it. This, however, gave Reyna a chance. Elise watched as the girl jumped right up near the creature and threw down a card. This caused a force field to appear around it, but it didn't seem phased. Well, it couldn't really seem like anything given that it had no facial features at all.

"Ice Cannon!" Ultear shouted from the side. This caused a blast of ice to fly right through the force field and into Aeran's chest, causing an explosion.

"Looks like you got him pretty good." Elise said, smirking.

"Let's just hope it got him." Ultear replied. They watched carefully, and soon the smoke cleared. Aeran was still standing, but it had a huge hole in it's chest. It looked down as if to observe the hole it had, but again it didn't seem phased.

"Nice try." Abigail called. "But Aeran doesn't feel pain. He's not exactly capable of giving up."

"This thing just flat out creeps me the fuck out." Reyna grunted, crossing her arms. "He doesn't do much of anything beside attack us and stop occasionally."

"That's all he's capable of." Abigail said with a smirk."He's my guardian. That's all he's supposed to do. Defend me."

"That's just sick," Ultear said. "Creating this thing just for yourself." Elise agreed. Aeran just plain creeped her out for one thing, but creating this thing just for that seemed a bit sick.

"You don't get to judge my morals." Abigail shot. "You're the ones harboring demons and then getting this defensive when others try to off them. Aeran, attack!" Aeran obeyed Abigail to a tee and ran towards Elise, who responded by turning her arms into sword and engaging him in a sword fight. The spirit fought well, but Elise using both of her arms made it much easier for her to gain an advantage.

Blocking the blade with her left arm, Elise raised up and sliced her other blade right through Aeran's neck, severing it's emotionless head. The head fell to the ground and disappeared, leaving the body standing still.

"Well," Elise said. "Looks like-!" Elise barely had time to react until Aeran once again swung at her, knocking her back. With this, she could hear Abigail laughing.

"Didn't I tell you?" She asked. "Aeran feels no pain! Headless or not, he still obeys me!"

"You okay?" Reyna asked from Elise's side. Elise nodded as she stood.

"Yeah..." She replied. "I think we just have to totally eradicate this thing to kill it."

"I agree." Ultear said. "So how do you want to do it?"

"Just go all in." Reyna said, "That'll get it." Elise agreed that that was true. Getting to her feet, Elise turned her arms back into clubs, Reyna brandished a few cards, and Ultear's hands became frosty. And together, they charged the headless spirit.

Elise reached it first and clubbed it in the abdomen, causing it to fall back. Reyna threw done a few cards, which sparked to life and engulfed Aeran in fire. Ultear was last, and she brought her hands together and slammed them on the ground.

"Ice Geyser!" Elise watched as ice sprung from the ground below the spirit and impaled it countless times through what remained of it. Elise watched carefully, and even then she saw the spirit struggling to move it's body. Abigail sighed.

"I think you're stuck, Aeran." She said, waving a hand. "Get the hell out of here." With that wave of her hand, Aeran ceased to move and disappeared like a whisper in the wind. Abigail sighed and put a hand on her hips. "Worthless." She muttered. "Falling so easily." She sighed.

"Well, now what are you going to do?" Elise asked. "You're spirit's gone." Abigail rolled her eyes.

"Did you actually think that all I had up my sleeve was one spirit?" She asked. She once again brought her hands together as if praying, and she glowed again. "Descend to my aid! Aurath, Vissi, Sentine!"

Elise watched as three circles appeared on the ground, and soon three more spirits had materialized. The first one was twice as tall as Aeran, and much beefier with a long sword and a shield. The second one was more feminine in nature and figure, eight feet tall, and armed with two spears connected with a chain. The third, Elise didn't know what to think. She couldn't figure out if it was male or female, but it was nine feet tall, and armed with a gigantic sledgehammer.

"More of them?" Reyna demanded. "All of them are pretty tall as well..."

"And one for each of us." Ultear said. "Sounds like you at least had the decency to name them."

"Of course I did." She replied. "I had too."

"Why's that?" Elise demanded. Abigail smirked.

"It's a God's duty to name their creations, no?"

* * *

Natsu stumbled and blocked his face as more of Neptu's fire came at him, but it still burned like a bitch. Natsu climbed to his feet again and glared at Neptu, who just kind of watched him carefully.

"You done?" He asked.

"Like hell." Natsu replied. "You think that I'm going to give up like that?" Neptu was silent for a minute, before he sighed.

"I want to ask you something." He said. Natsu didn't say anything to this, so Neptu sighed again. "It's custom to answer someone when they ask, Natsu."

"...What?" Natsu asked through gritted teeth.

"You claim to be a Fire Dragon Slayer." he said. "And yet, from what I can tell, you haven't been able to handle my fire. You haven't tried to eat it, and you've definitely been damaged more than a fair bit by it." Natsu growled and stared at his feet. "Care to answer me?" What was Natsu supposed to say? He had to come up with something. Finally, he realized what he had to say.

"A long time ago," he started. "I met a man named Zancrow. Well, met is a stretch. He tried to kill me." Natsu laughed at this. "Anyway, the guy was a Fire God Slayer. I couldn't eat his flames either, at least not at first. His flames were superior to mine. I can only assume your flames are superior as well." Neptu watched him for a moment before he shrugged.

"Whatever." he replied, beginning to glow. "well old man, you came all the way out here to fight me, so let's fight!" Natsu watched as another gout of purple flames flew towards him, so he brought his hands together and ignited them. Once the flames reached him he used his own flames to carve an opening in the fire and keep himself safe.

At least, that's what he was going for.

Natsu accomplished what he wanted to, but he hadn't been ready for Neptu to surge through his own flames and deliver a punch to his gut. The purple flames burned into Natsu's stomach, making him grit his teeth in pain. Natsu flew back and hit the ground, attempting to soothe the pain in his stomach.

_Fuck that hurt..._

* * *

Nashi perked up and stared off into the distance, her stomach knotting in pain.

"...Dad?" She whispered weakly. "Oh no..."

* * *

"Aurath, Vissi, Sentine! Go!" Elise had no time to question what Abigail was talking about before her spirits surged forward and attacked.

The first one, which Elise assumed was Aurath, swung his blade at Reyna and forced her off on her own. The second, Vissi, went after Ultear with her spears. Sentine came after Elise and swung it's hammer down on top of her, which she blocked with her arms and gritted her teeth as it pressed down on top of her. She forced it off of her and turned her arms to a club and blade each and went after it.

Regardless of it's shape, Sentine was clearly more advanced than Aeran. It blocked Elise's attacks well and swung back just as hard, making it difficult to fight. Elise swung for it's knees, but they were well armored with...light, supposedly. These things were definitely a lot tougher.

The hammer was brought back down on top of her, and she struggled to hold it off of her again. Abigail chuckled.

"My magic is called Divine Creation." She said from a distance as Elise struggled against Sentine's hammer. "My magic allows me to create beings made of holy light to come to my aid. I can create an entire army if I wanted too. And they all obey me without question! To them, I am their God! Their creator, and Master!" Elise growled under her breath and, with a mighty heave, pushed Sentine off of her.

"Shut your god damn mouth!" She shouted, stabbing Sentine straight through the chest. She pushed the spirit onto it's back and turned her arms into clubs, and proceeded to smash at the the armor protecting the beings chest. eventually it began to crack and break, and Elise finally got through. Once she did, she drove both clubs down and through the chest, pinning Sentine to the ground.

"Why should I?" Abigail asked as the pin gave Elise a minute.

"You're no God." She replied angrily. "You're just some self obsessed woman with fancy magic."

"Am I?" She asked, beginning to glow. At this, Sentine broke free of his bindings and stood once more, and turned to Elise. Whirling around, Elise drove a club right into the beings face, causing it to be pushed back.

"God." Elise mused, staring at Sentine. "This is what you call a creation of God, huh?" Abigail remained silent, but Elise felt anger welling up in her chest. "Your creations are pathetic. They have no face, no emotion, no drive other than to fight for you."

"And?" Abigail asked. _And? _This bitch couldn't be serious.

"If you really think this pathetic attempt at spirit summoning or creation makes you a God.." Elise growled, glowing as well. Soon Elise's right arm turned into a flail, and a large one at that. "Then you need to keep working on them! These things don't even have an ounce of freedom!" With this, she swung the flail at Sentine, who blocked it with his hammer. He threw the spike ball off into another direction, but Elise reigned it in before it could hit Ultear or Reyna. Growling, Elise whirled it on Abigail. "Go back to the fucking drawing board!" And with this, she swung the flail down at Abigail.

She watched as Sentine threw itself in front of the flail and ate the hit for Abigail, causing it's torso to completely disconnect from it's arms and legs. Abigail remained calm throughout this.

"Freedom?" Abigail asked. "Why would I want my guardians to have freedom? They exist solely to help me, and that's all. They serve no purpose in this world outside of helping me kill unholy creatures."

"Then you're no God." Elise replied. "You're just a sick twisted person making an extension of themselves human-like and claiming to be a God. That'd be like me making a human figure out of iron and saying I'm a God."

"No demon harboring seventeen year old girl is going to tell me what's right and what isn't." Abigail spat, looking rather irritated. "Sentine! Reassemble." Elise watched as the bits and pieces of Sentine lying around began to glow, and started to gravitate towards each other. Soon, the spirit had been completely rebuilt, and it appeared to be staring down at Elise with it's emotionless face. Elise clicked her teeth in irritation.

_This thing is a creation of 'God', huh? Suppose it goes down as easily as one?_

* * *

Simon dodged more of Tristan's attacks and used his sword to shoot a blast of heavenly light at him, which he dodged. Nami was ready for him though, and used her gravity magic to bring him down to earth and right into his own personal crater. At this, Juno caused an explosion in the crater, and Simon could hear Tristan shout out in pain at this.

"Guy can certainly take a beating." Nami muttered.

"We'll get him soon." Juno said. "This guys not all that." Simon was about to agree with her when he heard Tristan laughing.

"I knew you kids were good." he said. "But to have avoided me at my base for this long? Very impressive."

"Your base?" Nami demanded as explosions could be heard in the distance. "What is that supposed to mean?" Tristan smirked.

"Each member of the Cross has their own shtick." He replied. "There's a reason we're so powerful, it's because we manipulate the holy light we wield in so many different ways."

"Get to the point." Juno said. Tristan brought his hands together like he was praying and nodded.

"Happily." He replied. He closed his eyes, and Simon tensed. After a few seconds looking like he was praying Tristan opened his eyes, which were now glowing.

"This looks bad." Simon murmured.

"Open!" Tristan shouted. "Divine Territory!" Simon watched as pure whiteness exploded from behind Tristan and began to engulf the battlefield. Simon couldn't do much but watch as the white enveloped a good sixty foot area around them, and soon they were completely encased in a white dome.

"What the hell is this?" Nami asked. "What did you call it?" Tristan smiled.

"Divine Territory." he replied.

"Territory?" Simon asked. "Juno, isn't that your magic?" Juno nodded.

"It is." She replied, looking around. "But I've never done anything like this, if I even can." Tristan smirked.

"Alright kids. You wanted a fight, no you're going to get one." Nami rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right, dude." She said. "Why don't you go for a ride?" She glowed white, but nothing happened to Tristan. After a few more seconds, Nami grunted in confusion.

"What?" Simon asked.

"He should've gone flying a couple times by now." She said. "I don't get what's going on."

"It's quite simple, darling." Tristan said. "In here, your magic is nothing."

"Nothing?" Nami asked. Explain yourself." Tristan chuckled.

"Gladly. Divine Territory is an area of effect spell. Right now inside this dome of holy light, _I _control the laws of the world."

**_Chapter 254: Divine Territory_**

**Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the full week of updates! Who am I kidding of course you did. Now, I wanted to say that only one or two more chapters will go up before New Years at best. I get lazy around this time of year, so don't get nervous. That being said, I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five! **


	254. Divine Territory

**Last update before Christmas! Thanks so much for the support on the week of updates guys. And hey, this might be the last one before the New Year, so enjoy it.**

**Enjoy!**

Steph made a face at Quinn, who was watching the distance with a smirk.

"What's up with you?" She asked. Quinn chuckled and looked back at her.

"See that dome of light?" He asked. Steph followed his gaze and saw a dome of light in the distance, just as he had described.

"What about it?" Terra asked. Quinn smirked.

"It means Tristan's fed up."

* * *

Simon looked around at the dome, stomach knotting up. What did Tristan mean when he said he controlled the laws of the world?

"Fancy spell." Nami said, flicking her blade back and forth. "Does it actually do as you claim, though?" Tristan smiled darkly.

"Try me." He replied. Nami glowered. Soon, the ground beneath Tristan began to glow.

"I'll take great pleasure in that, asshole. Nami muttered. Tristan laughed.

"Gravity magic no longer affects me." He spoke. At this, the glow beneath him brightened, but nothing happened. Nami grunted and the light intensified, but still nothing happened.

"What the hell?" She demanded. "You should be fifty feet in the air by now..." Tristan smirked.

"I already said how Divine Territory works," he said. "I'm not going to be affected by such tactics here."

"He's got to be bluffing," Juno said from Simon's left. "There's no way a spell this simple looking makes him God in here."

"Guess we'll have to test that." Simon said, raising a hand. He fired off blasts of heavenly light, and Tristan rolled his eyes.

"Heavenly Body Magic blasts now consistently miss their target," he said. Simon watched as his blasts reached Tristan before veering off course and hitting the ground. Nami tried once again to use her gravity magic, but he didn't budge at all. Tristan smirked.

"I can use my magic to boost myself forward at lightning speeds." Simon barely had time to react before holy light erupted from Tristan's feet, sending him flying right for them.

"Look out!" Juno shouted.

"My holy magic explodes when I punch a foe with it around my fist," Tristan said. The lightning quick strike hit Simon in the gut, and the following explosion sent him flying with a gasp of pain. Nami swung at him with her blade, but he dodged it and punched her in the arm holding her blade, causing the blade to fly from her arm and embedded itself in the ground farther away. Nami backed up and raised a hand towards the blade, causing it to glow and fly towards her. She caught it just in time to parry another explosive strike from Tristan, but it was clear the blast had still done damage to her. Juno's hands glowed a multitude of colors, and Tristan disappeared and then slammed into the ground farther away from them.

"You okay?" Juno asked Nami. Nami grunted and rubbed the wounded shoulder.

"Peachy." She hissed. "This magic isn't a joke."

"Agreed." Simon replied. "Stay on your toes." Tristan climbed to his feet and laughed.

"I forget about you, wallflower." he said in Juno's direction. "Don't be shy to fight too. I'm sure you've got fangs like your friends." Juno didn't reply to this, so he chuckled. "Territory magic no longer teleports me." He said. Juno made a face and her hands glowed once more, but nothing happened. She made a surprised face at this and tried harder, but still nothing happened.

"What is it, Juno?" Nami asked. Juno looked stunned.

"I can't move him anywhere." She said. "It's like he's locked my magic." Simon made a face and looked at Tristan, who still seemed calm.

"What are you doing, hunter?" He demanded. Tristan smiled and shrugged.

"I told you," he said. "Divine Territory gives me control over the laws of the world within the dome."

"Within the dome, huh?" Simon asked. "And if we leave?"

"Not possible." He replied. "This is my domain here. You'll leave once you stop getting up from my attacks." Simon clicked his teeth at this. If Divine Territory really did as he said, then it was an infallible magic.

But no, that couldn't be possible. No magic was infallible, not even Lost Magic. All Lost Magics, one way or another, had a downside. either becoming a dragon, or turning into a tree upon defeat, something was always going to happen.

So how was it that a man claimed to have magic that made him God within a certain area? It seemed ridiculous, but Simon had watched the man prove it several times just now.

"Anyone got any ideas as to what we're supposed to do?" He asked.

"Not a clue," Juno replied. "If he really is God here, then there's not much we can do."

"He calls this Divine Territory." Nami spoke up, looking at Juno. "Any relation to what your powers do?" Juno shook her head.

"My Territory involves the use of a different plane of existence." She replied. "To move things, cause explosions, you name it. But creating a plane in which I'm supreme ruler? Not possible, at least not for me." Nami looked agitated by this.

"Damn it, Juju." She hissed. At this, Juno frowned.

"Don't call me Juju." She said. "I thought I left that nickname behind after I dropped Michael and Keita from a hundred feet in the air and only promised to save them if they never called me that again..."

"Yeah well, I made no such deal," Nami replied. "Sorry." After this, she looked at Simon. "You got any ideas?" She asked. Simon shook his head.

"No," he replied. "It seems like no matter how we use our magic, he can just make it explode in our face."

"...What did you say?" Juno asked. Simon made a face.

"I said no matter how we attack with our magic he makes it so we can't hit him." Simon could almost see the gears turning in Juno's head through her eyes. Finally, her face brightened up.

"Alright you two, here's my master plan." She said. "It's gonna be difficult, and we'll definitely get hurt."

"Just speak up, would you?" Nami demanded. Juno nodded.

"Just go at him for a while." Juno said. "I have a theory I want proved. Got it?"

"That's really it?" Simon asked. "Attack him?"

"I'll tell you the rest later. Now, go after him!" Simon nodded, and quickly turned back to Tristan, who looked as though he'd zoned out.

"Alright, let's get our asses kicked." He muttered. He flew towards Tristan, who took notice of this.

"You fly three times slower." He spoke. Simon growled as he slowed right down, Meteor no longer sending him at the speed of light. Much slower. Simon watched and blocked with his arms as Tristan boosted at him and punched at him, causing another explosion. Simon backed up as Nami ran forwards and swung at him with her blade, forcing him to dodge backwards and away from her. She boosted upwards with gravity magic, but Tristan smirked.

"You can't boost with Gravity magic." He said. He spoke the words, but Nami was already high above him. She brought the blade down, but Tristan dodged. Simon watched as a gigantic crevice appeared in the ground glowing white, but Tristan avoided it as best he could.

"Damn, missed." Nami muttered. Tristan laughed.

"I told you kids, you're nothing in here!" He shouted. "If I control this space, then you're not winni-!"

Tristan was too busy yelling to notice the Territory hole open up behind him, which Juno sprung from and sucker punched him in the back of the head, causing him to fly forwards with a cry of surprise. Juno stood up straight, massaging her fist but smiling.

"I knew it." She said. "His Divine Territory is a joke."

"How do you figure?" Simon asked. Juno smirked at Tristan as he stood up.

"Our friend here is full of shit." She said. "He doesn't control the laws of the world. If he did, we'd have already died."

"Huh?" Nami asked, sounding just as confused as Simon felt. "Explain Juju." Juno ignored the nickname and gestured to Tristan, who was still recovering.

"Our 'God' over here said he controls the laws of the world within Divine Territory. But if he did, he'd had opened up a crevice to swallow us or lower the air levels around us and suffocate us to death. But he didn't, because he can't."

"Why not? Simon asked. Juno smiled.

"Because he doesn't control the laws of the world in here." She said. "He just controls the laws of magic." Simon made a face, but Juno didn't waste time before elaborating. "I first had a suspicion from not immediately killing us, but earlier when Nami swung at him with her blade, he made an effort to dodge. But if we attacked with magic, he just made our attacks ineffective within Divine Territory." The gears slowly turned in Simon's head as well.

"That makes sense..." Nami muttered.

"And, after I said to attack him, he did it again." Juno continued. "He stopped Simon by making him fly slower and leaving him open, but he again avoided Nami's blade himself. If he really is a God in here, why not break the blade? Why not explode her head? Why'd he go out of his way to disarm Nami earlier if he's so Godly?"

"...Heheh." Simon turned as Tristan got to his feet, chuckling. "You're a clever girl. Generally speaking my opponents are too scared of their lack of control, or too mindless to notice that the laws of the world is a bluff."

"So you aren't a God." Simon mused. "Figures. The enemy always tries to look scarier than they really are."

"That so, kid?" Tristan asked. "You think just because I can't erupt your skull or rapture your spleen I'm not a threat?"

"Not as big of one." Simon replied. Thinking quickly, Simon requipped into his Purgatory Armor. "We'll just attack without magic."

"So you're effectively neutering your own chances." Tristan said. "That's cute. Good luck requipping again, kid. Your inventories locked now." Simon gritted hs teeth. He was so used to using magic to fight he'd requipped without thinking. Tristan brandished a finger at Juno. "And you, no more using Territory to appear where ever you want."

"Shit..." Juno growled. Tristan smirked.

"You kids want to go like that? Then come fucking get me."

* * *

Silly, silly Tristan" Quinn said as he dodged more of Terra and Steph's attacks. "No need to go all out. You're the only one who has so far."

"That so?" Terra asked. "Join him, and stop fucking around." Quinn shrugged.

"I don't want to." he replied. "Joining him second would be foolish. I'll wait for Lizzie or Abby to unleash the full extent of their magic." Steph clicked her teeth. So the others weren't even trying? This fight was getting more dangerous by the second.

"Why not?" Terra asked. "It's a bad idea, especially if Steph and I decide to go all out."

"Why's that? I figured this was your best." Quinn fired back. "Not only that, but each Member of the Cross' full power is a bit overwhelming."

"So far I'm not impressed." Steph said. "And quite frankly, I don't see myself getting much more impressed than this." Quinn rolled his eyes.

"I'm far more capable than you two." he replied. "Don't push it."

"I'd very much like too." Terra growled, boosting forwards with rock. She coated her arms in stone and punched at Quinn repeatedly, but he dodged most of it. Steph flew towards him as well and threw electrical punches, and together the pair pushed him backwards with as much force as they could. Quinn flew back and blades once again protruded from his hands, which he used to fend off the assault from both of them. Despite how good he was, he wasn't good enough, as Terra landed a good hit and sent him flying backwards. Quinn stumbled and raised a hand to his nose. Steph watched as he wiped blood from it, and stared at his hand. After a few seconds, he chuckled.

"Looks like you ladies are more pissed than I thought." He said, sniffing hard to make sure his nose stopped bleeding. "You want me to fight? Fine. But don't get pissy when your licking your wounds like dogs."

* * *

"God damn it Winter, I'm fine!" Bella shouted. "let me fight!" Winter rolled her eyes at this.

"Yeah okay, and I'm as strong as Natsu." She replied. "Stay down, I'll let you go once I'm done healing you." Bella looked pretty upset at this news, but she nodded and stopped struggling, allowing Winter to focus on the still oozing wounds on her body. Winter had to admit, the wounds were bad. Not only that, but she could sense their was some kind of holy residue in them as well. Those definitely needed to get out.

"How is it?" Bella asked.

"Bad." Winter replied. "What the hell were you thinking, come out here? We told you these guys were dangerous."

"I refuse to sit and watch." Bella hissed. "I don't want to be that lonely lady watching the horizon, praying those she loves make it. I'll help any way that I can."

"Ugh, you're so fucking stubborn." Winter hissed. "But I suppose that sentence really applies to all of us in a way, doesn't it?"

"I guess..." Bella muttered. As no more questions were asked, Winter refocused on the wounds. They could close just fine, it was the residue that she worried about. She couldn't just leave it in there, that would be bad.

"Fuck, I don't know what to do." She said. "You've got holy magic inside f your wounds, but I don't know how to get it out."

"Don't you have a healing spell for purging impurities or something?" Bella demanded, still sounding irritated. Winter rolled her eyes.

"Holy magic is pretty much as pure as you can get." She replied snarkily. "I'm not sure any of those spells would be any use here."

"Worth a shot, no?" Bella asked. Winter bit her lower lip before nodding.

"Yes, it is."

* * *

Simon flew back from an explosive punch, but he didn't got far thanks to his Purgatory Armor protecting him. he swung his spiked club at Tristan, who dodged it, only to flew right into Nami swing, which cut his cloak and made him stumbled backwards.

"Go get him, guys!" Simon heard Juno all from behind him. "You're, uh, doing great!"

"We don't need a cheerleader, Juju!" Nami said, flicking her blade around. "We could use some help!" Juno laughed feebly.

"I'm not much of a physical fighter." She replied. "So I think leaving this to you guys is a pretty good idea." Simon knew this was true. Without being able to use Territory to get close, Juno wasn't much help in the fast paced fight he and Nami were fighting.

"Try to come up with more ideas!" he told her. "We'll handle this guy!" Juno nodded.

"You're the boss." She replied. Simon turned and launched himself at Tristan, boosting only slightly with Meteor. Tristan smirked.

"Speed up." He said. Simon's eyes widened as Meteor's full force returned, and he flew right past Tristan and into the dirt. "Slow down again." As Simon recovered from being launched by his own magic, Nami went after him with her own blade, but the explosive attacks from Tristan more than kept her at bay. "Back up already," Tristan hissed, punching her so hard she slid away.

Simon used this opening and attacked from behind, but Tristan boosted away from him.

"My holy blasts are fifty percent more explosive," He spoke, before launching a flurry of blasts. Simon took this new law to heart and did his best to avoid these powered up blasts, but he still got hit and flew to the ground. He recovered before another volley hit him and stumbled away, watching Tristan closely. Nami attacked him again, but he simply swatted her away and towards Simon.

"You okay?" He asked. She nodded, once again rubbing her sword arm. He figured that being disarmed so violently before must have hurt, but he could tell she was seriously injured.

"I'm fine." She said. "But this guys right. At this rate, we're going to lose."

"We can't." Simon replied. Nami forced a laugh.

"Well at this rate we don't exactly a choice." She said as Juno ran to join them. "Because according to this guy, neither can he."

"Guys!" Juno shouted. "I have an idea."

"What is it?" Simon asked. Juno smiled.

"You don't worry about that just yet." She said. "All you guys need to do is keep our friend distracted. Think you can do that for me?" Simon took a deep breath before he looked at Nami. The girl nodded before she shed her jacket, leaving herself in a sleeveless black top.

"Yeah, we'll manage." She replied. "Don't disappoint." Juno nodded and ran off, leaving Simon and Nami to deal with Tristan.

"She's running off, huh?" Tristan asked. "That's okay. She'll only make it to the edge of the dome anyway. You two gonna keep this up?" Simon didn't reply, he just lifted his club.

"Ready?" he asked. Nami took a deep breath as she flicked her blade around as she always did.

"Let's kick his ass."

* * *

"Bolt Fist!" Steph shouted, driving her fist into Quinn's sword, shattering them and sending him flying backwards. Terra laughed.

"Nice hit!" She shouted. "This guys not talking shit now."

"Perhaps that's because I'm focused on fighting." Quinn said, struggling to his feet. "Is it your turn to talk shit?"

"I'd rather kick your shit in." Terra replied. "Ready Steph?" Steph nodded.

"As I'll ever." She replied. As she prepared to charge Quinn again, the man laughed.

"Ah man, it looks like I'll have to join Tristy." He said. "You girls have gone and riled me up."

"What a surprise." Terra muttered. The blade's disappeared from Quinn's hands, and he brought his hands together as if he was praying. After a few seconds, he started to glow to bright Steph had to shield her eyes.

"What is this?" She asked.

"Watch out!" Terra called. "He's taking us seriously now!"

"I'd love to watch out if I could see!" Steph replied. She could hear Quinn laughing.

"You've gone and done it now." He said. "It didn't need to get to this point, but look what you've done." After he said this, the ground began to shake as well. Steph gulped.

"This is definitely more serious..." She muttered. As the shaking increased, the light did as well. Finally, Steph heard Quinn speaking over the shaking and light.

"Ignite, Dyrnwyn."

**Yes I love to leave it hanging until January. Any who, I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**

_**Chapter 255: Dyrnwyn**_


	255. Dyrnwyn

**Hey! Did I leave you guys hanging long enough? Thankfully for you, I've returned after a little break. And guess what? Unless something huge impedes progress, the story's best year is upon us.**

**Enjoy!**

"Ignite, Dyrnwyn." Steph shielded her eyes as light shone all around them, the source being Quinn. She didn't know what he was doing, but she didn't like the looks of it so far. The light was extremely intense, so much so that despite her eyes being shut and shielded by her eyes, they still became sore. Soon enough, though, the light began to fade, allowing Steph to slowly clear her eyes.

Once she did, she noted that Quinn had changed.

He still stood where he had been facing opposite herself and Terra, but now his right sleeve was ripped and tattered. And in his right hand he held a gigantic blade, shimmering with light. The blade made Steph a bit confused as to what it was. Sometimes it seemed as real as any blade she'd seen Simon use, but sometimes it flickered, showing her the same blade, but only made of light.

"What is that?" She asked weakly. Quinn smirked and raised his bade to admire it.

"Dyrnwyn." He replied. "A holy blade I've created. That's what I've mastered holy magic for. To create weapons capable of slaying any demon."

"So you have." Terra replied. "How is this one any different than the dinky one you started with?" Quinn's smirk widened at this.

"Shall I show you?" He asked. Before Steph had time to react, Quinn swung the blade downward. With the swing a trail of fire left the end of the blade and raced across the ground towards the girls. Steph dodged just in time, but the heat from the swing was much more intense than she had imagined.

"It generates fire?" She asked as she landed once more. "Just how powerful is this sword?" Quinn shrugged.

"Don't know." He answered. "It was the first one I ever managed to make, solely because Neptu said it would be beneficial." For a moment, Steph saw brief confusion wash over Quinn, before he shook it off. "Oh well. Using it to fight silly guild girls will do, I suppose."

"Steph, we need a plan." Terra said from Steph's left. "He's taking it more seriously than a moment ago."

"Didn't need you to tell me that." Steph replied. "Any ideas?"

"No. Firstly, I think knowing the way that blade works would be our priority."

"Got it." Steph said. "Figure out how it works." Steph bolted forward and aimed at Quinn, firing lightning at him. Quinn raised Dyrnwyn and deflected the blades, causing to fly off everywhere. She got right up close and started to strike at him with her fists, but she couldn't do much with the blade between her and her target. Thankfully, she could back off, as she watched Terra approached from behind. Terra struck the ground and pillars of earth rose up to fly at Quinn, who just barely dodged the first few before turned around and cleaving the remaining in half before they reached him. He boosted forward and tried to swing at Terra, but she backed up and rose up at least ten walls of earth between her and Quinn.

This didn't seem to phase him whatsoever, as he cleaved right through the first eight or so of the barriers before he stopped at the second to last one. Steph heard him click his tongue in irritation.

"Well damn," He said. "I thought I had enough speed. Oh well." With this, light erupted out of Dyrnwyn, sending Terra backwards. Steph took this opportunity to get right up close, which resulted in her grabbing Quinn's wrists and wrestling him for control of the fight. He laughed as they did so.

"What's so funny?" Steph demanded.

"Do you actually think this is going to end well for you?" He demanded. "You know what's gonna happen? We're going to win, find Gin, and take him far far away before we finally rid the world of a Demon Lord. Hell, I might even take that blonde over there with us."

"That so?" Steph hissed. "Well sadly, I don't think you're going to get the opportunity."

"Oh?" Quinn asked. "And why's that?" Steph smirked.

She watched as she channeled her magic directly into Quinn, finally having gotten between him and Dyrnwyn. Although she took no joy in watching him fry and fly backwards from all the electricity coursing through him, she did feel rather vindicated. Despite the thousands of volts coursing through him, Quinn laughed through the spasms.

"You cheeky thing, you." He hissed, struggling to his feet. "Guess I deserved that one."

"You guess?" Steph demanded. "I'll only feel good once you're nearly comatose too, you bastard." Quinn rolled his eyes at this.

"You're brother deserved it." He replied. "He's just like Gin, That blonde, and all the other demons who've fallen because of me. You think just because he's your brother he's somehow above the others? Newsflash sister, he ain't no dif-!" Quinn whirled just in time to cut through a strike from a pillar that had been thrown at him from the direction Terra had been thrown, and soon the girl appeared there, looking vicious.

"Damien is different." She growled. "He's not just some mindless monster!"

"Oh really now?" Quinn asked. "Do you honestly think you're fooling me?"

"He is." Terra hissed. "He's never used those powers of his on the innocent, and he'd never do such a thing. Not willingly. He-"

"Willingly." Quinn said, cutting her off. "That's just it. _Willingly. _He's still a threat. What if the demon inside decides it's bored? What if he loses control? If, if, if...People like you never consider the ifs. The possibilities. Things like this, demons, it ain't worth taking that risk."

"And I suppose that's why we're here." Steph said, electricity crackling around her. "We disagree. The person attached to the demon is worth it." Quinn glowered at her, Dyrnwyn beginning to glow.

"I suppose we will never see the same way." he said. Steph prepared herself.

"No, I guess not."

* * *

Although Winter was pretty focused on helping Bella recover as fast as possible, and keeping her out of Damien's comatose state, she was partially listening to Quinn and Steph talk. As the battle resumed, she sighed.

"Maniacs." She muttered. "The lot of them."

"...Winter?" Winter made a face and looked down at Bella, who's eyes were directed at the fight. "Is...Is he right?" Winter raised an eyebrow at this.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Is he right?" She asked weakly, turning to look at Winter fully. As she did this, Winter noted she seemed lost. "Am I a monster? Is the threat I represent to big to matter who I am?" Winter stared down at Bella, unsure of what she was supposed to say. "Maybe I should just let them kill me. It's not right, after all..."

"Just shut your mouth." Winter hissed, continuing on her work. "Of course you're worth it. As is Damien, as is Gin. Why the hell do you think we're here?"

"But..."

"No, stop." Winter said, looking back at Bella. "Until you willingly massacre an entire village of starving orphans, myself and all of our friends here would fight tooth and nail to save you from anyone coming after you. Don't buy into his bullshit. He's got a different view on things. Got it?" Bella stared at Winter for a moment, before she smiled.

"Thanks Winter." Winter smiled.

"No problem." She said. "Now try to calm down, your heart rate is making it harder to heal you."

* * *

"I've told you countless times." Elizabeth said as she swatted Drake and Michael away. "You're not going to beat me. You had your chance, but you didn't capitalize on it."

"What the hell does that mean?" Michael muttered, rubbing his arms. "What chance? We knocked her out cold and she stood back up like nothing even happened."

"I know." Keita agreed. "Perhaps we missed something."

"Like what?" Drake asked, coughing. "We've tried everything, but we can't get through her defenses." Since Elizabeth had stood back up, Drake and the other two had tried everything. They'd made sure to go after her head first for confirmation, and of course it didn't work. After that, the fight returned to what it had been before, which was Elizabeth throwing them every which way.

Thinking hard, Drake fought back to the moment Elizabeth had stood back up. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary with her. At this, Drake recalled a faint glow coming from her chest, but that couldn't have been anything important.

"No ideas?" Michael asked. Drake shook his head.

"No," he replied. "All I'm coming up with is plans that wouldn't work. She's a different kind of strong than I'm used to dealing with."

"That much is true." Keita said, massaging his left shoulder. "Shall we go after her again?"

"I think so." Michael said. "Maybe the enchant wears off with enough pushing."

"Guess we have to find out, don't we?" Drake asked, readying himself for another bout.

* * *

Ultear dodged Vissi's spears. She'd tried everything she had, but just like Aeran before it, Vissi seemed to only fall when Ultear completely obliterated it. And seeing as she hadn't gotten near close enough to manage that yet, it wasn't going well. Dodging another swing from the spears, Ultear slid backwards until she was near Reyna.

"You alright Ul?" Reyna asked as Aurath came after her as well.

"Just peachy." Ultear replied, waiting for Vissi to come after her as well. "Any ideas as to what we're supposed to do?"

"Just a few." Reyna replied. "If this is like normal summoning magic-"

"I doubt that." Ultear interjected.

"But if it is," Reyna continued, jabbing a finger at Abigail, who was still watching Elise fight Sentine. "She should be the weak point."

"What do we do?" Ultear asked.

"We need to take her out." Reyna replied. "And I think I have just the thing." Ultear made a face and looked over her shoulder at the girl.

"What's that?" She asked. She watched as Reyna laughed, and raised her hand over her shoulder.

A flash was gripped tightly in her hand. Ultear smirked.

"You just keep that shambling holy thing busy, I'm going after Abby."

"You got it." Ultear heard Reyna go back after Aurath, so she went for Vissi. The thing swung it's spears at her, but she blocked them with ice and slid underneath it's legs. With this, she created her own spear made of us and jabbed it right in between Vissi's legs, and watched as it went all the way up and pierced right through it's head. Vissi didn't seemed phased, but it also moved a bit more rigidly than before. Perhaps Ultear's attack prevented it from moving the way it had before. Sparing herself a moment, Ultear looked over at Elise. The girl seemed to be faring well against Sentine, and from what she could tell Abigail's attention was still fully on her as well. If Reyna could get away from Aurath, she could totally catch Abigail off guard.

"Of course, that would still require us to have dealt with these things..." Ultear muttered, looking back up at Vissi. Just what exactly did these things qualify as? Summoning magic? Or just holy magic or some variant? She honestly had no idea. Ultear sighed, her hand glowing.

Stabbing Vissi once more, she knew it didn't matter.

* * *

"Your Heavenly Body magic will explode in your face." As Tristan said this, the blast Simon had been preparing exploded in his face just as ordered. He coughed and stumbled backwards. Nami sprung forward to attack with her sword, but Tristan's increased speed allowed him to dodge her with ease. Simon didn't know what it was Juno had planned, but he hoped she did it quickly, because this was going poorly.

He watched as Nami flew back after receiving a hit from Tristan's increased power, and she flew backwards near him.

"You alright?" He asked as she struggled to her feet.

"Yeah." She replied. "I just...Damn, this guy hurts."

"I know." Simon replied. "But there has to be something we can do."

"We just have to wait for Juno." Nami replied, back on her feet. "I trust her, she'll figure it out."

"All out of ideas?" Tristan called. "I'm not surprised. It's quick difficult having to adapt in a fight where everything you try just backfires on you. So I'll understand if you just want to give up."

"Do you ever shut up?" Nami asked. "We're not giving up just because you're tough. If we acted like that we wouldn't have made it here to begin with."

"Agreed." Simon said. Despite no longer having access to his armor, he'd gotten stuck in his Purgatory armor, so if he could get close enough Tristan was going to get a face full of his club. "We're not giving up."

"Huh." Tristan said. "I suppose you have my respect for that. However, respect will not get you far in here, kids." He flew forwards and punched as Simon, who barely had time to raise his club to block it. He turned and did the same to Nami, who also flew backwards. Once he'd done this, he laughed.

"Because in here, kids, I'm infallible. Unbeatable. And even if I do fall, I will rise again. You cannot beat me."

* * *

Natsu regained his footing and watched Neptu, waiting for his next attack. He'd only been hit a few times, but he wasn't feeling to good. His magic really was effective against him.

Natsu perked up as he heard explosions in the distance. He knew that meant the kids must have been engaged in fights with the others. Neptu sighed.

"I suppose this is just another enemy that doesn't know." He said. Natsu made a face.

"What did you say?" He asked. Neptu looked rather indifferent despite the war zone around them.

"It's The Cross." He said. "Sometimes I wonder how long it takes for enemies to catch on, or if they even have a chance."

"what are you talking about?" Natsu demanded. "Explain." Neptu shrugged and crossed his arms.

"Let's just say my four commanders are special. They don't lose." Natsu scoffed at this.

"Really now?" He asked. "I really doubt they're all that. The kids can handle it."

"And it seems you too don't know." Neptu said. "They can't. Even if one or two fall, they can't lose." Natsu felt his stomach turning at this.

"Why not?" He demanded.

"It's impossible." Neptu said. "They're blessed. If one, two, or three fall they will get right back up. They'll win by exhaustion if necessary." Natsu felt a bit sick and turned to look over the battlefield again.

_Be careful kids. I don't know what this guys on about, but if he isn't joking, we're in this for the long run._

* * *

Simon used the club to make sure he could stand, and watched as Tristan just stood there, eyes mocking him as he stood.

It was ridiculous. Divine Territory gave him such an insane advantage that there was no way any of them were actually expected to do anything.

"Come on kids, there really isn't any reason to keep going." Tristan told them. "Just give up. You won't be able to beat me."

"I thought we just told you to shut your trap already." Nami hissed. "We're not giving up just because you think it's what's best." Tristan shrugged.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." Tristan raised his own hand, and Simon tensed.

He wasn't prepared for Tristan's blast to explode in his own face. He watched as the man flew backwards and landed hard.

"What the hell happened?" Nami asked. as Tristan struggled to his feet. The dome above them rippled. Simon watched in awe as the bright white light of Divine Territory slowly became many different colors at the same time.

"What the hell is happening?" Tristan demanded. "What did you kids do?"

"Over here." Simon turned at this to find Juno standing behind them, smirking. Her right hand was glowing, and she looked pretty proud of herself.

"What did you do, Juno?" Nami asked.

"I executed the plan." She replied.

"Which was what, exactly?" Simon asked. Juno raised her hand and waved it around.

"I used my own magic to make Divine Territory work for me, not Tristan." Simon stared at the girl in awe. How had she managed that. "It was simple, really. My territory infected his."

"So, what you're saying is..." Nami started. Juno nodded.

"Divine Territory is under _my _control now."

**Looks like a good spot to leave the first chapter of the New Year. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**

_**Chapter 256:Archangel**_


	256. Archangel

**Sorry for the wait, guys. Time got away from me. **

**Enjoy!**

Simon stared at Juno, not even bothering to hide his surprise.

"You did what?" He asked. Juno still looked pretty proud of herself.

"I took Divine Territory away from him." She said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "It's my spell now."

"How?" Nami asked. Juno made a face.

"Explaining would likely confuse you both more." She replied. "Let's just say Territory magic works on the principle of dimensions. Divine Territory is, technically, a dimension created by Tristan where he's in control. I had to fiddle with it for a while, but I managed to get a hold of the reins of this place." With this, Juno's hand glowed brightly. "And now I think it's time for a little payback." Looking back, Simon found that Tristan looked rather shocked as well.

"Well well well." He said. "Looks like I underestimated you, kid. That's pretty impressive."

"Thanks." Juno replied. "But enough talk. Let's see how you like the laws of magic fighting you." Juno's hand glowed even brighter. "Simon's Meteor goes as fast as it's supposed to. Nami's gravity magic affects Tristan." Grinning, Simon wasted no time in taking off, Meteor once again flying at the correct speed. He flew right into Tristan and tackled him, causing him to fly into the air. He didn't get to stay there long, because soon he crashed back down to earth because of Nami's gravity magic. He struggled to his feet, but Simon wasted no time in tackling him again.

"Juno!" He called. "Start undoing more of his shit! We can do this!"

"I'm on it!" Juno replied. "Simon's blasts no longer explode in his face, and no matter what they will always strike their intended target! Nami can boost herself with Gravity magic! Tristan's holy blasts are weaker, slower, and he can't fly around with holy light! I can transport myself through my Territory again!" Simon watched as Juno's commands systematically destroyed Tristan's chances at having a chance in the fight, and soon he felt pretty excited to return the ass kicking he'd been giving them when he had control of the dome. Simon raised his arms and blasted Tristan with holy magic, the recoil from the shots increased power sending with flying backwards. Tristan flew ever farther once the blast struck him, and Simon watched as he once again slammed into the earth thanks to Nami. he just barely managed to get up before she slammed her blade down into the ground, causing a shockwave to alter the gravity around Tristan. He flew into the air, and Simon met him there and punch hm back into the dirt. Once again Tristan hit the dirt, and he struggled to stand. Just as he almost did it, Juno appeared through Territory and delivered an explosive kick to him, forcing him back even more.

"Damn..." Simon heard him mutter. "That hurt..."

"We aren't done with you yet." Simon said, landing gently. "Get up. If you." Simon watched and waited for Tristan to make a move, but all he did was struggle to his feet.

"You know, it's funny." He said. "I never would have imagine I'd have to fight someone who could take control of my technique."

"There's always someone stronger." Nami said. "Looks like you found her." Tristan brushed his arms off, and looked up at them.

"You kids just don't get it." He said. "Your cause is empty, and it's sad."

"What are you talking about?" Simon asked. Tristan snorted.

"People who grew up living cushy comfortable lives would never understand." he said, body glowing brightly. "The loss you'd have to endure to see our point of view clearly...It's immense."

"Man, you people love spouting off bullshit." Juno said. "Can we just end you already?"

"Bullshit?" Tristan asked. "Let me tell you what's bullshit. Trying to make the world a better place, and getting stopped by a bunch of kids who don't see the point of something unless it aligns with their personal views. The things I've seen, the other members of the Cross, Neptu, we've got more than enough reason to stomp any demon that crosses our path. And yet we're being upheld by a bunch of kids who don't know any better."

"Just shut up already." Simon said, anger rearing up inside him. "You don't know the first thing about us, or how we've lived. Let me tell you what, you're not the only one's who faced death against a demon." Simon thought back to watching Damien get tossed around like a rag doll against Taisho. "I've been on the opposing end of a Demon Lord before. A psychopathic, indifferent monster who wanted nothing more than to use us all as his personal play things."

"And even after that, you stand in our way." Tristan said. "The ignorance of youth is more baffling than I remember."

"And do you know who rose in my defense?" Simon asked, ignoring Tristan's last comment. "I'll tell you who it was. Another Demon Lord, the one your friend ran through a couple days ago." Simon tried to block the memories of Damien puking up blood and being near transparent, but they came regardless. "Not everyone is the same. Where Taisho was too far gone, Damien wasn't. They were, and are, different people. Gin is no different. I don't know what demons have done to you in your past to make you feel as though the path you walk is righteous, and frankly I don't care. All I know is that an innocent mans life is in danger solely because of who he is, and I'm not going to let it happen if I can help it." Nami chuckled.

"Well spoken, Scarlet." She said.

"Hit the nail on the head, really." Juno agreed. Simon watched Tristan, who seemed to be thinking. After a moment or two, he clicked his teeth.

"I tried." He muttered just loud enough for Simon to hear. "But it seems like I was right. You won't get it. Not until every thing you love gets ripped away from you like it was for me and so many others." He looked up at them again, a gleam in his eye now. "And I await the day you finally see the other side.

With this, Juno cried out in pain. Turning, Simon noticed that the multicolored glow around her, and of the dome around them, was fluctuating between all sorts of different colors, and bright white.

"Juno, what's wrong?!" Nami asked.

"He's trying to regain control of Divine Territory!" She shouted. "Bastards going right after my control of the dome!"

"Nami, let's go!" Simon said, turning to Tristan preparing to attack.

"No, don't!" Juno shouted. Simon froze and looked back at her, and she seemed nervous.

"What?" He demanded. At this, Tristan laughed.

"Looks like she knows more than I assumed." he said. "Clever girl."

"What?!" Nami demanded.

"Control of Divine Territory is fluctuating." Tristan replied. "I'm fighting her for control-" He winced in pain. "And she's fighting back."

"And while it's like this, the added boosts to your magic could become...Dangerous." Juno hissed, gripping her head tightly. "It might still explode in your face, but it could also have the added boost of being stronger." Simon's eyes widened as he realized what this meant.

"So, basically..." He started. Nami nodded.

"We have to wait until one of them wins."

* * *

Elise dodged another of Sentine's attacks and clubbed it in the chest, sending it flying backwards. She followed this up with an Iron Dragon Roar, which the thing stopped with it's sledgehammer, before it swung it down at Elise, who dodged the hit as best she could. She landed and heard someone else slid behind her. Turning, she found Ultear back to back with her.

"Any luck?" The ice wizard asked, out of breath.

"No." Elise replied. "These things aren't as weak as they look."

"Yeah, agreed." Ultear said. "And hey, listen. Reyna's got a plan." Elise perked up at this.

"Really?" She asked. "Please indulge me on it." Ultear nodded, the two still watching their opponents carefully to look for any attacks.

"She wants us to distract the guardians while she goes after Abigail. Think we can do that?"

"Cover all three of them for her?" Elise demanded, making Ultear nod. "Jeez, who does she think we are? We can barely handle one on our own, much less a two against three."

"Don't worry about it." Ultear said, smirking. "We still have a little trick up our sleeve." Elise raised an eyebrow at this, but soon she noted the white glow coming from Ultear, and it dawned on her.

"Oh, I get it." She said, also smirking. "They aren't alive are they?"

"I hope not." Ultear replied. "Otherwise we're going to have a bigger problem than I imagined."

"Agreed." Elise replied, before turning to look at Reyna fighting Aurath. "Hey, Reyna!" Reyna spared her a look. "You ready?"

"Whenever you two are!" She replied, reaching down into her shirt. Elise decided to ask later why the hell she kept her secrets in between her cleavage.

"Alright, get to it!" Reyna nodded, and ran towards them. Aurath was in hot pursuit, so Elise and Ultear sprang into action. As Reyna reached them, she dove over them, and Elise and Ultear went for Aurath. Elise clubbed it in the chest to stop it's advance, and Ultear sprayed it in the face with water.

"Any idea what the plan is?" Elise hissed.

"Don't know." Ultear hissed. "All she did was show me a flask."

"A flask?!" Elise demanded, turning and swinging her sword arm at Vissi and Sentine, who were approaching them now. "What's she planning, to have a god damn drinking contest?!"

"How the hell would I know?!" Ultear demanded as the three guardians closed in on them. Elise watched as Ultear's hand glowed white, and as they did so all three guardians began to slow down considerably. While their advance didn't stop, they did become sluggish.

"What the hell is this?!" Abigail demanded. "What are you doing to my creations?!"

"Little thing called Arc of Time." Ultear replied, smirking. "I've advanced your little creations towards a time where you no longer have any need of them. Actually..." Ultear's hands brightened a bit, and all three guards slowly started to waste away in front of them. Soon their was nothing left but holy magic floating around in the air, but Ultear wasn't done. Her hands brightened again. Aurath, Vissi and Sentine slowly began to reform, but this time their backs were to Elise and Ultear, and they faced Abigail.

"Ul?" Elise asked weakly.

"Yes?" Ultear asked innocently.

"Did you just, uh...?"

"Pull a Kronos?" She asked. "Yep. Abigail can thank that old bastard for me turning her own creations against her." Elise watched as all three of them charged at Abigail, who barely had time to dodge before her own creations bore down on her. Elise did nothing but watched as the three of them assaulted their master, throwing her every which way with the power from their swings.

"This is insane!" Abigail shouted, waving her hand. "Disperse Aurath, Vissi, Sentine!" Just before the three of them got to her, they disappeared.

"I guess they still worked for her in some ways." Elise said as Abigail caught her breath.

"What kind of magic was that?" Abigail hissed. "One that could turn my own creations against me..."

"Arc of Time is pretty interesting, but we don't really have time to talk about it." Ultear replied. "It's over, Abigail. You can't use any more of your summons against us."

"This is ridiculous...All this fire over a monster."

"Than how about we stop it?" At Ultear's suggestion, Abigail laughed.

"No, that isn't possible." She replied. "The fight will end with Gin coming with us, that much has been decided already. But first, I'll have to get rid of you insufferable kids." Abigail brought her hands together, and Elise tensed.

"Oi, Abby!" Elise looked around in confusion at this. Finally, her eyes landed on Reyna, who was standing off to the side. As all eyes reached her, she burped and dropped the flash, now empty, on the ground next to her. "It is over, so stop your blabbering.

"Is that so?" Abigail asked. "What, did you stop for a quick drink?" Reyna smirked, and then hiccuped.

"That I did." She said. "So you'd be wise to give it up before I come over there."

"Reyna, what are you doing?" Elise asked.

"I got this, Elise." Reyna replied, now a little pink in the face. Abigail snorted.

"If you really want to end it now, than show me." She said. At first there was silence between the pair, but after Abigail began to glow once more Reyna acted.

Elise watched as Reyna surged forward, moving erratically, before reaching Abigail.

And once she did, Reyna slammed her open palm right into Abigail's face.

With an explosion of force, the woman was sent flying backwards, landing a fair distance away before coming to a stop.

"Holy hell, what was that?!" Elise asked.

"Of course..." Ultear mumbled. "How did I forget?"

"What?" Elise asked. Ultear smiled.

"We forgot who Reyna's dad is." She replied. At this, Elise smirked.

"Oh." She replied, looking back over at Reyna, who was wavering as she stood still. Ultear hummed in agreement.

"Never thought I'd get to see Drunken Hawk in action."

* * *

Simon could do nothing but watch as Divine Territory rippled all around them, and that was due to Tristan and Juno having a power struggle for control of the dome. So far nothing outrageous had happened, but he really just had to wait for it at this point.

"This is crazy..." He mumbled.

"Come on, Juno..." Nami hissed. "You've got to beat him for control." Just as Nami said this, Juno cried out, and the color around them became more white than anything.

"I can feel your resolve weakening, kid." Tristan said. "Come on, just give me my spell back."

"Go...To...Hell...!" Juno hissed, but she didn't seem to gain anymore ground. After a few more seconds of struggling, Juno was down on one knee, struggling to stay up. Simon couldn't see the struggle she was in, but judging from what he could see it wasn't going well. Tristan laughed.

"You're inexperienced with Territory dimensions!" He said. "Never had to keep control of one against someone aiming to take it away! No matter. I've taken back enough. My spells do quadruple damage, and explode upon impact." Once he said this, he raised a hand and it started to glow. Juno was on her hands and knees at this point, still struggling for control.

"Juno, come on!" Nami shouted. "He's going to get you!"

"I can't stand back here and watch," Simon hissed. Running to Juno's side, he tried to help her up to her feet, which was harder than he felt it should be. "Come on, Juno. You'l be alright."

"...Simon." Simon paused as Juno whispered his name. "We have one chance to knock this prick out."

"Huh?"

"Listen closely." She replied, using his shoulder as a grip. "I'm going to use the last of my control over Divine Territory to unlock your magic inventory. Once I do, use your Adamantine armor to protect you and Nami."

"Why?" Simon asked weakly. Once Juno looked at him, he saw the fire of determination in her eyes.

"Cause this explosion ain't gonna be pretty." She hissed. "Ready?" Simon stared at her for a moment, but nodded, swallowing hard. "Alright, go!" Releasing Juno, Simon sprinted to Nami just as the blast in Tristan's hand burst forward towards Juno, who was now alone. Simon requipped, feeling the armor form around him. Pivoting around, Simon planted his feet firmly on the ground and brought the shield up.

"Get ready!" He told Nami, who also braced. The blast roared towards Juno, who still remained still.

And then, just like that, the blast and Juno were gone. Simon made a face and peered over his shield to look, but he didn't see her anywhere.

"What the hell?" Tristan asked aloud. "Where did she...?" Just as he asked this, Simon watched a Territory hole appeared behind him.

Juno appeared from it, the blast that had been aimed at her coming right from her hands.

"Eat this, asshole!" He heard her scream.

_BOOM!_

* * *

Michael along with the others and Elizabeth paused at the explosion in the distance. Elizabeth made a face and duh around in her shirt, bringing out a small cross necklace. The head and right arm were both blacked out, and she seemed surprised.

"Two at once, huh?" She asked, her hand and subsequently, the cross glowing. "Get up. We aren't done."

_Get up...? Her chest was glowing when she got back up as well..._

_I don't know what that thing is, but I feel like it's got something to do with why she didn't stay done. Maybe the others too._

* * *

"Ah, hold it." Quinn said, taking out the necklace again. "Looks like someone fell." He made a face, but Steph didn't know over what. "Damn, Tristy and Abby? Get up, jeez." Steph watched the necklace once again glow and float, but she had no idea why it was doing that.

"I get the feeling that thing isn't good." She muttered.

* * *

"Once the blast had finished, and the Adamantine shield had damn near broken, Simon brought it down and looked around at the damage. The dome of Divine Territory was dispersing around them, and looking towards the two combatants revealed Juno standing over Tristan. Her clothes were all torn up and blood leaked from open cuts, but she stood.

Tristan was spread eagle on the ground, a huge hole torched into his chest.

"Holy fuck..." Nami hissed. "She directed that boosted blast within her own Territory and got it so close it didn't matter if it blew up in her face or not." Simon knew this to be true, but he didn't waste any time in running to Juno as she nearly fell. He caught her, and smiled down at her.

"That was pretty risky, don't you think?" he asked.

"Well it worked didn't it?" She asked, coughing violently. "Is he down?" Simon looked down towards Tristan, who did look pretty out cold.

"Yeah, I think you got him." He said as Nami approached them.

"Good work you guys!" She said. "You especially Juju."

"Shut your..." She coughed again. "...Mouth." Nami laughed.

"Well, let's go and knock some more heads, maybe get Juno to Winter. She must be around here somewhere."

"Good idea. Let's go." Simon said. Despite her objections, Simon helped Juno walk away from the battlefield. She deserved it, after that whole show.

"We should make sure everyone's okay." he said. "Maybe we should split up."

"You think so?" Nami asked. "I'm not sure that's a good-"

Nami was cut off as a wall of light appeared in front of them. Simon made a face and looked up, and watched as it arced all the way into the sky.

It appeared to be making a dome.

"Tch, you kids thought all of that would do me in?" Simon's spine went cold, and he felt Juno tense up.

"There's no fucking way..." She hissed. "That blast hit him point blank..." Simon slowly turned.

Standing where he'd been down only a moment ago was Tristan, shirt blown open but otherwise looked perfectly fine.

"How?" Nami asked. "He should be out for the count, but he looks fine!"

"What did I tell you kids?" He asked. "You aren't going to win. It's not possible."

* * *

"Trust me, she ain't getting up from that one." Reyna said, hiccuping again. "I hit her pretty damn hard."

"I could tell that." Elise replied, looking over at Abigail. She still hadn't moved, so Elise could only assume the hit had knocked her right out.

"Let's not waste any time." Ultear said, "This fight is far from over. There's still grunts and the other Cross members. Not to mention Neptu."

"We should get going then." Reyna said. "Otherwise-?" Reyna paused, probably because of the light coming from behind them. Elise watched as the light that was emanating from Abigail grew, before it suddenly stopped.

Before Elise could ask any questions, Abigail began to stand up.

"Uh, what?" Reyna demanded.

"She's getting back up." Elise said. "You sure you hit her as hard as you could?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Reyna replied.

"You're also drunk." Ultear noted. Abigail brushed herself off, but when she spoke, she sounded mad.

"You kids turned my own creations against me..." She hissed. "And delivered such a devastating blow directly to my face...Such arrogance." Finally standing up straight, Elise felt her stomach knotting up as the woman began to glow bright white.

"Looks like we're having another bout." Ultear said. "Get ready!" Elise waited as Abigail glowed, and soon the woman raised her right arm to the sky. A gigantic white magic circle appeared there.

"Descend to my aid!" She screamed. "Archangel Gabriel!"

**I love doing this to you guys, I'll admit it. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**

_**Chapter 257: None of That Matters**_


	257. None of That Matters

**Wow, I really need to step up my scheduling. **

**Enjoy!**

Descend to my aid! Archangel Gabriel!" Elise shielded her eyes as light once again blinded her, but this time her stomach turned much more.

"Whatever this is," she called out. "I don't like it!"

"Stay on guard!" Ultear shouted. "Whatever this thing is, it's definitely stronger than the last three!"

* * *

"Hm?" Simon made a face as Tristan looked off to the side. Simon couldn't see out of Divine Territory, but Tristan looked concerned.

"Really?" He asked. "Abby, you know you haven't managed to complete that."

* * *

As Steph bounced back away from Quinn, he looked confused.

"Ah shit..." She heard him mutter as light shone brightly from behind him. "She's really doing it?"

* * *

Elizabeth looked frightened as the light shone brighter, but Drake had no idea why.

"What is that light?" Keita asked. "It burns on the inside."

"I don't like it." Drake said.

* * *

Natsu watched as Neptu paused, the attack he had prepared disappearing from his hand. Natsu turned and looked where Neptu was, seeing a gigantic circle of light in the sky.

"That isn't good." he heard Neptu say. "I didn't realize it would come to this."

"What're you talking about?" Natsu demanded. "What is that?" Neptu closed his eyes.

"Each Member of the Cross has an ultimate technique." He replied. "From what I can tell, only Elizabeth has yet to utilize it." He opened his eyes again and looked at Natsu. "Abigail calls her, The Archangel." Natsu looked back over at the circle of light in the distance, and a knot formed in his stomach.

"Be careful kids." He hissed. "It's not over yet."

* * *

Elise had finally regained enough of her vision to watch what was happening, but all she could see was a giant white magic circle.

But soon, something started to happen.

Elise watched as a pair of feet came out of the bottom of the circle, and soon the legs came with it.

"Holy fuck..." Reyna whispered, her hair flickering around in the wind around them. "It's massive!"

"I really don't like this..." Elise murmured. She watched as more and more of the creature appeared,, and soon it's entire body but it's head had come out. It appeared to be dressed in a tunic of sorts, and in it's right hand it held a staff. So far, it easily stood over thirty feet tall. Looking back at Abigail, Elise noted the woman was sweating.

"id she say again?" Ultear asked. "Archangel?"

"Yeah, and that doesn't-!" Elise had been in the middle of replying when the head of the archangel appeared.

A pearly stone cold face was on it.

"It's got a face..." Reyna muttered.

"This is still really creepy."Ultear said. Elise watched as the circle above the archangel disappeared, and Abigail doubled over. She was panting now, apparently whatever she'd just done caused a great deal of exertion.

"Gabriel!" She shouted. "Can you hear me?! Gabriel!" At first the being, Gabriel, did not respond. "Gabriel! I need you!"

And at this, Gabriel's eyes snapped open. He had no pupils, but his eyes shone a brighter white than his body.

"Mistress?" he asked, voice echoed and hollow. Yet somehow it sounded alert. "Where are you, mistress?"

"Behind you, ya big bastard." Gabriel turned around, which was a much bigger ordeal when your thirty feet tall, and knelt down in front of Abigail. She laughed through the exhaustion and stood up straight.

"You spoke." She said. "You really did."

"I am as you created me." Gabriel replied. "The vision you saw inside has been given shape."

"Indeed, Gabriel...Indeed." For some reason, Elise could see tears forming around Abigail's eyes as she looked at Gabriel. "I'm so happy...He'd have been so proud of me."

"What is that thing?" Ultear called out. At this, Gabriel stood back up straight and began to turn, looking down at Ultear.

"I am an embodiment of Mistress' magic power." He spoke. "My designation is Gabriel."

"What are you, Gabriel?" Reyna asked.

"As I said, I am the embodiment of mistress' magic power." He replied. "She created me from the ground up. She is my mother, my everything. My life is hers to wield as she pleases."

"So just another pawn in her sick games." Elise reasoned. "I see."

"No," Abigail spoke up. When looked at her, Elise noted she was wiping away the tears she saw before. "Gabriel means so much more to me than that. He was the ultimate test, the final project of my power...And it's worked. After so long...I managed to give him shape."

"Anyone else feel like she's going crazy over there?" Reyna muttered.

"It seems this incarnation of light means more to her." Ultear said. "That's why it can speak and has a face."

"But why, exactly?" Elise asked. Both other girls shrugged. "Well, whatever. Ul, think he'll work for us?" Ultear smirked.

"No use in not trying." She replied. She raised her hands, and they glowed white.

Nothing happened.

Elise made a face, but Ultear seemed just as confused.

"What happened?" she asked.

"It's not working." Ultear replied, sounding shaken. "I'm trying to send him to a timeline where he helps us, but it isn't working."

"Any idea why?" Reyna asked. Ultear stared down at the ground, before her eyes widened.

"Well," she said. "Arc of Time doesn't affect living targets..." Elise felt her stomach twist at this. She slowly looked back at Gabriel, who stood between them and Abigail like a sentry.

"Are you saying that giant mass of light is alive?" She hissed.

"It can't be," Reyna hissed. "Magic can't just create life."

"Well you explain it to me then." Ultear said. "Why won't he help us?"

"Allow me to explain." Gabriel said. "Your surprise indicates you expected such a spell to work on me."

"Well, yeah." Elise replied.

"It did not work because such spells will not work on me." He replied simply. "Indirect attacks will not hit me."

"Say again?"

"Gabriel isn't affected by anything but a direct assault." Abigail jumped in. "The light protects him."

"Well put mistress." Gabriel said. "Now, do you have any orders?" Abigail nodded.

"Yes. Please dispatch the three children in our way."

"As you wish, mistress." At this, Gabriel readied his staff. Elise allowed her skin to become covered in iron.

"Direct assault, huh?" She asked. "I think we'll be able to manage. You ready girls?"

"As I'll ever be." Ultear replied, water and ice whipping around her.

"Let's do this." Reyna replied.

* * *

"Guys, hold up." Drake stopped and looked over at Michael, who had called out to him and Keita before they'd jumped Elizabeth again. "I have an idea."

"Oh please share." Keita said. Michael nodded.

"Listen. When we defeated her the first time, her chest was glowing when she stood back up, right?" Drake made a face and thought back to this.

"Yeah..." He mumbled.

"And just a moment ago, she took out something from her shirt and made it glow. A necklace or something."

"Where are you going with this?" Keita demanded.

"I think that necklace is what prevents her from being defeated." Michael said. "Whatever it is, it's stopping her from losing. That's why she always says we can't win, because she'll keep getting up until we can't." Drake had to admit the theory was a bit out there, but did they really have anything else to go on.

"Okay, so what should we do?" He asked. "Attack it?"

"Probably wouldn't work." Keita said. "It's inside her magics protective barrier." Michael nodded at this.

"Right, so we can't do that." He said. "I do have an idea, though."

"What?" Drake asked, and Michael pointed to the sky. Looking up, Drake noted the Christina still hovering above the battlefield, dropping bombs on grunts who were attacks other people who'd come for backup.

"We need to get this to Ken." He said. "Our info, anyway. If Elizabeth has one of these necklaces, I'm willing to bet the other members of the Cross do as well. We need to see if Archive has anything about it."

"That means we'd be leaving her alone." Keita said. "She'd go and gang up on somebody else."

"Not if only one of us goes." Drake spoke up. They all went silent at this. Michael made a face.

"Decreasing our numbers against her would be a bad idea," he said. "But we can't let the numbers increase for somebody else.

"I'll do it." Keita said. "I can become a shadow and get up to the Christina that way. Making them land not only puts them in danger, but it takes more time. Time isn't something we have."

"Sounds good." Drake said.

"You sure, man?" Michael asked.

"Of course I am." He replied, beginning to walk away. "You just make sure she stays occupied."

"Thanks man." Drake said. "Good luck." Keita smirked as he turned to them.

"I don't need the luck." He replied. "I can get up the the ship just fine. Will you guys be okay?"

"Just go already." Michael said. Keita nodded and melted into the ground, a shadow fleeing the fight.

"Where's your friend going?" Elizabeth asked. "Running away?"

"Yeah he's a pansy." Michael replied. "Besides we didn't need him."

"That a fact?" Elizabeth asked. "That why when it was the three of you you still couldn't beat me?"

"He's dead weight." Michael excused, waving his hand. "We'll do better with him gone." Drake knew Michael was only saying that because he was bluffing. He really had no idea what they were to do. He knew because Drake had similar feelings. They were in a bad place.

"So what's the plan?" He asked in a low tone. "Surely you have one other than to wait and see if you were right about the necklace."

"Sure I do." He said. "Remember what I told you last week?" Drake made a face, but soon he smirked.

"Oh I do alright." He said, turning back to face Elizabeth. "Ready?"

"When you are." Drake smirked.

At this, both His and Michael's bodies erupted with their respective element. He could feel Michael's magic power increasing, and felt his own arms becoming scaly and and his own power increasing as well.

Michael had dubbed this Poison Drive.

_"It's a magic amplification technique, like Keita and I have." _He recalled Michael telling him. _"Poison Drive, if you will."_

Drake knew that he was more powerful in this state, but they'd keep Dragon Force for later. Pulling out that now would only heighten Elizabeth's chancing of turning it around on them.

"What is this?" The woman in question asked. "Your magic power has increased quite a bit."

"Let's just say we have been holding back a little for such a pretty lady." Michael said, voice heavy with confidence. "Now, let's see how effective your armor is!" Michael shot forward, fist reared back. Elizabeth didn't bother raising her arms to defend herself, and Michael's punch struck her abdomen.

Drake watched as the woman's face contorted in pain as she slid backwards on her feet. She didn't fall or even come close, but the boosted punch had clearly done more damage to her.

"Woah..." He heard her breath. "That was so much more powerful than a second ago..."

"That's kind of the point." Drake said. "Let's go, Michael!"

"Already ahead of you!"

* * *

"It seems the fighting is getting even more intense than before." Neptu said, explosions in the distance. Natsu was still lying down, the pain lessening. "Perhaps this will be closer than I anticipated."

"Closer?" Natsu demanded, getting on one knee. "You're damn right it will be. Those Cross members are putting up a much bigger fight than I had expected." He looked up to find Neptu regarding him coldly. "You'll see. It's only a matter of time.

"Indeed." Neptu agreed. "Only a matter of time until those kids fall over and don't get back up. And then, Once we've recovered, we will find Gin and take him with us, as he intended to. And we'll kill him and the demon he harbors inside."

"Do you ever shut your fucking mouth?" Natsu hissed. "I've told you a million times. You're not getting anywhere near Gin!"

"So you say, so you say." Neptu replied. "You could never understand. The path I walk has lead me here, and I know what must be done."

"Yeah yeah." Natsu hissed, getting to his feet. "You seem to like throwing your life story in everyone's face at a moments notice."

"When someone obstructs the path of justice, then yes, I will share it with them." Neptu replied. "The things I've seen, what the members of the Cross had seen...All of my hunters, it's all we need to know. Gin, and all demons, will die."

"Just shut the fuck up!" Natsu shouted. "None of that matters, you here me?! I don't care how many times demons have ruined you, or the others! Gin is still a good kid, and killing him doesn't make you a god damn saint! You're just a man high on his own delusions!"

"...None of that matters?" Neptu asked, looking down at his feet. "None of it _matters_? Let me tell you what does matter, Natsu." At this, Natsu felt the battlefield around them rumble. "When I was little, the Demon Drakhosz stole everything from me. My mother, my father, and eventually caused the rift between me and my sister. I lost everything I cared about to the flames of pain. Elizabeth, too, lost her family to him. Tristan, Quinn, Abigail, other hunters, all of them have experienced what happens when demons are not kept in check." Natsu made a face at this.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Natsu said. "But that doesn't make this right. What about those who care for Gin? They'll experience the same loss."

"The boy knows nothing of loss." Neptu seethed, the ground rumbling again. Allow me to share a story or two with you, Natsu. Quinn, The Base of the Cross, lived in a small village. His father was a blacksmith. He was killed by a demon."

* * *

Steph grimaced as the swords heat forced her back. It was on a whole other level than Nashi's fire. Not hotter, just hurt more.

"Any more tricks up your sleeve?" Quinn asked.

* * *

"He hopes that by creating weapons of light, he can avenge his father and make sure no one else goes through what he did." He said. "Elizabeth, the Left Arm, lost her family to Drakhosz as well."

* * *

Drake drove another fist into Elizabeth, causing her to stumble back.

"God damn it..." She seethed as Michael took Drake's place to attack her again.

* * *

"She hopes to become strong enough, so that no one - demon or not - will ever be able to hurt her again." He finished, but started again. Tristan, The Right Arm, nearly died in a wrecked hotel in his hometown. No bodies were ever recovered save his."

* * *

Simon covered both girls with his Adamantine shield, despite the cracks in was receiving.

"Stop hiding, kids!" He heard Tristan shout. "You won't solve anything by cowering behind a wall!"

* * *

"He hopes to create a world where everyone can be happy and obey laws set in stone." Neptu said. "And finally, Abigail, the head of The Cross, wants nothing more than to see her family one last time, and to tell them she's sorry for being weak. And above all else, her father. His name was Gabriel. Was, anyway"

* * *

Elise grimaced as the staff hit her in the gut and she was sent flying. She managed to recover well enough, but they hadn't managed to get past Gabriel yet.

And yet, the smile on Abigail's face wasn't mean. It looked genuine.

* * *

"Stories like this are all to common within my ranks, Natsu." Neptu said. "And you have the stomach, the guts, to stand here and tell me that none of that matters? That hundreds of lost lives don't mean a god damn thing to you?" Neptu erupted in purple flames at this. "No. I will not stand for that. I won't let hundreds of cries go unheard."

"What happened to you and yours is awful." Natsu replied, also erupting in flames. "And I'd hunt down the monster who did it until the end of time. If, however, he wasn't attached to a lonely, innocent kid who wants nothing more than to be left alone!" Natsu gritted his teeth. "You just refuse to see the connection, don't you?! The creature that killed your family and countless others is separate from the person attached to them!"

"Unfortunate losses." Neptu said. "But I think one life is enough of a cost for possibly thousands." Natsu glowered.

"I suppose that's why we stand on opposite sides of the battlefield." Neptu took a deep breath.

"You're right. It is."

* * *

Laxus made a face as he heard an explosion in the distance. The fight had been going on for quite some time now, and he could only hope that it was going well. Of course it was, he had faith in the others.

Looking up, Laxus noted Lucy wandering around the center of the guild hall looking confused.

"Lucy." he called, earning her attention. "What're you doing?"

"Oh, hey Laxus." She said. "I was just looking around the guild hall?"

"For what?" Laxus asked. Lucy sighed and looked around again.

"It's just..." She said, hugging herself. "I feel like I haven't seen Nashi in a while."

**And I did it again, didn't I? I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**

_**Chapter 258: The Blessing**_


	258. The Blessing

**Hello there, guys. Sorry for the extended wait, but being in a car crash tends to leave people a bit sore, you know what I mean? I had to take a little while to recover.**

**Enjoy!**

Once Drake delivered another fist to Elizabeth and drove her back, he paused and watched as Michael roared past him and kneed her in the gut, sending her rearing backwards in pain.

"Shit..." She hissed. "I've never seen my armor enchants be broken through like this..."

"Guess you're just not as good at this as you thought." Michael told her. "Now come on, let's keep this going." Elizabeth sighed as she wiped at her cheek and stood up straight.

"Well, I guess I have to join everybody else then." She said. "Sorry boys, but you've had your fun. It's time this ends already." Drake watched as she raised her hands together and began to glow white. He watched as another layer of magic coated over here, but this time it caused her skin to glow brightly.

"I don't like the looks of that." He muttered in Michael's direction. "Stay alert."

"Got it." Michael replied. Drake watched as Elizabeth finished her incantation, and then returned her gaze to them.

"Well?" She asked. "What're you waiting for?"

"She's baiting us." Michael observed. "Do we take it?"

"Do we have any choice?" Drake retorted. "This entire fight has been us after her. She's not going to change it up now."

"Eyes open, then." Michael replied, tensing up. "She's pulled something else out of her pocket." Drake nodded before he rocketed towards the woman, and punched her right in the gut. He watched her reel from the blow and cough a bit as she staggered back, but she smirked at Drake.

"Ouch, nice one." She said. "Hows it feel?" Drake made a face at this, unsure as to what she meant.

Before he could voice his confusion, Drake shouted out in pain as something rock solid impacted his gut and sent him off the ground and right onto his back. He coughed up something between blood and spit and rolled around, gasping for air.

"Drake!" he heard Michael shout, ears ringing. "You okay?! What happened?!"

"S-She did something..." Drake managed, sitting up weakly and wiping at his face with his sleeve. Blood coated his arm. "What happened?"

"She didn't even move when you got hit." Michael said. Drake watched the woman regain herself, and watch them carefully.

"Anyone else?" She asked.

"You wanna have a go?" Drake asked Michael. Nodding, the blonde ran towards Elizabeth and delivered a blow to her with magic at point blank. Elizabeth blocked it with her arms, but she still slid across the ground from the power behind the blast. Watching closely, Elizabeth only stood up straight once more.

At this, a small explosion erupted around Michael, sending him careening into the air.

"What the...?" Drake muttered, watching Michael hit the ground hard and roll around in pain. "She didn't do anything..."

"I consider this my strongest enchant." Elizabeth said. Turning back to her, she seemed to be quite happy with herself despite the blood trickling from her nose. "I call it the Double Take."

"What the hell does it do?" Drake asked. Elizabeth coughed.

"It...It deals back any damage done to me to my attacker." She said, Drake's eyes widening. "The hit that send you back? The force of your own punch. The blast your friend took? The power from his own."

"Why the hell do you seem fine, then?" Michael asked weakly from behind Drake. Elizabeth smiled.

"Did you boys forget about the armor enchant?" She asked. "Your attacks still hurt all right, but the full force hit you." Drake tried to stand, but groaned as his body resisted. Had he broken something? He really hoped he hadn't. He struggled to his feet and coughed up more blood.

"Michael!" He called. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Michael replied. "I'm doing just fine over here..."

"Good." He said, staggering a bit. "Because we have a mission."

"Oh yeah?" Michael asked. "What's that." Drake wiped at his mouth again, and looked up to glare at Elizabeth.

"Take down this bitch before we kill ourselves." He heard Michael laugh from behind him.

"Seems like fun." He said. "I'll beat you to it."

* * *

Steph stumbled backwards, panting. She hadn't been able to get past Quinn's new blade, just like Terra. Quinn just watched her, obviously waiting for her to make a move.

"Getting tired?" He asked, waving the blade around. Steph neglected to answer him. She just wanted him to shut up, mostly. The more he talked, the more irritated she got. Of course she figured that was what he was going for. Rile her up so she lost focus.

"You alright, Steph?" Terra asked. She seemed to be okay, but Steph could see bruises and cuts on her arms and body.

"For the most part." She replied. "You have any ideas?" Terra remained silent at this. "Because for far I don't have much."

"Ever since you got in between him and that blade, he's been on high alert." Terra said. "But that's our way out of this. We need to get between him and the blade." Steph knew this, it was obvious. But doing that was easier said than done by a mile.

"Alright, here's the plan." Steph said, rolling her shoulders. " I'm going to try and get the blade away from him. Once you see the opening, pummel him with rock. Got it?"

"Can you handle it?" Steph watched Quinn wave the blade around at this question, swallowing hard.

"I'll manage." She said. "Let's go." Steph took off towards Quinn, electrifying herself as she made it to him. She swerved away from the swing Quinn went for and attempted to sweep his legs out from under him, but he jumped and rolled away from her. Steph sensed another swing coming, so she bent herself away from it, but she still felt her skin smoldering from the blade. Steph watched as Terra sent rock pillars at Quinn as his back was now turned to her, but Quinn turned and cleaved through them without an issue.

"Ooh, almost." Quinn said. "But not quite." Steph growled and flew at him again, sparks flying as she threw lightning at him. Many of her attacks hit the blade and deflected away, but one struck him in the midsection and caused him to jump in pain. Steph used this opportunity to get close, but Quinn had been ready and the two were now engaged in another grapple. Grunting, Steph angled the man towards Terra.

"Hit him!" She shouted. "She's open!"

"Am I?" Quinn asked. In that moment, Steph felt the weight of the struggle shift, and now she was in Terra's sights instead. She could hear Terra making frustrated sounds.

"I can't get a clear shot if you can't hold him still, Steph!" She called out. Steph grunted in frustration.

"I know that..." She hissed. Quinn laughed at this.

"What's the matter, Steph?" He asked. "Am I overpowering you? What would happen if you lost to me?"

"Not gonna happen." Steph growled. "I'm going to make sure you don't cross us ever again."

"I'm scared. Really, I am." He replied. "Listen kid, This has gone on for a while. So why don't you-!" Steph yelped in surprise as Quinn was dragged away from her. She turned just in time to see the man thrown away from her, and he landed hard.

"Bella!" Terra shouted. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Bella panted as she raised both her hands and shot a stream of darkness at Quinn, which exploded against him.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Neekis?" She asked weakly. "I'm helping."

"Bella, you should stay out of his way." Steph said softly. "You'll end up like Damien."

"Fine!" Bella shouted, glaring at her feet. "I'll happily end up like that if I get to help my friends take down the enemy! Now shut up and help me, for God sake!"

"Winter, you were supposed to keep her away from the fight!" Steph turned to find Winter also joining them, and she seemed to be shying away from Terra.

"I tried," She said weakly. "She doesn't listen as well as you seem to think she does. Besides, I already healed her a lot. As long as she stayed away from him for the most part, she'll be okay."

"So she's screwed, then." Terra reasoned. "Got it."

"Ah, so the demon rejoins the fight." Quinn said, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Good, I'd like to actually have something productive come from this spat of ours. So, shall we have another?" Steph rolled her eyes.

"Maybe she can help us shut you the fuck up." She muttered to herself.

"Here, let me help you guys out." Winter said. At this, a mist enveloped Steph's body. Steph felt many of her wounds being soothed by the mist, and slowly she started to feel better than a moment ago.

"Don't waste too much magic healing us." Terra warned Winter. "You may need it for this guy."

"It wasn't that much healing." Winter replied as the mist dissipated. "But it was enough to keep you guys on your feet."

"Let's just hurry up and take this guy for a loop." Bella said, cracking her neck. "I'm all out of patience."

Steph agreed with her there.

* * *

As Keita reached the Christina, he realized that all the doors were shut and could only be opened from the inside. Keeping to his shadow form, he slipped inside the impossibly small cracks in between the ship and the doors and re-materialized inside.

"Jeez, that was a small opening..." He muttered to himself, stretching to regain a sense of size. Once he felt better, he made his way for the bridge of the ship, where the members of Blue Pegasus save Bella were. "Hey!" he called out, making them all jump and whirl in his direction.

"Keita?" Mami asked, looking confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, I thought you went down to assist Fairy Tail." Taro agreed. Keita nodded.

"I did," he replied. "Unfortunately, we've hit a snag. A rather large one at that."

"What's going on?" Ken asked. Keita turned to him.

"We've defeated one of the stronger hunters," he explained. "A member of The Cross. However, something happened. Her chest began to glow, or rather a necklace she had. Once it faded, she stood up as thought nothing was wrong with her. As if we'd never hit her. She was good as new."

"Damn..." Akio muttered.

"Micheal suggested we look into Archive's database for anything that might help." He continued. "Do you think you can help, Ken?" Ken nodded and cracked his hands, Archive appearing before him.

"I'll look into it." He replied. "What did you say it was? A necklace that allowed her to stand back up again?" Keita nodded.

"Yeah, that was it." He replied. Ken remained silent for a moment, and Keita watched him rapidly type away at Archive.

"I'd give him a minute." Mami said to him. "Once Ken gets looking he gets wrapped in his own world." Keita nodded and leaned against the railing in front of him. "How's it going down there?"

"Good, I hope." Keita replied. "I had to leave that hunter I mentioned to Drake and Michael, so i hope she didn't kill them or anything."

"I'm sure they're fine." Taro said. "It is Drake and Michael we're talking about." Keita knew that very well. It wasn't that he didn't have faith in them, it was that Elizabeth was too much of a variable. He should've been down there with them, not up here. But someone had to deliver the message, and he'd volunteered.

"Maybe I should get back to them," he said, standing back up straight. "They might be in trouble."

"You can go," Ken replied, coming out of his trance. "I'll use Archive to speak to everyone down there if I manage to find anything that might be of use to us." Keita nodded and turned for the door.

"Alright, I'm going to get out of here." He said. Mami followed him and did him a favor by opening the door. Once it was open Keita became a shadow once more and made his way back down for the battlefield, using his nose to direct himself back towards the fight the boys were having with Elizabeth.

He couldn't lie, he was nervous as to what would be there waiting for him.

* * *

Taro watched Mami and Keita walk off before he turned to Ken.

"What do you think it is?" He asked the man.

"If I had to bet," Ken replied as he typed away. "It's some kind of blessing. Something that protects her from defeat."

"Well whatever it is, find it quickly." Akio said. "There's no telling how tired everyone down there is." At this, Taro turned and looked out the windows towards the explosions going on below them. He could tell the fighting was intense, but who was on the side that was winning, he couldn't tell.

He hoped the others were okay.

* * *

Keita raced across the battlefield towards where he'd last seen Drake, Michael and Elizabeth, praying he found something good once he got there. Despite how much he wanted to stop, he also raced past others that had dropped down from the Christina a while ago. They'd be okay, he knew that. After all, they weren't fighting a member of The Cross. Coming out of the ground where he could smell Drake and Michael, Keita looked around in confusion.

"Drake?" He called out. "Michael? Where'd you guys go? Hello?!" A sinking feeling settled into Keita's stomach. Perhaps they couldn't hear him.

No, that couldn't be right. Drake would've heard him.

"Drake! Michael!" He shouted again. "Guys?! Fuck..." Taking a deep breath, Keita narrowed in on where their smells were strongest and started to head in that direction.

And soon, he found the problem.

Drake and Michael both lay on the ground face down, motionless.

"Shit..." Keita hissed, running to Michael and flipping him over. "Michael? Michael! Answer me you bastard, what happened?! Michael!" After a few seconds of silence, Michael's eyes began to flutter. Soon they opened, and he grimaced in pain.

"...Keita?" He asked weakly.

"Yeah, it's me." He replied. "What the hell happened here, man? Where's Elizabeth?" Michael groaned and coughed.

"She used some enchant..." He muttered. "It...Dealt back our own attacks to us. We didn't stand a chance." That did sound rather intimidating. "She said something...About helping the other members of The Cross." That didn't sound very good either.

"Well, now what?" Keita asked.

"What do you mean, you idiot?" Michael demanded. "Find her, and stop her before she gangs up on someone else. If we're having this much trouble, the others don't need two of those pricks to deal with. Or anyone not in a fight with The Cross, for that matter."

"What about you two?" Keita asked, looking over at Drake.

"We'll be fine," Michael replied, struggling to sit up. "I'll wake Drake up and make after you once we feel able."

"You sure?" When Keita asked this, Michael looked over at him. The fire present in his eyes gave Keita the answer.

"Hurry up." Michael said, making it to his feet and hobbling towards Drake. "We'll catch up." Keita stood and looked around, unsure as to where he was supposed to go. Inhaling, Keita tried to find Elizabeth's scent. He could find Drake and Michael easily enough, but amidst all the other scents of unknown and known people alike, Keita found it extremely difficult to find her.

"Do you know which way she went?" He asked Michael as his friend rolled Drake over and tried to get a response from him. "I can't find her scent."

"Uh..." Michael muttered, looking around the battlefield. "She might have gone that way. She was looking that way before I blacked out." Keita turned and followed Michael's finger, which pointed right into the heat of the conflict a fair distance away. Swallowing hard, Keita nodded.

"Alright. You get Drake back up and try to find us. I'll stop Elizabeth."

"Make sure you do." Michael replied. "And watch out for that enchant. She'll knock you out just as quickly." Nodding, Keita became a shadow and raced towards the fighting, set on finding Elizabeth and ending this stupid fight.

He just needed to not end up like Drake and Michael while at the same time hoping Ken could find a weakness to this blessing that protected the members of The Cross.

Easy.

* * *

Natsu struggled to his feet as Neptu approached him. Natsu wasn't one to go down easy but Neptu's flames ate away at Natsu way more than he had anticipated. His entire system was sore, and if he ate one too many hits he'd collapse in on himself.

"This is bad..." He muttered to himself. "Why did I get myself wrapped up in this again...?"

Natsu wasn't stupid, he knew why. He was here so Nashi wouldn't be. He didn't want his daughter facing off against this man, he'd kill her. Natsu was just lucky he'd locked away his own powers. Otherwise he felt the pain would be much worse.

"Get up." Natsu looked up to see Neptu standing in front of him, purple flames still licking round his form. "We're not done. Not yet." Natsu watched the man before he struggled to his feet. He needed to beat this guy, he had no other options.

"I'm going, I'm going." Natsu replied weakly.

"You know, something's been occurring to me, Natsu." Natsu looked up curiously to find Neptu's face solid and angry. "Why is it that a proclaimed Fire Dragon Slayer is taking so much damage from flames?"

Uh oh.

"Why is it that despite the game you talk, you've been struggling to your feet for the past twenty minutes?" Natsu had no answers for the man. "I'd like an explanation. Someone who is immune to flames should not be taking this much damage from flames."

"Who said that I'm taking damage?" Natsu asked, trying to bluff.

"Don't play stupid." Neptu shot back. "What are you hiding? And what have you neglected to mention?" Natsu wasn't going to very well tell the guy. That was the last thing he should do after how fired up Neptu had gotten talking about how demons had wronged him. Just casually mention the reason the flames hurt was because he had been brought back to life by Zeref, who had turned him into a monster to do so? Yeah, that'd go well.

"Just fight me, you loud mouth." Natsu hissed. "I'm sick and tired of having to have small talk." Neptu's expression hardened.

"Fine," Neptu replied. The man raised his hand, and flames began to circle there. It didn't look to welcoming. "How about you show me why your a Dragon Slayer, Natsu? Eat my flames and prove it to me." With this, the attack was fired. The cyclone of flames flew towards Natsu, who stood his ground and watched it.

_Well, this'll hurt._

Natsu tensed and brought up his arms to defend himself, and waited for the blast to hit. It didn't. Instead, Natsu watched it explode in between the two of them.

"What the hell?" Neptu asked. "What just-?"

"Heads up!" Natsu's ears perked up at this, and soon he felt himself enveloped with flames. They weren't his own, nor were they Neptu's.

And yet, they felt oh so familiar.

_Oh no..._

Natsu knew he'd recognized that voice. The scent that wafted through the area. Turning, Natsu looked across the battlefield.

Nashi stood there, hand outstretched, looking concerned.

"Come on, Dad." She said. "Eat my fire, and we'll take this guy together."

**Again, I'm terribly sorry for the wait. The crash and all that. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**

_**Chapter 259: Bad Idea**_


	259. Bad Idea

**Thanks for all the kind words guys. I've been feeling a lot better, so updates should be more frequent once again.**

**Enjoy!**

Damien was confused. The last thing he really recalled was getting run through, and now he was standing in the middle of a misty field.

"What the hell is happening?" He muttered. "Why am I here?"

"I brought you here." Turning, Damien saw Xisplate standing beside him. From what he could tell, it was just the two of them.

"Xisplate?" He asked. "Where are we? What happened?" Xisplate didn't say anything, he simply approaching Damien slowly.

Once he reached him, he whacked him on the head.

"Ow!" He shouted. "What the hell was that for?"

"Are you serious?" he demanded. "You don't know? How about charging into a battle with Demon Hunters and damn near getting yourself killed?" Damien made a face as he rubbed his head.

"Well, when you put it that way..." He muttered. Xisplate sighed.

"Honestly Damien, you actually just ran out there?"

"I wanted to help!" Damien replied.

"Well look where that got you." Xisplate replied. "Comatose while you're friends pick up the pieces."

"What?" Damien asked, confused. "Start explaining, please." Xisplate rolled his eyes.

"Once you got hit, your friends did everything in their power to bring you home. Once they had, Wendy did some miracle work and saved your ass. So make sure you thank her once your dumb ass wakes up." Damien nodded weakly. "Anyway long story short, the Demon Hunters tracked us down and now a full blown war zone is right outside Magnolia's gates."

"Well..." Damien started. "That's uh, a whole lot that happened."

"Hm." Xisplate replied. "As for where you are, I pulled a portion of your soul into the 12th Circle so we could talk."

"A portion of my soul?" Damien asked.

"How do you think I show up to speak to you all the time?" Xisplate asked. "A portion of me visits you all the time, this time I reversed it." Damien suddenly felt quite chilly. So the 12th circle was a misty field? Interesting.

"Well, uh, thanks?" Damien asked. "Now tell me how to wake up so I can go help my friends." At this, Xisplate threatening raised his hand again, so Damien shied away. "What?"

"Are you stupid?" Xisplate asked. "Not only can I not help you wake up, but even if I could I wouldn't. I'm not letting you run head first into a battle with Demon Hunters like last time. You stay put while your friends deal with the problem."

"Ugh," Damien muttered. "This is so dumb."

"It's your own fault." Xisplate replied. "All you had to do was stay in the bushes like Gin, but no. You couldn't even do that, and now you're comatose with your mother by your side. Apologize to her as well. You and your sister are going to give that woman a heart attack one of these days."

"Are you done chastising me yet?" Damien demanded.

"For now." Xisplate said, nodding. "I guess I can send you back to your body, we're done here. See you around Damien." Damien felt his vision getting foggy, and as everything turned to black, he couldn't help but wonder how things were going out there on the battlefield.

* * *

Natsu remained silent from shock as Nashi ran up to him. Why was she here?

"Are you okay, Dad?" He heard her ask as she reached him. She gave him a once over, looking concerned. "Damn, you don't look to hot."

"Nashi..."

"Don't worry though. We can take this guy together. Need a boost?" At this, more flames came to life in her hand. "I'll give you all you need."

"What the hell are you doing?" Natsu managed to get out, making Nashi look confused. "What did I tell you? You weren't to fight Neptu."

"I know." Nashi replied, raising a hand to her neck. "But I had a bad feeling at the guild hall. I can't quite explain it. I could tell you were in trouble." Natsu didn't really care what her excuse was, to be honest. All he cared about was that she got as far away as she possibly could.

"Nashi, you need to get out of here." He said, trying to stay calm. "This isn't your fight, okay? Please, just go help somebody else." Nashi frowned at this.

"Dad, stop brushing me off." She said. "I can handle this, especially if we work together! Why won't you let me help you?" Natsu swallowed hard at this.

"Because you don't understand." He hissed. "You don't have a clue how much danger you're in."

"Help me get one, then." Nashi shot back, crossing her arms. "Why are you being like this? What am I not being told?"

There was so much. So, so much Natsu was hiding from her. END, Zeref, all of it. And that was the whole problem. If Natsu had sealed away his powers and he was still getting so injured from Neptu's attacks, Nashi would surely get even more hurt.

"Look," He started. "I know you're confused. Trust me, I get it. But we don't have time to be arguing about this right now. There's, look, there's so much to this."

"Dad..." Nashi started. Her eyes were wide with curiosity. "Come on. What is it? Let me help." Natsu was starting to get frustrated. He knew she meant well, but so did he.

"Nashi, please."He said lowly. "Just go. We'll talk later."

"Is the family drama over yet?" Neptu called over. He'd been watching the exchange quietly up until that point. "We kind of have some unfinished business."

"You'll get yours." Nashi retorted, not even turning to look at him. "Just give us a minute." Natsu slowly looked back at his daughter, but she still hadn't moved. He growled and tried to come up with something to say.

"Alright...Alright." He said. "If you want to help, promise me something."

"I'm helping no matter what your request is." Nashi said. "So don't bother. I'm not leaving you alone against this guy."

"Why are you so God damn difficult?!" Natsu shouted, feeling his temper rising. "I'm trying to look out for your safety here, and all you're doing is trampling on those wishes!"

"Why the fuck do you think I'm out here?!" Nashi shouted back. "I want to help you! I lost you once, I don't want it to happen again!" Natsu stared at her as these words left her mouth, guilt rising into his chest. She wasn't going to back down, but that's because neither of them were wrong.

"Nashi..." He tried, but his voice failed him. He didn't know what he was supposed to say to convince her. Nashi buried her face into her scarf and hugged herself tightly.

"I know you're strong." She murmured. "Even before I met you, I knew. You're stronger than I'll ever be. But I'm not an idiot, Dad. I know your hurt, and this guy is genuinely giving you trouble. If something were to happen, if you didn't come home..." Natsu watched her trail off, silence falling between them. He felt bad now, but she was still in so much danger. What was he going to do?

"Nashi..." he tried again, growling in frustration as nothing came to him. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling. I get your concern, I do."

"Then let me help!" She exclaimed. Natsu swallowed, before he looked over at Neptu.

This was a bad idea.

"Alright...Alright." He said, conceding. "You can help." Nashi smiled at this.

"Thank you." She said. "That's all I wanted." She began to turn towards Neptu, but Natsu stopped her and pulled her back towards him

"Listen to me." he said in her ear. "If this thing goes South and we're going to lose, I want you to run. Run and find Gray, he's out on the battlefield somewhere. Bring him here as fast as you can, if and only this situation gets out of control. Got it?"

"I won't leave you," she said.

"I don't care." He replied. "If neither of us can take this guy down, run for Gray. He'll be able to help. Okay?"

"I...Fuck, okay. I understand."

"Good," Natsu replied, releasing her. "Now, let's get this guy. Stay on your toes, he's-!"

Natsu didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Nashi catapulted forwards and tackled Neptu it a bright ball of flames. He watched in slight shock as the pair flew away, but he recovered quickly and took after them. Once he reached them he watched the pair duke it out, and watched worriedly as Nashi took a fist coated in the purple flames. She seemed a bit taken a back by how it felt, but otherwise she seemed okay. Shaking his head, Natsu jumped into the fray and grabbed Neptu by his coat and flung him away from Nashi.

"You okay kid?" Natsu asked Nashi. "Does it burn?"

"Sorta." Nashi replied, rubbing her cheek. "It stings really bad, but otherwise I feel okay." This confused Natsu greatly. How was it that the flames hurt him so much but Nashi seemed okay? "I'm kinda light headed too, but don't worry. I'll handle it."

"If you say so," he said. Together the pair rushed Neptu and soon, the man was on the heavy defensive as the pair drove him back. Barely able to defend himself, he brought up a wall of flames between them. Natsu paused, but Nashi rushed right through and continued to attack him.

"I see the daughter has some stones on her!" Neptu shouted as Natsu rejoined the fight. "Did she take after her mother in that sense, old man?" Natsu didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer and continued to attack him with all he had. Soon Neptu brought his hands together and an explosion of purple flames threw both Natsu and Nashi backwards. The flames burned all over Natsu's body,and he groaned in pain as he stood to his feet.

"You alright, Nashi?" He called.

"Just peachy." She replied. "A little woozy, but I'm okay. Ow! Never mind, it burns." Natsu didn't get it. Sure she'd only taken a few hits, but how was she still okay even after those? He'd expected her to be a little more hurt than that.

Wait...

Natsu watched as Nashi rushed Neptu again, this time attacking him with fists coated in flames. Neptu laughed.

"I guess Daddy didn't fill you in." He said, grabbing Nashi's hand. "The flames don't hurt, sweetheart." Neptu ate Nashi's fire and used a breath attack at point blank range. Nashi flew back and rolled to a stop. Natsu watched fearfully, but his daughter stood up slowly and looked over at him.

"A little help, Dad?" She asked. He nodded, but didn't reply to her. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before.

Yes, Nashi was part Etherious. That was why despite being a Fire Dragon Slayer, she took damage from the flames.

But she was also part human. Just like her mother.

It made much more sense to Natsu now. Yes, the flames could still hurt and even kill her. But because she was Lucy's daughter she'd, for the most part, be okay from basic attacks. A bit of resistance. It definitely didn't set his mind at ease, but he wasn't as worried as he was a moment ago.

"Just be careful." He said. "Last thing I want to do is carry you back to the guild hall." Nashi managed a laugh at this.

"Same to you, Dad."

* * *

Kumi watched the Demon Hunters squirm around under her binding magic, but she didn't expect them to know it nullified their magic powers.

"What the hell is this?!" One shouted. "My magic isn't working!"

"That's kinda the point, buddy." Kumi said with a chuckle, stretching her arms. "The bindings nullify your magic power. Good luck getting up, nyah."

"Why the hell do you keep acting like a cat?" One demanded. "Fuck, you're a weirdo." Kumi made a face and then made a fist. The man in question began to squirm as the bindings began to tighten.

"What was that, nyah?" She asked. "What am I?" The man didn't reply, so she tightened it a bit more. "Hm, seems you've gone quite now. Odd." Kumi looked around her, but she still didn't see anyone else on the battlefield. She must have lost the others after they initially entered the fray, which didn't surprise her. It was a rather large scale fight, after all.

"What the actual hell have I stumbled upon?" A voice asked. Kumi turned to find a blonde woman standing there, regarding the scene before her with a confused face.

"Lady Elizabeth!" One of the men shouted. "Thank God you found us! This chick is crazy!" Kumi made a face and once again tightened his bindings.

"You shush." She said. "What did he call you? Lady Elizabeth?"

"That's me." The woman replied. "And who are you? Another one of this foolish children trying to stop us from getting the Demon boy?"

"Well, yeah. I suppose that's me, nyah." Kumi said, shrugging. "I jumped out of that giant airship cause I heard some of my friends were in trouble."

"I see." Elizabeth replied. "I suppose that means I have to deal with you before this spat ends." At this, the Hunters all over the ground began to cheer.

"Get this crazy cat lady, Elizabeth!" The same man shouted. Rolling her eyes, Kumi tightened the bindings to the point where all the men on the ground fell unconscious.

"Sorry, I was sick and tired of him insulting me." She said. "Are you mad about that?"

"Not much, he wasn't one of my men." She replied. "Judging from his markings on his uniform he's from Quinn's division. Anyways, I suppose I should deal with you before I get to Abigail." Kumi didn't recognize any of the names she was using, but she assumed she was referring to her comrades. When Elizabeth readied herself, Kumi's eyes widened. She'd expected the woman to be powerful, but the magic rolling off the woman was more than she expected. She really doubted she'd be able to deal with this woman on her own.

Oh well. She was on her own no matter how she felt.

Besides, her bindings nullified magic. She'd be okay.

Elizabeth raised her hands and blasted off a gigantic blast of white magic at her. Kumi gracefully dodged the blasted and launched bindings at the woman, which wrapped around her right wrist. The woman seemed irritated by this, and pulled at the bind. Kumi, however, kept a firm grasp on it.

"What the hell is this?" She demanded. "It's sticking to my skin."

"Sorry, nyah." Kumi said as she landed gracefully. "That's kind of the point though." Kumi tugged on the bind and watched Elizabeth stumble forward and she used to her advantage, getting another one around her other wrist. Now the woman was in a pretty bad place. Kumi tugged on the binds, and they began to shorten rapidly. Once she reached Elizabeth, she grabbed her arm and flung her to the ground.

"W-What?" Elizabeth asked weakly. "How did you-?" Before the woman could finish Kumi used the binds to fling her into the open air. It caused her to be released, but that was fine. Kumi would get her again. She watched Elizabeth land and feel her wrists in shock.

"What's the matter?" Kumi asked. "Did I surprise you?"

"What the hell are those tubes?" She demanded. "That's not...You couldn't have..."

"You're confusing me, nyah." Kumi said. "Can you stop?" Elizabeth looked up at her, still looking shook. Soon, however, the look faded.

"Whatever." She said. "I'll just have to make sure I avoid those." She raised her hands together and soon, she began to glow a lot more.

After this, she shot forward.

Kumi hadn't been prepared for the sudden speed and ferocity the woman displayed. She barely had a chance to get her hands up before fists and blasts started hitting all up and down her body. Where had all this come from. She felt herself sailing through the air, whole body rocked by the assault, before a pair of hands grabbed her and they descended much slower than a second ago.

"Ah, I didn't expect to see you again so soon." Elizabeth said. Kumi opened her eyes and looked up. Although at first she was confused, she recognized the similarities of her saviors face quickly.

"K-Keita?" She asked.

"Hey," he greeted. "You okay, Kumi? That looked like it hurt." Kumi rubbed her head as they landed and Keita released her.

"It did, nyah." She said. "What are you doing here?"

"Besides catching you?" He asked. "I was actually after that woman fighting you."

"Her?" Kumi asked. "Why?"

"She took down Michael and Drake. I had to chase her down." Kumi felt shock resonating through her.

"She took both of them down?" She asked weakly, and Keita nodded.

"Yeah, she uses enchantments. She enhances her strength, her speed, all of that. The one she used against those two was one that dealt back attack damage. They didn't stand a chance." Kumi felt a bit more intimidated now.

"Wow, she's stronger than I thought." She said. Keita hummed in agreement.

"That, and she's also unbeatable." Kumi made a face at this.

"That's impossible, nyah." She said. "No one's unbeatable."

"You don't understand, Kumi." Keita said. "We beat her once already. She then got up and looked like nothing was wrong with her. It's some necklace she has that does it."

"Well what do we do?" She asked, looking over at Elizabeth. "And why is she letting us talk?" Keita looked over as well.

"Her biggest strength is letting us come to her." He replied. "She has no reason to instigate combat."

"She did it to me, though." Kumi said. "That doesn't..."

_"Whatever. I'll just have to make sure I avoid those."_

Kumi's eyes widened as Elizabeth's words came back to her.

"Keita!" She said. "I have a brilliant idea!"

"Let's hear it" Keita said. Kumi nodded and brought out a bind.

"My Binding magic nullifies magic!" She explained. "When I got her, she was surprised. I think my binds nullify her enchants!" Keita's eyes widened.

"Really?" He asked. Kumi nodded.

"Yeah. If she likes for her opponents to come to her, that's why she didn't let me! Cause my binds nullify her enchants!" A grin broke over Keita's face.

"Boy am I glad I ran into you, Kumi." He said, standing up. Kumi did as well, and they both faced Elizabeth. "We need to hold her off until Ken gets back to me. Got it?"

"How long with that take?" She asked, stretching.

"Don't know. Could be a while. But if he has good news, you need to create an opening for me. Then and only then can we go after her with our full strength." Kumi nodded, stomach knotting up.

"So we need to fend off an unbeatable opponent while making sure we don't get beaten until Kenny boy gets back to us?"

"Exactly." Kumi took a deep breath.

"Well, easy fights are boring anyway."

**Sure are, aren't they. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**

_**Chapter 260: Blessing Of The Cross**_


	260. Blessing Of The Cross

**Arc is about to heat up. Quite literally.**

**Also I finally caught back up with the manga. I have mixed feelings but at least I'm caught up.**

**Enjoy!**

Explosions resounded all across the battlefield as Natsu, Nashi and Neptu flew around dealing fiery blows to one another. Despite the chaos around them, Neptu was very clearly on the defensive. Both Natsu and Nashi kept forcing him backwards, making all of them fly all over the place.

"Enough of this!" Neptu shouted, crating a wall of fire between them. Natsu grinded to a halt and made around it, but Nashi forced her way right through it and kept the assault going. "You two sure are keeping this fight entertaining! And to think the old man was on his hands and knees before his girl showed up!"

"Shut up already!" Natsu growled, punching him in the gut. "You're on the wrong side of this fight at the moment, hate to break it to you!"

"Oh is this that right?" He asked. "Is that why you were going to lose a moment ago?"

"You're a loud one, aren't you?!" Nashi demanded, driving her fist into his stomach. "Feels just that much better to shut you up, then!" Neptu laughed as he pushed her back and soon Nashi became enveloped in a typhoon of purple flames. Natsu watched, frozen as his daughters form was barely visible within the fire. Soon she reappeared, looked burnt a little but otherwise okay. Natsu growled and turned to Neptu, unleashing a roar that caught Neptu off guard and forced him back.

"You okay, Nashi?" He called, looking back at her. He watched her stumble around as she stood, gripping her wounds.

"Ow, shit..." She hissed. "Why does this fire burn so much? What's up with it, Dad?" Natsu gulped.

"It's a different type of slayer fire." He explained vaguely. "It'll hurt."

"Oh, that it?" Natsu nodded weakly. That was bull and he knew it. It was because of the part of her that was weak to the flames. But this was not the time to be talking about that, they had other things to deal with. "Well, I guess that makes sense...Ugh..." Natsu looked back at her, and saw her gripping her head.

"You dizzy?" He asked her. She didn't reply, she just gripped her head tighter.

"Ugh...Shut up..." He heard her hiss. "I...I'm fine..."

"Nashi?" He asked, nervous.

"I'm fine!" She shouted, lifting her head back up. "It's nothing, just dizzy."

"You sure?"

"...Yes!" She replied. "Let's just get him already! I have an idea."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Listen up."

* * *

Neptu made his way back to the father and daughter, who seemed to be having a conversation.

"Ah, strategy meeting?" He asked. Neither looked up, but he'd give them their time. It didn't really matter what they did anyway. The flames from Natsu's roar hadn't done much to him. In fact, they'd been rather tasty.

"Got it?" The daughter, Nashi if he recalled correctly.

"Yep." her father agreed, a small smile on his face. "Ready when you are." Nashi nodded, and Neptu readied himself as they both flew at him once more. Both dealt him blow after blow, which didn't hurt as much Neptu figured they thought it did.

"Dad, now!" Neptu stumbled back and watched as Natsu grabbed his daughter and made a face as he threw her into the air. He watched her boost away with flames, confused.

"What do you two have up your sleeves now?" He asked. "Pay attention, jackass!" Natsu shouted. Neptu looked back just in time to block a strike. "She's farther away, not your priority!"

"Don't tell me how to fight!" Neptu retorted. The two went at it, but just like before Nashi showed up Natsu was having a hard time with Neptu. Pushing the older man back, Neptu prepared a breath attack.

"On second thought, perhaps you should've payed attention to Nashi." Natsu said with a laugh. Neptu made a face, and slowly looked up.

Descending towards him was a swirling mass of red and black.

Breath attack dissipating, Neptu gaped at the meteor flying down towards him.

_Is that...Black fire?_

At this, Neptu heard Natsu inhale. Looking back, flames began to circle his mouth, and electricity crackled around him.

_Ah shit..._

"Lightning Fire Dragon Roar!"

"Dragon God's Divine Flame!"

* * *

_BOOM!_

Kumi lost her balance as an explosion erupted in the distance. Turning, she watched as red and black fire exploded outwards, an explosion large enough to level several city blocks. Electricity seemed to crackle around it as well, so it was a pretty devastating looking sight.

"What the hell is going on over there?" She asked aloud. "I feel bad for whoever is in the middle of that, nyah."

"I'd recognize that fire anywhere after being in the middle of it." Keita said from her right. "That's Nashi fire. But I thought she stayed at the guild hall?"

"I did too." Kumi agreed. "Perhaps she got sent out?"

"Maybe." Keita said. "Has it really gotten that bad?"

"I hope not."

* * *

Natsu watched as the fire raged in the area their blasts had collided.

"Damn," Nashi said from his left as she landed gracefully following her attack. "That explosion was bigger than I intended."

"It's about what I expected." Natsu replied. "Be on guard though, there's no way that was enough."

"How do you figure?" Nashi asked. "That was a huge explosion."

"Yeah, but..." Natsu didn't get to finish his sentence before Neptu apparently made his point for him.

Natsu watched the regular flames being consumed by the man protected by his own flames, and frowned.

"Yeah, that's about what I expected," he said.

"But how can he eat ours?" Nashi asked, sounding confused. "Are we really low on the food chain or what?" Natsu opted out of answering that question as Neptu finished eating their flames.

"Huh," he said, smacking his lips. "It's funny how I can tell the distinction between father and daughter by taste of the flames." He said. "Natsu's are hotter, but Nashi's have a zing to them."

"Are you done?" Natsu asked.

"Depends." Neptu replied. "Are you?" Natsu rolled his eyes.

"We've been over this a hundred times." He said. "We're not going to give him up."

"And I won't stop until he's dead." Neptu said.

"Why're you so mad at Gin?" Nashi asked, joining the argument. "What did he ever do to you?" Neptu turned his attention to her.

"Why?" He asked. "Allow me to explain, girl. Not only has he killed many of my Hunters, but he is both the representation and the very thing I despise in this world. Demons. And I won't rest until the world is rid of them."

"Killing your men in an act of self defense is a foolish way to condemn someone." Nashi replied. "And whatever happened to you isn't Gin's fault." Neptu snorted in derision.

"Why was I expecting a teenage girl to understand?" He asked neither of them in particular. "There's no way you could understand."

"Let me try." Nashi said. "I didn't know my dad until last year. He'd been gone that whole time." Natsu flinched.

"Really?" he asked weakly. Neptu looked slightly intrigued.

"And?" He asked.

"Did that make me hate everyone's dads?" She asked. "Do I think all Dads are the same and do I want nothing to do with any of them? No! Because that's a stupid way to look at it. every situation is different. Every _person _is different." Neptu watched Nashi with a careful gaze, but he sighed and closed his eyes.

"A silly comparison," he told her. "You're comparing your human father with the logic of monsters." Natsu spared a thought to pity Neptu for knowing so little. "Surely your lovely father had his reasons, hm? Surely it happened for a reason."

Neptu was painfully on the mark, there.

"So what if there was?" Nashi asked.

"What happened to me had no rhyme or reason." Neptu replied. "It was a random, senseless act of destruction and violence. Oh, and one more thing." Nashi huffed.

"What?" She asked. Neptu lowered his gaze slightly.

"You're father is right there." He said, raising a hand to point at Natsu. "He stands right here by your side, perfectly willing to throw his own life away for his daughter that he loves." Natsu spared a glance at Nashi to see her looking at him.

"So?" She asked.

"My family was not so lucky. They're currently six feet under, graves marked crudely by a boy with no better way to do so. My only living relative, my sister, also left me. I have no one left, all because of that monster. The one Gin is in league with."

"That's bullshit!" Nashi shouted. "If you have no one left, why is there a war zone around me?! Why are there hundreds if not thousands of people who came here at your command to help you?! Why do you have an inner circle that does so as well?! You have no one left?!I've never heard such bullshit it my life! You have more than most people could ever dream of!" Natsu looked at his daughter after this.

"Nashi..." he started, unsure as to what to say. Nashi looked pretty angry as she glared at Neptu. Turning back to the man in question, he too seemed conflicted.

"Nothing left," Nashi spat. "You're nothing but a war mongering peace of filth. Coming after someone like this just for-!" Natsu jumped as a blast of purple flames connected with her, sending her flying back.

"Nashi!" he shouted, whipping back to Neptu just in time to see another blast coming right for him. Taking the brunt of the force, Natsu felt his legs buckling underneath him. He was so much weaker than he'd expected. Collapsing to the ground, Natsu could only hear Neptu growling.

"What arrogance." He hissed. "For her to think she understands what I've gone through."

"_Right_," Nashi's voice came. Looking up, Natsu noticed she know stood between him and Neptu. "I'm the arrogant one. My Dad looks a bit winded, so about I knock you around instead?"

"Nashi..." Natsu started, trying to get up.

"Dad, stop." She said, turning back to look at him. "I know you're just trying to protect me. But now it's my turn. Catch your breath, I'll keep him busy." without allowing him a word in edgewise, Nashi blasted off towards Neptu and the two began to brawl. Watching as the two dueled, he slowly rested his head down.

"She's way to much like me..." He hissed to himself.

* * *

Gin probably should've gone back to the guild hall seeing as he'd been given a free chance. Hell, he could've just wandered off and not caused Fairy Tail anymore trouble. And yet here he was, sitting on the cliff they'd left him at, watching the battlefield with vague interest. The gigantic explosion from a minute or two ago had rocked him slightly, but otherwise he was fine.

"You doing alright kid?" Surprised at this voice, Gin turned to find a shirtless man standing there. His chest had the Fairy Tail emblem on it though, so Gin felt no reason to be suspicious.

"Um, hi." He said. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"Gray," the man said. Gin nodded at this, and Gray walked towards him. "I caught a glimpse of you while I was down there pummeling Hunters, so I decided to come check on you. My girl get you out okay?"

"Your girl?" Gin asked. "Oh, Ultear. Yes, she did."

"That's good. Why haven't you gone back to the guild hall yet?"

"I'm not sure." Gin replied. "Perhaps I wanted to see how much more devastation my existence caused." Gray made a strange sound.

"You're not still on your self blame train are you?" He demanded. "Cut that shit. No one, on our side anyway, blames you for what's going on down there."

"And if I blame myself for it?" Gin asked, overlooking the chaos. "The only reason you and the Demon Hunters butted heads is because I got involved."

"Not true." Gray said. "Damien had a run in with them before, or so I've been told. One day, they'd have come for him too. And even then, this would've happened. What difference does it make if this war is for you or him?" Gin tared silently down at the fighting, contemplating this.

"I suppose," he replied. "But perhaps it's just been too long since something hasn't been my fault."

"Right, right." Gray replied, moving towards the ledge. "I'd better get back out there. My wife'll start bragging she's taken out more." Gray then turned to look back at Gin. "And you'd better come up with a plan. Cause no matter how this turns out, you'll need a plan of action." Gin nodded, and watched the man disappear back into the chaos.

"This frigging guild..." He muttered.

* * *

"Drake? C'mon man, we're missing all the action." his was the first thing Drake heard as he began to come too. Opening his eyes slowly, he noted Michael smirking at him. "Morning, princess."

"...Fuck you." Drake managed, coughing. His whole system felt sore. Slowly sitting up, Drake massaged his shoulder. "What happened?"

"If I had to wager a guess, Elizabeth's stupid overpowered enchant knocked us out." Michael replied. "Don't worry, Keita should be on his way to stop her."

"Which way do we go?" Drake watched Michael point off to the side, right into the chaos they were slightly away from. "Ah, right into the heart of the fight. Nice."

"Basically," Michael agreed. Drake tried to stand up, only for his body to tell him it wasn't a good idea by having pain shoot up and down his back. Groaning, Drake slowly sat back down.

"Ah shit, that hurts..." He hissed.

"You might wanna take a minute." Michael warned. "I've been up on my feet for longer than you and I'm still feeling like shit."

"We don't have a minute." Drake replied. "In that minute Keita might suffer the same fate as us, or worse. Maybe Elizabeth will help someone else knock out one of our friends. We don't have a minute, Michael."

"Alright, jeez." Michael said, crossing his arms. "By my guest and get up then." Drake glared at Michael, but growled and forced himself to stand up slowly, the pain not going away. He'd really done a number on himself thanks to Elizabeth's enchant. Michael slowly stood as well, and together the two hobbled after Keita's scent as they got closer to the full on brawl.

"So," Drake started. "What's our game plan when we catch up?"

"Hope we don't die." Michael retorted immediately. "I'm hurting, man. I don't know."

"I suppose we'll have to pull out all the stops then, hm?" Drake asked, smirking weakly at Michael. The blonde nodded in agreement.

"Sure will," he said. "Ow!" Michael stopped and gripped his leg. "She really did a number on us man, we're too strong for our own good." Drake too felt this, but they couldn't stop. But surely they could do something about the pain.

And then, Drake got an idea.

"Come here, you bastard." Drake said. Coating his hand in light green poison, Drake slapped Michael's leg where he was holding it. Michael made a face.

"The pain's dying away." he said, testing his leg out. "Not completely, but it's fading." Drake smiled.

"My poison's dulled the pain." He said. "I'd be careful though, it's not healing us. We're in pretty bad shape."

"Right," Michael agreed. "So we'll still have to go all out." Drake nodded.

"Essentially." Michael frowned and looked out over the battlefield.

"Let's get this over with already, I'm sleepy."

"You're far to right."

* * *

"How long as he been staring at Archive for?" Mami asked Taro, who was also watching Ken rapidly typing.

"Without saying a word?" Taro asked. "Twenty minutes, at least."

"Would you two stop teasing him?" Akio asked. "Keita asked him to find the enemies weakness, I would think an attention to detail would be incredibly important."

"We're not teasing," Mami replied, trying to look innocent. "We were just wondering."

"Besides, we're not saying it's a bad thing." Taro said. "It's just so strange watching him got sucked into that database for sometimes hours at a time."

"Well, I suppose you aren't wrong there." Mami agreed. Ken had been working since Keita left a good half an hour ago, but for the last twenty or so minutes he'd gotten totally absorbed in what he was doing. Mami equated it to Bella trying on clothes. Just caught up in what he was doing. Which was good, because judging from Keita's description of the problem it wasn't good down there.

"We have anymore bombs, Akio?" Taro asked. Akio shook his head.

"No, but we did a number on those guys. Really thinned em out."

"That's good." Mami said. "Make it easier on everyone down ther-"

"YES!" Everyone aside from Ken jumped in surprise, who jumped out of his seat happily. "I found something!"

"You alright, Ken?" Mami asked, trying to slow he heart down after the near stroke.

"I found something!" He shouted happily. "It was locked away behind some Zentopia files and I had to go through so many documents on church building and signatures from the priests and holy hell don't get me started on curses and how to avoid them..."

"To the point, Kenny." Taro said.

"Look at this!" Ken replied. Mami and the other two walked to the Archive display and read what they saw.

"The Blessing Of The Cross..." Mami read, continuing down the document.

"Soon, the Christina's bridge fell silent as everyone finished reading up on the document.

"What the hell..." Taro hissed.

"Seriously?" Akio asked. "This can't be for real."

"I-It matches Keita's description." Ken said. Mami gulped.

"The Blessing Of The Cross is an old form of holy magic," she read off aloud. "Once cast on four Cross shaped necklaces, the magic power will keep the four wearers from falling combat. They will never fall in a fight..."

"...No matter what is done, even if two or three fall at the exact same time, The Blessing Of The Cross will allow them to rise again."

**A nice stopping point for today. I hope you guys enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!**

_**Chapter 261: Stand Together**_


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